Chain tightening

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Loosen the bar nuts enough so the bar will move up and down if you hold it by the tip. Hold the bar all the way up, and adjust the chain until it just touches the bar. Tighten the bar nuts while you are still holding it, and move the chain by hand. It should move freely all the way around.
 
Loosen the bar nuts enough so the bar will move up and down if you hold it by the tip. Hold the bar all the way up, and adjust the chain until it just touches the bar. Tighten the bar nuts while you are still holding it, and move the chain by hand. It should move freely all the way around.
Be very careful when sliding the chain on the bar by hand. The bar rail can get quite sharp and will cut your fingers. Use a glove to be safe.
 
Don't forget to flip your bar every now and then to spread the wear out over the entire bar. While you have it off make sure you clean out the oil port and groove in the bar and the oil port on the saw. Use air to blow out any and all contaminants, such as dirt, and saw dust. Also blow out the flywheel fins and generally clean the whole saw while your at it.
 
Then you should be dressing your bar. It shouldn't be sharp.
This.....

Don't forget to flip your bar every now and then to spread the wear out over the entire bar. While you have it off make sure you clean out the oil port and groove in the bar and the oil port on the saw. Use air to blow out any and all contaminants, such as dirt, and saw dust. Also blow out the flywheel fins and generally clean the whole saw while your at it.

Whenever I prepped a saw in the AM for a crew to take into the field, it was opened up, everything cleaned, the chain sharpened and burrs removed from the rails. Never had a problem with the rails being sharp, but when turning a chain you should use a glove because in theory the teeth are supposed to be sharp...;)
Another trick here - the screwdriver end of most scrench tools are cut to fit into the rails so you can clean the groove out.....
 
This.....



Whenever I prepped a saw in the AM for a crew to take into the field, it was opened up, everything cleaned, the chain sharpened and burrs removed from the rails. Never had a problem with the rails being sharp, but when turning a chain you should use a glove because in theory the teeth are supposed to be sharp...;)
Another trick here - the screwdriver end of most scrench tools are cut to fit into the rails so you can clean the groove out.....
That sounds like a good standard maintenance schedule to go by. I don't do it at the start of everyday because I generally don't use a saw all day. It may take me from a few days to a week to get a full days run time on a saw. I have 3 so I rotate them a bit so they all get some run time.
As for dressing the bar I will if I put on a new chain. My philosophy is that a bar and chain will self seat themselves as the saw is run and you actually have more surface area in contact between the bar and chain once they have seated together. As long as it is still cutting strait that is. Or if the rail starts mushrooming over and gets a bur on the outside groove of the bar that can hang up on the wood as it's cutting through the wood. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
 
im not an expert

I tighten till the chain touches both bar rails loosely, not overly tight but should be tight enough the chain cannot come out of the bar rails
generally, I dont bother with lifting the bar nose when tensioning, I should also note: I have NEVER thrown a chain, or over heated one, so it must be working good
 
Your nose sprocket will wear out before you ever sand your guide rails too far down.
That may be true but. I have had a nose sprocket seize up on me once but that was the kind that needed to be greased and not an oilomatic bar that self lubes. But I still stand by what I said. I also wore out a bar because I did a lot of tip cutting with it on a lot of small limbs and wore a deep spot in one area of the bar. I just feel like if it's cutting good and strait that it's a step that is not really needed unless there is a problem.
 
That sounds like a good standard maintenance schedule to go by. I don't do it at the start of everyday because I generally don't use a saw all day. It may take me from a few days to a week to get a full days run time on a saw. I have 3 so I rotate them a bit so they all get some run time.
As for dressing the bar I will if I put on a new chain. My philosophy is that a bar and chain will self seat themselves as the saw is run and you actually have more surface area in contact between the bar and chain once they have seated together. As long as it is still cutting strait that is. Or if the rail starts mushrooming over and gets a bur on the outside groove of the bar that can hang up on the wood as it's cutting through the wood. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
At times we would run saws for hours at a time, every day, all day, and sometimes all night too. They needed to be maintained at all times because much of their use was during storm emergencies and they had to work and work right.
Running a bar until the chain cuts crooked is not acceptable. Its better to keep the bar and chain properly maintained at all times. You don't want to be out in a storm and find out that the chain won't cut because the bar is worn or has a huge burr on the rail. All it take is a couple seconds to look and run a file over the corners when you are cleaning a saw.... If you keep it fixed it won't break....

I dont bother with lifting the bar nose when tensioning, I should also note: I have NEVER thrown a chain, or over heated one, so it must be working good
The thing about lifting the bar is to keep the chain from getting too tight if the bar should move. Lifting the nose makes the chain tighter. If the bar should shift upwards when you are cutting its possible to end up with the chain overly tight, which can have adverse effects on the bar, chain and the saw itself.
 
At times we would run saws for hours at a time, every day, all day, and sometimes all night too. They needed to be maintained at all times because much of their use was during storm emergencies and they had to work and work right.
Running a bar until the chain cuts crooked is not acceptable. Its better to keep the bar and chain properly maintained at all times. You don't want to be out in a storm and find out that the chain won't cut because the bar is worn or has a huge burr on the rail. All it take is a couple seconds to look and run a file over the corners when you are cleaning a saw.... If you keep it fixed it won't break....


The thing about lifting the bar is to keep the chain from getting too tight if the bar should move. Lifting the nose makes the chain tighter. If the bar should shift upwards when you are cutting its possible to end up with the chain overly tight, which can have adverse effects on the bar, chain and the saw itself.
Not to be mean, but this is the difference between homeowners and pros. To make a decision on saw performance based on how long a wear item will last is just foreign to me. For that manner, any piece of gear. If it's not 100%, it's 0%. I mean how much is a bar? It is a wear item! But most guys don't buy chain in 100' loops either.. I get it.
 
Couple of my thoughts:
*how tight? I tighten it until pulling up on the chain in the middle of the bar barely exposes the bottom of the drive links. It should "snap" back into place.
*Pulling the bar up: Before tightening, I prop up the nose of the bar by setting the bottom on a block (or side of the pickup bed sometimes).
*dressing the bar: @sb47, you said "Be very careful when sliding the chain on the bar by hand. The bar rail can get quite sharp and will cut your fingers. Use a glove to be safe" then a few posts later "As long as it is still cutting strait that is. Or if the rail starts mushrooming over and gets a bur on the outside groove of the bar that can hang up on the wood as it's cutting through the wood. If it ain't broke don't fix it." If there is anything to catch/cut your finger, the bar is, by definition mushrooming/creating a bur. Maybe not wider than the chain yet...but why not fix it asap?
 
Couple of my thoughts:
*how tight? I tighten it until pulling up on the chain in the middle of the bar barely exposes the bottom of the drive links. It should "snap" back into place.
*Pulling the bar up: Before tightening, I prop up the nose of the bar by setting the bottom on a block (or side of the pickup bed sometimes).
*dressing the bar: @sb47, you said "Be very careful when sliding the chain on the bar by hand. The bar rail can get quite sharp and will cut your fingers. Use a glove to be safe" then a few posts later "As long as it is still cutting strait that is. Or if the rail starts mushrooming over and gets a bur on the outside groove of the bar that can hang up on the wood as it's cutting through the wood. If it ain't broke don't fix it." If there is anything to catch/cut your finger, the bar is, by definition mushrooming/creating a bur. Maybe not wider than the chain yet...but why not fix it asap?
I thought I explained that already.
 
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