Anyone ever knocked the drive links off a chain?

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SamT1

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I’ve cut thousands of cords of wood and never seen anything like this that I remember. This is a brand new, as in never been sharpened Oregon LGX chain. It was a 66dl and I did break it and add 2 to run on my husky 288xp.
After cutting maybe 1/2 cord I shut down to check on my Oiler and tighten the chain. After inspection I put the chain back on, tightened it up. Cranked the saw back up and reved it a few times. Stuck it in the wood and the chain immediately popped off like it would if it was excessively loose. I thought oh well and grabbed another saw, found this when I was sharpening today. Really pisses me off that it’s a new chain.

9AB05B48-A2A9-410A-A742-E2AE71ADE6B1.jpeg
 
Did you replace the links with the same brand of chain? You needed 68dl right? I wonder if they offer chain repair kits for this chain? I hit a pipe inside a tree with a new 24” bar and 404” chain. Luckily I purchased chain repair kits figuring I’d need them someday. Only a few teeth got ripped.
 
It’s a brand new rim sprocket. Still fine. Yes everything matches, I only use 3/8 chain.
 
It's not unusual for a thrown chain to have some drive links boogered up. Typically when you throw a chain a link grabbed something which caused it to de-rail. The rim does the damage to the chain but it's harder then the chain and rarely is damaged itself . If the damage is bad enough(like half the dl gone) the chain will throw more often to the point it gets annoying. To fix the boogered up links in in the field, loosen the chain up a bunch and run er wot for a few bursts and that will clean the drive links up to get them back in the rails again. Tighten then go back to work . It's usually only half a dozen or so that get chewed. Sometimes more. It's been a long time since I had to take a file or Dremel to the links to clean them up.
 
It's also much easier to throw chains on longer bars. Sometimes the drive links don't match up exactly with the teeth on the bar tip, which could happen when loosening and tightening chain. Sometimes all it takes is for a tooth to grab some brush and it tosses it. If you run bars longer then 24" run the saw wot and kind of roll it back and forth in your hands. You can see the chain bow out away from the bar and you can definitely see how it could throw.
 
This is an 18” I do have some super 70 left from a loop so I can fix it with very similar chains.
Im still up in the air about if I need the 288, it’s a lot heavier than my other saws and the big wrap handle is in the way cutting firewood. But it sure looks like the resell value sucks on husky saws.
 
To fix the boogered up links in in the field, loosen the chain up a bunch and run er wot for a few bursts and that will clean the drive links up to get them back in the rails again. Tighten then go back to work .
That sounds like a guaranteed way to destroy a bar! Burs or other damage on drive links will just gouge out the inside rails if you insist on continuing to run the chain.
 
Almost wondering if there was an excessive heat treat on the links causing them to be too hard. I had a stock chain that came on my Echo CS490 that was butter soft and would not hold sharpness. I contacted Oregon and sent the chain back to them for inspection. They denied any issue, but did send a brand new chain as a replacement. The new chain is much better.
 
That sounds like a guaranteed way to destroy a bar! Burs or other damage on drive links will just gouge out the inside rails if you insist on continuing to run the chain.
I cut timber for a living and do it all the time. It takes literally seconds and time is money. I've never had the inside of the rails gouge out on a bar ever.
 
Could the rim have chewed the drive links when the chain came off the bar and the rim stayed turning? We usually get a burred chain at the dL.

Please stay to the left side of the saw when buckin with longer bars. Wear your chaps.
I had a chain come off once and brushed the inside of my leg with jeans on. I figured out what those white lines meant on the top cover right away. We were all new once.
 
You're talking about an 18" chain, throw it in the scrap bin. Why would you put that buggered up thing back on a saw and ruin other stuff. If i had one of my 36 or 45" chains dinged up like that I'd throw it away, and those are expensive chains. But not as expensive as the $1000+ saws they go on.
 
Easy fix.

Or save it to use the remaining links as donors for other loops - a benefit of always using the same chain.

Philbert
I can see saving the parts for future use. I guess the difference is in growing up in a family owned business where the bottom line rules all. A homeowner or hobbiest can take the time to tinker. In the time it takes to fix it I could make enough to buy a new saw and several chains. Now that I'm retired I'm fixing and acquiring all the old saws I grew up with. But, unless it's some rare half inch pitch, I'm not piecing together damaged chains. That sounds a little rude, so please forgive me, it's not meant to be. I'd just rather buy a new one.
 
I guess the difference is in growing up in a family owned business where the bottom line rules all. A homeowner or hobbiest can take the time to tinker.
A bunch of us 'homeowner or hobbiest' (or non-profit volunteer) types would love to help you clean out those distracting projects!

I have run across guys who say they can't justify sharpening their chains, and toss them out when dull, like razor or utility knife blades. I have seen other guys who keep a strop next to their work bench and use a 'disposable' blade until there is almost nothing left of it. In between are guys who toss used chains into a bucket, and post it on CraigsList, or work a deal with someone else to sharpen / recondition (e.g. 'you keep one and give me one back sharpened').

Because my time is 'free', I can often save a $20 - $30 loop for the cost of a few pre-sets and some scrap chain. A good deal for my guys.

Whatever works for you.

Philbert
 
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