DeWalt noodler

[Old2stroke]

A friend has the big Dewalt with the 20" bar and it wouldn't noodle blocks worth a damn due to the long noodles getting jammed up in the side cover, so I eliminated the side cover and replaced it with a section of flat plate aluminum the same shape as the base of the bar. Now it noodles about as well as you could expect a 3/8LP chain to do. If you try this on a saw with the same problem, make sure the replacement covers the bar oil hole and has a clearance slot for the tensioner nub if it sticks through the bar. If your saw has an outboard chain guide plate, you might just need a stack of washers under the bar nuts.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

Noodling with a battery saw??? Haha

 

[NSEric]

Most of my saws will plug up with noodles if you hold them level with the bark while noodling but if you hold the saw on a bit of an angle they dont plug up because the noodles end up shorter. I'm guessing it's a 20-40 degree angle, just lift up on the rear handle until the saw stop plugging up.

 

[Franny K]

so I eliminated the side cover and replaced it with a section of flat plate aluminum the same shape as the base of the bar.

Often the chain adjuster is in the side or clutch cover. Which kind of makes a lump that clogs things up as often they put a side adjustment gear set in the clutch cover as well, The chain brake may be in there as well but it is higher so does not relate to clogging up. Some models seem to start the clog at the very rear of the clutch cover and one can watch it progress forward. Do you think it really matters if the noodles get thrown forward, a good amount of them?

 

[gggGary]

Sounds a job for a part 3D printed around a laser cut aluminum plate. My 261C tends to be a plug monster, I'd consider a better alternative to the factory cover.

 

[Old2stroke]

Often the chain adjuster is in the side or clutch cover. Which kind of makes a lump that clogs things up as often they put a side adjustment gear set in the clutch cover as well, The chain brake may be in there as well but it is higher so does not relate to clogging up. Some models seem to start the clog at the very rear of the clutch cover and one can watch it progress forward. Do you think it really matters if the noodles get thrown forward, a good amount of them?

Eliminating the side cover should solve all jamming issues but it would not be a good situation to have the noodles expelled forward as they might end up jamming between the block and the front of the saw as you get farther down in the cut. Keeping the chain speed as high as possible should help to keep them thrown out to the back. Unfortunately, if the tensioner is in the side cover, you lose the convenience of easy chain adjusting when you leave the side cover off.