Got a problem, need help

[bombdude]

Hi guys. Fairly new to the site. Started grinding p/t about a month ago & lovin' it.

I bought a stump saw (used Husky 395XP - a real testosterone producing machine) & am having a problem. The saw runs great, but...

When I go to cut a stump, I get a couple inches deep, maybe as deep as the width of the bar tops & it stops. Like hittin' a wall. Chain still goin', everyting fine, but it won't cut any further. Chain is sharp, oiler is working, even had my dealer sharpen it again for me. When it cuts, it's throwin out BIG sawdust.

I end up havin to ring the stump doin this, & split it off & do it again, til I get thru. Waaay too much work.

Let me say that I've been cutting firewood for nearly 30 years. I've got a Husky 42 that I've used for the past 18 or so of those 30.

New to the stump game, but fairly experienced with saws, at least smaller ones.

Anybody else experience this?? Technique or mechanical? I can't find any mechanical issue.

 

[ddhlakebound]

Are you having this problem with one specific stump, or generally the same problem on all of them?

If its just the one stump, its possible there's metal or rock inside, but if you hit it w/ you saw, all your cutters would be visibly dinged and dull.

If your having this problem in general, I'd say its a technique issue. When you're bucking firewood the weight of the saw helps carry it through the cut. When you're making the stump cut, you have no such help, and with a big saw and a long bar, pushing the saw through the cut is very difficult.

What to do? Dig those dogs in, and sweep the bar through the cut. Your power comes from the leverage you apply to the rear handle of the saw, with the dogs as the fulcrum. If it's throwing big chips, you shoud do fine, once you learn to use leverage on those horizontal cuts.

Good luck.

 

[WRW]

Could be the bar needs dressing.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Sounds like its going lean.





.

 

[Log Splitter]

Could be the bar needs dressing.

+1

Been there, done that.....

 

[BC_Logger]

either a foreign object or the bars worn out

 

[bombdude]

It seems to be all stumps. And I've tried the leverage thing, but it doesn't seem to help. Just gnaws like I'm cutting w/a dull chain.

When I pull it out, the kerf is narrow. It is tight getting the bar back in the same spot.

When I ring the stump, It'll throw big chips until it stops, & then I hit it again in another place.



WRW - I'll bite. what's involved in dressing the bar?? New term for me.

wolf dude - When you say going lean, as in the carb, or some other term?? If it's the carb, it's not an engine problem. It still runs fine. Just not cutting.

Sorry about all the questions. Still a few things to learn, I guess.

 

[bombdude]

either a foreign object or the bars worn out

Haven't found any foreign material yet. May be a bar issue.

 

[bombdude]

Oh, & thanks for the replies. Learned a lot from this site just lurking.

 

[WRW]

Dressing. If the bar is worn, it will sometimes develop a burr that is wider than the body of the bar and that will hang on the kerf. File the burr down and ensure that the rails are square to the sides of the bar.

 

[SawTroll]

Not really likely, but it could also be that the chain is a lesser gauge than the bar, or the rails are worn into a V-shape.

Assuming that the chain is properly sharpened, check the gauge, and if that is OK, try dressing the bar.

If nothing works, try a new bar and chains

 

[Timberhauler]

Once you've dressed your bar,try a new chain.When a chain gets filed down over half way,alot of times they cut just crooked enough to bind themselves in the cut when you are using a long bar and burying the whole bar

 

[scottr]

Bombdude , twice I've had a similar problem and it was that the right side teeth were damaged . Are the left and right teeth the same length and sharp ?

 

[mattinky]

Dressing. If the bar is worn, it will sometimes develop a burr that is wider than the body of the bar and that will hang on the kerf. File the burr down and ensure that the rails are square to the sides of the bar.

Good advice, bars develop "ridges" on the edges where the chain runs that need to be filed off from time to time. The groove the chain runs in needs to be cleaned too. It's also a good idea to flip your bar over every now & then so it wears evenly but you need to make sure your bar is "flipable" some bars only have oiler holes / adjuster holes on one side and can't be flipped. I too have experienced a saw stopping like you describe, in my case it was caused by an old worn out chain that that had been sharpened one too many times causing the kerf to be narrow although this may not be your problem. Matt

 

[bombdude]

Well, it seems that the chain was the culprit.

The chain I had was brand new. It had only been sharpened once by my dealer, by hand w/a file as mntioned in an earlier post.

I brought it in yesterday, & he looked at it, touched it up again, & tried it on a stump. Same problem. Said it must be the bar, however, it looked great upon inspection . Put on a new chain. It had noticably less side to side play than the other chain. Both 75 guage, but one was tighter than the other.

So far, 5 stump cuts & it's working great!!

I love my 395 XP again!! It's a HOSS:chainsawguy:

 

[WRW]

Cool beans! Now, as a pro user you might want to get a spare bar and chains to help avoid downtime in the future.