Had a new tree guy drop off today. Not the my favorite diameter and length but it works. Got it all cut up this afternoon.
yep. It's obvious how bar oils have trended thinner over the past handful of years. However, does that mean they don't protect the bar as well? I don't know. Logic would say the no, but I have no idea if that's reality or not. Only ones that would probably know would be professional loggers who cut way more than most of us do. I bit the bullet and paid $25ea for a 6 pack case of Bel-Ray from MasProShop.com. I'm going to take the few gallons of the not-so-tacky stuff I just bought, plus the ~4 gallons of Amsoil (which also changed from the videos I watched to the stuff I received last year) and mix them all together and then mix a little bit of Bel-Ray in till I get some tack. This will help prolong the 6 gallons of Bel-Ray and 1 gallon of old TSC. I will probably have 15 or so years of bar oil now on hand.
I got the Bel-Ray yesterday. I knew as soon as I removed the sealing foil and saw the strings of fluid fluttering in the wind just from doing so that this was going to be what I have been looking for and what I have been used to using since I began started cutting wood. I compared it to the old TSC CountyLine stuff that I have and it's virtually identical in terms of thickness and tack. When you put the two oils between the thumb and index finger to test the tack, not only do you see the tack, but you can literally feel the stickiness of the fluid. This is what tack is. No other B&C oil that I have tried since trying to find a suitable replacement even comes close. In the immortal words of -CINDERELLA-. Although I'm pretty sure bar & chain oil was not what they were thinking about when they wrote it. Now, does this increased tack directly correlate to reducing bar wear? I have no idea. In my mind if the fluid stays where it should be vs flying off more easily, it should.
Got the tree service wood all cut up minus one short Norway Maple log I will get to when I have other mixed wood with a big enough diameter to go to the tw6. There was a fair amount of Goldilocks sized mixed hardwood under all of those big pieces. Have that ready for the Iron and Oak splitter where all pieces need to be manually picked up.
Started working on the 4 semi loads of oak logs I bought. Have been picking the larger diameter ones out so far for the tw6 and 6 way which will make quick work of them. Don’t really have a goal on when I should finish each of the 3 piles but I got 13 of them cut up so far. The smaller diameter logs will go to the Iron and Oak with the 4 way wedge. Gotta lift all of them so I make sure those rounds don’t get too big.
Last night, I was wasting some time watching some random video that showed up in my feed of some guy starting a 592XP for the first time. He shows himself filling it with fuel and bar oil. Low and behold he's using TSC's bar oil. My interest perked up. LOL He starts pouring it and I'm like, "that's the good stuff!". FYI, this is what the "good" TSC stuff is like. Forward to the 4 minute, 40 second area. Apparently this stuff is still available in certain parts of the country. His plate on his truck states Indiana. If you happen to get the good stuff, you'll know, as there is a night and day difference. First start 592xp 3gen! Husqvarna #TKP #realtalk | By Timberkutterpatriot | Facebook
So as we discussed previously, what's available probably has to do with what manufacturing plant it's coming from. Bring on the good stuff to south Jersey!
I don't see the expensive bar oil being worth it to be honest. I don't think it prolongs the life of the bar by that much.
X2. If bars were super expensive I could justify spending the extra money. I flip bars for even wear and every so often I'll put them in the vise and file the burs/dress etc.
This may be true, however, for me the tacky TSC stuff is all I have ever used and it was a matter of principle for me to not want to have someone dictate to me how I now must pay the same for a less quality product. That drives me nuts. In theory, one could also turn the oiler down and use less of the good product if it does indeed stay put better and not run through the oil pump so fast if it's thicker. I know it probably doesn't make sense financially, but o well. I plan on mixing the Bel-Ray in with other stuff in order to prolong it. Between the 6 gallons of Bel-Ray, one gallon of good TSC and the 7 gallons of other stuff, I have enough that may last me 15 years or so. I don't know if I used a gallon of it this winter or not. I guess I could have. I'll have to pay attention next year as to how much I go through.
CountyLine makes winter weight bar oil. May not be sold everywhere, but I would think it would be in Wisconsin, maybe not in Summer. During the product shortages a while back it's possible retailers bought anything they could get their hands on just to have something on the shelves. I used to buy cheap $hit (even tried veggie oil based) when I first started cutting and it definitely cost me bars. Now I stay away from the cheap stuff, keep the oiler up slinging so that I never see heat steam/smoke when cutting dead standing oak, whether I'm cutting dead standing oak or not. Nature can oxidize and biodegrade the little bit extra I'm slinging around. Now if I lose a bar it will be from rusting away on a shelf from not being used.
