064 noodles crooked

[fields_mj]

I have an 064 that I bought primarily to noodle with since I tend to cut some bigger wood down in ravines and don't own a splitter. I've noticed that I can buck fine with it. Nice and straight. No problems. But a lot of times, I get to noodling on a piece and I end up getting crooked. I've checked the teeth on the chain, and they all measure with in .005" of each other. I'm using the cheap Stihl sharping jig to hold the file so that the file is at the same depth every time. I'm using 0.404 Oregon full chisel chain on a 28" bar, full comp.

My only thought at this point is this. The bucking spike on the clutch cover sticks out about 3/4" farther than the other one. I notice that when I'm noodling I lay into the saw a little bit, and I wonder if the miss match is causing me problems. I haven't checked the bar itself yet, but I will. The bar is an Oregon, and it's not that old. I don't think I will find any problems there.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[gee_dubya75]

bar rails

Check to make sure the bar rails are even. Easiest way is to set the bar on edge on a flat surface and check it with a square (check both sides of the bar). If the rails are uneven, the bar will lean to one side or the other. Non-parallel rails will definitely make it cut crooked.

As a side note, in theory, when letting the the cutters do the job the chain comes off the rail as it enters the wood so uneven rails play less of a roll as compared to dogging in hard and forcing the bar into the wood where the chain is forced to ride the rails.

Maybe this is why when you are bucking and letting the weight of the saw do the cutting it cuts straighter than when you are noodling and forcing the bar into the cut.

Also, make sure the rakers/depth gauges are filed to the same depth on both LH and RH cutters.

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

The only reason's I know of to cause this is the bar or the chain. It has nothing to do with the spikes on the saw.

 

[Rookie1]

My 044 does the same. I thought it was just the grain of the wood and never gave much thought to it.

 

[StihltheOne]

I noodle tons of 4'+ cottonwood and if the chain gets even a touch loose this can happen!

 

[sefh3]

Are you running spikes/dawgs on both sides of the bar? I own a splitter and hardly noodle but that is the only thing I can think is the dawg is letting it wander to the left.

 

[wse8562]

Check you bar for uneven rails and check groove wear. Both will cause crooked cutting. A bar dresser or file can used to correct>