Maintenance

[woodturner]

I was just looking through the free maintenance & safety manual I got from Oregonchain.com. Lots of good info. & tips. It seems there's a lot more maintenance to a saw than I realized.

Did you know it prolongs the life of your chain to soak a new chain in oil before use? They recommend replacing the drive sprocket after 2 chains.

1) How many already knew all this stuff?

2) How many actually do all the maintence required on your chainsaw?

 

[Lawn Masters]

I practically overmaintain my saws. The maintaining of a saw is unbelievalby easy work to save a saw from undue work.

 

[jokers]

Hi Woodturner,

Not to belittle your newfound knowledge, but I knew the things that you mentioned as I sure most other people who`ve been around saws for any length of time do also.

Now that you know these maintenance items, do you practice them? I rarely soak chains and change rims whenever they need it. I`m much more fastidious about other saw maintenance like keeping the chain sharp and lubed, fresh properly mixed fuel, or keeping the saw including the filters clean. I`m always subconsciously looking for broken or loose components and in tune with how the saw sounds. I figure that I`m doing OK since my saws last a long time and perform well while I`m using them.

Everyone gets a maintenance routine that works for them. I never found any great benefit in soaking chains.

Russ

 

[Lawn Masters]

I almost always soak my chains in oil to have them well lubed and ready for the new day of work. They tend to have less stretching when they are soaked overnight in oil, at least thats what my eyes tell me.

 

[rb_in_va]

oldsaw,
What sort of cutting do you normally do with your saws(firewood, TDs, pruning, milling etc)?

 

[tawilson]

I'm probably a bit anal about my routine. I swirl my chains around in some degreaser to clean them up before I sharpen, then soak them in oil afterwards. I file them by hand so the theory is a clean chain will help the files last a little longer, and plus when I take the chains out to use them they look clean and oily just like a new chain and it makes me feel good.

 

[tony marks]

that part about it makin u feel good is the most important thing .. dont u think.
my maintenance stuff is mostly sharp chains and clean mix an such. long as u effort to do proper maintenance is not something that unknown to u ,is somehow harmful to u saw .. i see no harm in it,, if it gives u peace of mind.
lets see now wheres my little hand vac. think i see a spot o dust on my saw.

 

[woodturner]

Hi Jokers,

"Now that you know these maintenance items, do you practice them"? To answer that in a word, NO, at least not yet. I just got my chain installed, and I received the booklet today. That's the reason I posted the question, I wanted to see what everyone else did, that has much more experience than me. I realize that manufacturers preach things that most veterans do not always agree on, whether it be chain saws, or some other piece of equipment. I didn't want to go to the trouble, if it didn't actually do any good.

So, I believe it is as you said, "Everyone gets a maintenance routine that works for them".

 

[JonnyHart]

It sure won't hurt it soak it. Never did it, but it don't sound like a bad idea. You guys dump extra oil on a bar and chain when you're flush cutting a stump? I do.

 

[lawmart]

wow im bad
never have time to soak a chain in oil never heard of any one doing it either, as for soaking them in degreaser be fore sharpening them wow that is so maticulas (Spelling) how do you find time to do all that .Prices of files add up but labour is more expensive than files.
chain is dull sharpen in the field (on site) to have menat the shop sharpening saws is alot of money waisted when they can be chiping or draging brush, or better geting up the d*m tree.
as for maintenence clean filter, nock crap out of side cover and i do pour oil over all my bars when i fill the saw up,dont now if it really helps but like some one said piece of mind.
Bars i flip when i remember,and sprockets well to be honest at $10 not as often as should may be twice a year????
as for other routines cant remember,not that i dont do it but it might be second nature.

Play asfe

lawmart

 

[JonnyHart]

How much time does it take to throw a new chain in a bucket of oil before ya go home? Like I said, I never done it, but it can't be time consuming. Unless ya got a vise on yer chipper/truck, sharpening in the field is for the birds unless ya dull a saw and can't just grab another. Maybe I just love the vise. Have one guy that can sharpen well do it in the morning at the shop, while others load the gear, and do routine truck/chipper/stumper/etc. maintenance. If ya got an arsenal of dull saws, go to work a little early. I hate showing up at a job with dull saws.

 

[tawilson]

When I get home, I put the chains in a can of degreaser and let them soak till after supper. Then I go sharpen the chains, put them in a can of motor oil, then hang them over the oil to drain off overnight. Then in the morning I take them off the hook and go cut wood with shiny, oily, brand new looking chains. Not much extra time, and it makes me feel good. I'm a one man show, and I tried the field sharpening and just would rather swap a chain out and sharpen it in the evening in a vise. I also pour oil on my bar when filling the saw, usually whether I mean to or not.

 

[NevadaWalrus]

Storing spare chains in a coffee can full of oil that are not on the saw seems a viable proceedure to follow. Not sure that removing a good sharp chain from the saw that's going to be used the next day is a time effective method.

As dry a climate as we have here in Vegas it almost alarming how often someone brings in 4 or 5 chains for sharpening and 2 or 3 are kinked and rusty. If they had been thrown into a can of oil when removed this would never happen.

 

[jokers]

Like I said earlier, everyone gets a system that they are comfortable with. For the guys who would rather swap chains in the field and sharpen at home in the evening, have you ever considered cutting a kerf in a log and using that as a saw vise?

I prefer optimal sharpness and enjoy filing periodically. I`d also rather not have chains needing maintenance stacking up throughout the day.

As far as soaking chains is concerned, what do you guys feel you are gaining? I figure if my chain isn`t requiring adjustment more often than every few tanks of gas, if even then, that I`m doing alright. Are you guys seeing less stretch than that? Are you saying that you could put a new chain on and then never have to retension after the initial stretch is gone? A far bigger factor in chain wear and stretch is dullness and worn bars and rims in my opinion. Furthermore, my bench doesn`t have room for a can to catch the drippings from a soaked chain.

To each their own. I`m sure that there are many right ways with subtle variations on the same theme and the satisfaction of doing things in a way pleasing to yourself is important.

Russ

 

[woodturner]

Messy

That's another thing I thought of. It could get quite messy when the chain is removed from the soak.

BTW, for those of you that do soak the chain, do you soak it in a container of moter oil, or in bar oil?

 

[bwalker]

I figure if my chain isn`t requiring adjustment more often than every few tanks of gas, if even then, that I`m doing alright.

You must not be one of those guys that needs a saddle on their saw. With the way some people cut its no wonder their chains stretch.

 

[woodturner]

Originally posted by bwalker
You must not be one of those guys that needs a saddle on their saw. With the way some people cut its no wonder their chains stretch.

Forgive my ignorance, but, up to now, have never heard this discussed. Could you elaborate a little on what causes the chain to stretch? The "way people cut", etc?

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

i aint got time to soak chains , but i do sharpen my saws on the job ..and now and again dress the bar [file of all burrs & level the rails ]..and ive never had a problem with chain stretch

 

[glens]

Originally posted by woodturner
Could you elaborate a little on what causes the chain to stretch?  The "way people cut", etc?

Undoubtedly Ben's got in mind when a chain is being used after being excessively dulled.&nbsp; We've all seen and heard it.&nbsp; Rock the saw handle up and down while forcing the bar into the cut, like it's some kind of handsaw or sawzall, or especially, <i>use those bucking spikes for extra leverage</i>.

By the time one has forced the situation like that through 3 or 4 cuts, causing undue strain on everything from the bar rails to the motor mounts, they could have touched the chain up with a file (or swapped the chain out, if that's the game plan) and <i>still</i> made the cuts properly.

Maybe I file too much and too often, but a used-up 20" loop of 3/8 chain only hangs 1/8" (or less) lower than a new loop; but that's Stihl chain which is somehow stretched initially at the factory.

I won't say I've never soaked a chain, but I can't even venture a guess how long it's been.

Glen

 

[ray benson]

My spare chains soak in assorted size plastic containers.Each
labeled and filled with bar oil.But it is messy. When you need the chain you have to hang the chain and let the excess oil drip back in the container. Then a quick wipe before installing the chain.
Each saw gets the chain squirted with extra oil when refilling the tanks.
Ray