Ms 261 bar plugs up with debris

[CM BEHOUNEK]

I bought a ms261 last fall, great saw except now the bar and chain keep getting pluged up with sawdust. Original bar, .325mm, 18" 1.6mm/0.0063" 74 links and Im using the chains that come in the yellow boxes. the set up is how it is supposed to be. I can have the bar all sleaned out and make about 15 12" cuts and then PLUGED, so pluged i cant move the chain with my hand with a glove. so I take it back apart and clean it out again. What is going wrong here? Thanks Chad

 

[old-cat]

Cotton wood is terrible at doing just that. The way I deal with the stuck chain is to slam the bar against solid wood pulling it toward you at the same time. That forces the chain to reverse and the junk comes out. I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure the way to prevent it in the first place is to use full skip chain. That's for cotton wood, maybe that will work for whatever you're cutting.

 

[Giles]

In the early eighties, I bought a NEW Stihl. If memory serves me, it was an 028. I took the new saw to the woods and started cutting. After only a few cuts, the chain got too tight so I loosened it. This happened FOUR times and I noticed the chain was app. 1/32" above the groove:msp_confused:
I took the bar off and scraped the sawdust from the groove and tried again. It did the same thing:msp_mad:
I took the saw back to the shop to investigate and to call the store I bought it from.
After about two hours, the store owner told me to bring the saw back---App. twenty miles---and he would fix it. He said Stilh had told him a few saws bars were defective in that the bar groove was too deep.
I returned the saw and the owner said he was advised to fill the bar with EPOXY and scrape it to the right depth:msp_confused::msp_confused::msp_confused:
This was absolutely UNBELIEVABLE:confused2::msp_mad:
I told him that was nonsense to give me a new bar. He said he checked and all his bars were defective:msp_confused:
I objected and he refunded my money.
I know this is hard to believe BUT IT HAPPENED---so help me !!

This may be something you may want to check out.

 

[sunfish]

In 35 years have never had this happen and with multiple saws?

 

[Giles]

In 67 years--This is the first and only time I have seen it. This happened over 30 years ago:msp_ohmy: I can certainly understand how it could.
I hesitated posting this reply because it is hard to believe but I would gain nothing by posting something I dreamed up.
If this is not his problem--I have no idea but it is simple to check.

 

[1Alpha1]

Okay....so now in addition to dealing with hard starting, I have to worry about it plugging up with sawdust? :msp_w00t:

 

[ROWDY]

Ware is your oillier adjusted? All the way up or what? What kind of bar oil are you using?

 

[cutforfun]

Okay....so now in addition to dealing with hard starting, I have to worry about it plugging up with sawdust? :msp_w00t:

Only if YOU store it to close to your chop saw in the garage

 

[buzz sawyer]

Any chance the chain is too loose? I thought the drivers were designed to clear a path through any sawdust in the goove.

 

[galde]

The bar groove is more prone to clogging with sawdust if the notches at the tips of the drive links are not crisp but have been rounded off from being run too loose, which lets the teeth on the drive sprocket pound them down. These notches are there to rake the bar groove and are the real "rakers", since the depth gauges don't do any actual raking. Any time the bar is raised up in the kerf during a cut (especially with a loose chain), sawdust and chips can get into the bar groove, and blunted drive links will pack it into the groove and the chain can bind in the bar.

 

[missedbass]

Might be a stupid question but .. how sharp is your chain?

 

[discounthunter]

Might be a stupid question but .. how sharp is your chain?

and how loose is it.

 

[Giles]

The bar groove is more prone to clogging with sawdust if the notches at the tips of the drive links are not crisp but have been rounded off from being run too loose, which lets the teeth on the drive sprocket pound them down. These notches are there to rake the bar groove and are the real "rakers", since the depth gauges don't do any actual raking. Any time the bar is raised up in the kerf during a cut (especially with a loose chain), sawdust and chips can get into the bar groove, and blunted drive links will pack it into the groove and the chain can bind in the bar.

I believe you are correct--It might have been defective chains that caused the problem. I remember that the sawdust was really packed hard in the groove and if the chain was scraping, as it was supposed to, then the sawdust couldn't build up.
Very good point.

 

[griffonks]

I has this happen to me on Easter while limbing a big cottonwood with a 44cc echo. The sprocket jambed with splinters while cutting a large broken limb. I removed the chain and cleared the chunks then it was ok. Never happened before or after.

 

[KenJax Tree]

Okay....so now in addition to dealing with hard starting, I have to worry about it plugging up with sawdust? :msp_w00t:

Dano i think your biggest worry is just plain ole dust.

 

[HuskStihl]

It really shouldn't be making sawdust. Something must be wrong with the chain if that is the case. The bar shouldn't have much to do with it unless the oil hole is plugged

 

[ptjeep]

I cant explain it but my 261 does it also. Especially when flush cutting small stumps. And yes,,,,,,my chain stays sharp and tight. Has done it since day one.

 

[stihl waters]

Take a dremel and remove that ridge that runs across the middle of the inside of the chain cover,worked for me and no probs. With the ridge there it just doesn't allow it to clear out quick enough.

 

[1Alpha1]

Dano i think your biggest worry is just plain ole dust.

Naw....I always keep it stored in it's Stihl carry case.

It's sooooo clean, you could eat off of it. :msp_biggrin:

 

[Philbert]

+1 on the sharp chain mention. Ideally should be making 'chips' instead of 'dust'.

If you know that this is a problem with the wood you are cutting, try taking the saw out of the cut every few minutes and revving it a bit to clear the groove. Some woods might just be difficult.

The bar groove is more prone to clogging with sawdust if the notches at the tips of the drive links are not crisp but have been rounded off from being run too loose, which lets the teeth on the drive sprocket pound them down. These notches are there to rake the bar groove and are the real "rakers", since the depth gauges don't do any actual raking.

Some manuals recommend sharpening the drive tang to improve bar clearing ability. I have never done this, but might be something to consider if the tips are really rounded over.

But actually, the top plate of the cutter is the 'raker' that pulls out the chips after the side plates score the wood fibers. It's one of the claims in Joe Cox's patent application for the original 'chipper chain'.

Philbert