Saw cutting crooked? Check your drive links

[Pioneer]

Took out a saw that I finished working on today to do some test cuts, the saw came in with a pretty worn chain that was sloppy in the bar rail, but not the problem it came in for. The saw ran fine after I fixed it, but was cutting so crooked it couldn't get through 4 inches of wood!
I pulled the chain and checked the width of the drive links, they were worn so badly that they were shaped in a v with them measuring 58 thou at the top and 50 at the bottom.
I happened to have a similar chain in better shape which I put on to try out. The first thing I noticed was that there was considerably less slop of the drive links in the bar rail. The test cut was a success, nice and straight.

I blame the used crankcase oil the owner of the saw was using for the large amount of wear. So something to check for if your saw starts cutting crooked, and Just Say No to used crankcase oil on your bar and chain.

 

[Big_6]

Woodn't the crooked cutting be caused by uneven
L/R sharpening?

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[MacAttack]

Woodn't the crooked cutting be caused by uneven
L/R sharpening?

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That's been my experience, uneven cutters or depth gauges.

 

[Pioneer]

All of the teeth were very short and at the end of their life. What was left of them seemed to be pretty even in respect to length and tooth angle. But with the drive links worn as bad as they were, it would take very little variation in tooth angle between the sides of the chain to cock it during cutting. The rails on the bar were even and straight, so no grief there.
A chain that fits tight in the bar will be much more tolerant to small sharpening errors when it comes to cutting straight, and it's hard to get a chain perfectly even when you're sharpening it by hand without some type of jig.
The chain that I put on there to replace the bad one was also an old chain with no more than half the teeth length left, and it had one of my hand sharpening jobs which are never perfectly even as far as tooth angle goes. But because the drive links were in way better shape, it cut perfectly straight.

 

[Huskybill]

It’s either uneven bar rails or one side of the chain I’d dull.

 

[BranchManagr]

Always cutting as close to the ground as possible & picking up sand or nicking the gravel, would also cause uneven wear on one side of the cutters.

 

[Husky77]

I really cant understand people using old engine oil, just to save a little money. Which often ends up with a bar and chain beyond repair. All the manuals say to sharpen evenly but in practice as long as the raker is set for the cutter they can be longer nor shorter is that makes sense. For instance if you have a new chain and hit two cutters with a nail and the cutter needs filling back 3/16" to get a sharp edge again, you dont want to go taking back every cutter to the same length just because the book says so. It will cut perfectly well and if you beleive me try it. Sharpening any tool is an art, anyone can put a cutting edge on a tool but it takes experience to sharpen consistently and have a perfect edge every time.
If your one that is happy on a new chain out of the box being sharp, your going to cut wood. It will have a good edge but can be made sharper and its kinder on the saw too.

 

[rogue60]

More harm wear and damage is done to bars and chains from continuing to cut with a dull chain or continuing to cut with a chain wanting to cut crooked than what oil is used IMHO.
Even if the best top tier bar oil is used you can smoke a new bar/chain in less than a tank of fuel if the above neglect is continually forced.

 

[HarleyT]

OIL THREAD!!!!!!!!

 

[Shaner58]

I really cant understand people using old engine oil, just to save a little money. Which often ends up with a bar and chain beyond repair. All the manuals say to sharpen evenly but in practice as long as the raker is set for the cutter they can be longer nor shorter is that makes sense. For instance if you have a new chain and hit two cutters with a nail and the cutter needs filling back 3/16" to get a sharp edge again, you dont want to go taking back every cutter to the same length just because the book says so. It will cut perfectly well and if you beleive me try it. Sharpening any tool is an art, anyone can put a cutting edge on a tool but it takes experience to sharpen consistently and have a perfect edge every time.
If your one that is happy on a new chain out of the box being sharp, your going to cut wood. It will have a good edge but can be made sharper and its kinder on the saw too.

That is the beauty of the 2 in 1 sharpener, it does the rake as you go and you don't get that uneven rake level you speak of I suppose. .

 

[cookies]

When I use the dogs my saws all seem to make cuts slanted to the right, I assume its due to leverage. even a brand new bar and chain do it. Am I correct?

 

[Husky77]

When I use the dogs my saws all seem to make cuts slanted to the right, I assume its due to leverage. even a brand new bar and chain do it. Am I correct?

If it does what you say with a brand new bar and chain then your forcing the saw far too hard. When you dog in you shouldn't need to force it to cut, but one person's sharp chain is blunt to another. Even out of the box I run through every cutter to give it an edge I'm happy with.

 

[cookies]

If it does what you say with a brand new bar and chain then your forcing the saw far too hard. When you dog in you shouldn't need to force it to cut, but one person's sharp chain is blunt to another. Even out of the box I run through every cutter to give it an edge I'm happy with.

The chains are very sharp, its to make the cut faster in larger diameter trunk wood. I found it to be more pronounced when using light bars.