Any reason not to drill my own oil hole in new bar

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Squatch

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Nov 26, 2015
Messages
175
Reaction score
93
Location
California
Looks like I ordered the wrong replacement bar for my Echo 490. The one I got doesn’t have oil holes. I don’t want to be bothered with sending it back etc. any reason not to drill my own holes? Seems very straight forward and probably faster than repacking it to ship back.
 
If u know it lines up with the passages. What is the mount of the new bar? And the OE mount?


Sent from Tapatalk
 
If u know it lines up with the passages. What is the mount of the new bar? And the OE mount?


Sent from Tapatalk
Mounts totally fine. I can use the old (bent) bar as a jig to make sure it’s all lined up. It’s an Oregon bar I bought off eBay said fits “echo, Poulan, craftsmen, Shindaiwa and listed all the models” I thought I saw 490 but in review I don’t see it. My fault.

Everything seems fine except no Oiler holes,
 
Use cutting oil. I have carbide drills here.
So do I, but no amount of oil is going to get a dull bit through a bar. I've been successful on a couple with regular hss bits, but I've failed several times even with sharp bits. It all depends on the quality of the bar vs that of the bit
 
There’s all kinds of drill bits some wouldn’t drill wood while a good quality machinist drills should do it. Doing it right go halfway through one side then use a milling cutter to flat bottom then hole without touching the other side.

There’s a lot of junk drill bits being offered now.
 
Are your sure it doesn't already oil through one of the two (the top unused) chain adjuster hole? I don't own that saw so I'm not sure but some bars/mount patterns work this way where the chain adjuster hole doubles as an oil port.

The stock bar has oil holes. Good call though. I’ll check.
 
I do it all the time. Also other bar mods work sometimes too. The studs being the only difference on some just open them up with a good flat file or if the studs are to small just shim. They all work the same. It is not rocket science. With a drill press and good bits they are easy to drill.
 
I drilled a oil hole in a Oregon bar from a poulan to make it work on a Chinese 52cc saw, it was easy to drill, those bars aren't really hard like the top of line bars.
I eye balled the alinement, that parts pretty easy too, you can measure from the bar groove to the oiler, to get the height right if you want to.
 
I might recommend buying a couple extra bits if you're doing it with a drill motor.
I seem to have better results using water versus oil, maybe it's because oil retains more heat than water, I don't know.
 
Mounts totally fine. I can use the old (bent) bar as a jig to make sure it’s all lined up. It’s an Oregon bar I bought off eBay said fits “echo, Poulan, craftsmen, Shindaiwa and listed all the models” I thought I saw 490 but in review I don’t see it. My fault.

Everything seems fine except no Oiler holes,

Most likely you have a K041 bar.If that is true,no need to do anything,these bars get the oil through the adjusting holes.Echo cs 490 takes a K216 bar mount but the K041 is the perfect alternative.Cs 490 also takes .325 pitch,check your bar if its the same pitch.Another good option for this saw is the K095 (small mount husky),it takes a minor grinding(like a few seconds) and you are set.
 
If it is a laminated bar stay 3/8 inch or more away from a spot weld. The spot welds and surrounding metal is too hard for common high speed steel drills or drill bits. Sometimes the oil will get into the unused adjuster hole and escape out a void in the clutch cover. Plug the unused adjuster hole is a solution to that.
 
Back
Top