Chainsaw bar heat damage?

[vincebu]

Hey guys,

I've been around here reading some, and this site has tons of information about chainsaws and heating with wood, I love it! Now I have my own question, so I finally made an account.

I'm new here, my name is Vince, and I live in north MS. Last year I finally bought my own saw after always using my dads saw. I ended up getting a stihl MS261, and I love it.

Anyway, since I've had the saw, I've noticed the paint is wearing off on the bar, and it seems like it got really hot. It's currently in two spots, on the bottom right (when looking from the saw), and on the top left, at the same area of the bar (see pictures).

I've never had this with any chainsaw I've used before. I kinda hate to have it look like this, and I'm worried it'll tear up my bar.

I've only ran the bar in the 'normal' position, never upside down. Yet there is also damage on the left top, what's causing this?

Now my question is, is this normal wear and tear or am I doing something wrong? I've only cut a couple of cords with the saw.
Thanks!

 

[Marine-piper]

Make sure the oil holes aren't clogged and the chain is the correct gauge (.050)
Also make sure you clean out the grooves so oil will flow properly and lubricate the entire surface.
Homelite collector in training [emoji879]

 

[HarleyT]

Take off some paint in other spots and look for the same darkening/bluing.

 

[vincebu]

They're not clogged. It has an adjustable oiler though, but I've never messed with it. When I run out of gas there's always some oil left. Chain is the one that came with the saw

 

[full chizel]

Aren’t the rails heat treated? So this would be normal in that area.

 

[vincebu]

Aren’t the rails heat treated? So this would be normal in that area.

Never thought of this, but makes complete sense. It's too consistent to be from heat generated by the bar.

Is it normal to have paint coming off in those spots or am I doing something wrong?

 

[Marine-piper]

Heat treated doesn't mean it won't blue if too much heat builds up.

Homelite collector in training [emoji879]

 

[buzz sawyer]

That bluing is on the two Stihl bars I have and I guarantee they were never overheated.

 

[vincebu]

That bluing is on the two Stihl bars I have and I guarantee they were never overheated.

Thanks for your reply, that makes me feel better.

Is it normal for the paint to come off in all those spots?

 

[full chizel]

That bluing is on the two Stihl bars I have and I guarantee they were never overheated.

I wasn’t gonna get into a debate about it

 

[Skeans]

That’s an over heated rail, if the oil hole into the rail from the bar oil hole is open,the next thing I would look for is a burr on drivers, after that how sharp is the chain? Is the bluing on one side or both sides of the bar? Good habit to get into is perfect sharpening clean the rails, oil holes, and flip the bar.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rogue60]

Looks normal as has been said the blue is from when the rails are heat treated at the factory.
And yes it's normal for paint to wear off a bar with normal use.
To get a bar that hot there would be smoke and almost fire coming off the chain and bar! lol
The paint is still nice and white 1st thing I notice when I pinch a rail is the smoke and paint burning off going a crusty off white brown black burnt paint.
But as you have the bar off now's a good time to dress it basic maintenance for bars.

 

[Andyshine77]

That normal it's from the heat treating. You'd have to get the bar red hot, and evenly hot for it too look like that. It is possible to over heat a bar but the discoloration will be in small local areas at the very edge of the bar only .075" or as from the edge, this is not what we're seeing.

 

[TBS]

That's normal on most bars. Imo turn up the oil flow a little bit, a little more lube can't hurt it.

 

[catbuster]

That bar’s fine. The rails are heated to be hardened, and the blueing occurs during that process.

Paint wears off the bar as it rubs on wood. Don’t worry about it.

 

[Justsaws]

It takes a bit of effort to overheat a bar mounted to a modern high rpm power head.

If there was any oil at all there would be smoke, a lot of it.

If there was no oil at all there would be chain stopping friction, a lot of it. Lack of saw performance, weirdness.

If by chance the chain was so incredibly dull as to cause overheating the smoke would eventually give way to friction and a ridiculously stretched out chain. Again weirdness.

None of these is quick, a person has to be willing to overlook or not understand what is happening. Generally the overheated part of the bar is small and isolated with paint being burned at the edges not just missing.

Your image as others have mentioned shows the visual difference from the heat treatment of the rails and why the center section of the bar is easier to drill/grind than the rails.

Good photos. If oil slings off the tip a little bit then it is oiled, after that it is all about a sharp chain and the condition of the drive components.

 

[CR888]

Completely normal on a Stihl bar. Very common concern for guys who run Stihl bars and see blue when the paint wear off near the rails. Nothing to worry about, take the paint off a new one & guess what it looks like?...

 

[sb47]

Crank the oiler up to the max. The oil tank is supposed to have oil left when the fuel runs out. It has more oil then fuel so the oil doesn't run out while you are using it. Looks like thats where you sre doing the most cutting on the bar. Make sure you flip the bar every now and then to spread the wear out more evenly. If you cut in the same spot on the bar it will wear the most in those spots. Try to use different spots on the bar to equalize bar wear. But it looks normal to me.
As for the groove getting saw dust and preventing the oil from getting to all parts of the chain and bar is not a big deal. That saw dust gets soaked in oil and the chain will drag the oil to all parts of the bar no mater if it is clogged with saw dust. I only clean out the bar groove when I change the chain or flip the bar. I typically only flip the bar and clean the groove when I put on a new chain.

However, if you hit the dirt, please stop and clean the bar groove because the dirt will grind and wear things out faster. But just saw dust, not so much.

 

[vincebu]

Alright thank you guys so much for all your replies, I really appreciate it!

 

[SteveSr]

Aren’t the rails heat treated? So this would be normal in that area.

+1 BINGO!