Stihl recommended bar length USA vs UK

[Rob D]

On a tangentially related note, does Stihl sell their ES solid bar w/ replaceable tip in 15", or is that length only found in a laminated bar?

 

 

I don't think you can get the ES bar in 15"... the shortest they do is 16"

[wyk]

Sry if I'm a bit late to the thread as well, but I thought a west coast American could shed some light.

 

On the American forum sites there also is debate on bar sizes between west coasters and east coasters. East coast mostly cut on hardwoods, while west coast mostly cut on softwood. Also, the west coast gets quite a bit more rain, 80-90 inches/yr in some spots isn't rare. So even the hardwoods like big leaf maple, ash, alder, cottonwood/poplar are fairly soft compared to east coast counterparts, and UK hardwoods. Oaks are fairly rare, Beech nonexistent, etc. In such an environment a 60cc saw can easily live with a 20" bar all it's life, and live a long life and run efficiently. Sometimes 24" bar may be used to do some snedding/limbing with or to fell the occasional 3' wide Fir or Cedar one comes across.

 

Saws are quite ubiquitous in the American Pacific North West. Many residents heat their homes with wood, and the states allow them to hunt firewood from certain areas of certain sizes each year. Porting mufflers and cylinders are far more common there than anywhere else in the world. As is skip, semi skip, and square ground chain(all designed to work best in softwoods - namely douglas fir).

 

Having said that, I don't often see 24" bars on 60cc saws unless they are modified.

 

Some will use up to 32" bars on a muffler-modified 70cc saw with full skip square chain with low rakers for larger wood out here, but 28" seems to work better, if you ask me. Pro's will often have 32" bars on ported 70cc saws, tho.

[wyk]

I may have spoke too soon. Someone brought this to my attention on another forum. This looks to be a 555(AKA 560 in the UK) with a 24" bar in Montana softwoods. I think I see a Lodgepole pine, Larch, white pine, and a douglas fir there: Ax Men — Greenhorn Gets Schooled — History.com Videos

[difflock]

Funny enough as a rank outsider but with an interest

(i) I was perplexed by the short bars favoured by the knowledgable/ professional British mainland users, coming from a farmers background.

(ii) Having watched AxMen/AxeMen I was equally perplexed by the ENORMOUS bars on the saws on the West coast of America.

As a Victorian Africa explorer said of a particular tribe of natives he lived among

"So large as to be almost an encumbrance"

But they dinny have chain saws back then.

[wyk]

Funny enough as a rank outsider but with an interest

(i) I was perplexed by the short bars favoured by the knowledgable/ professional British mainland users, coming from a farmers background.

(ii) Having watched AxMen/AxeMen I was equally perplexed by the ENORMOUS bars on the saws on the West coast of America.

As a Victorian Africa explorer said of a particular tribe of natives he lived among

"So large as to be almost an encumbrance"

But they dinny have chain saws back then.

 

Logging Pacific Northwest US style is cutting 2ft to 5ft+ trees dbh on the side of a mountain. Farming is working relatively soft hillsides or flats - compared to the pacific northwest, England has no mountains.

 

Now, if I carry a 30-32" bar on a 70cc powerhead I can now cut 99% of the trees I am likely to come accross on the side of a mountain without having to go back and get a bigger/smaller saw/bar until I run in to an 8 foot spruce or yellow cedar(and they are out there, you can hinge/plunge cut them if you want, but that is asking for trouble more often than not). When you come accross that rare large tree to fell on a farm in England, you can go to the shed or the tractor or truck and grab a larger saw. That option isn't available when you are working the side of a mountain unless you plan on wasting a few hours a day in a job where you are often pad by the tree. So the fewer cuts I make, the more trees I can put on the ground in given time. Using a 20" bar on a 70cc saw in 3' softwoods like cedar, fir, and pine is a complete and utter waste of time.

 

So, you bring a 'one size fits all' tool to the work site and make do. You then carry that saw, it's fuel and oil, your other felling equipment, and water up and down the side of a mountain all day. The professionals that do this job are not messing around. When I worked in England, I switched from the issued 60cc saw with 15" bar to my personally ported 50cc saw and 20" narrow kerf bar and increased my production significantly.

Edited May 29, 2012 by wyk

[MattyF]

That 555 is very blunt or a big bar is a waste of time shown in that vid... Each to there own styles and if it makes you more productive then that's cool but from what I have just seen I could double cut or just use the tip for the gob and still have that down twice as fast with my 15" 560... Or even better a 20" 372 .. If the performance of a larger bar like the ones in the vid are to go by any way.

[Rob D]

Some great info there wyk - makes a lot of sense although the proportion of people working as pro fallers on mountainsides compared to people working more on a farm/back yard must be a small one....

 

 

Despite being (over here anyway) the market leaders Stihl are I'd say a strange company in some of their decision making - for instance why stop supplying the successful 192C-E carving saw in the UK? Why supply an MS880 with a 47" Duromatic bar with no sprocket nose option?

 

 

[wyk]

Some great info there wyk - makes a lot of sense although the proportion of people working as pro fallers on mountainsides compared to people working more on a farm/back yard must be a small one....

 

 

Despite being (over here anyway) the market leaders Stihl are I'd say a strange company in some of their decision making - for instance why stop supplying the successful 192C-E carving saw in the UK? Why supply an MS880 with a 47" Duromatic bar with no sprocket nose option?

 

 

 

True. Even so, if you grab your own firewood in the PNW, you likely will face similar circumstances, and having more bar isn't gonna hurt much. I run a 22" bar on my very heavily ported 262xp much of the time when I don't feel I need a larger saw for firewood.

 

Here's the thing with a 16" 3/8 bar on it after porting and a pop up in white pine:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpHW6wmXPA8]Wes' 261.75.mkv - YouTube[/ame]

 

As for the 880, my guess is STIHL Assume you are going to stump or low cut with the 880, thus providing a hard nosed bar so the sprockets are not damaged by all the dirt/sap, silica, etc. Can you not have it delivered with a sprocket nose for felling?

[MattyF]

Nice 262 fella !!

[wyk]

Nice 262 fella !!

 

Thanks, Mate. I can't claim the responsibility, tho. Randy did the porting and the pop up and squish adjustment. He also advanced the timing, if i recall correctly. It pulls nearly 200PSI. I told him I wanted as much grunt as he could get me and still hold the chain still at idle. He certainly delivered.

 

I think one off the reasons larger bars are popular in the NW is not only due to the wood being softer and more fibrous, but also to do with the fact chainsaws are cheap. That 262 started life s a 261, then I added the 262xp piston and cylinder. From start to finish, including the porting and machining, it was £300. A new STIHL MS440 power head with full wrap and dawgs is £500 here. And in small wood, my 262 is faster. Bars are also relatively cheap, but not as much as chainsaws are.