What causes bar/chain chatter?

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IQRaceworks

IQRaceworks

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I picked up a new Echo CS-352 for some lighter work around the farm that I don’t want to use my heavy 50cc saw for.

So far the Echo is “out-of-the-box” stock……I wanted to run some fuel through it and get it broke in before I started with the muffler mod and messing with the mixture screws.

The little saw runs great……but unlike my other saws, the chain really seems to chatter a bunch. When cutting 6”-10” diameter cedar logs….the whole bar and chain would just chatter and vibrate, almost like the angle on the chain cutters is too steep, but the chips coming off looked ok. Every now and then it would start to cut smooth….but for the most part, it seemed to like to chatter a bunch.

I’m assuming it has something to do with the type of chain it comes from the factory with and/or a combination of the chain and the harder cedar wood I was cutting? Or could it be caused by something else? Like I said…..none of my other saws have ever done that, even right out of the box with the factory chains on them.
 
rupedoggy

rupedoggy

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Is it skip chain? Is it to tight on the bar, to loose? Are the sprockets matching of the chain? Is the chain for milling and not cross cutting? Are the top rails of your new bar perfectly smooth? Is there any wire, nails or hard spots in the wood? Does the gauge match the chain? Check the drivers for damage. Maybe your clutch is slipping a little because you are pushing to hard.
 
JimBear

JimBear

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Its Oregon VXL chain and its known to chatter. I toss it aside and replace it with Stihl PM/PS

search VXL chattering and there are a lot of posts.
This ^^^^^. I bought a CS2511t , it had VXL & would cut smooth & then chatter. I read somewhere that after a few sharpenings it quits the chattering. I replaced mine with Stihl chain & have had no issues.
 
IQRaceworks

IQRaceworks

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Is it skip chain? Is it to tight on the bar, to loose? Are the sprockets matching of the chain? Is the chain for milling and not cross cutting? Are the top rails of your new bar perfectly smooth? Is there any wire, nails or hard spots in the wood? Does the gauge match the chain? Check the drivers for damage. Maybe your clutch is slipping a little because you are pushing to hard.

It's a brand new, out of the box, Echo CS-352......I would like to assume that the sprocket matches the chain, it's not a chain for milling, the bar is in good shape, and the clutch isn't slipping. But I will check all of those things....thanks!
 
Brent Nowell

Brent Nowell

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I watched a video by buckin billy about cutting teeth and rakers. The greater the distance between the hook (cutting plate) and the raker the more stable it becomes. He also mentioned that filing rakers back to a hump instead of leaving them flat was not a good idea for stability.
 
Dennis Gauge

Dennis Gauge

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If I interpret the advice correctly, the long and short of it is you should find that there's nothing to "adjust" with regards to the rakers. They're already too low. You can't file material back on to the rakers.
 
lone wolf
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If I interpret the advice correctly, the long and short of it is you should find that there's nothing to "adjust" with regards to the rakers. They're already too low. You can't file material back on to the rakers.
But remove material from the cutters only if the rakers are too low and chattering.
 

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