New bar smoking a lot--because of kinked chain, clogged oil hole, or too much 2-stroke?

[stihltech]

The best thing any operator can do is learn what a sharp chain is and how to do it.
I know, shops ALWAYS take too much off a chain when sharpening. You have to take all the damage off or you are wasting your time.
Nothing wrong with doing it yourself. Learn how. Save yourself a lot of money in maintenance.
To me, it is part of a saw service. And the number one reason for many saw repairs-dull chain.

 

[Sidecarflip]

If you have a loop(s) sharpened by any commercial outfit, they will always remove way too much tooth because it's 'planned obsolescence' and they want you to replace the loop with a new one and make some money...

I sharpen a ton of saw chains for my arborist customers and I only grind off what is necessary tp retore the cutters and drop the rakers if necessary which is probably why I get a steady diet of dull chains.

Quality loops have gotten quite expensive today due to inflation.

Used to be my customers tossed them and replaced with new. Not the case today.

 

[LarJea]

What did you mean when you said "I put to much 2-stroke into the mix"?

 

[cutter44752]

new bars can be a tad tight, back in the heal under the bar cover seems to be the spot , i find. take the bar off and check for lube holes to be open. while the chain and bar are off. put the chain on the bar and hand rotate, looking for the tight spot. when you find it, it could be every driver or just a occasional driver. you may have to file the width of the raker. so it rotates easilly.

it could be no lube/defect or chain to tight. your oil pump could be failing or broken or the bar not on right against the block at a angle.

It's not a brand-new bar and I make sure not to tighten it too much when it's cold before I start (the shop said the oiler hole needed to be adjusted so that was probably it).

 

[cutter44752]

If you have a loop(s) sharpened by any commercial outfit, they will always remove way too much tooth because it's 'planned obsolescence' and they want you to replace the loop with a new one and make some money...

I sharpen a ton of saw chains for my arborist customers and I only grind off what is necessary tp retore the cutters and drop the rakers if necessary which is probably why I get a steady diet of dull chains.

Quality loops have gotten quite expensive today due to inflation.

Used to be my customers tossed them and replaced with new. Not the case today.

I got a cheap sawchain sharpener from Harbor Freight and will try to learn how to use it sometime this spring/summer (hopefully it's not a piece of junk, if anyone has any advice on how to use it please forward).

 

[cutter44752]

What did you mean when you said "I put to much 2-stroke into the mix"?

I just eyeball it when I pour some two-stroke into the gas can and swirl it around (supposed to 50:1 ratio)?

 

[cutter44752]

be sure to match the gauge of your chain with the gauge of the bar - if the chain gauge is too large for the bar it will smoke until it wares a grove in the bar ?

I match the chain to the bar when I order them but thanks (don't remember stats off-hand but I'm careful about ordering the right size).

 

[cutter44752]

If you want to see to if your oiler is working take your bar and chain off and fire it up, should be coming out of the oil hole pretty good as long as your clutch drum is turning. and go from there about what was said about your chain and bar

Thanks, the shop said the oiler needed to be "adjusted" (they said it's usually on/off so if someone adjusts it it can sometimes go off, but I've never touched it and it was working 50% but whatever, as long as works better when I get it back).

 

[cutter44752]

Even a dull chain will 'cut' if you reef on it hard enough. Of course it goes from making swarf to sawdust....

My only comment as any other comments would be viewed by the OP as detrimental and condescending. Amazing, just amazing...

Myself, I'd have never posted pictures for all to see....

Take all day to file that loop back to being sharp. Those cutters are really flogged....If it was mine (I never let any loop get that bad), It needs to be ground on a chain grinder and the rakers dropped as well. In the one picture, a close up of the chain shows the rakers almost proud of the front edge of the teeth. I see his location is Mid Atlantic which tells me little but if he's near me in SE Michigan, he can bring the loop by and I'll set it for him for free and drop the rakes too.

Maybe the OP only has one loop instead of 2.

I'm not sure why they would be so dull, it's a chain from last year I think I've only gotten it resharpened twice (I don't do a lot of cutting, just occasional stuff when trees dies or limbs fall down around the house). (And nothing is super-wide, widest is maybe 12-14" in diameter?)

 

[bwalker]

I just eyeball it when I pour some two-stroke into the gas can and swirl it around (supposed to 50:1 ratio)?

Don't be lazy. Mix it right.

 

[J D]

Ok, so your chain going dull often has very little to do with how much you cut with your saw... hit dirt or something imbeded in what you're cutting & it will be dull in a matter of seconds. If you don't properly sharpen the chain it gets rapidly worse & you end up in the situation you are in now.
Oilers don't have an on/off, they have more or less. Bar holes don't generally need "adjusting" either.
& definitely don't mix your fuel by "eye balling it", odds are really good that you'll ruin your saw in short order doing that

 

[Ted Jenkins]

The best thing any operator can do is learn what a sharp chain is and how to do it.
I know, shops ALWAYS take too much off a chain when sharpening. You have to take all the damage off or you are wasting your time.
Nothing wrong with doing it yourself. Learn how. Save yourself a lot of money in maintenance.
To me, it is part of a saw service. And the number one reason for many saw repairs-dull chain.

I am having difficulty finding any fault with what you just said. I would like to add that also a major problem with many OP is they change oil ratios and do not adjust or leave a saw to sit for six months expecting it to run correctly when needed. for me I just have about two carburetors for every saw in case one of them does not behave. Thanks

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I buy about five rolls of chain when ever I need chain. I have an ammo box for each saw with at least five chains in each box so when out in the field there are no surprises. A box or bag of splicing links is only about $10 so why not just make your own instead of the loops. Thanks

 

[OM617YOTA]

I'm not sure why they would be so dull, it's a chain from last year I think I've only gotten it resharpened twice (I don't do a lot of cutting, just occasional stuff when trees dies or limbs fall down around the house). (And nothing is super-wide, widest is maybe 12-14" in diameter?)

You can dull a chain in 15 minutes of completely normal use. Hit the wrong thing and you can dull a chain in one pass around the bar.

Mix your fuel and oil properly. A pro who's done it a thousand times can eyeball their oil and fuel levels and tune their equipment for whatever they're running, the same way a master chef can bake cookies or a cake without a measuring cup and have it turn out perfect. The rest of us should measure properly. A lot less risk with a batch of cookies vs. a saw engine, too.

 

[stihltech]

We have all done it. One chain will cut all day with out being filed. The next day, first cut dull.
Learn what sharp is and how it feels when cutting. You will save hundreds of dollars in maintenance.

 

[stihltech]

Something that came in the shop today. Jonsered 2255, not oiling. Bar off, still not oiling. Cleaned oil tank, pump and lines. Now oiling.
Bar on, little oil.
Wrong bar mount. Hole did not line up with oil pump passage. Need correct bar. Oregon, but not sure where it was bought. (I think D176 0n saw, need D095).
May not be your issue, but start with the basics. Oil holes must line up.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Something that came in the shop today. Jonsered 2255, not oiling. Bar off, still not oiling. Cleaned oil tank, pump and lines. Now oiling.
Bar on, little oil.
Wrong bar mount. Hole did not line up with oil pump passage. Need correct bar. Oregon, but not sure where it was bought. (I think D176 0n saw, need D095).
May not be your issue, but start with the basics. Oil holes must line up.

K095 is the small Husqvarna mount, or Jonsered.
D176 will have elliptical adjuster holes and will be slightly loose on the 2255 studs- along with the wider tail not lining up oiler port to oil receiver on bar.
D176 is a pretty fair exchange for Husqvarna large mount D009.
You Stihl folk- used to the Oregon D025 mounts.

 

[stihltech]

Just looked in the Oregon catalog for the answer. Yup, we have those too.
And I keep the two mounts in stock for the Husqvarnas, as nobody around here works on them. Big boxes took care of that.

 

[telecasterfool]

If you go on Oregon's website, click "Part Finder" you can see every mount for almost any saw.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Oh the arguments I have had with saw owners bringing in saws that wouldn`t cut, chains smoked black from overheating,actually burning the chain lube oil until the chain is blackened. Get the argument the chain is only X numbers of years old and only made a few cuts since new, must be something else causing the no cut problem. Even showing them the damage to the cutters and resulting chain chassis damage they want to carry on the argument that the chain was hardly used. Show them a freshly sharpened or even a new chain and they can`t tell the difference other than their chain still has big cutters and not worn back much at all.