What Is This Bar For???

[jtcweb]

I got this saw from my father-in-law who got it from someone else and so on.  Besides a regular bar it came with a very odd bar.  My father-in-law thinks he was told it is a bow bar.  Does anybody recognize this and can you tell me what it is used for?  I don't even know if I have it on upside-down or not.

[Blue9R]

Yes, that is a bow bar.  This type of setup was/is popular in the southern states for triming brush & smaller branches on green (live) trees.  Wicked, in my opinion.

I've never used one, but I would assume the sheet metal guard goes on the top.  Does the bar mount have an oil hole?  This hole should be on the top to match up with the chain oiler on the saw crankcase.

[Tom]

Yep, that's a bow.  It was heavily used in the pulp wood industry in the southeast.   There is  thread or two on here about them.  I have pictures of one being use on my website www.tomssaw.com.

They can be dangerous.  The main reasons are because of mis-use.  The have been used for brushing but will catch on something and take your legs off.  They have been used for limbing overhead but will kick-back and take your head off.

The "kick-back" portion of a chainsaw is the rounded tip.  Bow saws are all rounded tip.  to make matters worse, people would take the guards off so that they could cut larger logs and the saw became very dangerous.

When used properly, it is to cut up logs that are laying on the ground or below waist level.  The spur on the bow hooks the log and is kept in place by the chain pulling against it as the chain cuts.  It can be used for pulpwood and firewood without having to bend over too much.  It is really a labor saving tool if used properly.

Some folks use it for a cut-down saw but that is not the purpose either.   This is a tool that was designed specifically for bucking.

If you use caution, you will learn to like it.

[John_Boisselier]

It's a bow bar.  There should be a front tang or spike on the front of it to help minimise the incredible chance of kickback.  They are phenominally dangerous, but fit a niche in brush clearing if used properly.  I would never recommend its use casually, as it is totally different in use from a standard bar.  Remember, your legs and arms are just other chunks of brush to it.

[jtcweb]

It does have a front tang that is in the lower right of the picture, but is hard to see.  What part of it actualy cuts the log?  Abofe the tang so you are cutting with the nose?

[Tom]

Yes.  What you are calling a tang is the "Spur".  You cut with the front of the bard and the chain pulls the spur up against the log.

[jtcweb]

So you would be almost holding the saw vertical with the nose down and cut down through a log that is on the ground?

[Tom]

.


Read about it on this thread:

http://www.forestryforum.com/cgi-bin/board/YaBB.pl?board=chainsaws;action=display;num=1044648883;start=1

[rebocardo]

Is one of the benefits that you can not catch the top of the bow when the log closes in and the log rests in the middle of the bow?

[slowzuki]

Is one of the benefits that you can not catch the top of the bow when the log closes in and the log rests in the middle of the bow?

Yes.

As another note, Baileys won't ship bow bars to Canada!  I don't know if OSHA has outlawed them or something.

[DBob]

  That looks like the bow bar on my Mac 1010. I've used one for 23 years. They work great for bucking logs, really saves on your back. You basically just cut straight down.
 They are dangerous! You can also put another "guide" on the top of the bar. This will insure that you do not try to cut logs that are larger than the bar is intended for. I've never had one kickback on me. With all that chain turning, it's easy to remember how dangerous they can be.

[tony_marks]

  where i saw them used a lot was by pulp wooders ..
  .. cut the tree
lean u hip into it and use the bar to put it dn..never done it my self..

[oldsaw-addict]

I know that this is a bow bar on an older partner chaisnaw, This is the most dangerous thing in the chainsaw dept just short of using a machine screw and nut to hold a saw chain together. I havent used one of these bow bars, but I do know that they are extremely dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced user, but when used by someone who know what theyre doing, they are only as dangerous as a regular guide bar. I dont know how to use this bar style, therefore I dont have one to be tempted to use. I value my limbs too much to do something that I shouldnt have been doing in the first place. If I were you, I'd just put that bow bar in the garage somewhere out of sight, that way youre not tempted to use it and accidentally chop off an arm or leg. Those bars really scare the living h____ out of me. Just my .02 cents

[Tom]

oldsaw-addict,
They are dangerous, but not as bad as you make out.   If your lively-hood depended on bucking logs, I think you would find this a very helpful, useful and not overly dangerous tool.  The horror stories come from accidents where people mis-use the bow.   They take the guards off and that leaves whirling chain within inches of a leg.  The use it for brushing and it catches on the small twigs, locks up and sends the saw flying.  They try to use it for a cut-down saw and find that they have no control over the tree.

It is a bucking tool.  Even the smaller bows that are touted for "brushing" are intended for small diameter shrubs and trees, not for a thicket of 1/2 inch understory.

If you get the chance, use one.  Just be careful, go slow and obey the rules.

[Stephen_Wiley]

I have only seen the bars used commercially here on the West Coast by Christmas tree farmers.

Never found an application to which I would prefer them. Although I have cut with them.

[DanG]

I have a bow that I've used for years. As long as you don't remove the spur, and use it for what it is intended, it is far safer than a bar. As Tom stated, it is meant to be used for bucking ONLY. If you are cutting firewood, you can triple your fatigue-free production with one of these. Once you set the spur behind the log, you can stand straight up and run the saw with one hand. It really saves the back, and kickback is almost impossible. On the other hand, I would not even mount one on a saw without the spur.  I have dropped a lot of small trees with it, too, but felling is a lot better with a bar.
If you don't want that one, I'll take it off your hands.