chainsaw doesn't cut straight

[Crofter]

Frank,
I already agreed, but I will defer to anyone who has a better explanation.

Its been hashed a few times before on cutting crooked threads. It is more often damage to the side cutter or area near the working corner and the resulting veer off is in the opposite direction and for a different reason than the one stated. As soon as chain run off starts to happen,(and before chain rails and bar rails get so badly fubarred that no one can tell what the origin of the problem is) if you examine the chain with light behind you, the damaged area is glaringly obvious. I'd bet money any time that almost invariably if a saw suddenly starts to cut to the right, that the LH cutters are damaged on the corners.

 

[2dogs]

Mine used to cut to the right too. With the advice of crofter and others my saws all cut straight and true now. I started by truing up the bar rails by using the Pferd tool from Bailey's. The Cannon bars needed a little help from the grinder because the rails are so hard, but then again they cut the straightest to begin with. The Stihl bar rails are much softer and are easy to file.

The reason my chains cut crooked was because as I file from behind the powerhead the left hand cutters were filed with more force and were cut deeper into the tooth. Now I do all my major filing with a Granberg jig with the saw clamped in a vice and the shop lights on. I still sharpen in the field as needed too. My friend Andy can sharpen in the field with his eyes closed better than I can with the jig so certainly not everyone needs a jig.

I save my old chains for those occasions when I have to cut a stump at ground level. The right hand teeth get trashed doing that. I also use a guage or a very close inspection in the field) when I file the rakers.

If the OP's bar is really badly out of shape then send it to Chain Bar Repairing in Portland OR for a rebuild. The price is very reasonable.

Keep in mind that the saw's cutting ability and quality depends on a number of systems working together. While the process is not complicated it is precise and needs attention.

 

[EngineerDude]

the left side of the bar is the lowest forcing the chain to angle to the right.
Often this crooked cutting is due to worn bar rail groove, wrong gauge of chain for the bar. ie .50 in a .58 or .58 in a .63

I've searched the Oregon and Windsor websites (my bar is a Windsor), and I've searched through this forum, and maybe I've missed it, but I haven't been able to find what the thickness of the gap between bar rails should be for a .058 chain.

My bar measures about .065 with a feeler gage. I'm checking this because the saw doesn't cut straight and I've already checked that the rails are level and as best I can I've sharpened both sides of the chain the same and because it just seems I can "wobble" the chain a little bit more than I'd expect to be able to.

Anybody got the specs for rail gap tolerance?

 

[chainsawlady]

chain saw lady

Anybody going to agree or not?

Yes, I agree with your comment. In my years in he chain saw industry I found out that if it cuts to the right, the left cutters have not been sharpened enough and vice versa if it cuts to the left the right cutters are dull. It will cut toward the sharp side. And most generally it is not the bars fault. As one salesman told us was that the bar does not cut the wood the chain teeth do. If the bar gets lower on one side than the other it may have some effect. We had a barshop and always squared the bar rails when installing a new chain.
chain saw lady

 

[rupedoggy]

Your bar is .065? That is a .063 bar! No wonder it cuts crooked. The groove for a .058 bar should be .058 no extra clearance neccessary. The oil and links take care of any extra tightness right away. Your bar may be mis-marked but it is a .063 bar. Get some chain (.063) and try it, you will have a straight cut.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

They also make a tool (Baileys Online) for truing up your bar. It's really nothing more than a file on a 90° guide.

Got one. Like it. Well worth the money.

 

[Husky137]

I'd check the 4th tooth on the left side unless it is a 24" bar and then your culprit is likely your 7th tooth on the right side.

 

[MCW]

Your bar may be bent. Your grooves may be worn out. You may have the wrong guage chain in the bar. You may have uneven guide rails and need the bar dressed....BUT....

I bet you'll find that you've just sharpened one side different than the other because you're either right hand dominant or left hand dominant. You may have also smacked a rock or something with either your left or right cutters. It doesn't take much. Have a close look and you'll probably see that the right hand cutters (or vice versa) are shorter/longer, or have different angles than the other side. Many people I know (including myself) take more off one side than the other if not careful. It takes a few sharpenings for the crooked cutting to start showing up.
I bet if you took the chain and got it all trued up on a grinder by someone who knows what they're doing it'll cut a treat.

I've been able to get a near new bar and chain cutting crooked to the point of jamming within 5 filings. I'm OK at it now (although I mainly grind my chains) but early on I couldn't file to save myself.

 

[TreePointer]

In my experience, a good chain sharpening usually solves crooked cutting. If hand filing, I just use a few more strokes on all teeth to make sure that deviations from the desired shape are addressed.

 

[sefh3]

I'm going to take a stab at this one. I had the same issue with my 026. I put a new chain on it and it cut straight. I think I had too many when I sharpened the old chain and I cut the cutters down to low and the left side and it pulled to the right.

 

[Meadow Beaver]

:deadhorse:

 

[timbercruzer]

I've had the same issue with my 026 as well. i overheated the bar cutting stumps and warped it pretty bad.

 

[EngineerDude]

Your bar is .065? That is a .063 bar! No wonder it cuts crooked. The groove for a .058 bar should be .058 no extra clearance neccessary. The oil and links take care of any extra tightness right away. Your bar may be mis-marked but it is a .063 bar. Get some chain (.063) and try it, you will have a straight cut.

Seeking some more input, the response to my attempts to resolve this with Windsor includes their statement "The groove spec for a .058 gauge bar is .062” in the new material condition. With the amount of cutting you have described the groove could be worn to .065” at the top of the rails where you are effectively measuring the groove. What you cannot measure easily is the groove width below the top of the rails which is likely opened up beyond the .065” you measured at the top. We call that the “hour glass” wear pattern which is a wear mode on the inside groove of guide bars."

They are saying that a .065 gap on a nominal .058 bar represents normal wear after cutting a half dozen medium sized trees, cutting in a very clean environment, using only Stihl bar oil, and with meticulous maintenance and only on a couple occasions ever hitting the dirt with the chain.

Can this possibly be true?

Separate question, anyone have any experience dealing with Windsor bars? It would be real helpful if someone had a new .058 they could measure. Or for that matter anyone have experience dealing with Windsor over a customer complaint situation like this?

 

[Henry G.]

Do you flip your bar to even the wear? My Mac starting cutting like you described a few years back a new bar solved it.

 

[MCW]

Separate question, anyone have any experience dealing with Windsor bars? It would be real helpful if someone had a new .058 they could measure. Or for that matter anyone have experience dealing with Windsor over a customer complaint situation like this?

The importers of Windsor in Australia are excellent by all reports and look after dealers and customers pretty well. Not sure about the US side of things. I just tried to measure the grooves on some GB and Carlton bars I've got but unfortunately can't get an accurate measurement due to the paint and lacquer.

 

[ray benson]

Measured a 24" 058 bar on my poulan 505 firewood saw. Bar is over 5 years old . The groove measured .062" with feeler gauges.

 

[outdoortype]

It's probably due to uneven cutter length

I've heard that the chain will allways pull to the side with the shorter & sharper teeth. I've found by measuring with calipers that you can have around .020"-.030" difference in tooth length before the chain cuts crooked. I think it takes a lot of neglect/abuse before the bar gets worn enough to cause it to cut crooked.

 

[Evan]

most the time when my saw doesnt cut straight its the loose nut behind the wheel

but alot of times we make good straight cuts.

i free hand rakers and cutters i have no plans to buy gauges or gizmos. but i have alot of time behind and hand file and dremel specaily for casual cutter

practice makes perfect.

 

[EngineerDude]

Do you flip your bar to even the wear? My Mac starting cutting like you described a few years back a new bar solved it.

Yeah, I flip the bar every time I cut.

I just tried to measure the grooves on some GB and Carlton bars I've got but unfortunately can't get an accurate measurement due to the paint and lacquer.

Paint / lacquer ?? Are we talking the same thing? I'm measuring the inside dimension of the groove with a feeler, like as shown in the 1st photo below.

The other photos are of the same bar, showing light usage and a bar that appears to be in good condition and that I wouldn't expect to have such a big gap. My argument to Windsor is that they marked an .063 bar as a .058, but so far they haven't come over to my side.

 

[tlbsg]

i find it amazing how many people think their BLADE is bent when they dont cut straight have"nt seen a blade on a chainsaw yet in 30 years in most cases when they dont cut straight its because chain has damaged cutters on one side more than the other