chainsaw not cutting

[luckydux]

How goes it fella's? I posted this on another site a couple days ago but after doing my morning googling I ran across this thread and noticed all the advice he was getting so I figured I would get more help here.

I can take all the ribbing you got so don't go lightly
I dug out my mother in laws chainsaw and I believe its a husky 55 rancher. I've been researching and now I'm confused about what I started googling so it could be a 455. Anyhow I dumped the old gas out put new in and fired it up. I decided to cut down a tree and see how it would do. Cut a rather large tree down like it was nothing. Then I let a buddy have a go with it and he got it binded on his first cut. I got my other saw out and cut it free and then kept on cutting branches with my other one so I didn't cut much more with the rancher...however when I did it just wasn't cutting like it did when I initially fell the tree. Found a new husky chain (H80) in the shed and put it on..same problem, won't cut.
I feel as smart as a tree after trying to figure this out and my best guess is that somehow when it got in a bind it did something. The bar looks straight but it seems like the chain is tilting in the track. The track looks okay to me as well but ?? I put the old chain back on cause it seems like it was cutting better than the new one and I was wrong..same result.
To sum up my issue...the rancher is cutting like I had the chain on backwards...no I don't have the chain on backwards ...been there

Does anyone care to guess what the problem is?

Thanks for any info

 

[luckydux]

Update..
I picked up a new bar as well as a chain just because its eating at me to know what the deal is... however, the issue remains. A couple other things I noticed was that its not cutting straight, it starts going left. The other is that the tension screw is all the way forward and I can't go anymore. When I put a chain on its tight..."try" to make a cut and its loose. Its not so loose that it comes off the track and I'm not sure if it can but its looser than I like. I put about all I got into the 2 nuts holding the bar on when I tighten them down and I can't turn the chain tensioner screw so I have to back off the nuts a bit before I'm able to tighten the chain back up. I'm missing something here

Its a 455 rancher and I'm not sure of its age but it has a sticker on it that has 2002 on it. Its dirty but looks to be in great shape

 

[TPA]

It probably is a 55 rancher. Husqvarna switched the name lately to 455 rancher.

Since you bought a new bar, eliminate that as the culprit for now. Get a real close look at your new chain and see if anything dulled it as soon as it was used, if not eliminate it as the culprit, if it is dulled find what is dulling it. Inspect the entire clutch area of the saw for dammage from the chain rubbing.

If the bar and chain are both eliminated as the culprit, you might want to try full chisel chain (avoid the safety chain sold at Lowes). If none of this works, you will need to consult with someone more knowledgable than myself.

 

[Dave Boyt]

Is the oiler working ok? I had mine clog up, and the chain stretched pretty quickly to the point where, as you described, it had to be adjusted all the way out, and was still loose. When I compared it to a new chain with the same number of links, it was more than a link longer. That'll also put wear on your sprocket. Good advice about the safety chain. They're pretty worthless, as far as I'm concerned (try bore cutting with one).

I've run a .050 chain in a .058 bar and wondered why it wouldn't cut straight.

Biggest goof was accidentally putting Diesel fuel in my Husq 372. I had to adjust the carb, but it did ok for two tankfulls before I noticed it smelled funny. Saw still runs.

 

[luckydux]

Well first let me say that it says 455 rancher on the cover...the 2002 that is on the sticker I referred to, may not have anything to do with the mnfct date. Probably doesn't matter much..just wanted to verify

I've inspected it to the best of my current knowledge so if something was to be off I wouldn't know it. If I were to find what looked to be damage in the clutch area, what would that tell you?

The oiler was clogged but I got that squared away. So when I initially found the saw and fell the tree with ease, it did so with little to no oil...and now with the oil flowing nicely, it will leave some grade a skid marks and smokes more than me :confused2:

Another fella who just happened to see it in the shed today thought that the bar looked crooked to him. I think its just how the bar sits on this particular saw because to me, if it were crooked, it wouldn't be worth fixing.

I'm $75 dollars into what somehow has turned into a project of mine so there's no turning back...its getting fixed one way or the other. I just can't see how it did so well on the first cut and then this happened. Makes me think the problem is so obvious that a caveman could fix it so I figured I asked around online where nobody knows me before taking the walk of shame to the repair guy :msp_smile:

 

[rarefish383]

Almost every one of my non "Tree Service" friends has done this when putting a new chain on, or just tightening one up: They set the engine, power head, on a bench, put the bar, chain, and side plate on and let the bar tip sag down and then tighten every thing up. After the first cut every thing is loose. Cause? There is enough play in the bar tip up and down, that the force of you pushing down on the saw while cutting, will push the bar up and make the chain loose. Cure? Get a block of wood and stick it under the tip of the bar to hold it up tight, then snug your nuts down, and don't lean on them hard. I've actually pulled the studs out of the block on one of my Dad's big saws when I was a kid over- tightening them. When you get into longer bars, say anything over 2ft, you can really see how much play there is up and down.

When a saw cuts crooked it's usually the chain, not the bar. If it cuts to the left it usually shows that someone cut a tree down and got the right side too close to the ground and dulled the right side. There is a lot of dirt and grit the closer to the ground you get, and the right, bottom, side of the bar and chain is closer than the top side. At several thousand RPM it only takes a light touch.

After 40 years of sharpening my own saws my eyes have gotten bad enough that I let my buddy at Ace Hardware take care of that chore. He charges $4.50 for my 14inch chains and charged me $8.00 for my 36 inch 404 chain, that's a big chain. Folks can talk about the right angles and such on sharpening a chain and it can make a huge difference. That being said, if you use the propper size file and just follow the angle on the chian you will get it close enough that it will cut good enough for the average home owner use. My guess is that new chain you got out of the shed was actually a once used chain. Some one took a new chain, used it once and stuck it in the dirt. Bought another new chain, put the once used one back in the new box, and went on with business. If you think about it, there is really no way a new, sharp chain "can't cut". If you stretch a piece of new chain in a bow saw and work it back and forth by hand it will "cut". Your anallogy of the chain being on backwards is very accurate, and there are no other if, ands, or buts. If it was cutting like a chian on backwards, it was either on backwards or very dull, no other options. A sharp chain, spinning around, in contact with wood just can not, "not cut".

Good luck with your new toy, I mean saw, Joe.

 

[luckydux]

Alright, we're in business! Thanks to all for the info/advice and my hat is tipped especially to you Joe. You relayed your thoughts the way I needed to read them, which I believe is termed black and white

I realized I never put the new chain on that I bought because I just assumed that the chain I found in the shed was new because it was in the package and it was still sealed..so I thought. I still truly don't know that it wasn't new. Until today I hadn't tried to follow the directions to a tee when putting on a chain, such as keeping the tip of the bar up when tightening it down. Well today I did follow the directions and I did put on that new chain.. and you know what? :biggrinbounce2: ..like butter...and I didn't stop til the tank ran dry! Probably smiled the whole time too.
I'm still not certain what the deal was but I reckon if I get the itch and gotta know I could swap the bars and chains around until the problem is recreated. Chances are all I needed was a new chain from the get go and possibly putting the chain on correctly. I learn so I live another day...and I only lost a little sleep over it but I be fine uttahere2:

Thanks again folks, ya'll are great

Brant

 

[callan]

Only cutting tilted?

Hey guys,

Long time reader, first time poster. Sorry to revive an old thread, but I noticed the last post was only a few months ago, so....here we go.

I've noticed recently that my ms192t (12in bar) only cuts into the wood a little bit before its starts binding up. It almost feels like the bar is thicker than the chain. It seems that if I tilt the saw a little bit, as I am cutting, I can get the teeth to bite, and finish off the cut...but, it is really annoying me.

I have never had the bar dressed; is that the likely culprit? I noticed the same thing started happening today on my 044 with 25 in bar.

 

[Fedaburger]

Hello and welcome to AS. The easy way to see if your bar needs attention, is take the chain off and lay it flat on a table. Put a straight edge flat on the side, if you can see daylight under the middle just file both ridges on both sides until good and flat. The ridges will make the saw stop in the wood. Get the chain good and sharp and gauge the rakers all the same and she should cut as good as new. Good luck.

 

[mtngun]

my ms192t (12in bar) only cuts into the wood a little bit before its starts binding up. It seems that if I tilt the saw a little bit, as I am cutting, I can get the teeth to bite

Sounds like your rakers need attention.

Can't say more without a closeup of the chain.

 

[callan]

Thanks for the replies! Chain is sharp, and the rakers get regular attention as well. I usually bring the rakers down every other sharpening. I flip the bar every sharpening. I saw I a guy mention that the bar could be "mushroomed". What is that, and how does it happen?

 

[Fedaburger]

The reason the bar needs flipped is because when your cutting wood the pressure from pushing down causes the "mushroom" effect on the bar rail. The chain wear plus pressure of the down cut. You'll notice the top of the bar won't be warn as bad as the bottom. You can easily notice this buy taking the chain off and grab the bar with two fingers and slide towards the rail of the bar where the chain runs. You will feel a sharp edge on both sides usually toward the rear of the bar where most pressure from cutting occurs. If its bad enough you can see the ridges or "mushroom" effect plain as day. It's worse on the rear of the bar because thats ussually where your doing the cutting with the bar, close to the powerhead. After fileing the sides be sure to touch up the rail itself on top where the chain runs because it pushes the ridge when you file the sides up. They'll be sharp and you want to file until the sides and top no longer have the sharp edge. I hope I did ok explaining its somethin that would be easier showing someone. Lol

 

[flashhole]

I don't have anything to add to this thread but I want to follow it just for the entertainment factor.