Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen Backyard Dairy Goats My website @NourishingPermaculture
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
"Study books and observe nature; if they do not agree, throw away the books." ~ William A. Albrecht
Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen Backyard Dairy Goats My website @NourishingPermaculture
Kate Downham wrote:Is there any danger in using the same chain for a long time, while keeping it sharpened? One website my husband read said that it's supposed to be replaced after just one sharpening, but that seems really wasteful to me.
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't.
Dale Hodgins wrote:The main thing with bars and chains , is keep it out of the dirt. Keep it out of the dirt, keep it out of the dirt, keep it out of the dirt...
Diane Kistner wrote:. .and wondering if my bar is screwed up now because the chain keeps jumping off the bar and I don't think it's safe to use now. Is this something you'd take it in for servicing, or would just getting a new bar be the wise course?
"Study books and observe nature; if they do not agree, throw away the books." ~ William A. Albrecht
Diane Kistner wrote:I know all about keeping a chainsaw out of the dirt. Also not hitting fencing wire buried/grown into a tree trunk! But what else can affect the condition of the bar? Pinching? Yeah, been there, done that...and wondering if my bar is screwed up now because the chain keeps jumping off the bar and I don't think it's safe to use now. Is this something you'd take it in for servicing, or would just getting a new bar be the wise course? To be honest, I didn't realize until I started reading this thread that bars wear out and sometimes need replacing.
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't.
James Freyr wrote:Chain tension is adjustable, and chain jumping off a bar means it needs adjustment.
Will Meginley wrote:
Diane Kistner wrote:I know all about keeping a chainsaw out of the dirt. Also not hitting fencing wire buried/grown into a tree trunk! But what else can affect the condition of the bar? Pinching? Yeah, been there, done that...and wondering if my bar is screwed up now because the chain keeps jumping off the bar and I don't think it's safe to use now. Is this something you'd take it in for servicing, or would just getting a new bar be the wise course? To be honest, I didn't realize until I started reading this thread that bars wear out and sometimes need replacing.
Pinching can affect the longevity of your bar, as can the way you hold the saw while cutting. If you take the bar off the saw and sight down it you'll notice that the bar resembles a very tall, skinny letter "H" with a very thick center bar. Pinching your bar can cause the guide rails to splay inward, which causes friction with the chain drivers like hitting the brakes on your car. This heats up the bar, causing it to wear out faster, and puts unnecessary strain on the saw motor, causing it to require repair sooner. Inward splay can be fixed by running a large-ish flat head screwdriver down the channel until it's back where it's supposed to be.
They can also be splayed outward. This is usually caused by an inexperienced person getting a bar pinched and then torquing on it while trying to yank it out of the tree by brute force. If the outward splay isn't corrected, it allows the chain to flop side to side in the channel. The drivers dig into the sides of the channel and wear them thin. As you've found, it's also easier to throw your chain if you don't have it tightened properly. Outward splay can be fixed by putting the affected area in a vice and gently clamping it back to the proper width.
Both sides should be even in height. If one side is higher than the other it generally means you haven't been rotating your bar evenly. If you're sawing at an angle - such as making a face cut while dropping a tree, or cutting things off at ground level without getting the saw completely horizontal - one side of the chain strikes the tree before the other (for me at least it's usually the left as you look down the saw) this results in extra wear on that side. Every time you rotate the bar what was the left side becomes the right side so the wear evens out. If you never do, the one side gets all the extra wear - allowing the chain to flop to that side and wearing out the other side wall. You fix this by filing them even again. You can try to eyeball it, but it's easier to just get a bar dressing tool such as this one which is basically just a plastic jig that holds a flat file exactly perpendicular to the bar. They're pretty cheap - usually 10 to 15 USD - and unless you get into forestry or logging you'll probably never even need to buy replacement files for it. You can file the bar back to square a few times before the channel gets shallower than the driver length (at which point, throw the bar away).
If you pinch the saw in a really big tree, the weight can also cause the bar to warp. If you sight down the top of the bar and it doesn't appear straight, test it with a straight edge. You can fix slight warps (no more than 3/4 inch or so) by putting the bar in a vice and gently straightening it back out. For a major warp, I'd probably just ditch the bar.
Travis Johnson wrote:Another trick is to keep a spare bar and chain handy when you are out in the woods, that way if you pinch a bar, just take the chainsaw head off, put on the spare bar and chain, and then cut the tree in another spot to free the first bar and chain without wrestling with it.
Diane Kistner wrote:
James Freyr wrote:Chain tension is adjustable, and chain jumping off a bar means it needs adjustment.
I thought I did have it properly tensioned, but maybe I didn't. I usually check it frequently when working, but the day I was having trouble with it, I might not have checked it frequently enough. Thanks for the explanation and reminder!
Diane Kistner wrote:Wow, this is VERY helpful information! I didn't even know you're supposed to rotate your bar or why. Now I need to figure out how to give you some pie.
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't.
connor burke wrote:Im not very good with mechines so i try to have other people use them while i do grunt work. Do yall have a favorite chainsaw you would recommend? super durrable and safe recommends are prefered.
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't.
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Mike Jay wrote:Thanks for the great info Travis! My pawn shop regularly has a decent selection of used Stihl saws. Do the pro and homeowner saws share the same number? IE, can a 261 be in either product line?
If I'm going to be cutting 5 cord of firewood a year and maybe dabbling in an Alaska Sawmill for a couple 24" white pines (truly just a couple, not turning that into an ongoing hobby), which Stihl size should I get?
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Mike Jay wrote:I'm still not sure I'll attempt that and knowing that I need a huge saw for that and a normal saw for firewood makes it even more of a question mark...
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't.
Mike Jay wrote:Thanks again Travis! I just have two white pines that I need to cut down. They're in a swampy area that is a pain to get at. I figured with a chainsaw mill I could cut the boards off in place and carry them out. I don't have the equipment to pull the logs out of where they'll fall. I could turn them into firewood but it seems like more of a waste. And I have a buddy with an Alaska mill rig that I can borrow. Just need a saw for it.
I'm still not sure I'll attempt that and knowing that I need a huge saw for that and a normal saw for firewood makes it even more of a question mark...
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Standing on the shoulders of giants. Giants with dirt under their nails
Tj Jefferson wrote:Kate looks like she fell off...
Tj Jefferson wrote:but for cutting up small dimensional lumber, a chainsaw seems like a big tool.
SKIP books, get 'em while they're hot!!! Skills to Inherit Property
Mike Jay wrote:Thanks for the great info Travis! My pawn shop regularly has a decent selection of used Stihl saws. Do the pro and homeowner saws share the same number? IE, can a 261 be in either product line?
If I'm going to be cutting 5 cord of firewood a year and maybe dabbling in an Alaska Sawmill for a couple 24" white pines (truly just a couple, not turning that into an ongoing hobby), which Stihl size should I get?
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't.
Mike Jay wrote:I think he meant Kate Downham the OP may have fallen off the conversation since we've gone a bit past the original topic.
Natural Small Batch Cheesemaking A Year in an Off-Grid Kitchen Backyard Dairy Goats My website @NourishingPermaculture
Will Meginley wrote:
Mike Jay wrote:Thanks for the great info Travis! My pawn shop regularly has a decent selection of used Stihl saws. Do the pro and homeowner saws share the same number? IE, can a 261 be in either product line?
If I'm going to be cutting 5 cord of firewood a year and maybe dabbling in an Alaska Sawmill for a couple 24" white pines (truly just a couple, not turning that into an ongoing hobby), which Stihl size should I get?
Except for the 880, all of Stihl's professional grade saws end in either 61 or 62. 62 is the newest, but they still sell the 61 series. If it has the suffix "C" it has a computerized self-adjusting carburetor that is probably more homeowner friendly, but more expensive to repair. For older used saws you'd be looking for 026, 036, 046 or 066.
Taking milling out of the equation, an 036/361/362 is probably good enough for most any homesteading task. With a 20 inch bar, a sharp chain, and the appropriate skill level that will handle hardwoods up to about 20 inches and softwoods up to about 28 inches.
I bought myself a new 362 last year. I anticipate needing to replace it about the time my toddler gives me my first grandbaby. By that time there won't be any original parts on it, of course, other than a handful of bolts and maybe the gas tank. The 046 I run at work was purchased in the 1990s. And for what it's worth, we have a Husqvarna 272 that's older than I am (I'm in my mid 30s). We just had to replace its chain tensioner assembly (a ten dollar parts kit and a five minute repair job), but otherwise it runs fine.
Travis Johnson wrote:
Despite man's obsession with chainsaws and long bar lengths, I am quite content with my shorter length.
Kate Downham wrote:What is the ideal way to maintain and use a chainsaw for firewood to minimise having to replace parts?
Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't.
Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration --Thomas Edison ... sweaty tiny ad:
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