Chain Saw Bar Wear

[Jonathan Goodish]

I am a relatively new chain saw owner who has Googled extensively and read the owner's manual several times. I have a good degree of common sense, and try to take care, but I am destined to make stupid mistakes anyway.

After about 2 hours of use on the new saw going through cherry and ash, I started into some oak about 12" in diameter with a 20" bar on a Husky

346XP (fast saw). I worked through this for about an hour and noticed that the the oak seemed to be getting progressively harder to cut, requiring more pressure on the saw as I moved toward the base of the tree (tree had been felled already). Eventually, the bar and chain began to smoke, and I probably made 7 or 8 cuts until the bar and chain were smoking so badly it became obvious that something was seriously wrong... the bar oil on the bar was bubbling from the heat. I removed the bar from the log and ran the saw for about 30 seconds to oil the bar and allow the smoke to dissipate from the bar and chain.

I inspected the bar and noticed that the paint had disappeared along the edges of the bar, the Husky lettering in the center of the bar was completely gone, and there were a couple of spots in the center of the bar where the paint had disappeared. I suspect that the paint had simply burned off at these locations.

Obviously, the chain was dull. Why that wasn't obvious when I had to force the saw to cut is beyond me. That's the bad news.

The good news is that I inspected the bar and didn't see any obvious signs of damage. I didn't notice any "bluing" of the bar metal where the paint is gone, and I didn't notice any burring or flaring of the bar rails. I did flip the bar over and put a new Oregon chain on it, and the saw now cuts like a champ. I am not sure why the original Husky chain became so dull after only 3 hours on the saw, as I took care to keep it out of the dirt and certainly didn't hit anything other than wood during operation.

My question: What signs of damage to the saw, bar, or chain should I be looking for at this point? I suspect that the paint burning off of the bar is premature wear at this point, but I'm not sure if that is a indicator of damage. Does it sound like I got lucky this time, or could something have been damaged that is not yet obvious?

Thanks, JKG

[--]

You should be pumping the manual bar oiler during all cuts and between cuts. Every time the gas is filled, the bar oil is filled too. Ensure you can see the oil flow out into the bar.

Larry

[Srgnt Billko]

I notice finer and finer sawdust instead of chips as the chains dull on my saws - but I haven't cut oak in a few years and that gets pretty hard as it seasons.

[JB]

As advised by a previous poster, you should top off the chain/bar oil whenever refilling your saw with gas. You should also be able to increase the oil feed to your chain to increase the lubrication there, either manually or through a screw setting. The wear on your bar is normal and can't be avoided. The paint is simply cosmetic. You do need to avoid running your bar/chain too hot. It can warp the bar somewhat; however you can take it in and have the bar "trued" if this happens. Make sure to tighten the chain periodically as it will become loose and prone to jump off the bar. Always have a spare chain or two for back up when going out to cut a lot of wood and always cut with a sharp chain as you're much less likely to have accidents when the saw is sharp and running well.

Like you, I spent about three hours yesterday afternoon cutting down and sawing up a couple of large white oaks (24" - 30") diameter with my 20 year old Shindaiwa 488 (18") saw. It had recently been tuned, bar trued and new chain installed. It ran like a champ zipping through the wood. Then, like your's the chain slowly gave out and I had to put on my spare.

To the last part of your question - you got experience! I doubt if anything's broken.

My Buck stove is going to love this white oak next winter. Like they say Wood warms you twice, first when you cut and split it and again when you burn it.

John

[Srgnt Billko]

Can also increase flow by diluting slightly by adding a little kerosene to the oil.

[Sam O'Nella]

At this point stop. Your chain is dull.

Keep in mind if you get the chain in dirt it will almost instantly dull the chain.

The teltale sign of chain health is the chips put off. They should be large shavings; when they become fine dust the chain is dull.

The bar is probably fine; the chain may have been fried though. If the teeth are blue they have been overheated.

Buy and learn to use a chain sharpener; I have a dremel attachment which works GREAT.