How do you clean your chainsaw?

What kind of toothpaste?

windthrown said:

Yep, I use an old toothbrush on the saw teeth.

Click to expand...

What kind of toothpaste? :greenchainsaw:

Stiff paintbrush

Gologit said:

It has nothing to do with CAD...it has everything to do with lazy.

Click to expand...

It has something to do with something that sure is not right. I'm still hoping they are both just joking around.

rngrchad said:

It has something to do with something that sure is not right. I'm still hoping they are both just joking around.

Click to expand...

Nope they are not, There have been a couple of threads of guys using dishwashers. I think blsnelling has rebuilt several by cleaning them up in one.

rngrchad said:

It has something to do with something that sure is not right. I'm still hoping they are both just joking around.

Click to expand...

Serious. Do a search. I only tried it a couple of times. The saw parts get REAL clean...but it's hard on the dishwasher.

Brake Clean and air compressor. Hose it down with Brake Clean and dry it off with air hose

Light use;
Before turning of saw in the field run the saw so the chain gets a nice coating of bar oil This softens the resins and helps flush out gunk. Blow everything down with compressed air, including inside of clutch cover and chain. Remove filter cover and knock out filter.

After multiple light uses or heavy/extended use
1. Run the saw so the chain gets a nice coating of oil.
At home
2. Use compressed air to quickly blow down entire saw
3. Squirt simple green over everything and leave it soak for 10 - 15 mins. I also do this to my alaskan mill as well.
4. Use garden hose on jet to wash off simple green followed by a quick blow off of excess water
5. Remove bar & chain from saw
6. Clean bar groove with piece of broken hack saw blade - blow residual and oil hole gunk out with compressed air, blow out nose sprocket.
7. Hang chain and blow off residual. If it's still gunky I soak it in simple green O/N, rinse and then blow dry next day.
8. Using compressed air, blow-off gunk around clutch and inside clutch cover.
9. Remove filter cover & blow-off (careful around filter)
10. Remove filter & inspect, if required soak filter in simple green and water O/N then rinse in clean water and hang out to dry.

Gologit said:

Serious. Do a search. I only tried it a couple of times. The saw parts get REAL clean...but it's hard on the dishwasher.

Click to expand...

Hmmm....I did the search and I found Heinmann has one mounted in his garage:


You guys kill me. I can't believe some of it. WOW.

manyhobies said:

What kind of toothpaste? :greenchainsaw:

Click to expand...

If your chain is habitually loose, try polygrip.

rngrchad said:

Hmmm....I did the search and I found Heinmann has one mounted in his garage:

You guys kill me. I can't believe some of it. WOW.

Click to expand...

Years ago used the dishwasher to clean hub caps and mag wheels.Sooooo what's the problem?:crazy1:

rngrchad said:

Hmmm....I did the search and I found Heinmann has one mounted in his garage:

You guys kill me. I can't believe some of it. WOW.

Click to expand...

Thats where our is going after the wife gets a new one...Much easier than running to work and putting it in the hot parts washer...

Caution!!

BobL said:

Light use;
Before turning of saw in the field run the saw so the chain gets a nice coating of bar oil This softens the resins and helps flush out gunk. Blow everything down with compressed air, including inside of clutch cover and chain. Remove filter cover and knock out filter.

After multiple light uses or heavy/extended use
1. Run the saw so the chain gets a nice coating of oil.
At home
2. Use compressed air to quickly blow down entire saw
3. Squirt simple green over everything and leave it soak for 10 - 15 mins. I also do this to my alaskan mill as well.
4. Use garden hose on jet to wash off simple green followed by a quick blow off of excess water
5. Remove bar & chain from saw
6. Clean bar groove with piece of broken hack saw blade - blow residual and oil hole gunk out with compressed air, blow out nose sprocket.
7. Hang chain and blow off residual. If it's still gunky I soak it in simple green O/N, rinse and then blow dry next day.
8. Using compressed air, blow-off gunk around clutch and inside clutch cover.
9. Remove filter cover & blow-off (careful around filter)
10. Remove filter & inspect, if required soak filter in simple green and water O/N then rinse in clean water and hang out to dry.

Click to expand...

Don't over spin the nose sprocket and blow out the bearing! Also, check CL for dish wahers. I got one off of there cheep!

Most of the used saws I buy need a good cleaning. WD40 (Wal-Mart brand stuff) and compressed air works great for me. The Wal-Mart stuff is cheap, less then a $. One can will clean a neglected saw. I take most of the covers off, spray everything, let it soak in for a 15 minutes and blow the crud off with the compressor. Repeat on the tuff areas. If the cylinder is really bad I will fire the saw up after the WD40 has soaked in and the heat melts the crud off and it blows off with out much effort.

For normal day to day use just compressed air before the saw is bedded down for the night.

outdoorlivin247 said:

Soft bristle brush in the tool box for cleaning in the field and the air compressor when they get home...

Click to expand...

That's it.
Maybe a carwash every now and then, with the side cover off. Just gotta start it up and run the water out of everything then blow it out.

love the dishwasher, I have a small apartment size washer/dryer in the shop that i had back when i was in an apartment. I use it for cleaning rags and heavy soiled work cloths...makes the wife VERY happy keeping the grease/dirt/crap out of the house washer
will find a place for a DW now, makes sense, hot hot water just like one guy said almost as good as hot tank, just need to find the right 'soap/cleaner' to put in. and maybe try to re-troft a better strainer over drain to keep the crap out of it....can't wait. thanks.


oh, i clean mine like a lot of folks here have already said. everyother time i use it at home. or after a two day woods cut.

i take all the plastic off and clean clean clean. just be sure and NOT use carb cleaner, had a buddy do that once and although it cleaned well it also MELTED!!!!! the plastic...

I'm sure most/all of you know that but just in-case just one of you don't.......

I like my saw clean. last longer i hope.

Boss, hasnet' cleaned his in YEARS and wonders why it does not run all the time or ever sometimes....

someone here says a clean saw is a happy saw...i like that.

Non house DW does the job, sure. Oven cleaner, fine. WD-40, why not. Mix in with compressed air, good. Acetone ? Well, it is intra-dermally absorbed, leading to possible sterility. Then again, maybe that's a need. :jawdrop:
Forgotten is the one substance used by us Downeasters to clean tools:

Preparation-H.

Use with care, light touch with an ( old ) teethbrush on all parts.:stupid::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

rngrchad said:

Are you two serious!?!? Who does this? Tell me your both joking. I want to see a saw in a dishwasher picture! :jawdrop:

Click to expand...

Here you are..

gmax said:

Here you are..

Click to expand...

Parts right? At first I thought you guy were talking about the whole saw. :crazy1:

gmax said:

Here you are..

Click to expand...

Better get that outta there before your wife gets home:jawdrop::jawdrop::jawdrop:

I learned my lesson about cleaning causally used saws with a water hose. I used a saw all day cutting oak and took most of the housings of and rinsed it off. I then ran the saw for 10 minutes and put it away. Then for some reason decided to change the sprocket a couple of weeks later and the bearing had rusted to the clutch drum. I was lucky it did not trash my crank. From then on I just blow them off with compressed air, and if they get too bad I spray them off with gasoline. Be careful about using brake cleaner and those type chemicals around rubber parts especially the intake boots.