So I heard about these, the chain goes around hollow hoop instead of a bar. What's the benefit of them? Seems like more teeth to sharpen with no extra length.
With a bow saw you don't have to bend over when cutting a log laying on the ground. Also it will go through the cut easy without binding. They are great for cutting firewood or bucking up logs to length.
Not sure that the bow bars are still available in the US due to safety reasons. They are more prone to kick-back than a saw with a conventional bar. The one that I had, bought in 1979, did not have a chain brake.
I sold two last week and the guy said you can't buy them anymore , still have one left.
Quote from: EnglishWoodsman on May 28, 2016, 06:07:02 AM
So I heard about these, the chain goes around hollow hoop instead of a bar. What's the benefit of them? Seems like more teeth to sharpen with no extra length.
If you did a search on you tube you'd see a few in action. They need to be treated with greater respect than bar saws for obvious reasons, and there more of a plunge cut saw that cuts on a curve rather than a straight edge like regular bars. They save your back somewhat from bending, but are also susceptible to pinching if the log is not supported or at times to green and closes back over the bar. They make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
Ah I see. Thanks all.
Yeah I saw a couple of videos, but the guys must have been using them wrong because they were cutting like it was just a normal bar.
As I was growing up my dad had a pulpwood yard. Only saw I ever ran was a bow saw.
Used for pulp wood fence row clearing etc etc .They are designed to run with a spike in the lower corner and a guard over the top which most people probably have never seen .The hollow void area is less apt to pinch .
In addition cutting with the arch of the nose it presents a different aspect when addressing the cut so for all intents back in the days of chipper chain it cut much faster .When I was a teenager I cut many an osage orange fence post with a Mac 250 with a bow .Fact in my shed I have one exactly like it ,saw and bow .Neither one sees much action .I haven't cut a fence post for decades and it's highly unlikely I ever do again ,especially with a Mac 250. ;)