I’ve been thinking on trying a 28” bar on my 372xp I’m sure it won’t be the fastest cutting thing in the world but I’ve got a 24” on it now and barely squeak 22” of cut out of it between the bigger dawgs and such. Maybe I should hunt for a 26”? Who knows... Anyway what’s the thoughts on brand and style? I was thinking of going with a reduced weight Oregon or a Sugi? I also recently picked up a 20” Total for my 6400 that seems like a nice bar so there’s another option Is there really a noticeable difference in the reduced weight bars? Or Are they just spineless and prone to bending? Another factor is price since I’m not 100% I will like the longer bar and/or weather it will be on the saw full time. Even a used one someone had an interest to part with would be another option What say ye FHC!!!
28" Sugi on that 372 would balance out pretty well I bet. I run a 28" on my 046 pretty regular & it's just a little nose heavy with a regular Stihl bar. I bet that saw will pull better than you might think with skip chain too. Since I'm spending your cash I'd saw go for it.
Iirc a 28" total light and tough weighs about the same as a stock 24" bar. The 24" total l & t bar I have on my 7910 is plenty stiff. Top quality too. But it seems like a luxury buy if the saw won't wear that bar the majority of the time.
Alot of shops in pnw sell the 372 with a 32 inch bar which i think is kinda silly. A 28 inch bar and skip chain seems to do just fine in softwoods.
Half or full skip chain will help tremendously. Chain speed will be up Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've been using 2 Sugi's for a while. I really like that the rails aren't wearing much at all. For that reason I feel they are worth the buy in. On the 18 & 20" I have it's not so much about the weight reduction as it is the better steel. Same with Total from what I've read. I say go for it w/ the 28. If anything you can do the 1/2 skip chain as mentioned above.
I have some total/ tsumara light and tough bars and they are not flimsy and have good rail ware. I think a 28 would be fine on that. Especially a skip. What kind of wood you cutting? I know a lot of local walnut guys use a 576 with 28" They use 24s on the 372 but they are also doing mainly 4 post bore cuts for felling.
Got to be careful grinding the slot with those. Can get into the hollow section. If you want to get an adapter I have a stihl 28" 050" bar I have no use for. I'll make a great deal on it.
Could be anything really but majority of the time anything in that diameter range is going to be softer maples, poplar, cottonwood occasional ash or cherry. Definitely would go with a skip my dealer suggested it on the 24” so I bought one of each, skip and full Comp didn’t see much difference except the skip being a bit more jumpy limbing out a tree. It sure is nice to sharpen though
Well.... just snagged a 28” bar from eBay for $30 it’s probably smoked but it’ll give me an idea if I like it enough to drop some cash on a nice one! Pictures coming soon....
