Narrowing bar groove

[Nutball]

I have a worn out .063 bar that I want to get working again to use for trees filled with nails to save my new 32" total bar and super rs chain. Why buy a new cheap bar if you can fix a worn out one? The chain for it is still about .063, the bar nose is .076 and the middle of the bar is as wide as .081". Is it possible to close the gap some? I wish the gauge was narrower, so I could use a bigger chain as it wears out. I have already tried clamping the rails until they are bending and almost touching, but they spring back to being too wide. I just thought it was worth a try to fix since I can't afford much.

Otherwise does anyone have a useable wore out husky large mount bar of a smaller gauge that might now fit a .063 ,68dl I think, chain?

 

[Burnham]

Even if you were to be able to close the rails at the outer edges, it would still be worn too wide deeper in. The chain would still rock back and forth side to side. It's not likely to be worth the effort.

 

[Magnus]

I fix up bars sometimes. and I think yours is worn to the point it is not possible to get it right.

Have you ever thought about why it gets wider?

If all is well the chains tie straps ride on the rail evenly and drive ling is not in contact with the rails/sides.

 

[Nutball]

I was afraid the deeper part would still be too wide, but it would at least help. It was the first bar I ever used, cheap from china. I think the last time I used it I was burning it up in a hedgeapple stump with a cheap chain, and I've learned dull chains tend to cut crooked wearing out the groove. And cheap oil doesn't help

 

[Nutball]

I would use the same cheap chain with it, so it could go dull after a couple cuts and cut too crooked especially with that wide of groove. I'm just hoping I don't come across another tree like I had a month ago, luckily it was not my saw I was using. I cut the bottom of the log and hit a big nail, I cut the top and hit another nail, I moved 6" and chewed on a cable. My friend hit the one nail that could be seen from the outside. That sucked

 

[woodworkingboy]

I have an old chainsaw maintenance book that has a drawing of closing the rails by putting in a metal shim all the way down to the bottom of the groove and then tapping the bar with a ball peen hammer as you slide the shim along. The shim looks about an inch wide and i suppose that wide is best. I have never done it, but I'd first try the shim method and squeezing the bar between the jaws of my vise. I think that would require a long shim not to pinch the rails too close. With a vise, perhaps you could really work the thing so the spring back would be minimized.....especially a Wilton vise!

 

[sawinredneck]

There's always this, http://www.baileysonline.com/Chains...ols/WoodlandPRO-Chain-Saw-Bar-Rail-Closer.axd

 

[Nutball]

Well as I said I squeezed the rails very close together in a vise and they sprung back to their original spacing. It is a junk bar anyway, so I might see what happens when I squeeze them together completely and how far they spring back if they don't break.

 

[Jed]

Have you ever thought about why it gets wider?

I was told it was caused by top-plate angle. Old timber cutters used to swear by square grind because it used a 15% top-plate angle which (they claimed) made the drivers pull less hard on the sides of the bar groove. They said that with the 30 degree top-plates that the round file produces, the drivers pull much harder thus widening the groove more. Do you concur?

 

[Nutball]

How much difference is there in cutting performance with a high angle vs low angle? I tend to use 25 or 30 degrees, my dad always tells me to use a file guide, but somehow he ends up with about 45 degrees literally. I know cutting at a 45 degree angle to the wood grain goes pretty slow with a lot of powdery saw dust.

 

[SouthSoundTree-]

A steeper angle on the cutter should cut more aggressively, and go dull (less 'stay-sharp') faster, IIRC.

 

[Ed L]

My dad bought one of those bar rail closers.....doesn't work bad if used frequently, trying to close up a really worn bar is an exersise in futility.

Ed《don't know or care where it at.

 

[Magnus]

Chain, Sprocket/rim and bar is the key to a good use of the tool.
You need this to be good to be able to use the tool. If one is bad it quickly turn the others bad as well.
On the bar, chain and Sprocket/rim you can most often see if it needs to be replaced
For you I would say you need to think hard on 3 things.

Problem?
How?
Cause?

Your bar groove sound as it is wider in bottom.
Closing rails will not help wear, it might put a band aid on it, but nothing more.
This is usually result of incorrect sharpening and depth gauge setting.
Replace bar and chains. Sprocket/rim too if needed.

Best is to alternate 5 chains on a bar and Sprocket/rim. That way they wear evenly.

Changing one part of the trio leads to excessive wear.

 

[Magnus]

That's right. Maintenance is the key.

Looking over chain and keeping it sharp and lubed prevent all issues but normal wear.
If dressing bar and keeping it nice and straight is kept up it will wear down until drive link hit bar groove bottom.
Usually something else happen before this...

 

[Nutball]

Maybe hammering would work better than squeezing? My groove seems to be just simply too wide vs worn in a v shape. I just found the bar is very slightly bent too. I know I checked for that not long before I quit using the bar, but never noticed anything. I couldn't figure out why it would cut so crooked, I'm sure the wide groove didn't help, but the bend makes it worse.

 

[Bermy]

I know you're trying to save money but...buy a new bar.
Go on ebay or something, find a cheap one.

 

[Nutball]

Yea I know, I didn't find the bend until now. I would consider a forester bar, but I'm a bit concerned about the quality issues I hear of. I doubt they could be worse than some of the other straight from china bars I've had.

 

[sawinredneck]

I just sent you a private message, give him a call and see if he can hook you up.

 

[Nutball]

Magnus? I agree those wear marks will happen over time if the bar rails are not re-tightened. But myself filing my chain's cutters small to the witness marks, a spread bar would drive me crazy with its "on and off cutting".

I regularly hammer my bars to keep them tight.
The 28" Stihl ES German bar I have on my 395XP right now came originally with my 1992 Stihl 066 Mag.
That's over 24 years old. Thousands of hours on it and no wear marks like you picture

Regular maintenance is the key.

So Stihl bars fit Husqvarna?

 

[Magnus]

I don't think that is worth the money.
Sure it isn't pricey, but it is not good either.

Running crappy things is tiresome. And you will not be pleased with what you get..

Cutting near houses is a guarantee there is nails. It is a calculated risk. You may not hit them, but they are there...

I always informed customers they get to pay the chain(s) in the price..

 

[Nutball]

I always informed customers they get to pay the chain(s) in the price..

I'll tell my boss that. We hit metal 5 times with 2 saws in that log in a few minutes and had to keep resharpening. Finally he just cut until he got through one of the nails.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

If you let your chain working gently and regularly, it can cut the nail on its length, a little jerky though. It needs a resharpening of course but not so bad. If you push heavily on it, full power, the chain has all the chances to be trashed. I tried both ways !
Steel rope is an other thing, too hard for the teeth.

 

[treesmith]

I fix up bars sometimes. and I think yours is worn to the point it is not possible to get it right.

Have you ever thought about why it gets wider?

If all is well the chains tie straps ride on the rail evenly and drive ling is not in contact with the rails/sides.

Not true, except when saw is in upright position. Gravity is the culprit, combined with grit/sand/etc. When the saw is in felling position, the chain is "lying" horizontally, putting pressure, therefore wear, on the bottom edge. Which edge is bottom is relative to how the saw is being held at the time.

 

[treesmith]

Magnus? I agree those wear marks will happen over time if the bar rails are not re-tightened. But myself filing my chain's cutters small to the witness marks, a spread bar would drive me crazy with its "on and off cutting".

I regularly hammer my bars to keep them tight.
The 28" Stihl ES German bar I have on my 395XP right now came originally with my 1992 Stihl 066 Mag.
That's over 24 years old. Thousands of hours on it and no wear marks like you picture

Regular maintenance is the key.

Willard, I've had bars that looked more worn than that after only a couple of months. Not sure how you keep the paint on there.

 

[treesmith]

I keep scabbards on mine too. I can figure on about six months (maybe a year) of regular use out of a bar, refacing it about four times on the bench grinder during that time. After that, I chunk it and get a new one.