Too Hot To Cut ?

[YUKON 659]

I was removing a few cottonwood trees this weekend, temps. were mid 80's to near 90 and high humidity. I started to buck them up, and after about 10-12 cuts through 24"-30" logs the chain "bound" up on my 372. I removed the chain a checked it out, everything looked o.k., but the bar was pretty hot!!! Started a few more cuts and the same thing happened.Was it to hot to cut or could there be another problem? I've got the oiler set 1 setting from max., maybe not enough oil to the bar? Help!!!

Thanks, Jeff

 

[treeclimber165]

Are you using at least 3/4 of a tank of oil to every tank of gas? If so, then you should be getting enough oil. Big cuts, did you let the saw chain freespin a little between cuts to cool off? Or did you keep it buried in the wood for 15 minutes straight?

 

[YUKON 659]

Brian, the saw is using 3/4 of a tank of oil to a tank of gas. No I didn't let the chain freespin between cuts, I went from one cut right into another. I guess my lack of experience has shown . I thought the saw could keep up with me As long as the oiler is adjusted to the recommended bar length and I'm using the 3/4 oil to a tank of gas the freespinning between cuts should help?


Thanks, Jeff

 

[rupedoggy]

Yukon, Go to the thread titled "Cheapest horsepower you can buy". Check out all the things I mention there and also check to see if your bearings are going out on the sprocket tip (rough, loose, discolored?). Mike

 

[YUKON 659]

Mike, I think the sprocket tip is fine and so is the rest of the saw, I've only got about 10 hrs. of use on it. I think Brian hit the nail on the head, big cuts....too fast. I'll try again later this week and give the saw a "little" break in between cuts.

Jeff

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Yukon659

What size bar are you running? If your using anything 24" or bigger I'd open the oiler up all the way. Also if you hit the throttle out of the cut you will get a little more oil on the bar. I think this is what treeclimber165 was referring to. Good luck, Rich.

 

[Sethro]

Cutting softwood(Cottonwood,Basswood) in hot weather sometimes is hard on the bar.Seth

 

[Tony Snyder]

I haven't noticed so much with bars getting hot as I have the usual rash of older saw designs boiling the fuel. This starts to occure around 90 and up and mostly on the saws that do no have airflow designed to keep the crank heat from getting to the gas tank. Old XL12 Homelites were bad about this but there are others.

Have you varified that the bar oil you are using is actually getting into the bar grove. I don't automatically assume that, I've seen some wierd bar oil holes vs bar mount plate situations.

Since you have a pretty new saw you are probably O.K. but I've seen shops just sell the closest bar mount pattern they have on hand.

 

[YUKON 659]

Seth, just curious, why is cutting softwood in hot weather tough on the bar? As opposed to cutting hardwood.
Rich, I'm running a 20" bar. Yeah, I think you guys are right.

Jeff

 

[Keener]

For my two cents worth I have had the same problem with both "high speed" saws that I own when using .375 pitch chain.
What I found was certain types of wood produce chips of just the right size to pack the bar groove to the point it stalls the chain.
Spinning the chain at high speed out of the cut now and then seems to clear the bar groove enough to keep going.
It does nothing to stop the chips getting in though. My opinion is that the longer the bar and the higher the rev's the more the chain lifts off the top of the bar in the cut which opens the bar groove to catch chips.
I have noticed when the chain stalls it is the top of the bar at the lead in to the sprocket nose that is packed the worst.
Let the saw keep the revs high even in the cut ( less pressure) and you should have less problems.

 

[bwalker]

What I found was certain types of wood produce chips of just the right size to pack the bar groove to the point it stalls the chain.

I have had this same thing happen when cutting elm and red oak with my 036/20''/3/8/0.50. Never happened with any other types of wood. When bucking blipping the throttle after the cut seemed to help, although I did have it pack up buried in a cut a few times.

 

[Sethro]

Cutting softwood in hot weather.
The wood fiber get very fuzzy and pinches the bar. Seth

 

[don]

Bar oil

What kind of oil are you using? There was a big discussion about new used oil and some about weight of oil. Is this new wood or old dry wood?

 

[crowe]

When cutting softwoods like that you are always going to pull bigger chips which can load up in the rails isinde the sidecase and against the sprocket. Softwood also will show you your weaker points when it comes to filing causing your bar wants to bind in the cut, your chain really wants to pull to the side with the most tooth left on it. I remember the first basswood ( lynn) I ever cut when I was sixteen my dad was watching behimd me I started in to that tree and I thought the tree had sat down on my bar I would pull it out stick it back in and wham! stuck again. I told my dad I must have hit an old nail or some old fence. He just laughed. Sometimes softwood can cut the hardest. Good luck Wade Huggins

 

[YUKON 659]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one that is having this problem.
Keener, I did notice that the bar groove had chips packed in it.....and yeah, I was kinda "pushing" the saw pretty hard. Next time, a little less pressure and a few more blips between cuts should do it.
Don, it was green wood and I was using using Husky bar oil.

Jeff

 

[treeclimber165]

when you clean and service your saw, a good trick for cleaning out the bar groove is to snap a tine off one of your old leaf rakes (EVERYONE has a few old rakes laying around). It fits perfectly in the groove.

 

[logcutter429]

to hot to cut

Been cutting timber for 24 years and never heard any of these things before the temp today was 97 heat index 108 , cutting pine 20 in+ still cut over 100 tons no problem