Chainsaw Bar worn out?

[Fellin Feller]

When your cut through a log starts going on a curve rather than straight, this means the bar is worn out?
The chain was sharp.

 

[computeruser]

Not necessarily, but it suggests some investigation and bar maintenance may be in order.

 

[Clyde85]

The cutters on one side of the chain could be shorter than the other side.

 

[HarleyT]

Put up a pic of the chain!

 

[johnsayen]

Most likely a chain with shorter cutters on one side. This thread spawns a good question. What are the signs of a worn out bar?

 

[Big_Eddy]

Chain issues
Uneven tooth length
Different tooth angles
Different file height
Damaged tooth or teeth
Forgot to sharpen one side
Bar rails worn unevenly
Bar rails spread
Bar chain mismatch


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Fellin Feller]

It does look like the bar rails are uneven. Can this be fixed?

 

[Canyon Angler]

Yes. File the bar rails even and square.

 

[HarleyT]

Put up some pics!

 

[Philbert]

It does look like the bar rails are uneven. Can this be fixed?

Yes as @Canyon Angler above notes. But why are they uneven?

That is why you need to also check the chain. Equal length cutters? Same angles? Same depth gauge settings? Do you periodically flip the bar?

Philbert

 

[Huskybill]

I square the work table to the belt on my 1” belt sander and make the bar rails even again. Next I sharpen the chain and do the rakers. If we hit something on the right or left teeth the chain can cause a angle cut too.

From when the chains are new I count how many passes I make on each tooth. I do the same thing with the rakers.

 

[Canyon Angler]

FWIW, usually when my saws start cutting in an arc, I find that the chain is dull, and sharpening the chain generally restores it to cutting straight.

I've never had to level or "square" the bar rails. (Not that they never get uneven -- only that it's never happened to me that I remember.)

Somewhere (in an owner's manual maybe) I read that "If your chain starts cutting in an arc, that usually means it needs sharpening."

For sharpening, I once bought a jig (Granberg), but hated it. A buddy recommended freehand filing, and I tried it, and never went back. It seems to work fine. I use a Stihl file handle that has the proper angle molded into the handle, which helps a lot on chains that (unlike Stihl chains) lack the lines embossed into the teeth that show you the proper angle.

 

[Mad Professor]

 

[HarleyT]

I try not to spend much time on speculating with nothing to go on.

Without pics, it is really silly to just suggest random ****. A simple search could serve that purpose nicely.

 

[MacAttack]

Pulling to the left or right could mean needs an alignment done (hard to say without pics of the cutters).

 

[Philbert]

I square the work table to the belt on my 1” belt sander and make the bar rails even again.

It might be obvious, but if you use the same sander / table saw / etc. for wood, clean out the sawdust first: sparks and sawdust get exciting fast!

Philbert

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

A chain flopping around in a worn groove with a bur on the rail edge will always cut crooked.

 

[old CB]

Decades of saw use, and I've never had a problem that could be traced to the bar. Not to say that it can't happen, but I've never seen it in almost 50 years. Of course I maintain my bars.

When a saw cuts a curve thru the wood, it's because the teeth on one side of the chain are doing their job correctly, and the other teeth are not. You may have hit stone, steel, or whatever that affected one side of cutters but not the other. Or, through repeated sharpening you may have shortened the cutters on one side more than the other.

Your chain is most likely at fault. Easy diagnosis--fit a new chain and see how it cuts. You'll know in an instant. If the new chain cuts right, you're good to go. If not, then you have a bar problem.

 

[johnsayen]

Decades of saw use, and I've never had a problem that could be traced to the bar. Not to say that it can't happen, but I've never seen it in almost 50 years. Of course I maintain my bars.

When a saw cuts a curve thru the wood, it's because the teeth on one side of the chain are doing their job correctly, and the other teeth are not. You may have hit stone, steel, or whatever that affected one side of cutters but not the other. Or, through repeated sharpening you may have shortened the cutters on one side more than the other.

Your chain is most likely at fault. Easy diagnosis--fit a new chain and see how it cuts. You'll know in an instant. If the new chain cuts right, you're good to go. If not, then you have a bar problem.

This last paragraph is perfect advice.

 

[HarleyT]

My wife insists that I have a bar problem..........