Please diagnose this for me

[jwp]

I try to sharpen my chains by hand. My saws cut better at 1/2 throttle than at full throttle. It seems like the teeth get a better bite when running slower.

Does anyone know what I am doing to the chain to make it want to cut better at slower speed?

 

[jerrycmorrow]

I try to sharpen my chains by hand. My saws cut better at 1/2 throttle than at full throttle. It seems like the teeth get a better bite when running slower.

Does anyone know what I am doing to the chain to make it want to cut better at slower speed?

how deep are your rakers?

 

[lfnh]

Closeup side view pic of top of bar/chain would be a help here.

 

[jwp]

It may be a couple of days before I can post a picture.

On the chain that I use on my 024 av, I have the rakes filed down .025" below the top of the teeth. On the chain for the husq 55, I have not measured the rakes so I can't say how low they are. Today I was cutting a red oak which was about 18" diameter with the 55 and I could get the chain to grab and stop if I put a lot of pressure on the bar while the saw was cutting at full speed.

But back to the original question. When the saw is running full speed and I am not trying to force the saw into the wood it seems like the chain is just sliding on the wood but if I slow the saw down the chain seems to start self feeding through the wood.

The rakes may be too high which are causing the chain to not cut as it should at full throttle. How far down should the rakes be for a chain on a husq 55? The way that I measure the height of the rakes is by taking a straight piece of aluminum and laying it on top of the teeth and then I take a feeler gauge and measure the depth of the rake. I don't have a file a plate or a rake gauge.

 

[lfnh]

If the chain on the 55 is not safety chain, but chisel or semi-chisel, and the chain tension is correct then 0.025" should be fine. All the chain mfgs have good documentation for sharpening and raker profiles on their sites.

 

[jwp]

I am typing in the blind somewhat. I can't see the pictures that I am trying to get loaded up. So I think that I will make this post and then see if I can see the pictures before I try to identify what the pictures are showing.

Saw1 and saw 5 are pictures of the chain before I filed down the rakes. Picture saw2 is of the chain after I filed the rakes down about 25 thousands of an inch. Saw 3 is a picture of a slice that I made after filing down the rakes. I put a little pressure on the saw to make it cut through the top portion of the slice and then I relaxed the pressure so as not to have the saw just rip out of the bottom of the cut. As you can see when I let up on the pressure the saw started to produce fine dust which was left on the slice. Saw 4 slice is with the dust wiped off the bottom of the cut. Also I placed some of the cutting on the slice just to show what the chain was doing as it was making the cut.

The chain did seem to feed better after I cut down the rakes. So how far down can I cut the rakes before I will start having other problems? Would maybe .035" cut on the rakes be way too much?

 

[lfnh]

chainsaw1-jpg - take a look at the bottom bar rail. Chain is too loose and saw chips are jammed into drivers. Might be worth taking the b/c off and cleaning (digging) any chips and junk out of the bar. Make sure the nose sprocket is free and clean. A side dressing of the bar rails will get rid of the burr. Use gloves.
Take a photo of the bar (top and side) if you can, when done and post.
A photo of the top of the cutters would be useful, as well.

0.035 seems a bit on the heavy side for a stock 55. IMO.

 

[jwp]

I will get you some more pictures. How tight should the chain be. It is very possible that I have been running the chain too loose because I didn't want to damage the nose or sprocket of the bar.

 

[lfnh]

Check and clean the bar of chips first.
With the bar nose help up, adjust the chain so that the links just touch the bottom rail - snug bar nuts, pull chain around couple of time to make sure it isn't binding and links are still touching bottom rails, finish tightening bar nuts.

Check that the oil hole in bar is clear and oil is getting out to spocket.

 

[jwp]

View attachment 198518View attachment 198519View attachment 198520View attachment 198521View attachment 198522

Here are the other pictures. The bar did have about .005" bur on both sides. I was surprised. I filed the bur off all around the bar and cleaned the bar groove and set the tension on the chain and then I went and made another cut. The chain seemed to cut much better. Also the saw dust seems to be a little larger in size.

Thanks for your help and any other suggestions.

I am pretty satisfied with how the saw is cutting now.

 

[mtngun]

Re: chain cutting better at part throttle.

In this "before" pic, your rakers are too high and you don't have enough hook.

In this "after" pic, rakers look better. Hook still not that great, though the fuzzy pics make it hard to say for sure.

Is that an FOP balanced on top of the chain ? The FOP should do a good job of setting raker depth.

Thanks for the pics.

 

[jwp]

That is a fop but it is not the right one for the chain. I was just using it as a feeler gauge. I tried to post some more pictures and I got a message that an administrator would have to approve my post so I don't know what is going on with that.

I checked my bar and it did have about .005" bur on all sides. I filed them off and then tested the cut and it was much faster and pulled out bigger chips. I am pretty satisfied with the way the saw is cutting now but as always if it can be made to cut better that would be good.

I am going to try to post the pictures again and see what happens.

 

[jwp]

These are the latest pictures.

I have another guestion. How to I tell what kind of chain is on the saw? I would like to get the correct FOP for the chain but the only mark that I can see on the chain is a 72 stamped on the chain. I don't have a clue as to what fop would work on this chain.

 

[lfnh]

jwp -

First, Welcome to the site!

Thanks for the new pics. mtngun's right about using the correct FOP. makes it easy.

chainsaw11-jpg is a good pic. Cutters look about correct and even on the top angle. Chips look better.
That chain style is safety chain with the bumpers, and probly Oregon. Their site should have more info on that chain, which is low kickback.

Better chain might be the Oregon LGX series (chisel cutter). Stihl, Carlton, Windsor have similar.

If you replace the chain, make sure it matches the bar and replace the clutch sprocket at the same time. Ask the members here, if you have questions about correct chain.
Hope this helps.

 

[jwp]

Thanks for all the help. I have only had this saw for about a week and you fellows have helped me get it in top notch cutting condition. I had a red oak tree that had blown down last year that I am using for fire wood. I was able to cut the 14 to 18" sections of the tree up with not much trouble even when the saw was not cutting at its best. Now with it cutting so good I will have to be careful not to cut all the way through the trees and into the dirt. I went out this morning and split the sections with my super maul and hauled and stacked the wood. I probably have enough wood to last to December or maybe later.

I also have two more dead red oak trees right outside that need cutting. These trees are 12 to 14" in diameter at the base so when I cut these my winter wood supply should be completed.

Thanks again.

 

[lfnh]

Good to hear.

The couple of dead oaks - watch out for the dead stuff dropping while your cutting.
Hard hat and look up.
If you're not comfortable with those, walk away. Get some help or other trees.

 

[jwp]

You are correct about watching for falling limbs. I was cutting a small tree about 4" in diameter and as it started falling something hit me in the nose and almost knocked me out. I was trying to lose consciousness but I just kept walking until I made it to my truck and sat down. I went back later to try and see what hit me. I still don't know what hit me. I didn't see any dead branches. The only thing that might have hit me was a small live tree or branch about the size of your finger. Maybe one of these small trees was caught on the tree that I was cutting and at some point it released and sprung back hitting me.

It seems like I find new way to get hurt all the time while cutting. I have had the saw grab a small piece of wood maybe 2" dia. and 6" long and throw it into me. That felt real good. Each time something like that happens I just log it into memory as another thing to be on the watch for.

 

[lfnh]

Here's some online stuff that may help. The post before this has two darn good books.

None of these is as good as in person help from someone with experience.
Spring poles are ambushers. knock em down flat first before felling.

Stay alert, cut with someone.

 

[jwp]

I got those dead red oaks on the ground this morning. They were around 16" at the base. They even fell where I wanted them to go. I made sure to get all the vines and spring poles out of the way and there was a widow maker in one of the trees. It is nice when things work as they should. I am in no hurry to saw these up but since they were close to the house I felt like I needed to get them on the ground before some wind decided to place them on my house.

The saw was cutting great thanks to all the sharpening tips.

 

[jerrycmorrow]

I got those dead red oaks on the ground this morning. They were around 16" at the base. They even fell where I wanted them to go. I made sure to get all the vines and spring poles out of the way and there was a widow maker in one of the trees. It is nice when things work as they should. I am in no hurry to saw these up but since they were close to the house I felt like I needed to get them on the ground before some wind decided to place them on my house.

The saw was cutting great thanks to all the sharpening tips.

good for ya. ALWAYS study your falls before cutting. visualize where you want it to fall then backtrack to where you should place your cuts. sometimes, as in your case, the trees actually fall where you planned. even best laid planning can go awry sometimes. just always CYHOYA when you're felling. read up on some of the felling threads and techniques. go forth and fell.