chainsaw stops cutting

Czhornet

I have a 62cc chainsaw and a good sharp chain (small pet hate of mine is a dull chain) the saw cuts straight but the last few days when cutting the bar goes down into the timber about twice the depth of the bar and sits there, not cutting anything, almost like its getting squeezed even though its not. The bar looks ok for wear (no lips and no burrs on the sides) have turned the bar upside down and still the problem exists, would the chain be worn or it there something else I'm missing?

MickeyShtyles

Czhornet wrote: »

I have a 62cc chainsaw and a good sharp chain (small pet hate of mine is a dull chain) the saw cuts straight but the last few days when cutting the bar goes down into the timber about twice the depth of the bar and sits there, not cutting anything, almost like its getting squeezed even though its not. The bar looks ok for wear (no lips and no burrs on the sides) have turned the bar upside down and still the problem exists, would the chain be worn or it there something else I'm missing?

Have ya filed down the ‘rakers’ ?

Czhornet

MickeyShtyles wrote: »

Have ya filed down the ‘rakers’ ?

I have, its cuts fine until it goes down 8/7 inches, the i have to turn over the timber (which is not always that easy) and cut from the other side

patsy_mccabe

Is the cut down dead straight? If not, then it will squeeze the blade. This is caused by one side of the blade being edged better than the other. That is, every second link is sharper.

Genghis Cant

That's what I'd say too. If you're sharpening it by hand you tend to file differently with your right and left hands.

( I thought I quoted patsy there but I missed it!)

Czhornet

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Is the cut down dead straight? If not, then it will squeeze the blade. This is caused by one side of the blade being edged better than the other. That is, every second link is sharper.

I splashed out and bought one of those Timberline Sharpeners, never seen such long shavings to come out of a chain saw before, so yes its sharp, evenly edged and cutting straight.

https://www.timberlinesharpener.com/

my3cents

All the cutting teeth should be the same length and the rakers which are also a depth stop to control the thickness of the shaving should be the same height and set to an exact height with a gauge.

If you have used a grinder on the teeth then there is a good chance you have filed them back so the rakers are now too high.

studdlymurphy

The chain could be worn in such a way thatbit is not cutting wider than itself and the bar of that makes sense? Then when the bar gets in the depth of itself it gets tight as the cut isn't wide enough? Possibly?

Genghis Cant

Is the bar oiling itself?
Aim the saw at a bit of cut timber,head on, ( careful not to touch the timber with the tip of the bar) Rev her well and you should be able to see the track of oil on the timber.

patsy_mccabe

Czhornet wrote: »

I splashed out and bought one of those Timberline Sharpeners, never seen such long shavings to come out of a chain saw before, so yes its sharp, evenly edged and cutting straight.

https://www.timberlinesharpener.com/

Well there's only 2 ways it could be getting jammed, either the chain is not edged right or there is tension in the timber you are cutting. I watched that video above and I think I see where the problem is. When you edge a chain you have to edge from both sides of the bar. Well, with that gizmo, you are edging all the links from the same side. That could be unbalancing the edge in favour of one side and causing the saw to cut to one side.

Cavanjack

Had the same problem this year. It's the guides I was told.

patsy_mccabe

Ya, if the chain did not match the bar, that would do it too. The drive links would expand when hot and get jammed in the bar guide.

Mr321

Czhornet wrote: »

I have a 62cc chainsaw and a good sharp chain (small pet hate of mine is a dull chain) the saw cuts straight but the last few days when cutting the bar goes down into the timber about twice the depth of the bar and sits there, not cutting anything, almost like its getting squeezed even though its not. The bar looks ok for wear (no lips and no burrs on the sides) have turned the bar upside down and still the problem exists, would the chain be worn or it there something else I'm missing?

Have you a picture of the chain?

Are you letting it cut straight down or doing a forward and back formation when it goes the depth of the bar into the wood?

dzer2

How old is the saw and has it done much cutting and is the engine under much pressure when jammed.
When you are cutting from the top down watch the chain and see if it is vibrating or hopping a little on top of the bar.

An old saw can were out the drive sprocket especially if you have let a worn chain run on it for a time and what you will get is the saw will cut a certain thickness of timber no problem and then jam.

my3cents

dzer2 wrote: »

How old is the saw and has it done much cutting and is the engine under much pressure when jammed.
When you are cutting from the top down watch the chain and see if it is vibrating or hopping a little on top of the bar.

An old saw can were out the drive sprocket especially if you have let a worn chain run on it for a time and what you will get is the saw will cut a certain thickness of timber no problem and then jam.

You are supposed to change the sprocket with the chain even if you don't the amount of wear you'd need to build up for that to happen (if the case) suggests a degree of abuse that makes it unlikely there is any point helping the OP.

btw simplest option is to run 2 chains to one sprocket and change the chains over as they wear. Putting a new chain on an old sprocket means the new chain will stretch very quickly and you'll be adjusting the bar a lot more than necessary.

dzer2

my3cents wrote: »

You are supposed to change the sprocket with the chain even if you don't the amount of wear you'd need to build up for that to happen (if the case) suggests a degree of abuse that makes it unlikely there is any point helping the OP.

btw simplest option is to run 2 chains to one sprocket and change the chains over as they wear. Putting a new chain on an old sprocket means the new chain will stretch very quickly and you'll be adjusting the bar a lot more than necessary.

Hey I know that I have 2 chains here but I do a lot of sawing here. But have seen a chain and bar replaced with out changing the sprocket. I was only trying to find out if he had this happen to him. And no one is accusing the op of abusing his tool.

invicta

my3cents wrote: »

You are supposed to change the sprocket with the chain even if you don't the amount of wear you'd need to build up for that to happen (if the case) suggests a degree of abuse that makes it unlikely there is any point helping the OP.

I would suggest op tries a different chain on that bar and see, or else a different bar with original chain, then it’s a case of either,or!
As regards changing the drive sprocket with every new chain,is madness
Sprocket(depending on chain maintenance ) should be good for about 7 or 8 chains!

Thepillowman

Try turning bar upside down the rails on the bar may have spread a bit,or if the rails are worn chain drive links will be sitting on the bottom of the groove.

Czhornet

I got a new Oregon chain the weekend, it was half the price of a new Oregon bar so i said i would try the new chain first on the old bar. cutting perfectly again. The repair lad said the bottom of the chain links had worn and was causing it to get wedged in the groove of the bar, never heard of that before!! it was a stihl chain. Bar upside down now so hopefully I will get some more life from it before a new bar is needed.

patsy_mccabe

Was the old chain working away fine for a while before it gave trouble or was it new?
Did you turn over the old bar regularly?

Mr321

see if you can get a bar and chain from someone else and try it on yours and see if its cutting ok... then then try their bar on your chain, then your bar on their chain and eliminate the problem

Czhornet

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Was the old chain working away fine for a while before it gave trouble or was it new?
Did you turn over the old bar regularly?

The teeth on the chain were more than half worn and has a good bit of timber cut, age wise probably around a year old.
I don't normally turn the bar around, I should probably do it more often.

Genghis Cant

Czhornet wrote: »

The teeth on the chain were more than half worn and has a good bit of timber cut, age wise probably around a year old.
I don't normally turn the bar around, I should probably do it more often.

Any wear on the sprocket?

patsy_mccabe

Czhornet wrote: »

The teeth on the chain were more than half worn and has a good bit of timber cut, age wise probably around a year old.
I don't normally turn the bar around, I should probably do it more often.

Something very wrong here. The chain drive links (those in the bar groove) shouldnt wear that much. I was edging my own chain today and I checked when I bought it. Have same chain since 2012 and I cut, at a guess, 8 cubic metres of timber a year.

I checked the drive sprocket on the saw too and it has some wear, but it's the same one now for over 15 years.

Nekarsulm

Czhornet wrote: »

The teeth on the chain were more than half worn and has a good bit of timber cut, age wise probably around a year old.
I don't normally turn the bar around, I should probably do it more often.

What brand name was that chain?
Is your chain oiler working?
Have you cleaned the little oil holes into the groove in the bar?
Should need chain oil filling every 2 tanks of fuel.
Strange to hear of such rapid wear.
Have a husky 61 here that was bought in 1985 and it's still on the original sprocket
Has cut a hell of a lot of timber, too.

Thepillowman

Strange one on me as well any pics of the old chain?I usually turn the bar after a couple of days cutting clean oil holes and groove in bar(old hacksaw blade works well).Also remove any burrs on bar rails i use a carborundum stone.If saw is not oiling properly empty oil tank and flush with some paraffin a lot of crud builds up over time,refill with some paraffin and run saw without bar,keep sprocket side of saw pointing away from yourself.Refill with chain oil ideally oil and petrol should be empty at the same time.

Mr321

Is there any signs of burning on the bar? Chain may have been to tight and wore to far now along with the sprocket

cj maxx

Just marking this thread as ill be sawing soon

Czhornet

Nekarsulm wrote: »

What brand name was that chain?
Is your chain oiler working?
Have you cleaned the little oil holes into the groove in the bar?
Should need chain oil filling every 2 tanks of fuel.
Strange to hear of such rapid wear.
Have a husky 61 here that was bought in 1985 and it's still on the original sprocket
Has cut a hell of a lot of timber, too.

It was a Stihl chain, the new one is an Oregon. Oiler is working, reved it up and its spitting oil off the chain as it should. i run an air gun all over the chainsaw when cleaning it even along the grove in the bar to remove any muck and dust in there, spin the sprocket at the bar tip as well before oiling it.
Sprocket on the engine has little or no wear to be seen.
I will take a pic of the chain and post it tomorrow.

Czhornet

Mr321 wrote: »

Is there any signs of burning on the bar? Chain may have been to tight and wore to far now along with the sprocket

No burrs on the bar at all, and definitely no burning. If chain was tight it would stop quicker after revving the saw and i would noticed that.

Czhornet

Here are some pics of the old chain, there is some wear there alright but the old bar is working perfect with the new chain. The chain oiler is working too

patsy_mccabe

Czhornet wrote: »

Here are some pics of the old chain, there is some wear there alright but the old bar is working perfect with the new chain. The chain oiler is working too

That 2 on the cutting link refers to the pitch of the chain. It's 0.325".
The 5 on the lower link refers to the Gauge of the drive link. That's 0.058" (1.5 mm).

Would be interesting to see what the values are on the current chain, that's working fine.

Values here;
https://www.stihlusa.com/information/how-to-guides/saw-chain-identification/

Thepillowman

Are the top of the rails on the bar worn level with one another & are they square with the side of the bar?

Czhornet

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

That 2 on the cutting link refers to the pitch of the chain. It's 0.325".
The 5 on the lower link refers to the Gauge of the drive link. That's 0.058" (1.5 mm).

Would be interesting to see what the values are on the current chain, that's working fine.

Values here;
https://www.stihlusa.com/information/how-to-guides/saw-chain-identification/

Same details on the new chain .325 x 1.5mm x 76 Drive links only this time its an Oregon chain

Thepillowman wrote: »

Are the top of the rails on the bar worn level with one another & are they square with the side of the bar?

Looking along the length of the bar, they look level across from on side of the bar to the other, i must put a square on it to be sure.

my3cents

I won't state anything myself because there are far to many experts here but this this seems to cover the OP's pics http://www.stihl.co.uk/p/media/download/uk-en/Chainsaw%20Booklet.pdf ...

Condition:
Peening or premature flattening on bottom of cutters and tie straps.
Cause:
Loose chain tension. Dull cutters. Lack of lubrication. Chain has
been forced to cut.
Remedy:
Chain must be replaced if badly worn. Check chain tension and
cutter sharpness more frequently. Check guide bar for wear
or damage.

Condition:
Burring and peening in notch of tie strap.
Cause:
Worn chain sprocket.
Remedy:
Replace sprocket and chain.

Edit> A one page guide with pics here https://www.stihlusa.com/WebContent/CMSFileLibrary/charts/STIHL-Saw-Chain-Wear-Guide.pdf