I thought new chain was supposed to "stretch"

[wendell]

I picked up one of the last Carlton/Tsumara bars from Bailey's (.058) and got some RSC to go with it. Finally got to use it the other day to noodle up some trunk pieces from a silver maple that fell in my neighbor's yard. The chain moved freely before I began and after about 15 minutes, I stopped to check the chain's tightness, thinking I would need to snug it up a bit.

Instead, the chain was so tight I couldn't move it and the bar was so hot I couldn't touch it. Even the bar nuts were too hot to touch. I also now have a big blue spot on the end of the bar which was on top.

I know Stihl chain is supposed to "stretch" less than other brands but tighten up? Any idea what is going on?

 

[mtngun]

Somethings wrong. You'll have to dig deeper.

Sure the Stihl chain is 0.058" ? I thought 0.058" was a Husky thing ? Anyway, make sure the chain gage matches the bar gage.

Make sure the drive sprocket is the same pitch as the chain.

If everything checks out, loosen the chain.

Hard nose or sprocket nose ? Saw ?

Pics would help.

 

[Edge & Engine]

Sounds like it's not getting enough oil, maybe not any at all.

 

[ray benson]

Look for noodle /debris buildup between bar and chain and in sprocket tip.

 

[wendell]

They do make .058 and I'm quite sure they made up the right stuff because they even mentioned I definitely didn't have a Stihl.

Sprocket tip.

The oil use was the same as it has always been with his saw (7300) and there is oil on the chain but it may not have been enough.

I make sure I keep the noodles clear but that may have been part of it.

Should've mentioned that once it cooled down I tightened it back up and everything seems fine (except for the bluing on the bar, of course :censored: )

 

[J.W Younger]

I picked up one of the last Carlton/Tsumara bars from Bailey's (.058) and got some RSC to go with it. Finally got to use it the other day to noodle up some trunk pieces from a silver maple that fell in my neighbor's yard. The chain moved freely before I began and after about 15 minutes, I stopped to check the chain's tightness, thinking I would need to snug it up a bit.

Instead, the chain was so tight I couldn't move it and the bar was so hot I couldn't touch it. Even the bar nuts were too hot to touch. I also now have a big blue spot on the end of the bar which was on top.

I know Stihl chain is supposed to "stretch" less than other brands but tighten up? Any idea what is going on?

the bar will strech when it gets hot, now you gots to find out why it did that.make sure the oil holes are clear and line up, no paint or clear coat in the groove etc.

 

[mtngun]

Should've mentioned that once it cooled down I tightened it back up and everything seems fine (except for the bluing on the bar, of course :censored: )

If it was too tight too move, why did you "tighten it back up ?"

Sorry if we are insulting your intelligence with the questioning, just got to cover the basics.

The only other thing I have thought of, is to make sure the oil hole in the new bar is where it should be.

 

[wendell]

No insult taken. Because when I saw how tight the chain was I immediately took off the bar nuts (that's how I knew they were too hot to touch!) and loosened everything up so it could cool down.

I always check for oil spray before I start cutting and there was some but as I think back, it wasn't quite as much as I have seen in the past. When I get home from work I will check the oil holes.

 

[TommySaw]

just another thing, check the oil slot on the saw. Maybe check the tail patern against your other bars also.

 

[Arrowhead]

I bet it has some clear coat plugging the oil hole..... or oil hole not lining up correctly.

 

[Anthony_Va.]

So, I take it you checked the Gauge?

 

[wendell]

Got home from work and gave everything a once over. The hole in the bar is open with nothing clogging it, the gauge of the chain and bar is correct and the oiler is working fine. I compared it to the Forester bar I replaced it with and although not identical, they look pretty close and have the oiler hole in almost exactly the same place. Put it back together and it is throwing a nice amount of oil. Went out and cut some ash and everything seems to be fine (although I didn't cut for a long period of time as I was carrying wood to the truck and it was getting dark).

So, not sure what happened. All I can think is that something temporarily blocked the oil flow long enough to do the damage. The only other possibility is that I always lift up my bars a few degrees before I tighten them down that all my other bars only lift a few degrees but this one actually lifts up about 15 degrees so it is possible I lifted it too far, getting the hole in the bar out of line with the oiler. It seems if that is what happened, however, I would have noticed a lot more oil dripping out the bottom of the saw.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. This one may just go down as a mystery. Unfortunately, it cost me some serious damage to my new, favorite bar.