Does red oak clog your nose sprocket?

[Gark]

Never before while cutting less dense wood (maple, cherry, poplar, willow, etc.) has the nose sprocket 'locked up' like this when cutting red oak. Found lengths of red oak fibers jammed between the sprocket and side-plates causing extreme rotational resistance. With bar removed, couldn't even turn the sprocket by hand (normally spins freely). Was eventualy able to free the nose sprocket by digging out wood fibers using ty-wrap, pipe cleaners and WD-40 wash. This happened using both RM2 and RS(yellow) chains. It's the standard 18" Stihl rollo-matic bar provided with the MS-290 with .325 chain. Have sunk the bar into many cords of softer hardwoods without this problem.
Chains are sharpened to specified angles and raker depths (yeah, I ground down the '3-hump' anti-kickback links extra for Rm2), the drive-link channel is kept clean and the bar gets pre-lubricated for new chain loop. The bar drive-link channel is parallel throughout and bar/chain oiling (for a MS-290) is adequate (bar/chain don't even get warm). Does oak normally do this (hey- it's my first time cutting oak) or should I get a new bar (and drive sprocket)?
Chain tension is watched/adjusted carefully.
Thanks to everyone.

 

[smokechase II]

Never heard of this.
Never cut red oak.
I have had problems with the clutch sprocket and fishing line.
Maybe if you produced a different sized chip. That would mean having a lower raker.
Red Oak is obviously hard and combined with a lower raker this could be a very dangerous, prone to kickback, chain set-up. So please be cautious here.
Will be following this thread. Curious on the solution.

 

[Al Smith]

I've cut a bunch of red oak.If that chain is cutting good big chips,it will not produce that "bug dust" that seems to be your problem.
That tough wood cuts fairly easy if it is in somewhat of a green state.If however you get into something like standing dead it has a tendency to cut like granite[well maybe not that hard ]
I can't tell you what number of .325 to use because I don't have any saws that use that size.My suggestion is to get some standard round ground chisel,minus the guard links and give it a try.Baileys for example,sells ready made loops at a much discounted price than Stihl chain.It's always been a point of disagreement concerning the two brands of chain but Oregon has been around for years and a lot of people use it,myself included.
If you elect to try a loop of that chain you will find that it has some initial stretch to it.Make several cuts then retighten the chain,etc.It doesn't take long to get the stretch out of the chain.

 

[Banjoec]

This has been happening to me with a new saw. Same symtoms as you discribed. Seems if I don't bury the nose of the bar while cutting it happens less frequently. Annoying to have to remove the chain, clean the sprocket, lubricate it. The red oak I was cutting was laying for a year before I cut it.

 

[Gypo Logger]

When a bar and chain are new the tolerances are close, so unless the saw has lots of torque sawdust can cause binding. A new Cannon bar did this to me untill the bar had a few hours on it. A quick remedy is to drag the chain backward against a log exerting down pressure while hitting the throttle without trying to burn the clutch. I've seen the sawdust so impacted that the saw had to be dismantled. Always using full throttle can help to prevent this binding.
John

 

[West Texas]

I had hard dead oak clog a new bar as well; saw smoke coming off the end of the bar; when I knew the oiler was working well. I removed the chain and bar, cleaned out the bar groove with a knife, that I keep for that purpose and all was well. But that bar was hot when I took it off, almost too hot to handle.

 

[vince]

I just finished cutting a bunch of red oak this weekend and i noticed that after i had been cutting for a short period of time with and older chain it was just making saw dust and i had just sharpened the chain maybe about half and hour before. When i threw on a brand new chain that made all the difference. It cut nice and smooth and was throwing big chip. anyway that is my observation

 

[asb151]

I locked the sprocket on my 365 last week cutting oak. It’s the only time it ever happened to me. I attribute it to doing two things incorrectly. Not having the chain properly tightened and cutting at less than full power. It locked up good. Took about 15 minutes to clean it out and get the sprocket turning again. I was just another reminder to me to do things the correct way.

 

[Dadatwins]

Found lengths of red oak fibers jammed between the sprocket and side-plates causing extreme rotational resistance.

Is your oiler turned all the way up on the saw? Are you cross cutting with the saw? Cutting against the grain of wood? This will make long ribbons of wood that could easily build up on a saw like described, especially if you are not running full throttle.

 

[Gark]

Thank you for the responses and now I know why that happens and how to avoid it in future. I was cutting oak downed about 5 months ago, sometimes not quite at WOT and admittedly made some ripping cuts (not crosscut where the bar is 90 degrees angle to the grain) which causes long ribbons instead of chips. It's reassuring to see this has happened to others also. Although the MS-290 automatic oiler is turned up all the way, it seemed barely adequate in softer decidous woods and it seems not quite adequate in this oak. Found a thread here awhile ago where most other posters sort of agreed and one poster had a suggestion to increase the MS-290 bar/chain oil output (filing down a flat spot on the oiler piston? 'a little goes a long way'). I gotta try that, like to see better lubricating between bar/chain.
Thanks!

 

[pinus]

With new bar and fibrous wood this can happen quite easily.
Aspen, especially dead dry aspen is here the wood which causes such jam.
I prevent this with cutting at full throtle and with cleaning bar after evry bucking crosscut runing saw out of cut 1-3 seconds at full throtle.

 

[Diesel JD]

Yeash I have plugged my sprocket noses on my saws many a time in laurel oak and water oak, especially in a seasoned or semi rotten condition(I cut mainly dead wood for firewood) I use a techniques similar to Gypo's for getting teh sprocket free, however not wanting to kill myself witha kickback even I do not use the throttle whilst dragging the chainand bar down and back on the log. I wait til teh chain starts to move and then goose the throttle ever so slightly with the bar not touching anything and held away form all bystanders and potential snags rev it up carefully until the bind is cleared. If it's bad, you'll have to pull the bair and chain off and dig the crap out of teh nose sprocket manually. I don't know about how hard red oak is relative to my Florida hardwoods, but for me, and for most other firewood cutters as well as pros, the Stihl 26RS or Oregon equivalent(35LG) or Carlton equivalent(??) in round chisel will work great. Just keep 'em sharp. Sharpen every 2 gas tanks or switch chains every couple hours.

 

[keith c raymond]

Same thing happened to me this weekend cutting red oak with my new 357xp.it happened twice ,when making first cuts,let saw cool,adjusted chain ,ok after that.

 

[Sizzle-Chest]

anyone ever notice that fresh cut oak smells like Ketchup?

 

[luckycutter]

I notice more of a cinnamin/ allspice aroma going on. I cut predominately white oak/pin oak/black oak. (Never cut red oak that I remember) Never had a problem with my bar. I have often ripped the larger/knotty rounds to assist the splitting process and lessen the wear and tear on MY joints.

 

[Elmore]

Sassafras

Sassafras sure does smell sweet and spicy. I enjoy the fragrance when cutting them.

 

[Sizzle-Chest]

I notice more of a cinnamin/ allspice aroma going on. I cut predominately white oak/pin oak/black oak. (Never cut red oak that I remember) Never had a problem with my bar. I have often ripped the larger/knotty rounds to assist the splitting process and lessen the wear and tear on MY joints.

ya, im talkin bout white oak, im from oregon too, sure smells awful like ketchup to me! u from eugene Lucky? accordin to your profile, we graduated same school

 

[Banjoec]

I find most cut oak smells like wine. They use oak casks in wine making. Also like the smell of beech.

 

[ghitch75]

i cut tons of red oak and never had that happend...but all my saws run 3/8" full chisel...buddy of mine down the road has a 028 with .325 and he dosen't have any trouble

 

[luckycutter]

ya, im talkin bout white oak, im from oregon too, sure smells awful like ketchup to me! u from eugene Lucky? accordin to your profile, we graduated same school

I lived in eugene while at college. Now I live in Dallas.