Saw cutting in circles

[BobMachus]

Hi guys,

I just got my Stihl 034 back from a friend who did his best to sharpen and maintain the saw and chain, but.......

Now the saw cuts to the left as I use it. If I am cutting anything over about 4" thick the curve that the bar makes becomes so round that the bar can't go any deeper. If I twist the saw hard to follow this curve, I can get it to cut a bit further. Which teeth do I need to file more in order to fix this? Or is there no point in trying to repair this chain and I should just go get a new one? Some tips would be great.

thanks, Bob

 

[McC]

Your bar is worn. The rails could be uneven in height, or your groove is too wide, or some of both. These conditions allow the chain to tip sideways during the cut, and that is how you get the crooked cut. If you want to try to fix the bar, file the rails so they are even in height, and pound the rails together if they are too far apart. Your condition sounds pretty severe, I don't know if you can salvage this bar.
Scott

 

[Fish]

Try a new chain first, and see if the saw cuts correctly.

If not, explore other reasons. Bring your old loop to Ky. for
proper sharpening. If you have an 034, you should have an
extra chain anyway.

 

[BobMachus]

Well I just went out and could definitely see that the chain was tipping on the bar. I have access to a state of the art machine shop owned by some friends, so I might go over there and see if I can true it up. If not time for a new bar I guess.

Fish, why the comment about needing an extra chain for an 034? Is this saw more likely to need an extra chain than any other? I have had this for 6 or 7 years with this chain. I haven't used it much the last 4, but for a few years I was cutting 4ish cords or wood a year to heat my house.

Thanks for the insights guys any more suggestions are welcome.

Bob

 

[spreaderman]

the right

if it is cutting to the left then the right ones are not cutting, try sharpening the ones on the right side of the bar.

 

[Fish]

Yeah, the 034s were notorious for tipping, a good machine shop
is good to have on your side.
The extra chain suggestion was uncalled for on my part,
I apologize, Its just that I get commision off of chain sales.

I do also get commission for bar sales as well.

You need a new bar.

An 036 does not tip, however.

Or maybe a sprocket or sparkplug.

You must cut a lot of wood to only get 6 or 7 years out of a chain

 

[BobMachus]

For trouble shooting is the following true?

if I flip the bar it will now cut to the right if the bar is worn unevenly. If it still cuts to the left then the chain is at fault.

 

[treeclimber165]

As mentioned many times before, the bar, chain and sprocket all wear together. If you have a 7 year old chain on your saw, you got your money's worth out of it. If the bar has that many hours on it, go ahead and replace it with the chain. And a worn sprocket will accellerate wear on your new chain, which will prematurely wear your new bar. Replace all three. Bar should run about $30, chain about $20 and sprocket less than $10 (depending on your dealer). Aftermarket parts (different brands) will be less money.

 

[Rotax Robert]

Try a fresh chain, yeah your bar may be worn out a bit but still functional for your use. A good chain filer will probably cure your problem. (ask a local logger) Yeah, always!!! have a extra chain.

Fish, I own the sparkplug dept. as well as the high compession bar oil cap dept. So dont give advice where you are treading on patent infringements and registered trademarks.

 

[Fish]

Can you get me a deal on some 710 caps?

Splitfire synthetic plugs?

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Call your local saw shop and ask if they have a bar rail dresser. If so, they should be able to fix your bar up for about $2. This tool simply removes some metal from the higher rail to make them even, this can be done with a mill basterd flat file if you have a steady hand and a good eye.
Then replace your rim (sprocket), and chain.
Filpping your bar once in a while helps the parts wear evenly, and may even solve the problem, unless you do a cut with the top of your bar.
Uneven sharpening or having one side of the chain duller than the other can also cause crooked cutting, but harder to diagnose is when the bottom of the chain, the part that rides on the rails, wears unevenly.

 

[My2cents]

I flip the bars on my saws for the purposes of: 1. for even mechanical wear 2. to give the saw a tough loggers saw appearance with the paint evenly worn off the sides.

 

[daveb]

bars

When I put on a new bar, I always put it on so the lettering is upside down, so I can listen to everyone say "hey dave, do you know your bar is on upside down?"

 

[BobMachus]

Just went to check the bar and it is REALLY worn unevenly. It is so wasted it is not worth fixing. There is a big lip on the side of the bar from the wear of the rail, and really bad heat marks all along one side. The chain is similarly worn very off-center. What size bar should I put on this? I know Stihl says 16-24, but what is the consensus for the best compromise between speed and length? I haven't had many times that the 16" felt short, but there have been a few. Would the extra weight of a 18" be very noticable? Would I notice the power loss? Should I go to 20" (although that sounds like it might be getting big)? While I used to cut 4-5 cord/year for heating, I only use this for helping friends fell or prune tree's or clean up storm damage.

Thanks guys, Bob

 

[Fish]

Dave, nice avvaaattaaar!

Our shop has a bar rail cross dresser on duty at all times. They
work on tips plus commission, so boys be nice and think of them.
Those gals, or whatever, really earn their money!

 

[Harley]

Fish,

Are you sober?

Remember what happens when you don't take your medication.

 

[Fish]

What are you implying? Being a devout man of the cloth, I take
the greastest exception to your last post, and officially would
like to register a complaint to the caretakers of this fine forum!

I always strive to take the high road on all of my posts, so
my good name will not get soiled by the riff-raff that frequents
this forum.

 

[treeslayer]

Hey, I resemble that remark!
If you want to keep out us riff-raff, lock de door!

My lowly opinion is to match bar sizes and chains between saws as much as possible.

 

[BobMachus]

New 18" bar and new Rapid Super chain cut like ya read about. Straight, fast, big chips, no curves. Thanks to the carb tuning posts here everything runs great.

thanks guys, Bob

 

[BobMachus]

YUP, brand new 3/8-7 sprocket. Old one was in worse shape than I thought when I compared it to the new one.