In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Saw cutting badly, need advice

Discussion in 'Chainsaws and Power Equipment' started by Jon_E, Mar 24, 2021.

  1. Jon_E

    Jon_E

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2015
    Messages:
    1,103
    Likes Received:
    6,151
    Location:
    Southwestern Vermont
    I am experienced enough to give rather than receive advice most of the time, but this one has me confused. Little Dolmar 421 with a 16" B&C, chain is nearing end of life but it's still got a few sharpenings left in it. I sharpened it up good the other day and was cutting some really dry ash and cottonwood with it.

    Last night I went out after work and was cutting some pine that was mostly still frozen in the middle, rounds about 10-14" in diameter. I couldn't get more than 2" into the log before something started binding hard in the cut, and I had to force it into the log. Almost like the log was closing on the cut. By the time I got near the bottom, the whole bar and chain had taken a strong curve to the right, maybe 2" deviation from top to bottom. What was weird is that I did a close inspection of the chain and it seems very consistent in sharpness and cutter length, and it was throwing some very nice chips, not fine dust like you'd expect from a dull chain. The bar also looks fine. I've had this happen before and it was almost always a sharpening problem, but I can't imagine this being the case.

    I don't often cut frozen wood. I wonder if this might be part of the problem? What do you think might be causing this?

    I do have a new chain for this saw, so I'm gonna swap them out and see if it does it again with a new chain.
     
  2. MikeInMa

    MikeInMa

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2016
    Messages:
    12,047
    Likes Received:
    85,818
    Location:
    Southern Worcester county
    I might try the same bar and chain on some hardwood and go from there.
     
  3. Mag Craft

    Mag Craft

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2014
    Messages:
    4,802
    Likes Received:
    27,711
    Location:
    South East Wyoming
    Try dropping the rakers a little more. A sharp chain that does not cut has to be rakers.
     
  4. Chud

    Chud

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2020
    Messages:
    5,493
    Likes Received:
    37,365
    Location:
    NC
    I would check to see if it’s oiling. Clean the bar make sure the oil channels are not obstructed. Try a new bar and chain.
    It sounds like a oiling issue to me.
     
  5. Chud

    Chud

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2020
    Messages:
    5,493
    Likes Received:
    37,365
    Location:
    NC
    Also check the side to side play the drivers have in the bar groove.
     
  6. brenndatomu

    brenndatomu

    Joined:
    May 29, 2015
    Messages:
    20,438
    Likes Received:
    127,192
    Location:
    NE Ohio
    This ^ ^ ^
     
  7. The Wood Wolverine

    The Wood Wolverine

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2015
    Messages:
    15,676
    Likes Received:
    96,552
    Location:
    Gettysburg, PA
    This sounds like a candidate to try progressive style depth gauge filing. So do tell, how do you adjust those "rakers"?
    I've been here and done that and learned exactly what fixed it and what didn't.
     
  8. Warner

    Warner

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2017
    Messages:
    6,503
    Likes Received:
    41,176
    Location:
    New Hampshire
    Just recently my saw started acting up. I would start a cut on a log and everything would be fine, then all of the sudden it would stop cutting as well. I lifted the bar up then pushed back in cut and it would cut well again. The chain never seemed to slow down. On inspection I found that the chain had a lot of slop in the bar. Put a new bar on it was like a new saw. I also turned the oiler up.
     
    MikeInMa, Woodsnwoods, Horkn and 3 others like this.
  9. harrisonh817

    harrisonh817

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2019
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    25
    Location:
    Salisbury
    I never had much luck trying to cut frozen logs.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  10. Jon_E

    Jon_E

    Joined:
    Mar 11, 2015
    Messages:
    1,103
    Likes Received:
    6,151
    Location:
    Southwestern Vermont
    Update - got to be my chain. I put a brand new chain on the saw, flipped the bar and checked everything was adjusted properly. Saw cut like.... well, a saw with a new chain. No issues at all.

    So, I'm unable to figure out visually why the chain is misbehaving, I'll probably mike the cutters to make sure they're all the same length and drop the rakers and resharpen. Hopefully that should fix the issues. The chain is more than 50% worn, so it's not worth getting it machine sharpened, it will probably take too much off the teeth. It costs me $11 for a sharpening and $20 for a brand new chain.
     
  11. Mag Craft

    Mag Craft

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2014
    Messages:
    4,802
    Likes Received:
    27,711
    Location:
    South East Wyoming
    Drop the rakers.
     
  12. The Wood Wolverine

    The Wood Wolverine

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2015
    Messages:
    15,676
    Likes Received:
    96,552
    Location:
    Gettysburg, PA
    They don’t need to be all the same length if you use a progressive depth gauge to maintain. And I’m pretty confident that’s what the issue is. Been there, done that.
     
  13. PlumbSplitter

    PlumbSplitter

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2020
    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    438
    Location:
    Bayville NJ
    You can sharpen that chain until the teeth are almost gone. Get a raker Guage and lower them a bit. Remember the more you file a tooth the lower it gets.
     
  14. Horkn

    Horkn

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2014
    Messages:
    26,985
    Likes Received:
    150,600
    Location:
    SE Wisconsin
    It might be slop in the bar. If you flipped the bar and then added a new chain, there's a couple of variables. If you want to know if it's the bar, flip the bar back to where it was with the new chain.
     
  15. Woodsnwoods

    Woodsnwoods

    Joined:
    Sep 21, 2015
    Messages:
    3,057
    Likes Received:
    19,994
    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    Just a thought.... push on the chain of your new setup left to right, observing how much the chain rolls in the bar. Flip the bar and try it again at the same tension and see what you get. You can also look at the base of the tooth compared to where it sets on the bar at the same time. Bars were both side to side and on the face so maybe the bar is worn on the one side?