Bar wear near sproket tip

[AT sawyer]

I Inherited a bunch of Stihl bars and chains last week, and looking over the bars, I noticed that one of them had a burr groove worn down on both sides of the bar about two inches back from the tip. I usually associate burr grooves with someone using a dull chain and leaning on the dogs, but this was near the tip. Could it be from an over-tightened chain?

 

[NSEric]

I ran a saw with a weak oiler for a few years, it did that to the bar quite often so im going with not enough oil getting to the chain.

 

[Andyshine77]

Loose chain!! Do to centrifical force the chain comes off of the bar tip as it rotates around then slams back into the bar. To an extent to this is also normal wear, if it's not excessive.

 

[AT sawyer]

Loose chain!! Do to centrifical force the chain comes off of the bar tip as it rotates around then slams back into the bar. To an extent to this is also normal wear, if it's not excessive.

It was WAY excessive. There was a U-shaped trench at the end of the bar, both top and bottom, but nowhere else along the rails.

 

[Andyshine77]

It was WAY excessive. There was a U-shaped trench at the end of the bar, both top and bottom, but nowhere else along the rails.

That's 100% a loose chain. Not saying the chain wasn't dull, or the bar had proper oil, but the main cause was a loose chain.

 

[heimannm]

2nd the loose chain, exactly as Andre notes. The same pattern can also show up near the drive sprocket and the tail of the bar.

Mark

 

[Pony]

I have also seen wear like that on a short bar when I was cutting extensively with the nose of the bar.
Not boring cuts just limbing small stuff using nothing but the tip.
It was a long time ago so can't say the chain wasn't a little loose, it was Australian hardwood, but the saw would have been oiling properly.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I have a logger friend who goes through bar tips like Grant went through Richmond. He runs his chains loose all the time. I have told him about this several times, but he refuses to listen. He just gave me two more bars that he salted away and considers dead. Usually I just redress the grooves and replace the tips. Then the bar operates as if it were new. Most of the time the bar doesn't even have to be straightened.

So, I never have to buy new long bars when I can repair his with new tips and redress the grooves. And, a few other sawyers in town can buy these repaired bars from me for less than half price and save a bundle.