Chainsaws used for felling large trees are necessarily provided with long guide bars as required to cut through the girth of a large tree. Such a guide bar may be on the order of 3 feet in length. Such bars are typically made of steel, a heavy material. Considering that the bar and the chain that is mounted on the bar extends outwardly from the power head whereat the user's handles are located, the weight of the bar and chain is a substantial burden to the chainsaw operator as he moves about in a forest from tree to tree.
The weight of the bar can be reduced by replacing a center section of the bar with a lighter weight material. Such is the proposal of commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,342 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. That proposal replaces the heavy steel material with an aluminum insert. Whereas the objective of reducing the weight is achieved, the machining requirements for fitting and securing the insert to the bar center adds substantial cost. It is accordingly an objective of the invention to provide the desired fit and securement of a lightweight insert to a bar while reducing the cost, e.g., as compared to the teaching of the '342 patent.