Hey Gordy, maybe you could manufacture a simple tool shaped like a credit card that is .064" on one side and .059" on the other and .051" on the end to cover every gauge bar. Make it from the same material as your raker gauge and you could just set it in the rail to set the bar squeezer or you could use it to open an area that is too tight by tapping it along an area that got squeezed too much.
Also, if you close your rails up too much find a quarter or a washer about the right thickness, tap it down into the bar rail and tap it down the length of the bar to spread it back out again.
Bars have gotten really expensive, like everything else. Thanks Garrett and Gordy for showing how to get the most out of a bar before you have to ditch it. It's also amazing how much better the saw cuts after a bar has been tuned up.
Man Gordy, you make the best content! Ive always wanted to know how to this stuff and this video was awesome!! Keep up the great work brother and God bless!
Like it. Since I cut one handed and generally sling a 32” bar I think I’m sometimes excessively hard on the bar since I can’t manipulate the saw like a 2 handed person would. I try really hard not to be, but it happens. I’m ocd and religious about gear maintenance though. I probably do far more than I need to. But I believe well maintained gear pays dividends. Really wish I could find an affordable sq chisel grinder, but then I’d probably go through chain twice as fast. Having sharp tooling is a drug. Once you get it you’ll spend forever chasing it.
I knew a fella that sold firewood that had very limited use of one arm. I think hed been in an accident in his younger days. I'd see him drivin his old ford trucks with huge oak rounds in the bed. I always wondered how he managed such work by himself. Makes me feel bad about complaining when I dont feel like doin stuff.
Be careful when ur dressing the rolled over sides , n running ur fingers/hand over bar checking it, there may be a metal sliver waiting to go into your finger 😣 don’t ask me how I know 😝 😉
Best saw channel out there, and I just learned how to save some money. I'm stupid bad with bars and chains. Need to change my ways, because it's impossible to get long light bars, within three months.
If you were a real cutter back in the day you had a silvey bar grinder. Probably could figure out how to make one. Chrome Windsor bars where the toughest just had to wax them to keep pitch from sticking
Buckin has a bar squeezer that has an insert for the size of the channel, helps you with hopefully not squeezing together to far ( I think it had selectable width insert??? ) probably not made anymore. I will have to go back and find the episode and see. Great video fellas keep up the good work. Always something new to learn. 😊❤
Great video, I actually have a cheap little vise I use to squeeze my rails. I tapped a hole on the top if either side, and bolted a bearing on top of each side, so the normal movement of the vise squeezes the rails. I just had to fabricate some guides to keep the bar level-ish. Works great, you just run the bar back and forth rather than the tool.
This is great. Very educational. As a 50 year old homeowner that even burns wood for heat. My two bars for my main saw and the few chains I have should easily last the rest of my life. So funny compared to a guy that runs saw everyday all day. And... If I need a 32" bar to fell a tree I am calling a pro. I'm not doing a tree that big myself.
Awesome video! I have that same rail closer. I use a Pferd bar file in a fancy holder they also make for filing the rails true... it works great but now I want to try one of those ski files Garret was using...
Great video, Garrett! I really appreciate the detailed explanation on bar maintenance and the tools you use. Your tips on how to avoid rolled edges were super helpful-definitely something I'll keep in mind next time I tune my bars. Have you ever had to deal with a bar that just wouldn’t cooperate despite all the tuning? Would love to hear your experiences! Happy cutting!
I was thinking its a lot of work to replace a tip compared to buying a new bar until I checked the cost of a new bar compared to a tip. Invest some sweat equity and save some $$$. Nice to know the technique to swap it out. Thanks.
Started cutting in 1976 and there's not much I haven't come across when it comes to saws but I just couldn't figure out why the chain was pinching on my 500 with your clutch cover on. I've spent hours trying to figure out what's going on to no avail. I gave up. Concave? Who woulda thunk? THANK YOU!!! I take my bar roll over off with a fine grit flapper wheel on a right angle grinder and square my rails up lightly with a Silvey bar rail grinder. I tighten the groove with a Silvey bar rail closer. Then I made a section of the appropriate chain (no cutters) 6 drivers long that I can run down the groove to make sure there aren't any "tight" spots. If all is good I run it over the bar rail grinder again. By the third "tune up" most bars are pretty well ready to become a custom knife. At least that's my experience.
Very helpful tips on how to fix and keep the bars lasting longer. This will definitely be helpful down the road when I'm fixing my light bars. Thanks Garrett and Gordy! You guys are awesome! Keep up the good work!
Great video! Very helpful information. I got a stihl o39 for 60 dollars but the 20 inch bar and chain cut crooked then bound up. Could not figure it out then this video saved me from scrapping the two. My question now is do I need to re-tune the carburetor when I switch from a 25 inch bar down to a 20 inch bar? Ran it tonight with a 20 inch on it and it seemed to run hot but seemed fine with the 25 inch? Thanks in advance...
I use a machinist's bench block, sitting firmly on the workbench, to back up the bar when knocking out rivets. The energy of the hammer then goes into the rivet instead of bouncing the bar. The holes in the bench block give the rivets a place to go. No need for a Starrett block... one from Grizzly works fine! A block of wood the thickness of the block placed halfway+ down the bar will help hold the bar level. Alternatively, you could drill a hole in the bench top! 😉
Almost forgot to add, my local stihl dealer has the official stihl bar dressing file, can't remember what I actually paid for it, however it could not have been more than 6 - 10 bucks out the door. I have compared my local dealer to other places and they have very good prices and no they are not selling chinese copies of stihl products I can get stihl rs chains ( as well as most of their bars) for same or cheaper than any where else including tax .
Observing some of yourshop equipment in the background, I see that you have a machining background. Very good! It's a great benefit to learn form someone who knosw metals and how to shape and get the best out of them. Great video. I will appply what I learn from you on my own saw bars. Excellent info!!!!
This is a fantastic video! I’ve been having some chain slop side to side on my processor and did not know you can squeeze the bar back. Will be adding this to my bar maintenance for sure. Cheers
Pferd, Husqvarna, Stihl, and china make a tool for dressing the rails on the bar. Garrett was using a tool that skiers use to dress the edges of their skis which is probably half the price and the replacement files are likely easier to find. Madsen's used to sell a bar rail closer made with USA ball bearings and steel. Now I think the only one's available are made in china.
A month ago I bought a 28inch Sugihara light weight bar for my 592xp here in the US. I paid $148.00 plus shipping cost. They worked on 32inch Stihl Light bars which are more expensive. Alex if you think that's cheap then you must be rich.
very informative and educational. Thanks guys. As for the guide rail/chain gauge. Would machining a solid roll pin with a 0.063" thick flat on it and press it in the roller on center line of the two roller bearings not be an option? it would prevent the gauge from being squeezed to tight and have to open it back up and repeat the narrowing process again.
i dont think so for several reasons, 1, the centre line doesnt stay constant as one bearing is fixed and the other adjustable 2, when bending something you ha6e to go past the point you want the final angle to be and then it springs back abit, so a spacer would have to be thinner than the finished gauge 3, if your careful this simple tool will do any size bar and as seen in the video it wasnt too much trouble to spread the rails when pinched
@@transdimensionalist i understand the material would spring back. yes, the drive teeth are roughly 0.063, so you shouldn't want a gap of exactly that, you would want an ever so slightly larger gap (1-2 tenths) to give the teeth SOME room. if they gap was exactly 63 thou and the gap 63 thou, it will cause an increase in heat and premature wear of both the teeth and the bar, and wearing the softer of the two faster, till a slight gap is formed. heck, my oem, new out of the box stihl 28" bar had a gap of 66-68 thou. and yes, center line between the 2 bearings would stay center. if the adjustable side lead or lagged behind the fixed side, then the center line would not stay center. it would be easier to draw it than trying to explain it but i will try. take 2 circles, 2" diameter and had cross hairs in each, line both horizontal lines of the cross hairs up and that would be center line. or that is how im asking about putting a thickness spacer on center line. each bar's hardness will also determine the amount of deflection/spring back it would have as well.
i agree you want some clearance between rails and chain, and also different bar materials being different hardnesses and springing back different amounts. my point is i think itd work but would only be right for one gauge and brand of bar, if you wanted to use it on a different gauge or brand bar the dimensions would be off and no longer centered so seems like an over engineered solution to something that already works with abit of skill and patience. the barshop machines do have a spacer to keep the rails apart when hammering the spread rails together but thats a different animal.
@@transdimensionalist at first you said it would work bc of x reason. now you say it will work but only for x size gauge. isnt that whole point? if a person ONLY uses 50 thou or 63 thou, and is doing it frequent enough, not just a bar shop, but ole' joe snuffy in the field, its a "set and forget" type thing then it sure would save time and wear on the bar.
i didnt know you were talking about a hypothetical person who only runs one bar gauge, i was talking from my own perspective where having a variety of size/ brand/gauge bars would need a tool for each application and would be overkill. i agree with you for your hypothetical person a set and forget tool would be great, one of the comments above mentions something similar bucking billy used on a video once although the only one i can find he says just use the next size gauge chain when bar spreads dont bother squeezing rails so i dunno? hope you understand
Guys, is there a “technical” reason for running an 063 vs 050 bar and chain? The reason that I ask is that 063 is next to impossible to find around here and I really want to know YOU guys answer.
063 is made from thicker material so will be stronger and hold up better under stress but will cut a thicker kerf and use more power, 050 is fine for most applications and wouldnt worry unless your cutting all the time big trees
@@transdimensionalist Driver gauge has nothing to do with the kerf. You need to understand what you're talking about before answering someone fella. Youre confusing pitch, with driver gauge.
@@transdimensionalist don’t worry to awful much because at one time I had the same misconception, but thats all been taken care of. But I’d still like someone to “try” to answer my question with good reasons. It’s just one of those 🤔🧐😵💫
I am no expert. O.050 is lighter, hard to find bars 0.050 at 36” plus or not really made. Been running across old production saws and they all have 0.063. I am assuming 0.063 is more durable and longer life.
