re tempering a whole chain

[rustymaggot]

my project is a saw that sat in water for 2 or more years. not sure how much water. it was in a hard case that got rained on and water got in. looked like an inch or so. my goal was to see if it would run and try to use as many original parts as possible. after a lot of work i have the saw sorted out except for the chain. it was rusted solid and i actually needed a hammer and screwdriver to knock it off the bar. i soaked it in vinegar for days at a time. soaked it in penetrating oil days at a time. back and forth. scrubbing and brushing. but im stuck now. some of the links are still frozen solid. my next idea is to warm it with a torch and cool it with oil. see if i can get the stuck links broken free. but im afraid to damage the chain with the torch. so, my big question is this.........

if i heat up my chain too hot and ruin the temper, how would i go about re tempering? what color should i heat to and then do i leave it to air cool or do i quench it? or am i worrying for nothing?

i know the simple answer is to just get a new chain, but for some reason i really want to have this chain go back on the saw.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Suppose you get the chain loosened up and use the saw until the chain is worn out, will you weld new metal on the cutters? My point is there is no functional or logical reason to try to salvage that particular chain. If the saw is running, replace the chain and get on with life.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Just thought of another reason to replace. Why mess around with something that has the potential to seriously maim or kill you if it fails due to fatigue from everything you've done to it?

 

[rustymaggot]

i was afraid people wouldnt understand the project. that saw have been thrown away. i wanted to see if i could make it work again and if possible re use every part. so far ive beeded a few carb parts and fuel line. once its running again and works, ill probably get rid of it. the point is not keeping it original forever. the point is to see if i can do it. right now, the chain is the last battle. both the chain and i are stubborn.

 

[rustymaggot]

wow, my typos are terrible tonight.

 

[HarleyT]

I would say that the peenable rivet material would be an issue. I am no metallurgist, but I am guessing that it is of quite a different alloy material.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Another approach,

Rather than getting into trying to reheat treat, or not, the chain, if you have access to an ultrasonic cleaner throw the chain in with gun cleaning / metal parts solution. Use the heat setting and give it a 1/2 hour of so in the cleaner. The ulrasonic action will loosen up rust and caked on dirt and grit. Folow with a dose of Kroil or PB Blaster. Let it work in and see if things start to loosen up.

Try this process a couple times, If no improvement suggest the chain take a trip to the scrap steel barrel.

Take Care

 

[PhxDarius]

I would use Evapo-rust. Soak it for a day and the rust is gone. The stuff works wonders. I have used it a lot with restoring vintage woodworking tools. $25 a gallon but they do sell it at harbor freight and with a 20% off coupon it is $20. Or you can use a old battery charger and try electrolysis. It works too. Just make sure you do your homework. If you use the wrong anode, you can make toxic fumes.


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[PhxDarius]

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[PhxDarius]

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[buzz sawyer]

i was afraid people wouldnt understand the project. that saw have been thrown away. i wanted to see if i could make it work again and if possible re use every part. so far ive beeded a few carb parts and fuel line. once its running again and works, ill probably get rid of it. the point is not keeping it original forever. the point is to see if i can do it. right now, the chain is the last battle. both the chain and i are stubborn.

OK, I understand now and it's certainly an admirable project. I thought the goal was to have a working saw that you could use or sell. I am one of many on this site who take pride in saving old saws if possible rather than have them scrapped. Can you share a photo of the chain? Seeing the extent of damage may help in recommending a fix. btw, you know you can run it without the chain, just be sure the clutch drum is installed.

 

[Little Al]

Just thought of another reason to replace. Why mess around with something that has the potential to seriously maim or kill you if it fails due to fatigue from everything you've done to it?

100% agree why waste time & possibly money on an item that could maim you or at extremes end your life for the sake of 20$ or less+with all your work it will never cut as good as a out of the box akin to rebuilding a race care & taking it out on the track with front tyres cracked/split & with a good chance of blow outs not a risk worth taking

 

[ken morgan]

being that I read all posts prior to posting and I understand this is a MAN PRIDE thing IE: we are a stubborn lot electrolysis is the way to go. a small battery charger and be placed inline vice a battery, you just want dc power at about 10 amps (for something of that size) use a coil of copper tubing in the bottom as your lower end, and a piece of rebar hung from the top for the other end. the only thing to worry about other than that is your plus and minus as in which goes where. it will take off all of the rust as well as any grease or paint.

once you get it loosened up and useable sharpen it one time, go cut a 4 inch limb and then hand it on the wall as a trophy for killing the rust monster....then buy a new chain

 

[sunfish]

if i heat up my chain too hot and ruin the temper, how would i go about re tempering? what color should i heat to and then do i leave it to air cool or do i quench it? or am i worrying for nothing?

You can heat the chain to around 400f and not hurt the original temper. Just throw it in the kitchen oven, but don't tell the wife, if you have one...

You will not have good results re-heat treating a chain, all the different parts of a chain are heat treated separately before the chain is assembled. But if you want to try, heat to around 1500f (don't over heat), quench in oil and temper at 500f or so for one hour twice. Not a good idea though.

 

[Little Al]

I can understand this Man defeats machine, & I'll show it whose boss attitude, but why oh why ponce about all that time to achieve something that's no good & costs 20$ that is for a new fit & forget item (till sharpening time) But if you wish to struggle waste time & money its your's, so be it. I could under stand if it was a gizmo fitted to the last of it's kind on planet earth YES by all means try to get it back to working order but IT'S a SAW CHAIN if you look in the trash box behind your local dealers you will probably find 50 or more posibly10 in the size you require & 9 of those will be in better nick than the one you have But it's your hassle Just be aware & please don't hurt your self chains cause enough problems when they appear to be in good nick over the years iv' seen guys I know/knew & liked suffer some prety bad injuries using Good kit Why risk it

 

[HarleyT]

Kind of like insisting on relining the brake pads, when doing a brake job on your car.

But, winter is just starting....... So have fun with it........

At least put up some pics of it......

 

[Deleted member 149229]

my project is a saw that sat in water for 2 or more years. not sure how much water. it was in a hard case that got rained on and water got in. looked like an inch or so. my goal was to see if it would run and try to use as many original parts as possible. after a lot of work i have the saw sorted out except for the chain. it was rusted solid and i actually needed a hammer and screwdriver to knock it off the bar. i soaked it in vinegar for days at a time. soaked it in penetrating oil days at a time. back and forth. scrubbing and brushing. but im stuck now. some of the links are still frozen solid. my next idea is to warm it with a torch and cool it with oil. see if i can get the stuck links broken free. but im afraid to damage the chain with the torch. so, my big question is this.........

if i heat up my chain too hot and ruin the temper, how would i go about re tempering? what color should i heat to and then do i leave it to air cool or do i quench it? or am i worrying for nothing?

i know the simple answer is to just get a new chain, but for some reason i really want to have this chain go back on the saw.

You’re going to be heating different grades of steel at the same time, you need different temps for different grades. Asking for trouble.

 

[Chris-PA]

Best to employ rationalization: the chain is a wear item and so it's different from the rest of the saw parts. Therefore if you skip restoring the chain you won't have changed or compromised the project.

So you can have your cake and eat it too!

 

[Cope1024]

You've already spent way too much time on a $20 item.

 

[rustymaggot]

You've already spent way too much time on a $20 item.

oh i know.