a guide bar according to the invention is shown in fig1 . the guide bar ( 10 ) has a clamping end region ( 11 ) and a nose ( 12 ), usually provided with a nose sprocket . immediately in front of the clamping end region ( 11 ) is a critical region which is most subjected to bending stress . the critical region is shown as a zone ( 13 ) extending across the width of the bar ( 10 ). between this zone ( 13 ) and the nose ( 12 ) is the main cutting region ( 14 ) of the bar body where a majority of the cutting action of the saw chain against a tree occurs . the guide bar ( 10 ) has a laminated bar body made from two side plates ( 15 , 16 ) and one center plate ( 17 ), the three plates ( 15 , 16 , 17 ) being joined by welding as shown in the figures and exemplified by spot welding . if the guide bar ( 10 ) is subjected to a large loading force at its nose ( 12 ) or in the main cutting region ( 14 ), a large bending moment is created in the critical zone ( 13 ) with reference to a section through the whole bar . referring to the individual plates , the side plate ( 15 ) on the same side as the load is subjected to a large tensile stress , the opposite side plate ( 16 ) is subjected to a large compressive stress and the center plate ( 17 ) to low average stress . when a plate is subjected to compressive stress , it will ultimately buckle in a direction where it is least supported when a high enough stress level is reached . this level is strongly dependent on the free length of the plate available for buckling , a shorter length requiring higher stress than a greater length . the stress level depends also on any initial curvature of the plate , with a lower stress level if buckling can occur in the same direction as the initial curvature , and a higher stress level if buckling can only occur in the opposite direction . in a known guide bar designs with normal distances between spot welds , or according to u . s . pat . no . 5 , 052 , 109 with very close spot welds in its critical zone , the welds keep the plates supported against each other except for very short lengths between welds . these weld patterns avoid buckling until the stresses reach the elastic limit and then the bar is deformed like a solid bar . one exception is the edge part of the side plate ( 16 ) bordering to the chain groove ( 18 ) as shown in fig3 . this edge part , which forms a side wall of the saw chain guide groove ( 18 ), is not supported but is stiffened by its connection to the non - buckling welded parts . the edge part may be locally buckled with a free length roughly equal to the distance from the sliding surface ( 20 ) to the nearest weld . this is a short length , and local buckling will occur at such a high stress level that an abrupt fold ( 19 ) is caused , the fold ( 19 ) being formed inward into the groove ( 18 ). the bar then continues to bend with a constant or slightly lower bending moment . u . s . pat . no . 5 , 052 , 109 purports to lower the elastic limit so much that the bar is permanently bent before there is any risk of local buckling of the edge , but the maximum load at the nose is then drastically lowered , which is a major disadvantage , and some buckling will still occur . a bar where local buckling of the edge has occurred is shown in fig3 . since the buckling is restricted to the edge part bordering to the groove , it cannot be corrected by hammering or straightening of the welded regions , and the groove is permanently narrowed . on a guide bar ( 10 ) according to the present invention , a plurality of welds ( 22 ) are spaced from one another in a longitudinal direction of the guide bar ( 10 ). however , the welds are omitted within the critical zone ( 13 ), making it possible for the whole compressed side plate ( 16 ) including the edges to buckle smoothly outward with a large enough free length ( 21 ) corresponding to the longitudinal extent of the zone , that this occurs before there is any local buckling of the edge . when the compressed side plate ( 16 ) buckles outward , the effective thickness of the bar increases , and the bending moment increases more rapidly than if no buckling had occurred . since the edges deform like the rest of the plate , straightening of such a bar is simply done by pressing or hammering of the overlapping parts of the plates , and since the buckling went outward there is no narrowing of the chain groove ( 18 ). further , since the free buckling length ( 21 ) is large , there is less risk of cracking of the sliding surfaces ( 20 ). the longitudinal extent of the zone ( 13 ) is preferably greater than the distance from the sliding surface ( 20 ) to the nearest weld in other portions of the bar which is at least the depth of the groove ( 18 ), but smaller than the width of the bar ( 10 ). thus , a zone without welding is defined which extends at least twice the distance between adjacent welds ( 22 ) in the longitudinal direction of the guide bar ( 10 ). the sliding surface ( 20 ) may be hardened all the way around the guide bar ( 10 ), but for further reduction of cracks , hardening may be interrupted in the critical zone ( 13 ) and some distance in front of and behind the zone ( 13 ). the hardness of the plates ( 15 , 16 , 17 ) should preferably be the same within the zone as in other parts ( 11 , 14 ) of the bar , to ensure that the smooth long outward buckling shown in fig2 occurs at a lower stress level than would be needed for abrupt local buckling as shown in fig3 . the present invention has been described by way of exemplary embodiments to which it is not limited . other modifications and variations will occur to skilled artisans without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention recited int he claims appended hereto .