Myself and friends have noticed that on some cuts the chain doesn't want to cut if the bar is horizontal and the cut is near the saw (motor) but will cut fine if on an angle and cutting more toward the tip of the bar. To be more precise the far 1/3 of the bar/chain combo. Are we doing something wrong with either our blocking technique or our chain sharpening methods?
Your bar wears most where it catches the most friction; generally near the powerhead. The chain usually dulls the most on the right side due to generally being on the "downhill" side of the bar, especially stump cuts and dirt strikes. Between uneven bar wear and uneven chain dulling, you can end up with some interesting problems cutting wood. I usually just have a curving cut when the bar begins to wear unenvenly, but sometimes the chain just won't dig in and cut, no matter how sharp it feels. This is because the cut is so crooked from the uneven rails that the bar binds in it's own cut.
If you pull the bar out of the groove you are attempting to cut, and you can clear up the cut with just the tip of the bar, does the saw go on to cut another inch or two before slowing down in the cut? If so, this is almost certainly a badly worn bar. The rails can be taller on one side, or the groove can be worn too wide or allow too much lean. Either way, the bar is messing up your cut and needs to be serviced or replaced.
Sounds like your bar has a burr close to the powerhead. Flip it over or dress it and see if your problem goes away.
Flipping might help, but doesn't usually correct the problem. Most guys accidentally flip the bar often enough to keep the wear somewhat equal without even knowing it's usefulness.
Worn bar is my guess, rails spreading up towards the power head and the chain rides up into it and binds the cut
Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk
I think we may have a winner! You didn't offer any solutions though.
This -
Run your thumb nail across the sides of the bar and likely you will hit a ridge at the edge. If so, dress the edges with a flat file and you will be back in business.
Ron
Well... maybe. If you know how to do all the necessary filing. Knock off the burr so that there is no extrusion of burnished steel anywhere on the sides of the bar. Then file the rails flat so that each side of the groove is equally tall. You can generally spot unevenly worn rails by trying to stand the bar vertically on a very flat hard surface. If the bar won't stay standing, you need to fix it!
Something no one has mentioned: when a chain runs on a badly worn bar, the heels of each cutter will wear much more on the outside, conforming to the wear pattern on the bar. This is a really poor cutting condition, and there is no solution except to fix or repair the rail (give it square rails and a proper width) and to replace the worn out chain... no matter how new it might seem. I know of no method to repair worn out heels on a chain.
