How Do You Break In a New Bar and Chain?

[Chainsaw Pete]

Yesterday I mounted my new 25" TsuMura Bar (3/8, .050) and Archer full chisel chain on my MS350. I'd considered soaking the chain in bar oil as suggested by one of our members here when he cleans and sharpens chains but decided, even if I drained the chain, it would be an unholy mess. When I removed and uncoiled the loop from its plastic envelope I found a fair amount of oil on my hands. At first I was concerned how tight the drive links fitted in the bar, so I set the bar in the saw so the chain was loose (drooping below the bar), I pulled up on the chain above the bar and liberally squirted bar oil in the bar's slot. Then I set the chain's tension to be a bit on the loose side of how I would saw and started the saw. The saw spun the chain with no audible or visible strain, so I ran it for a few minutes at mid throttle and shut it down(saw's bar oil reservoir was full and the pump worked fine last time I used the saw).

Today I went to my friend's farm to help felling a tree. I repeated yesterday's procedure manually lubing the top of the bar slot, started the saw and ran it for a few minutes again at mid throttle with pulses to full throttle. Saw seemed to run fine, so I adjusted the bar/chain tension, and had at the tree. The tree was about 28" diameter 3' above grade and we dropped it exactly between two young trees with only one small 6" scrape (there was less than a foot clearance on each side of the log to those two trees). Then we cut part of the trunk into 4' sections and stopped because the rest was flat on the ground and footing was going to be muddy and treacherous. We will retrieve the logs with a tractor when the area dries out (maybe even next spring). I have to admit to being surprised how fast the new chain cut, and how easily the saw revved while cutting.

What would you guys do to break in a new bar and chain? I did what I described above because of what I've read on this forum in the last few months. A year ago, I would have just mounted the bar and jumped into a log.

 

[Section VIII]

Yesterday I mounted my new 25" TsuMura Bar (3/8, .050) and Archer full chisel chain on my MS350. I'd considered soaking the chain in bar oil as suggested by one of our members here when he cleans and sharpens chains but decided, even if I drained the chain, it would be an unholy mess. When I removed and uncoiled the loop from its plastic envelope I found a fair amount of oil on my hands. At first I was concerned how tight the drive links fitted in the bar, so I set the bar in the saw so the chain was loose (drooping below the bar), I pulled up on the chain above the bar and liberally squirted bar oil in the bar's slot. Then I set the chain's tension to be a bit on the loose side of how I would saw and started the saw. The saw spun the chain with no audible or visible strain, so I ran it for a few minutes at mid throttle and shut it down(saw's bar oil reservoir was full and the pump worked fine last time I used the saw).

Today I went to my friend's farm to help felling a tree. I repeated yesterday's procedure manually lubing the top of the bar slot, started the saw and ran it for a few minutes again at mid throttle with pulses to full throttle. Saw seemed to run fine, so I adjusted the bar/chain tension, and had at the tree. The tree was about 28" diameter 3' above grade and we dropped it exactly between two young trees with only one small 6" scrape (there was less than a foot clearance on each side of the log to those two trees). Then we cut part of the trunk into 4' sections and stopped because the rest was flat on the ground and footing was going to be muddy and treacherous. We will retrieve the logs with a tractor when the area dries out (maybe even next spring). I have to admit to being surprised how fast the new chain cut, and how easily the saw revved while cutting.

What would you guys do to break in a new bar and chain? I did what I described above because of what I've read on this forum in the last few months. A year ago, I would have just mounted the bar and jumped into a log.

I've just run the saw but made sure the oiler was working by visually making sure oil was being spun off the bar/chain.

 

[echomeister]

Add extra oil to the top bar groove before first run of dry chain and bar. Spin it around by hand to distribute.
Probably not that effective but i do it.

 

[trains]

Even on an old chain, if I have just cleaned the bar rails, or refitting a chain, I do as you do, and put a bit of bar oil in the top rail groove, and use the scrench to rotate the chain around a few times to distribute the oil.
Just correctly tension your chain by lifting the nose of the bar up, and bringing the chain up so it touches the bottom of the bar and get cutting. Check after a few cuts and re tension as required, no need to run a loose chain.

 

[Del_]

I just run it a few hundred revolutions under no load.

 

[Chainsaw Pete]

Just correctly tension your chain by lifting the nose of the bar up, and bringing the chain up so it touches the bottom of the bar and get cutting. Check after a few cuts and re tension as required, no need to run a loose chain.

I only ran the chain loose the first two times - it was correctly tensioned when I started cutting and I checked it after doing the wedge. I did that because the drive links seemed to be very tight in the bar - but the chain ran w/ no visible signs of overloading the saw. Quite frankly, I had no idea how to break in a new bar and chain and was going by what seemed logical.

 

[PV Hiker]

I just run it a few hundred revolutions under no load.

Agree... When you are out in the field and put on a new chain get the tension set right and hand spin it. If you like it then run the saw at no load and check the oiler for operation. And when you do put that new chain on, clean out the bar rails and the oiler port hole on the bar from all the packed-in oily saw wood dust.

Never thought of adding bar oil to the bar groves, but that would also prevent me from seeing if the oiler pump is delivering oil to the rails.