Large bars and log ID

So I have recently purchased a 661sthil for slabbing some logs currently I have a 36inch bar but want to upgrade to round a 50inch but I I'm having trouble sourcing a bar here in Australia does anyoneknow of a good site/ place to buy one? I have also just gotten my first whitetimber log and would like some help identifying it where I live in North QueenslandI have only so far only been able to get Paperbark and some red gum. this log when it was cutting up stunk really bad. but I can' twait to see the inside
thanks in advance

I was going to tell you to contact Griffiths and Beerens, but when I looked them up they appear to have closed down. I don't know who else makes big bars. Rgds,Crocy.

Jono & Johno online from Ballarat will be able to help you out. I got my 44” bar from them for my husky 395. I would not go any bigger than 44” on the 660 either, it’s not powerful enough for a 50”+ bar. Mine is for 3/8 chain, they also make them for .404 but it will be harder on the saw due to the wider kerf.

I made my own. It's pretty easy and really cheap, certainly a hell of a lot cheaper (hundreds $$) than buying a stock kit.

This is my 50" setup. It's made from thick wall (2.5mm) 25mm square tube with 1 connecting bar at the power head end which I welded. There is also a new bit of round tubing, can't remember the diameter but I'm sure you'll work it out. The only really important thing is to make sure that the welding doesn't buckle the square steel, the whole assembly has to be flat.

Attachment 456512

At the ends of the square tuning, drill a 12ish mm hole about 30mm along the tube then cut a slot from the end of the tube to the drilled hole with a wafer cutting disk on the grinder. Go and buy yourself some M10 nuts bolts & washers and connect the thing together, hey presto one 50"mill.

Attachment 456513

One cautionary note. Reinforce the plastic bits at the end. They do snap as I found out. Even if you have a mill with metal, I'd still be reinforcing them.

Attachment 456514

Attachment 456515

So there you have it. One 50"mill with a total cost of about $25ish. Alternatively you could just go and buy 2 bars from the link below for $239 plus postage, yes you did read that correctly.

Granberg : Atraes, Arborist and Height Safety Equipment Specialists

LOL just realised that I completely misread your OP. Must have had a seniors moment, anyway...

I got my bar from;

Extra Long Bars

There are a few things to be aware of with this bar, and probably any others you may find. Firstly make sure you get the pitch correct for the end roller. They are made standard with a 404 but can be changed to 3/8", alternatively you can change your sprocket.

This bar comes with a spacer that sits over the bar studs and then the bar sits over that. When your putting the whole thing together, or taking it apart, it pays to have the powerhead clamped down as the bar is heavy.

Don't expect to be tensioning the chain as easy as your other bars.

Chain length is really important. Because of the length of the chain, when it is broken in if it has not been measured out correctly it can grow beyond the point of proper tensioning and you will have to remove a link or two.

Hopefully this is more helpful and indeed relevant than my post above.

One last thing, I've predominantly been using a full compliment ripping chain and not a skip tooth. Admittedly I haven't broken down anything super duper hard yet, just something to bear in mind.

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Originally Posted by Cal

Jono & Johno online from Ballarat will be able to help you out. I got my 44” bar from them for my husky 395. I would not go any bigger than 44” on the 660 either, it’s not powerful enough for a 50”+ bar. Mine is for 3/8 chain, they also make them for .404 but it will be harder on the saw due to the wider kerf.

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It's actually not that much wider.
It depends a little on the top plate filing angle being used so comparisons need to be made using the same angle.
Back in 2010 I measured lots of kerf sizes and found that 404 kerfs on average were only 10% wider than 3/8.
The other surprising thing I found was that horizontal kerfs were about 10% wider than vertical ones - my take on this was because the chain is better supported in vertical than in horizontal cuts.

The way I measured the kerf was using a tampered stick with the thicknesses marked along its length with the thickness.
Attachment 456552

What makes more of a difference is 3/8 lo profile chain which produced a kerf size ~15% smaller than 3/8

If I recall correctly, my 404 Oregon chain turned 8mm of log thickness into sawdust with each cut.
I used to regularly cut 32mm slabs, that meant 20% of the log was turned to sawdust while slabbing, there is more to come after drying, to level and true up the slabs.
If you are paying good money for your logs, then a lot of money starts getting turned to waste.
Luckily most of my logs were free, or $20/Mcube.
Bandsaw mill is the better option for high value logs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ironwood

If I recall correctly, my 404 Oregon chain turned 8mm of log thickness into sawdust with each cut.

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I measured it to be closer to 9mm, it was about 8mm for the 3/8 regular and just under 7mm for the lo pro chain
The BS I use is about 3mm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BobL

I measured it to be closer to 9mm, it was about 8mm for the 3/8 regular and just under 7mm for the lo pro chain
The BS I use is about 3mm.

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Whatever it is, it’s a lot of sawdust, especially on wider logs.