Bar length for new saw

[Bubbas Boys]

So, now that we are heating our new home with wood for sure next year I am going too buy a new saw this week. I am stuck after looking around on a Stihl. I am thinking that a farm and ranch or pro series is probably best. I have a homeowners 170 now with a 14 inch bar. Dont like the size or the power. What is the length of bar and power most use for cutting enough trees to heat entire home? Thanks

[mrs whodunit]

I have an Echo 400 with an 18" bar and cut between around 12+ cords a year.

Love the saw, good power and most times the bar is the right length. Every so often it could be longer but its not really enough of a problem to get a longer bar and chain.

[MattC]

I would second 18-inch for an all around saw. Better is a small saw and a bucking saw if you have access to big logs. I use a stihl ms 260 that is about 50cc with a 16-inch bar and a hushy 394-xp with a 33-inch saw. If I could only have one it would be the smaller one.

[bigjon]

husky-rancher455-20" bar,i've cut over 200fc.aint broke yet!

[logbuilder]

I have an older Stihl 029 Farm Boss with an 18" bar that is always my go to saw. It is now sold as the 290 Farm Boss. Mine is over 10 years old and it has only been to the shop once when it developed a starting problem. Other than that, just my routine maintenance. I run it a bit rich on the oil/gas ratio. Great all around saw. Learn to sharpen the chain yourself and have several on hand. Cutting with a dull blade is dangerous.

http://www.stihlusa.com/products/cha...ch-saws/ms290/

[highlands]

If you're just blocking up wood from small trees for a small woodstove then 14" may be enough.

Like most guys sometimes I wish I had a little more length. I tell my wife it's a full two feet but in reality I've only got 20" of blade. I find the trick when wanting to cut a large tree is I just approach her from each side and then I can still get the job done with the right motions.

Work safely and don't cut off anything important.

[Bubbas Boys]

Haha. Thanks everyone. The farm boss is the one I have already been looking at.

[jwal10]

I would rather have more saw and less bar than less saw and too much bar. I usually run the middle recommended length, if it says 14" to 20", I run 16". 16" to 22"I run 20" etc. If you have the money, might as well get the professional series now, it all caosts the same in the end, service or quality....James

[Sawmill Jim]

I use to run a MS 310 as a little saw I always ran the 3\8 chains would swap from 20'' bar to 24'' bar on occasion ,don't have to bend over as far . Also ran full ship chains not many happy home owners run them . I used all 3\8 chains as they would work on the O66 too. We ran the best gas we could find .

Got the gas mix by the case and files a dozen at a time .Here is a good place to get supply's or was when I was running a woods crew . They will make up a 20'' full skip chain if one wants them , most folks run them on bigger saws but I liked them and worked good on my saw . http://www.baileysonline.com/

I recommend a pair of good saw chaps too .

Just my 2 cents

[Awnry Abe]

I too have the Husq 455 Rancher (20 inch). It is just a tad too long to be nimble for cleaning fence lines and the like. It is perfect for the average fallen oak that I use for firewood. For smaller work, I bought a smaller Husqavarna 16". It is gutless to the point of being worthless. I can't believe the two saws come from the same place. However, when it does suck in enough air to run full out, it is the right size for clean-up work.

[logbuilder]

Around here, craigslist is a great place for chainsaws. I saw what looked like a nice 029 Super for $225.

[haypoint]

OK, you have pickedout a saw and have an idea on bar length. Next is figuring out how to keep it sharp. In 40 years of cutting wood, I never got very good at filing the teeth. I think a chain saw sharpener, mounted on your work bench is a good investment. If you cut a lot and can afford it, an electric Oregon bench sharpener will give a new chain cut quality. If you are nearly broke, Harbor Freight has a plastic version of the Oregon. The plastic flexes some, but over all you can keep the teeth even.
Carry a proper diameter file for touch ups, but at days end, pull the chain and sharpen it.

A longer bar is better because the chain has more teeth and the extra teeth mean more wood cut before it has to be sharpened. But in cutting small stuff that long blade will get in the way and increase kick back. I've cut hundreds of cords off a pile of 8 feet long logs. A big CC chainsaw goes through big logs fast and the weight isn't a factor. But a big chainsaw cutting under 6 inch trees would wear you out.

[logbuilder]

I sharpen with the chain on the bar. I do it with a dremel and a stone made for chainsaws. I've done it this way for years. I do it freehand but dremel also makes an angle gauge for chainsaw sharpening. I make a mark on one of the links and start down one side all the way around by moving the chain. Then switch angles and do the other side. Top it off with a good spray of WD40. Check chain tension. Takes less than 5 minutes.

[Awnry Abe]

One of the best lessons my fence builder taught me was how to sharpen a chain in the field with a round file. He snickered at my comment about chains being "cheap" enough to just toss when they are dull, then proceeded to school me. It takes about as much time to sharpen as it does for a guy my age and the saw to take a breather. Now I only change one if something catastrophic happens. I'll even sharpen them after hitting a T-Post that was absorbed by a tree. When I find that the cutting is slow and exhausting because the blade is dull, I shut it down and take the time to sharpen.

[Sawmill Jim]

Originally Posted by haypoint

OK, you have pickedout a saw and have an idea on bar length. Next is figuring out how to keep it sharp. In 40 years of cutting wood, I never got very good at filing the teeth. I think a chain saw sharpener, mounted on your work bench is a good investment. If you cut a lot and can afford it, an electric Oregon bench sharpener will give a new chain cut quality. If you are nearly broke, Harbor Freight has a plastic version of the Oregon. The plastic flexes some, but over all you can keep the teeth even.
Carry a proper diameter file for touch ups, but at days end, pull the chain and sharpen it.

A longer bar is better because the chain has more teeth and the extra teeth mean more wood cut before it has to be sharpened. But in cutting small stuff that long blade will get in the way and increase kick back. I've cut hundreds of cords off a pile of 8 feet long logs. A big CC chainsaw goes through big logs fast and the weight isn't a factor. But a big chainsaw cutting under 6 inch trees would wear you out.

I have not found more teeth to be better that is why I run skip tooth chains it just takes more horse power to run them . Half the teeth to sharpen . Fellow I know cut trees every day buy's a big new saw and has it re worked before he goes to the woods . Has it tore down ported and polished and the exhaust re worked . He wants light weight with all the HP he can get ,runs Oregon full skip chains .When you cut big white oak and walnut you better be good . I'm not that good ,that's how I got to know him .

[Sawmill Jim]

Originally Posted by Awnry Abe

One of the best lessons my fence builder taught me was how to sharpen a chain in the field with a round file. He snickered at my comment about chains being "cheap" enough to just toss when they are dull, then proceeded to school me. It takes about as much time to sharpen as it does for a guy my age and the saw to take a breather. Now I only change one if something catastrophic happens. I'll even sharpen them after hitting a T-Post that was absorbed by a tree. When I find that the cutting is slow and exhausting because the blade is dull, I shut it down and take the time to sharpen.

Not that we ever do it but a touch up before it gets dull works even better .

[Fire-Man]

After its on the Dirt----Only Way to go is with a bow blade-----Do they still make these? Very Little bending with a Bow. I have a bad back and I cut firewood for 20 years using a bow. My friend had a straight blade-----I used it about 30 minutes One Time-----could not hardly make it to the truck-----took me almost week to get my back straighten up enough to go again.

[Jolly]

Farm Boss with a 20" is what I use. But the saw can get heavy after awhile. So if I'm sawing limb wood, I'll often use my Husky 235.

Look at the MS271 (Wood Boss) with a 18". It may be all the saw you need.

[am1too]

Originally Posted by Bubbas Boys

So, now that we are heating our new home with wood for sure next year I am going too buy a new saw this week. I am stuck after looking around on a Stihl. I am thinking that a farm and ranch or pro series is probably best. I have a homeowners 170 now with a 14 inch bar. Dont like the size or the power. What is the length of bar and power most use for cutting enough trees to heat entire home? Thanks

A 20 incher is awesome. It is to heavy for me. I'm very comfortable with an 18. Its right in so many ways. Weight is reasonable and has a great easy to measure a cut - one bar length. My stove will take 22 inches. But a 22 inch log gets heavy. Most people can handle an 18 fairly easily. Some stoves require a 16 inch or smaller log.

[lonelytree]

I take my saws to the work area, then decide which one to fire up.

MS170
550XP
362XP

They all have their place and time. I run 3/8 skip chain on the last 2. I have an electric sharpener from DR for my chains. I cut trees in the winter and stumps in the summer.