may be hardly critical, but i guess from my prior trade i would prefer to spend the $5 for a new sprocket to keep everything in sync the best i can. i am in no way any kind of chainsaw expert, my posts are from a general "machine drive train" point of view and all this is only my opinion. like i said in my first reply..."you make the call". it looks like i am a little more finciky on this topic than most everyone else, but that is because of the trade i was in...please don't take it that i am arguing with anyone.WRW said:
Can You Reverse a Rim Drive Sprocket
- Thread starter MotoBoyMatt
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hey, it's all in fun, and all about different points of view, thats how we all learn......and i thank the AS site for all the info i am learning about chainsaws, i find many of the threads very interesting and informative.
LOL....this is beginning to look like the "spark plug cleaning" thread
LOL....this is beginning to look like the "spark plug cleaning" thread
West Texas
ArboristSite Guru
Is there a 'rule of thumb' for changing drive sprockets? How long or how many hours? Or is it when you replace one, two or three chains? I've just done it based on appearance. The saws I maintain and work on are used for 'fighting fires' and cutting firewood. They are used by a variety of people and are not run all day long, except when making fire breaks, during a forest fire. I am not an 'engineer' I just try to keep them running and cutting.
SawTroll
Information Collector
I agree with you,Vman said:
except for the car tires - they are quite often made with only one direction of rotation in mind, and marked accordingly.
Mike Barcaskey said:
I've probably seen that many belts, never that many gears.
Vman said:
I think that the situation for sprockets-chains, and or other gears-transmissions, etc. is more complex. Important are probably severals factors like:
are the "partners" wearing in the same speed or not. I´m not sure, which one, chain or sprocket is wearing faster. If sprocket is wearing faster, then there can be some reason to reverse it oftenly (piston rings will be usually replaced before cylinder needs replacement).
If chain which has lot of links, much more than sprocket has tooths, wears rapidly, then there is probably not advantage from reversing of sprocket.
I know, that car has an in-driving, etc., and that all surfaces are needing to adapt with each other. But evry transmission has its speciffic parameters
Look the bike, gears are preferably replaced simultaneously with the chain, however, if we can reverse the gears of bike, then we can but new chain on it
West Texas,
Any structural firefighting?
For fireline and general woodcutting, you might use two chains in rotation on one sprocket as a general rule. Since you have several operators with varying levels of skill, I would think that would be the best practice.
Any structural firefighting?
For fireline and general woodcutting, you might use two chains in rotation on one sprocket as a general rule. Since you have several operators with varying levels of skill, I would think that would be the best practice.
West Texas
ArboristSite Guru
Nope, no structural fire fighting; forest fires only. But these can run a week to ten days pretty easily. A lot of outside help comes in from widely different sources when that happens.
I hear ya', West Texas. I just wanted to be sure we weren't including ventilation in the mix. As a general rule, do the operators take good care of the equipment?
maintenance
If you've worked around chains & sprockets a while you know when to change them out by how they look. This implies you do maintenance which of course many do not do routinely or enough of. Rule of thumb should be 2 or 3 chains and then a sprocket. But a homeowner can trash a chain in a NY miniute, so his mileage may very. Someone that uses a saw everyday can tell just by the way the saw preforms with a sharp chain on it when it's time to replace the sprocket.Years back I was running my 6th chain and then had a sprocket explode out the side cover. That convinced me to change them out more often. It was then I noticed it was banging the drive tangs up also. In time you'll learn Maintenance is a good thing and should be done often. If this had been a poll question I'd have been in with the crowd that says, "NO! Do Not turn the sprocket around." For the price of a new one it isn't worth the trouble. Do turn the bar over/rotate it like tires only more often than tires. Turning the bar at the end of each day/week gives you the oppertunity to look at the wear on the chain, sprocket and bar. Something that should be done, something completely overlooked by the typical homeowner, Maintenance.
West Texas said:
If you've worked around chains & sprockets a while you know when to change them out by how they look. This implies you do maintenance which of course many do not do routinely or enough of. Rule of thumb should be 2 or 3 chains and then a sprocket. But a homeowner can trash a chain in a NY miniute, so his mileage may very. Someone that uses a saw everyday can tell just by the way the saw preforms with a sharp chain on it when it's time to replace the sprocket.Years back I was running my 6th chain and then had a sprocket explode out the side cover. That convinced me to change them out more often. It was then I noticed it was banging the drive tangs up also. In time you'll learn Maintenance is a good thing and should be done often. If this had been a poll question I'd have been in with the crowd that says, "NO! Do Not turn the sprocket around." For the price of a new one it isn't worth the trouble. Do turn the bar over/rotate it like tires only more often than tires. Turning the bar at the end of each day/week gives you the oppertunity to look at the wear on the chain, sprocket and bar. Something that should be done, something completely overlooked by the typical homeowner, Maintenance.
West Texas
ArboristSite Guru
Are you kidding? ha! I should keep the chain locked up so they don't put .325 on a .050 bar and sprocket. They are firefighter's, not chainsaw guys. We have eight saws 'extra' that belong to us; and, I have to clean and sharpen them during and afterwards. The professional firefighters take care of their own saws; but, a lot of volunteers get involved and that's when the fun begins.
West Texas said:
LOL! OK, we're talking about the same types of operators.
Damages from fireground operations I can easily understand.
SawTroll
Information Collector
I think the "banging" is occurring because the distance between the sprocket teeth becomes smaller as the perimeter wears down, while the distance between the tangs on the chain remains the same as it wear.geofore said:
EDIT: I posted a theory about sprocket wear here, but I no longer believe it to be correct!
Bottom line is that sprocket rims are cheap - so it doesn't really matter.
Just follow the one sprocket - two chain rule, and you will be well off! :blob5:
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Mange
Addicted to ArboristSite
I think the best thing is having 4-5 new chains, a new bar and a new rim. Change chain as they need filing, this way they will wear almost identically and when chains are done get a new set.
