Cleaning chains

[BobL]

Some of you guys will hate this others might find it, . . . . well, . . . . I guess I leave it to judge for yourself.

Chain cleaner

It works with my bigger bars too.

 

[mheim1]

Love it.

 

[nmurph]

why not just leave on the saw? set it on the ground, leave it running and slowly spin the chain?

 

[FELLNORTH]

As always nice work bob, scared the crap out of me when you stuck your fingers on it....

 

[BobL]

why not just leave on the saw? set it on the ground, leave it running and slowly spin the chain?

Don't worry I've thought about it and even tried it!

• Firstly the chain has to be on back wards or the cutters will eat the wire brush and bluntens the cutters.
• The drill operates at a max of 500 rpm versus a minimum of around 3000 rpm which is about when the clutch engages on a CS - ie much safer, a 3000 rpm chain even going backwards will take more than skin off your knuckles
• Because after a few days milling, mostly I end up with a bunch of chains - last thing I want to do is put them all back on the saw just to clean them.
• Once the bar is set up on the jig its much faster to put chains on and off the jig than on and off the saw.
• It's much quieter and there is no exhaust so living in an inner city neighbor hood means I can clean them at night in my shed.
• On really gummed up oily chains I squirt the chain with a pump pack of degreaser / detergent. Unless the CS oil tank is empty, doing this on the CS kinds defeats the purpose of doing it.
• Because the bar is set up vertically the dirty degreaser / detergent can then also drip off the end of the bar into a bucket under the bar. If I do this outside I can then even hose it off and then give the chain a squirt of CRC. Sharpen the chain off the saw. and then throw it back on the jig and re-oil it manually.

 

[BobL]

Here's some close ups of the rig.

The chain tension is provided purely by the weight of the bar. The bar nuts are not even needed and only done up finger tight to eliminate the bar wobbling and looking like the chain might come off. I have even run a bar and chain without any of the bar bolts (ie the bar hanging vertically, just cradled by the the chain) and the chain won't won't come off unless the chain is really gummed up and then it might suddenly set up a bar wobble eventually allowing the chain to jump the bar so that the bar fall downs. The bar bolts are there just to prevent the bar falling but the bar nuts are not really needed.

Home made single point drive spline

Fits standard rim sprocket (so can switch to 404 etc) I just use an old one since it's not exactly hammering along.

Home made ally bearing pillow blocks with 1" bearings

Driving the 42" bar

It also works with the 60" bar but I have to do that outside with the rig clamped to a ladder.

 

[nmurph]

i agree with the point of the direction that the cutters are moving, and most everything else sounds valid with your situation. i will add that a motor may turn 3000rpm, but a chain is not turning that fast at clutch engagement.
when i need to clean one, i just toss it in a can of carb cleaner or purple power for a soak. but most of mine only have minimal gumming unless i have cut the occasional pine.

 

[nmurph]

i had wondered about how you handled your long, milling bars. i like your solution; simple and elegant!

 

[BobL]

i agree with the point of the direction that the cutters are moving, and most everything else sounds valid with your situation. i will add that a motor may turn 3000rpm, but a chain is not turning that fast at clutch engagement.

yep I agree. But even with the chain running backwards and a finer throttle than a straight trigger (I have an MC throttle) on my milling saw, I still find it tricky to generate a safe low chain speed that I am willing to put my hands near.

when i need to clean one, i just toss it in a can of carb cleaner or purple power for a soak. but most of mine only have minimal gumming unless i have cut the occasional pine.

That's exactly what I do except I find simple green works better for aussie trees that put out a lot of resin. Even so, while the resin softens in the simple green it will not come off unless it is scrubbed. Normally I lay the chains down flat on their side and scrub the chain from the back to the front of the cutter under running water. For long chains this is slow, wet, messy and takes the skin off my knuckles. I'll still soften the resin and then put it on my rig.

 

[ms290]

interesting. i dont have a need to clean chains really. If i did need a chain cleaner of some sort this is what i would build for sure. i like it.

 

[chopperfreak2k1]

awesome set-up there!

 

[sefh3]

Great setup and awesome post. I'm going to try to build one like this soon.

 

[Stihlman441]

I like it Bob good work,do ya get much sleep or does yu mind tick over all the time,thanks for the info i have allways had problems cleaning chains.

 

[BobL]

I like it Bob good work,do ya get much sleep or does yu mind tick over all the time,thanks for the info i have allways had problems cleaning chains.

Cheers guys. Yeah - mind never stops - I've had plenty of time for thinking and not much time for doing stuff since I crushed the fingers of my left hand 8 weeks ago (notice the glove on my left hand in the vid - the fingers are still healing and I'm still not supposed to lift more than 5 lb with my left hand. The chain cleaner was one of the things I designed while I was being treated in hospital.

 

[1steve]

very nice design, i love it........rep sent
p.s. keep the ideas flowing. thanks

 

[splitpost]

great idea bob

 

[gemniii]

Good work Bob. Gives me ideas.

Glad to hear your fingers are getting better. How soon before you can play the piano?

 

[jimdad07]

Very nice work Bob. You said once that saws and milling were not your main hobbies, I would probably be shocked to see what you do for those hobbies. I like the design, very simple and portable, that is the main thing.

 

[sawkiller]

Nice design Bob! Don't really need to do any power cleaning on any yet but definetely a good idea that I will remember!

The only really bad chains that I have to clean are those for the fire department after they have cut a roof with asphalt shingles. Those usually get atleast an overnight soaking in mineral spirits or kerosene before I even touch them!

 

[edisto]

Another winner Bob!

A true renaissance man!