you have been fighting the thing for 3 months, return it to whence it came before warranty expires leaving you with a useless saw.
Dolmar throwing chains
- Thread starter redhawk23
- Start date
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How tight or loose are the drivers in the bar groove?
redhawk23
ArboristSite Operative
thenne1713
ArboristSite Operative
With bar tip held up, chain should be tightened until chain on bottom just fully seats the guidelink into/ against the bar above it; it should still rotate freely. Chain should not sag.Talked to a shop that sells my saw. The guy is convinced I'm running the chain too loose, he said to start with a new chain and tighten it to the point of basically not being able to pull it around the bar and keep it tight. I told him I’ve never heard or read it was necessary to tighten a chain so much
redhawk23
ArboristSite Operative
Had saw inspected by a seasoned shop owner, he said nothing is wrong with the saw. Nothing mismatched, nothing worn.
Would redhawks bar and chain fit on my 6100?
did this seasoned shop owner start the saw and make cuts with it too?
redhawk23
ArboristSite Operative
No, only started it. And as I said in an earlier post another dealer and mechanic said he wouldn’t try it because there’s nothing wrong with the model and the only explanation is a loose chain.
On a different note, I have learned that Stihl chains (drive links) don’t get beat up being thrown like Oregons because of their harder metal.
On a different note, I have learned that Stihl chains (drive links) don’t get beat up being thrown like Oregons because of their harder metal.
Redhawk - let me pass on my experience with throwing chains and what I think I learned. First I consider myself to be an experienced sawyer - but not a professional -, with LOTS of saws, and throwing a chain was not particular to any one of them. I tighten my chains like thenne1713 recommends - any looser definitely increases your chance of throwing a chain.
I typically do falling, bucking, and limbing when cutting and I would usually throw a chain everyday, sometimes two a day. Very frustrating.
I eventually accepted the fact that throwing a chain had to be caused by something I was doing. First I started looking at when I was throwing chains - what was I doing? I never threw a chain falling or bucking. Some times I was limbing, but, ALMOST ALWAYS, I was using the saw to clear brush or low stumping. So this is what I think I figured out and what I did. I may not be correct, but I very rarely throw chains anymore as long as I don’t let them get loose.
First clearing brush (and limbing) - I would be running the saw at high rpm in lots of small limbs and twigs. When you rev the saw, even with a snug chain, the centrifugal force can pull the chain TOTALLY out of the bar slot leaving a gap between the chain and bar. If you get a twig in that gap under the chain you are going to throw it. My fix - I throttle the RPMs a little when clearing brush and No thrown chains.
Low Stumping - threw a lot of chains doing this until I started wedging any stump over about 12” diameter. My theory is that when the weight of the stump sits back on the kerf it pinches the chain on the bar this somehow results in a thrown chain. Right? Wrong? All I can say is that if I has my wedge when low stumping I never throw a chain anymore.
Hope this may be help …
I typically do falling, bucking, and limbing when cutting and I would usually throw a chain everyday, sometimes two a day. Very frustrating.
I eventually accepted the fact that throwing a chain had to be caused by something I was doing. First I started looking at when I was throwing chains - what was I doing? I never threw a chain falling or bucking. Some times I was limbing, but, ALMOST ALWAYS, I was using the saw to clear brush or low stumping. So this is what I think I figured out and what I did. I may not be correct, but I very rarely throw chains anymore as long as I don’t let them get loose.
First clearing brush (and limbing) - I would be running the saw at high rpm in lots of small limbs and twigs. When you rev the saw, even with a snug chain, the centrifugal force can pull the chain TOTALLY out of the bar slot leaving a gap between the chain and bar. If you get a twig in that gap under the chain you are going to throw it. My fix - I throttle the RPMs a little when clearing brush and No thrown chains.
Low Stumping - threw a lot of chains doing this until I started wedging any stump over about 12” diameter. My theory is that when the weight of the stump sits back on the kerf it pinches the chain on the bar this somehow results in a thrown chain. Right? Wrong? All I can say is that if I has my wedge when low stumping I never throw a chain anymore.
Hope this may be help …
Seen them both buggered up from being thrown. Key thing is that the damage usually happens from the loose drive links bouncing off the still rotating drive sprocket, not the drive bar rails, or the soft chain catcher. Spur sprockets tend to do more damage than rim sprockets.
Philbert
redhawk23
ArboristSite Operative
“ I do loose most chains while cutting brush” @redhawk23
Chains always rock back and lift slightly away from the bar when cutting. The small twigs that get in there act like a tire iron on a bicycle tire, levering it over the edge, even if properly tensioned.
Philbert
I rarely throw chains, but if I do, it’s a bit loose limbing or brushing.
I generally find that starting out with tensioned chain that after a bit I need to stop and retension it- . You get a bit of expansion from the friction and such in the chain. just remember when finished using the unit to back off the tension when storing away.
redhawk23
ArboristSite Operative
Given how frequently I throw chains I’d like to have one of those knob tensioners found on the consumer saws. It really sucks always living in fear, just waiting to lose the chain, having to stop multiple times per day to replace the chain.
is it my imagination or do smaller saws throw chains more than bigger saws; for instance, I see folks with chains hanging off 60cc saws and they’re not losing chains. It’s only when I’m using my Dolmar that I have to keep a scrench in my pocket.
is it my imagination or do smaller saws throw chains more than bigger saws; for instance, I see folks with chains hanging off 60cc saws and they’re not losing chains. It’s only when I’m using my Dolmar that I have to keep a scrench in my pocket.
I have 5 dolmar saws, I have maybe tossed 5 chains in 20+ years cutting firewood . I have a corded Makita 16" electric I have popped a couple chains on that but that was while trimming evergreens and such around the house, never in firewood. I have had a couple well used chains break over the years. They were at end of life sharpening wise anyway so no loss to pocket book or damage to me physically.
redhawk23
ArboristSite Operative
There is a difference in cutting firewood and dismantling trees: freshly cut trees with all the branches big and small that need to be cut and stacked. I am currently clearing a mile or so of logging road covered on trees from a F3 tornado in August. Tree on top of tree on top of tree. A big mess. Very different from cutting up tree trunks and big branches for firewood. Clearing shrubs is also very different.
Fatherwheels
Addicted to ArboristSite
I never throw a chain on my EA4300 saws, I check they are tight enough, they stretch in use, so need a tweak
when the signs are there, and backed off before they get a chance to cool down and shrink and tighten up on
the bearing, all bad if that happens.
A chain will fly off if you miss the signs, if you abuse / stretch it, let twigs get under it, fling the saw side to side
with a loose chain, and any combinations of such behavior will certainly help it along.
Take a video of your saw cutting for a half hour, review it later and see if you spot any bad habbits.
Did you check your bar to see if it is straight, not like a propeller. Even a new bar can be twisted.
redhawk23
ArboristSite Operative
I had it looked at, it’s all in good shape
calamari
ArboristSite Operative
I've read all of this to and fro and like a lot of things in life it seems there's some wisdom and a lot of misinformation. Based on my experience, if the chain is snug to the bar, with it tightened while the bar is pulled up, there isn't enough slack to get the drivers up out of the bar's groove and off the nose sprocket. No matter how high the RPM, the chain isn't a rubber band and if you see it forming waves above or below the bar with it rising out of the groove, it's because it's way too loose. The few times I've gotten small twigs between the chain and bar it jammed at the saw and bogged the engine. It didn't toss the chain.
Maybe there's something that allows the chain to quickly loosen up? Maybe there's wear that hasn't been shown or disclosed? In any event, I can remember losing chains maybe twice in 60 years of doing firewood and falling some big trees. That may be more a statement about my memory than how many chains I've tossed, but both times were because I was lazy and didn't readjust a chain I saw was way too loose.
As far as cutting tornado damaged trees vs undamaged trees, the technique and cutting process is the same. They don't make "tornado saws." What's very different is the positions you get into and the footing. That leads me to think that a big part of the problem may be unintended operator error since the OP is adamant about the parts being new and correct for the saws involved.
Maybe there's something that allows the chain to quickly loosen up? Maybe there's wear that hasn't been shown or disclosed? In any event, I can remember losing chains maybe twice in 60 years of doing firewood and falling some big trees. That may be more a statement about my memory than how many chains I've tossed, but both times were because I was lazy and didn't readjust a chain I saw was way too loose.
As far as cutting tornado damaged trees vs undamaged trees, the technique and cutting process is the same. They don't make "tornado saws." What's very different is the positions you get into and the footing. That leads me to think that a big part of the problem may be unintended operator error since the OP is adamant about the parts being new and correct for the saws involved.
