New petrol chainsaw - what to go for?

[Weatherlawyer]

I take it you tried paraffin to see if the clogged orifice is unblockable? Paraffin is too thin for major lube use but diesel will do OK. What it lacks in viscosity it makes up for in volume.

[Another John]

Duh - well I try not to! How do I avoid blunting it? Eventually, I mean; my neighbour goes at everything like a bull at a gate, and that's why I never lend him my chainsaw. However, even careful, not to say delicate, usage of a chainsaw is not going to prevent it becoming blunt. Is it?

Except that ...

Well now that is useful to know! I didn't know that "3 strokes freehand" is good enough for touching it up.

That's also useful to know -- an acquaintance of mine (at the other end of the country so I can't natter to hom to pick his brains) once said he prefers to use a handfile over the Dremel gadget.

Cheers John

[Another John]

Yes, thanks WL -- I did try the paraffin trick, without success. (This is a year or two ago, when the saw first stopped oiling.) I was faced with dismantling it, when TNP popped up and said that he just brushes oil over the chain every few minutes -- quick and easy; and as far as I was concerned, infinitely preferable to spending a miserable few hours dismantling and trying to reassemble with no guarantee of success.

J.

[Muddymike]

That was me, I start mine with a sniff of gas all the time now. Its at hand and just works.

Mike

[Huge]

Yep. Brilliant trick, and thank you!

[Weatherlawyer]

You could wash out the reservoir then fix a valve in it with some Heath Robinson diaphragm and put enough air pressure in there to blow the obstruction out.

That's assuming it is a blockage and not just a broken oil lever.