Probably Easy Chainsaw Question for You Guys

[sawinredneck]

But when the bar is in as bad a shape as this one is, is it really worth the effort?

 

[Al Smith]

I could get it straight most likely .

I can't ever remember bending a bar .Which is not to say I haven't hung a saw before .Fact I once had two hung in the same tree and needed a third to retrieve the other two .

 

[sawinredneck]

I could get it straight as well, Al, but looking at the pick, even closing up the rails, it's got such a short life left in it, why waste $200 in labor for a $50 bar? I'm all for saving a buck, but that bar is worn out, no matter how straight you make it!

 

[Al Smith]

Well yeah if he had to pay for it I agree .Fact I have some that got so worn that even after dessing them with a belt sander only has one side fit to cut with.To me it's usable but probabley not for someone who uses a saw to make a living with .

 

[Tucker943]

But when the bar is in as bad a shape as this one is, is it really worth the effort?

On a harvester bar? You bet your boots.

 

[sawinredneck]

On a harvester bar? You bet your boots.

But this is a Stihl wood boss chainsaw, just trying to keep things in perspective for the OP.

 

[Tucker943]

Ya, toss it.

 

[Burnham]

Yup.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Scrap

 

[RSWMTB]

Went to another STIHL place** from work and bought a new bar, raker guide anf flat file kit, and two new chains yesterday. I have a sprocket (the one with with the disc body and replaceable sprocket heads)

Going to re-boot and start fresh. It's a great machine, and I want to take care of it well.

As for the rakers...I was using the STIHL file tool IAW with the specs, and yeah, I was wondering why they looked wierd. If you use the STIHL tool the way they ask, it is @ a slight angle, because the tool 'tracks' on the teeth, which seems to be why the slight slant on rakers.

I'll post up more...when i re-assemble and do some more work w it.

Thanks,


R



** the local STIHL place where i live closes @ 5, and my work commute is 29 miles..I never make it during week. I went to different STIHL place from work to get supplies.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I would like to know more about your set-up......type of wheel....just anything you could add.....pic, would be a plus.
Ron

Really not worthy of a picture and it wouldn't show much. I simply mount an abrasive metal cut off wheel, the kind found in any metal fabrication shop, onto my tablesaw. The cut off wheel has the abrasive on the sides as well as the edge, so I lay the bar on it's side and pass it lightly back and forth against the side of the wheel to give a square edge. Obviously the wheel needs to be square to the table. The wheel will deflect with over pressure, so it helps to have a piece of plywood against it on the arbor of the saw for added stability. Not essential, but helps. I generally put on a used wheel that has decreased diameter and will fit on my saw. The new ones have quite large diameters. I suppose one could be cut down somehow if you can't find smaller diameter ones new. Fabricator might have them, they have to toss them when they get too small for the cut off saw. No danger involved that I can see, they don't grab. I suppose if you racked the bar real hard against the wheel it could possibly break, but they are rather flexible, plus that backing wood I suggested. Don't let the wheel get too thin, they are real tough and don't wear much. Clean out any dust in the saw first, you will get sparks shooting down there.

Probably the hole in the cut off wheel is larger that the saw arbor. Make a wooden insert thinner than the wheel, to center on the arbor.

 

[Magnus]

Low depth guage/rider/raker compensate a not so sharp tooth.
Makes chain vibrate, cut odd, wear excessively, and cuts slower in wood. Also increase risk of getting kicked!
Better to have a sharp tooth high rider and fast cutting speed!
If chain is sharp you rarely need to touch raker, two times per chain or so.

This "main" chain does not look sharp on left tooth and even worse on right tooth.
The other is less unsharp on left tooth.

 

[Jomo]

Good advice Magnus,

There's a science to it, best heeded for good cutting performance.

Jomo

 

[gunrac]

Really not worthy of a picture and it wouldn't show much. I simply mount an abrasive metal cut off wheel, the kind found in any metal fabrication shop, onto my tablesaw. The cut off wheel has the abrasive on the sides as well as the edge, so I lay the bar on it's side and pass it lightly back and forth against the side of the wheel to give a square edge. Obviously the wheel needs to be square to the table. The wheel will deflect with over pressure, so it helps to have a piece of plywood against it on the arbor of the saw for added stability. Not essential, but helps. I generally put on a used wheel that has decreased diameter and will fit on my saw. The new ones have quite large diameters. I suppose one could be cut down somehow if you can't find smaller diameter ones new. Fabricator might have them, they have to toss them when they get too small for the cut off saw. No danger involved that I can see, they don't grab. I suppose if you racked the bar real hard against the wheel it could possibly break, but they are rather flexible, plus that backing wood I suggested. Don't let the wheel get too thin, they are real tough and don't wear much. Clean out any dust in the saw first, you will get sparks shooting down there.

Probably the hole in the cut off wheel is larger that the saw arbor. Make a wooden insert thinner than the wheel, to center on the arbor.

Was thinking cut off after I posted thread...........thx

 

[MasterBlaster]

Hey, Gunrac - welcome to the TreeHouse!

 

[Magnus]

Chain diagnostic's tell you a lot of performance on the chain.
Dark areas on top plate tells a story. It should have been shiny. Sprocket is gone and should be replaced when bar go.
Most hrs runtime is if both sprockets are changed as well as chain. Preferebly chains, 5 or more on each set. Then they wear together.

Were it wears, how it wears and amount of force it eats without producing.

It is not important how long each tooth is if they are blunt and can't cut anyway..

I have pro's here that run beech 11 months a year, 8-10hrs/day. Record is two bars in a year, each bar running thru 30 chains I think.
A test bar I got to try out.
Sadly the production run of it was way too short.

 

[gunrac]

Hey, Gunrac - welcome to the TreeHouse!

Thx.....long flippin winter............I've done everything i can reach from the roads an drives......everything else i have, is crawling thru yards an such.....can't move any equipment now, at least a foot of snow everywhere......i don't even want to go out in the garage to work, tired of hearing the torpedo run.......sux when u have to where earplugs, just to sharpin chains............not much else to do but poke around these sites..........i've picked up quite a bit roaming around....

 

[MasterBlaster]

It's being a longer than normal winter for us, too. Our normal winter is about 60 days.

 

[Cut4fun]

Thx.....long flippin winter............

Man whatcha doing following me. Yep I'm ready for some 40's big time. Let alone higher. -12F this morning at 0630 without wind chill.

I've met gunrac and is a good dude . Now if I could just get him to bring beer when he stops by.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

For me, it's normal that the chain has the both sides different, because of the worn bar. When you file one side, you push the chain against the (relatively) good side of the bar, and you get the right high and angles. But when you file the other side, you push the chain against the worn side of the bar, so the links tilt under your file and take a bad shape (bad high, angles and curved edge).

That's a lot of work to true your bar. First, straightening the bar, then bending the worn rail toward the good one to retrieve a good groove's width, last, grind the rails to make them square and even. Oh, and put a new chain on it, because the old one is more worn one side.
With that done, you get a good bar for some hours. But it doesn't last long, at all, because one rail is thinner and wear faster, so the chain tilt on it and put more pressure and wear on it. And then comes the banana cut again. Way too quickly for the time and $ involved.
That even doesn't worth your time on the bench.
Trash this bar, chains and sprocket, to begin with a new set.

One other thing that you should look at is the oiler. If the chain doesn't get her amount of oil, she has a hard time, wears fast and can destroy the bar quickly, like this one.

Last thing, if you hit a stone or grit in a stump for example, don't try to absolutely finish the cut. Stop to file or swap the chain, or you'll get this exact wear pattern.
I know that 'cause I did that.

 

[RSWMTB]

Spittin oil just fine.

Didn;t hit stone or nail, etc.


been using the saw a LOT sine october, so i treated her to a brane new bar, and two chains.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Great post, Marc-A!