Chain tension for CSM?

[carvinmark]

How tight is too much? I'm getting tired of wearing out bars.I grind chain as soon as I notice performance drops off and try to keep tension a little tighter then my bucking saws.I'm using a 42" ,404 and an aux. oiler,Stihl bar oil and letting everything cool down after each pass.I don't want to chance the chain coming off,so I never run it loose.there must be a good setting that will make the bar last longer and still be safe.Any help out there?I have been using Windsor Bars. Sap,you don't know sh-t about saws, so don't make a fool of yourself again....

 

[CaseyForrest]

I know I havent done the amount of milling you have, but I notice I get most wear on the bar near the rim. Im using a 7 pin rim on the 066, and above and below the bar right at the rim it weas pretty good. Im sure itll even out once it wears down enough. Other than that, I keep about the same tension on it I do when using it for normal practice, nothing bad yet, using 3/8 50 gauge ripping chain.

 

[coveredinsap]

LOL! I know enough to adjust my own chain without asking.

 

[carvinmark]

LOL! I know enough to adjust my own chain without asking.

Now Sappy,You don't know Jack sh-t about chainsaws so why don't you just go lay down.You and your wild thing should stay with making fine saw dust,that is if you can get it started.
Another thing Sappy,I'm not above listening to advice from people that know what the hell is up,YOU DO NOT KNOW SH-T,I'll look you up if I get over your way,if you get my way,come see me,I'll add another paragraph to your dental records.

 

[carvinmark]

I know I havent done the amount of milling you have, but I notice I get most wear on the bar near the rim. Im using a 7 pin rim on the 066, and above and below the bar right at the rim it weas pretty good. Im sure itll even out once it wears down enough. Other than that, I keep about the same tension on it I do when using it for normal practice, nothing bad yet, using 3/8 50 gauge ripping chain.

Casey,how long a bar are you running?I get wear on the cutting edgeand just befor the tip on both sides but not much near the rim.Serious question,have you had a chain come off? These are to long to me to chance that.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Most of the time Im using a Stihl ES bar, 28". Sometimes I get away with using a 20", but not often.

Ive not yet thrown a chain. I think if you are throwing a chain while its in the mill, your rails may be worn more on one side than the other. Sounds like a good time to have the rails prefessionally dressed.

 

[ShoerFast]

Now Sappy,You don't know Jack sh-t about chainsaws so why don't you just go lay down.You and your wild thing should stay with making fine saw dust,that is if you can get it started.

Mark

Slappy did make it clear what he knew about chain tension a couple weeks ago, as he quoted what his "husky-Dealer" told him as a generic rule of thumb.

Having not milled nearly as much as the true CSM operators here have, what I have noticed with my bench-built is, just as the bar mounts are chucked tight,,,,,,, the bar needs to be straight, what I do is place a 28" chunk of straight stock on the bar with a couple friction clamps and support the weight of the engine as I do the final chuck to the mill-bar mounts.

It seems redundant to mention this to you, as I'm sure you forgot more about milling then I will ever know, but just for the chance that your mill is not chucking up plum, it's just .02 cents worth.

Too quote the Skurrel,,,,,,, "No sag,,, No drag"

Kevin

edit: With you guy's help/input when I started my bench-built, I can run 28 5/8" on a 36" ES bar.

 

[carvinmark]

Mark

Slappy did make it clear what he knew about chain tension a couple weeks ago, as he quoted what his "husky-Dealer" told him as a generic rule of thumb.

Having not milled nearly as much as the true CSM operators here have, what I have noticed with my bench-built is, just as the bar mounts are chucked tight,,,,,,, the bar needs to be straight, what I do is place a 28" chunk of straight stock on the bar with a couple friction clamps and support the weight of the engine as I do the final chuck to the mill-bar mounts.

It seems redundant to mention this to you, as I'm sure you forgot more about milling then I will ever know, but just for the chance that your mill is not chucking up plum, it's just .02 cents worth.

Too quote the Skurrel,,,,,,, "No sag,,, No drag"

Kevin

edit: With you guy's help/input when I started my bench-built, I can run 28 5/8" on a 36" ES bar.

Kevin,I'm still learning and haven't tried that yet but I will.Thanks

 

[ShoerFast]

Kevin,I'm still learning and haven't tried that yet but I will.Thanks

Hope I can always say that "I'm always learning"

 

[carvinmark]

Hope I can always say that "I'm always learning"

Sappy would never say anything like that,she knows all.

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

I tension my 42" bar on the mill just the same as I would use it for cross cutting and have never had a problem. My 72" is a completely different story. I have to tighten it as much as it will allow, run it to heat it up, then tension it again. I may even have to repeat this depending on how much I use it. Despite how tight it is, the chain still pulls away from the bar on the back side occasionally. It looks pretty scary at times but its normal. The fiasco I dealt with yesterday was caused by the mill, not the bar and chain. I had a chain come off once or twice when the bar was new but that was part of the learning curve. Luckily, none have ever "thrown", they just pop off and fall.

My 72" bar is showing some wear on the sprocket end. Compared to crosscutting, it seem premature but I believe its just the nature of the beast. You're making long, continuous cuts through a lot of bark and creating a lot of heat.

 

[carvinmark]

I tension my 42" bar on the mill just the same as I would use it for cross cutting and have never had a problem. My 72" is a completely different story. I have to tighten it as much as it will allow, run it to heat it up, then tension it again. I may even have to repeat this depending on how much I use it. Despite how tight it is, the chain still pulls away from the bar on the back side occasionally. It looks pretty scary at times but its normal. The fiasco I dealt with yesterday was caused by the mill, not the bar and chain. I had a chain come off once or twice when the bar was new but that was part of the learning curve. Luckily, none have ever "thrown", they just pop off and fall.

My 72" bar is showing some wear on the sprocket end. Compared to crosscutting, it seem premature but I believe its just the nature of the beast. You're making long, continuous cuts through a lot of bark and creating a lot of heat.

Maby I'm running mine to tight,thanks aggie

 

[woodshop]

My two pennies on tension... when cold, I start my chain tighter than I do my non-milling saws. I can still drag the chain around the bar by hand, but it's tighter than normal. Then after only one pass down an 8 ft log, the chain heats up and stretches, and I can spin the chain around the bar as freely as I can with my other saws. If I don't start it that tight, it gets too loose when hot. I'm only running a 36 inch bar, and no aux oiler. I keep the oiler on my 395XP cranked to max, and with my 36" it seems to keep up. Larger bar probably not. Anyway, I too have found that with milling, I'm constantly re-tensioning. I'm also using the cheaper Windsor bar... and so far it IS wearing faster than my non-milling bars, but nothing way out of the ordinary. Nature of the beast. I think of faster bar wear as just another cost of milling, along with longer (more expensive) chains, and needing a huge (more expensive) saw. Still cheap compared to the $500-$1000 worth of custom dimensioned hardwood lumber you can mill up in a day.

 

[carvinmark]

Thanks Woodshop,sounds pretty close to my routine.