biggun
Monkey for Hire
Never.
How often do you tighten the chain while up a tree?
- Thread starter Robert P
- Start date
- Replies 46
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Magnus
TreeHouser
If it is a smaller saw, shorter bar, and run in on bar/saw, there should not be a need to stretch it more than daily, if that. I see this alot on chains that run too hot. Mostly run a bit too long before sharpening, others have badly worn sprocket on saw or bar. Some has bad cooling/oils.
Thd ones that service here regularly has very little issues as they rotate 10 chains on one bar and sprocket.
There is a reason this happen...
Thd ones that service here regularly has very little issues as they rotate 10 chains on one bar and sprocket.
There is a reason this happen...
flushcut
TreeHouser
It’s pretty rare that I’ll tighten the chain while in the air. Maybe once a month. Loose chains generally get seen by me before leaving the ground.
the other day i filed the chain of my topper while being aloft, that was a first for me. was a little dull and groundies had plenty to do..
rarely tighten my chains while in the tree.
and i also stopped rotating multiple chains, i file the one thats on the saw untl its gone… might prematurely wear the sprockets but safes on clutter.
rarely tighten my chains while in the tree.
and i also stopped rotating multiple chains, i file the one thats on the saw untl its gone… might prematurely wear the sprockets but safes on clutter.
Mick!
TreeHouser
Never heard of rotating different chains.
Never going to do it mind, too much organisation required.
Never going to do it mind, too much organisation required.
Nutball
TreeHouser
It works if you keep spare chains to swap if one dulls rather than having to file it right there, which may take longer depending on the length & how dull it is.
flushcut
TreeHouser
Runn’em until they’re dead is how I roll. I will swap a chain that gets badly damaged beyond what I want to file out on the job. Or grab a different saw, have backups will travel.
Cobleskill
Treehouser
I just file til dead also. I get lots of miles out of chain, bar, and sprocket by keeping the chain sharp. I remember having problems when I was a rookie having chain cut crooked. Not sure what I was doing wrong, but that never happens anymore. Takes a while to get good at something.
I get curves in my long bars sometimes. I think my problem is a heavier hand filing one side of the chain, so the teeth are consistently shorter on that side. It's something I've been working on correcting. I don't really notice til one day I'm thinking "Damn that chain's unbalanced". I'm trying to catch it before it gets that bad.
teeth don‘t have to be equal. just file every teeth until it‘s sharp and than adjust each raker to each tooth. will cut like a laser.
Mick!
TreeHouser
Same.
I think what changed for me was I only ever sharpen at home, in a vice, well lit with glasses.
Plus a bit more application to the task, watching videos etc.
I guess. I don't have a progressive gauge. The options are painstaking gauging of the rakers, and teeth are what they are, or try to keep the teeth halfway even with controlled filing. I'm thinking option 2 is most expedient if I can get my filing under control. Using an averaging gauge, I can knock rakers out pretty quick. Count file strokes while checking the first few with a gauge, then filing the rest without the gauge, checking every so often as a sanity check.
Same same. Works a treat as you would say.
Recently I got a pair of 3x glasses for sharpening instead of using the usual 1.5x reading glasses. It works well
SkwerI
Treehouser
Under normal cutting situations, a chainsaw should easily last a tank of fuel without needing tensioning. Unless you are using the chainsaw as a brush hog and cutting a ton of small dirty stuff, using it like a lawnmower.
Dave Shepard
Square peg, round world.
Robert P
TreeHouser
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2014
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- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #42
Is there anything fundamentally different about the way an Echo saw and a Stihl or whatever a pro's choice is that would cause an Echo to lose chain tightness faster? Don't they all work essentially the same way? Chain driven by a clutched sprocket riding in/around a bar with a sprocket wheel at the tip with oil flowing from the saw?
Nutball
TreeHouser
Stihl brand chains tend to stretch less. Stihl may have tighter tolerances that keep the bar from pivoting up or down. Stihl may have less peak torque, but I'm not certain. Stihl bars may have different thermal expansion properties.
SkwerI
Treehouser
Then that would be described as abuse and whatever excessive wear or chain stretch you get is directly attributable to your abuse.
Nutball
TreeHouser
Sustained high rpm with low engine load can easily make 25-75% more revolutions, which adds up to that much more wear that much faster. I don't know that I would call it abuse necessarily, rather abnormal use which will result in different wear characteristics. Some people cut ice or cows in half with chainsaws, so they probably have to deal with maintenance differently than just cutting wood.
