Chainsaw bar

We ussually buy a new chain when we can't find where we put the last one we took off, so we've got atleast 4 chains for our saw now. Take 'em in when we got 2 dull ones, and never have to worry about a crooked cut. Haven't lost track of any of the chains for a while now either, although I think 1 is almost at the end of it's life. Not the 1st one we've used up on our farm.

Donovan from Wisconsin

The bar can be dressed with you raker file, but be careful of the wire edge, those cuts hurt. For the chain and hand sharpening I recommend the Husquvarna roller file guide. It's darn near fool proof, it had to be 'cuz it works for me. I helps with the 2 biggest issues- top plate angle and depth, or "hook". It works on chisel, semi-chisel and more or less on round chain. There are also inexpensive but workable grinders available from Harbor Freight and Northern tool. They at least will give you the same length/angle teeth and thats the biggy.

The only other suggestion I can give is to build or buy a sawbuck if you ground cut smaller wood and clean the wood with a hose if you can on dirty wood.

Bars aren't cheap - and I've seen hundreds get blamed for poor cutting and trashed. I first worked as a Sachs, Stihl, and Homelite mechanic in the late 1960s - and did so up to the 90s. I've got stacks of those bars - and I heat my farm with 100 % wood. I cut a lot - all with those "bad" bars. Mine cut straight as an arrow - and some have some very sloppy fitting chains.

Hey, anyone is free to throw their money away - just giving my opinion and experience on the matter.

I've got stacks of bars people threw out when I was a Stihl mechanic and have been using them for years - and cutting straight.

I turn my bar every few sharpens of the chain. Clean the groove once in a while too. New bars are like $35-40 so they aren't too bad.

DO NOT go bigger than a 20" an 026 will not pull it good enough. I know I tried a 24". Had to go up to a 3/8 chain to do so.

I really like my 026 with the 20" because I don't have to bend down so far to cut. I also have a 028 with 16". Not as much power and a bit heavier. I also have a 044 that I got as a rebuild two years ago and put the 24" on it.

There was a thread about "full shops" not too far back and I think I'm right there with the rest of them!

Oh I have dressed my own bar by putting it in a vise and running a flat file across it. Just hold the file as level as possible and it will come out ok. I really have had no troubles cutting caused by a wornbar.

Happy T-day!

If you're cutting softer wood like fir, hemlock, pine, poplar or alder... try a skip tooth chain. There are three links to a cutter instead of two. With less teeth the cutters cut faster and seem to stay sharper too.

My recommendations come from long family lines of loggers in the Northwest and I've been bucking wood by this advice with good success.

When I bought my 026 I did a lot of research and ghot the best hp to weight ratio I could find. A 026 is 10.6lb with 3.2hp and the 029 is 13lb with 3.8hp. When I was buying (1990) I don't think the 029 was offered yet.

I couldn't have bought a better saw. Heated my house 95% with wood for all these years and was my only saw untill the last 3 years. Never had to do more then basic maintainance and chain replacement.
I also have a 028 a bit heavier and bit less power. And a 044 and wonder how I ever cut the big trees without it. 026 did great but the 044 has so much more power and a simular hp/weight ratio.