Forester Bar and Chain

[emr]

So check this out. I have been using this bar on my climber for about a year now. I know they sell crap and you get what you pay for so I guess I can't really complain. I also have heard they stand behind their stuff. So instead of sitting here blasting them, I will be sending these pics to them and I will see what they say.

 

[canadiantreeman]

Brutal....

What kind of bar oil you using?

 

[emr]

Canola. The bar looked fine until that morning when I noticed it sounded strange. Then the bar tip got black and then poof. And don't blame the canola as we have been using it in most of our saws and all of the Stihl and Oregon bars are doing just fine.

 

[tophopper]

I run forester bars on all of my saws at work. Never had an issue. I use real bar oil though.

 

[Al Smith]

I've blown the ends out of Oregon bars too .Kind of surprising when they pop .

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Yup.. Husky bars, Arbor pro... Echo and Oregon I have burned tips up... Never a Stihl though... Yet
Mostly on my brushing saws though. Boring with the tip will accelerate that problem.

 

[Al Smith]

You just spin the bearing right out of the nose is what happens .Probabley a good indication the bearing is going out would be burning the bar tip .If the bearing were not screwed up the chain would be riding on the sprocket not the nose of the bar .

 

[woodworkingboy]

I've experienced that when plunge cutting Oak with an underpowered saw. The heat, I guess.

 

[Magnus]

There are many things that can cause this.
I see it on Stihl bars too here. It happens....

Pinching, bending, low riders, lube problems, not correct tension is a few things that can cause bearing and sprocket to fail.

 

[Tucker943]

Here in my neck of the woods, all loggers bore cut all trees. Its the standard. I dont agree, but its how its done. Logging for another company all last year, the insurance agent came out and briefed me on some things when i first started and he made it clear that all trees were to be bore cut. Boss also insisted the same. So, mostof the time I did just that. Man did I smoke sprockets and bars left and right.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Chris, what do you mean by bore cutting when falling trees as standard proedure? Are you saying that after the face is cut, then the tree is bored from behind the hinge towards the back, like with leaners? What would be the purpose of regulating falling methods so it has to be done a certain way? It doesn't seem very logical to tell people that know the work, how to do it when there are options. Are they so worried about barberchair, even with straight standing trees?

 

[Magnus]

It is a good thing to do as it often help prevent fiber pull, cracks ets.
When doing this it is almost like a "trigger" type felling.
A wonderful thing to learn and use...

 

[Magnus]

Bore cutting in itself is not the reason fot blown tips.
Vibration in the cut, low rider settings and not correct chain tension will do the trick though...

 

[stig]

I don't get it.
I borecut all the time, but don't ruin sprockets. Usually I throw bars out when the groove is worn out.

We did however have a shipment of GB bars where the sprockets were faulty, but replacement bar tips were only around 10 bucks, so no big deal.

 

[Al Smith]

I'm a tad confused in terminoligy .Bore cutting to me is an arcing cut where you take about half the back cut with an arcing method ,set a wedge then do the other side like wise .You leave a little section center the back cut which is cut last .The tree meanwhile is sitting on a relatively narrow hinge which breaks off rather than tear fibers loose .

A plunge cut is where the bar is shoved in tip first .Kind of tricky to do and puts a lot of strain on the bar tip .

 

[Magnus]

Plunge and bore I think its the same.
The differance is not in how you insert the bar, it is how the cut is done.
Saving a corner in back is what used to be called "Trigger". Today it is referred to as the "safe way to fell" as you decide when it goes, not tree or gravity.

When I was felling oak, beech lumber, stump jumper was a sure ticket to fiber pull and cracks. A Huge Nono that would give you a trip to pulpwood land again.
Shape of hinge, cutting root legs and corners first before it decide to leave the stump....

A thin hinge hold better than a thick depending on fiber and hight of fell cut. A hinge placed close to center is not as flexible as if it is far out in trunk.
Open face, far out will often hold the tree on the stump. This help you when limbing as the tree stay put and is of the ground a bit.

 

[treesmith]

How many of you lube the sprocket in the nose of your bar? Back when I worked with Asplundh, they kept us supplied with the little syringe grease guns to "make them last longer". In those days, we were just transitioning from hardnose bars to roller-tips. We found (as a general rule) that the tips lasted longer if we DID NOT grease them. It seemed that the grease held grit and dirt and wore the tips out faster. At least that was our observation/opinion. And we proved it several times.

 

[SkwerI]

The bar lube provides plenty of lubrication for the tip sprocket. Greasing them only creates a dirt magnet and early failure. Of course somebody will disagree but Stihl quit putting grease holes on their bar tips decades ago.

 

[Al Smith]

Open non sealed bearings or bushings will in fact last longer if subjected to a dirty gritty conditions if thay aren't lubricated .In essence what grease or oil mixed with grit does is in effect produce grinding compound .

 

[Magnus]

If you have correct amount of good grade bar oil that do its job you need nothing more.....

 

[Ed L]

The older Forester branded bars were made by Windsor, I've got one on my 254xp, no problems.
Current versions are made by the lowest bidder, I would buy a better brand.

Ed

 

[stig]

The bar lube provides plenty of lubrication for the tip sprocket. Greasing them only creates a dirt magnet and early failure. Of course somebody will disagree but Stihl quit putting grease holes on their bar tips decades ago.

I think you'll be hard put to find somebody silly enough ( or unexperienced enough) to disagree, Brian.

It is pretty much gospel by now that the greasing is unnecessary.

As for boring/plunging putting lots of strain on the sprocket tip, I don't agree.

If your rakers are too low, it'll make the saw rock in and out of the bore like a jack hammer, and that will of course wreck hawoc on the bearing.

If you have the correct raker height and don't use any pressure, but let the saw cut at it's own pace, there is no more pressure on the bearing than in any other type of cutting.

Like I said, I bore all the time and usually toss my bars when the groove is worn out.

 

[Magnus]

On many bars the drive link seats in the sprocket and does not touch the rails until it is worn a bit.
High chain tension strain the bearing quite a bit.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I have a ton of grease, so i shoot some into a sprocket from time to time. I blow them out with the compressor fairly regularly so they spin freely, the saws that mostly get used. I think I have fried two or three sprockets so far, but they were on the cheap laminated bars. I like the squishy sound the grease makes when it pumps through and comes out. I think it's more perversion than maintenance.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

On many bars the drive link seats in the sprocket and does not touch the rails until it is worn a bit.
High chain tension strain the bearing quite a bit.

Rob over tightens or lets it get too loose... no gray area. Drives me nuts. Oh well.. I just keep bars in stock, and sprockets, chain.............
Funny moment the other day... He dressed his bar (ain't seen him do this in ages) because he about eliminated everything else as his cause of cutting crooked... Surprise, it cut straight :roll: