My "new" saw chatters

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skybolt

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Howdy, I recently scored a nice little MS192c that needed a new chain. I cleaned her up, bought a new Oregon S50 Advancecut chain (3/8" pitch, .050 gauge, 50 link) installed on the oem Stihl bar (thats in good shape) and commenced to chop up a hackmatac tree and discovered a pretty severe chatter during use, Ive never experienced this before and cant seem to figure out whats causing it. Ive adjusted the tension in both directions with minimal effect. Could it be taking too much bite? are the oregon depth gauges too low? Whats an acceptable depth?

Thanks for any insight!
 
Seems to be in good shape.
c3c0565fb5eb01526ca86ff4239d1280.jpg



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Both the bar and nose sprocket seem good, when tensioned properly it pulls well by hand and seems smooth while running NOT under load, once into wood it’s a different story.


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I think it has something to do with the weight of the saw and speed of the chain, along with the hardness of the wood.

My 2511T chattered when I first got it. And then I switched from a 12 to a 14 inch bar.
I don't notice the chatter anymore.

Not sure if I subconsciously changed my technique, or if the longer b&c smoothed it out, or if I just became accustomed to the feel.
Maybe a little of all three.
 
Its the 3/8 lo-pro chain. The cutters are simply spaced to far apart for such small bars & displacement saws. I bet if OP were to use 1/4" chain problem would magically disappear. Its just the way it is, you need to detune your chain angles to better a bad situation. Reduce your inner top plate angle, don't have too much hook, make sure depth gauges are properly shaped & set. The type of wood i.e dry or green/ hard or soft influences the chatter too. But its primary cause is 'pitch' related. A lo profile .325 will be well received by the consumer should one of the saw co's per sue it. The reduced cutter spacing of .325 is better suited for small power head application. But heel, what would I know...
 
So to be clear is the chain chattering out of the cut, in the cut, or both?

Out of the cut chattering or skipping is a dead giveaway of a chain that does not match the sprocket.
That saw should be using picco chain which is 3/8 low pro which is what you bought (s50). If this is the case check the spur drum and tell us what the Proof marks say. When the chain jumps or skips out of the cut it is already destroyed due to the peening of the tie straps due to the sprocket mismatch. If this is the case you will see the peening on the tie strap inhibiting the ability of the drive link to pivot properly on the rivet.
 
Its the 3/8 lo-pro chain. The cutters are simply spaced to far apart for such small bars & displacement saws. I bet if OP were to use 1/4" chain problem would magically disappear. Its just the way it is, you need to detune your chain angles to better a bad situation. Reduce your inner top plate angle, don't have too much hook, make sure depth gauges are properly shaped & set. The type of wood i.e dry or green/ hard or soft influences the chatter too. But its primary cause is 'pitch' related. A lo profile .325 will be well received by the consumer should one of the saw co's per sue it. The reduced cutter spacing of .325 is better suited for small power head application. But heel, what would I know...
I agree. The problem is 3/8 lo-pro requires even less power than NK .325" and would bog down these little saws. Setup correctly 3/8 LP can cut pretty smoothly. 1/4 would be a good option if the chattering is too bad.
 
Excellent info guys, I really appreciate it, I've a lot to learn still.
I'll just give her a couple sharpenings without touching the rakers and see how that goes.
 
I agree. The problem is 3/8 lo-pro requires even less power than NK .325" and would bog down these little saws. Setup correctly 3/8 LP can cut pretty smoothly. 1/4 would be a good option if the chattering is too bad.
I'm talking about a new chain that's .325 low profile not NK. I've heard it 'may' be in the pipelines and possibly come to hit the shelves but you know what rumors are like...
 
Howdy, I recently scored a nice little MS192c that needed a new chain. I cleaned her up, bought a new Oregon S50 Advancecut chain (3/8" pitch, .050 gauge, 50 link) installed on the oem Stihl bar (thats in good shape) and commenced to chop up a hackmatac tree and discovered a pretty severe chatter during use, Ive never experienced this before and cant seem to figure out whats causing it. Ive adjusted the tension in both directions with minimal effect. Could it be taking too much bite? are the oregon depth gauges too low? Whats an acceptable depth?

Thanks for any insight!
A lot of those 3/8 LP Oregon chains will chatter when new. If you are in grabby/stringy wood they will chatter worse.
 
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