chainsaw bars?

[adamj]

does anyone know what type steel chainsaw bars are made out of like the carbon content and stuff?

[darksaber]

Not 100% sure but I seem to remember reading somewhere that they were high carbon. The article I read said the chains and bars both had to be high carbon to stand up to the rigors of chainsawing. Can't remember where I read it but know I did at one point.

Hopefully someone else will stop in and give a clear concise answer because I was thinking of trying the same thing later.

If you try it for kicks and giggles let me know how it turns out cause it sounds interesting. :P

[outsider]

i'm not at all sure either but HC would seem a darn good guess since i really work mine to death and the bar still is in good shape.
would be interesting to see what you do with it since i have a few sitting around the shop here.
ohh hey try calling a chainsaw place or a repair shop they should know

[Jocko 58]

You could try Carlton chainsaw chain and bars in the US or griffin and berends GB products in OZ. They bars for world wide manufactures
Hope this helps:)

[Ecart]

It won't tell you exactly what kind of HC, but you could do a spark test.

[chuckster2.0]

Isn't their a place where you can get that tested? Like a lab or something?

Edited August 31, 2009 by chuckster2.0

[Frosty]

They used to be higher C before the roller bar but they're still pretty tough. Last I heard they were an air hardening steel and made decent knives. That was a couple decades ago though, not making knives I don't keep up on these things.

Frosty

[adamj]

the main reason is i have a guy thats gonna give me a bucksaw bar thats around 5 to 6 foot long and like 6 inches wide. he wants a sword out of it.

[Rob Browne]

That is going to be an impressive blade! It will be big enough to cut through rocks and stuff like butter

Bet you are looking forward to the "left overs" as there will be plenty.

[tdi-rick]

Hi fella's, was doing a search for something else and found this Q and forum.

Having looked into this, bars can vary a bit in composition.

GB use, or at least used to use Australian Bisalloy Bisplate 500 in their top of the range bars.
It's a through hardened low/mid carbon/silicon/manganese/nickel/moly and relatively high levels of chrome type steel, originally developed for mining applications (gougers, buckets, dump truck liners, etc)
It has a UTS of around 1640mPa

Tsumura from Japan who make excellent bars every bit as good or better than anyone else use Japanese SKS51 tool steel, which has a much higher carbon content than Bisplate 500 (0.75-0.85% vs 0.29% for BP500) and mid levels of silicon/manganese/copper, very high nickel levels and no moly.
It's primarily developed for knives, tools and handsaws.

Bisplate500.pdf

Edited September 7, 2009 by tdi-rick

[jevaccaro]

I made a hunting knife out of a chain saw bar a friend gave me. As I recall it was an Oregon Bar about 3 feet long. The smaller ones are laminated. This one hardened and tempered like carbon steel and made a very good knife. I dressed and skinned several Elk, Deer, and Antelope with it be for my son lost it. I have made another one but have not used it much yet. I triple heat treated it. Heated it to critical and quenched in Marvel Mystery oil.
John

[pkrankow]

All my bars are laminated 3 layers, spot welded in a bunch of places. I have 2 14 inch bars, 1 16 inch and 1 12 inch. The 12 and 16 are from the early 80's I think. The 14's are about a year old, one is on the saw from the early 80's, and the other came with the new saw. All saws are Poulan and all bars are Oregon.

I only use the 14 inch and set up both good saws to use the same size/type bar and chain. I had been trying to get 12 inch chain for a climbing saw, but gave up and put a 14 on.

I am thinking on scrapping the 12 and 16 to make something eventually. I wonder if all 3 layers are the same grade of steel.

Phil

[Ironlord Oz]

I've always been told chainsaw bars are mostly made from O1 tool steel, very good for making knives out of. The 3 layered bars have 2 different steels & from the spark test the middle one is iron. The outer layers spark the same as other single piece bars. I know it makes an easy way to build up layers for a damascus billet & the contrast when etched is great! Hope this helps:) Wayne

[grasshopper]

g'day, i made 2 throwing knives about 8 inches long from a laminated bar.they don't bend or brake no matter how much i abuse them. i cut them out with an angle grinder (slowly and kept cooling with water) shaped them with a bench grinder (as it warms in your hand stick in water) and finished with a file. the steel can be polished easily but mine are sprayed with bright pink marking out paint so i can find them when i miss the target.