Chainsaw Bars

Buying guide

Picking the right bar

Run the shortest bar that does the job. A shorter bar is lighter in the tree, easier to control and less prone to kickback. Lightweight bars save real weight on saws you carry all day; solid and laminated bars handle abuse better in rough bucking.

Match pitch, gauge, drive-link count and the saw's mount pattern. Some customers search for a bow bar for a chainsaw; bow bars are a specialty cutting attachment and are not appropriate for tree work, so we stick to standard guide bars.

Bar care and replacement

A bar is worn out when the rails are low, chipped or spread, when the groove is too shallow to hold the drive links square, or when the nose sprocket is loose or rough. Pinching a bar in a cut can bend it; sight down the bar and replace it if it is not straight.

Clean the groove and oil holes with each chain change, grease the nose sprocket if the bar has a grease port, and flip the bar regularly. Running a lighter bar on a climbing saw saves real effort over a full day aloft, while a sturdier bar is the better buy for the ground saw that sees dirt, stumps and pinches.