Scottnc
ArboristSite Member
I just did catch a no-bar oil problem on a brand new Oregon 25" bar and brand new Stihl chain on an 044. Very nearly cooked both the bar and the chain. Oil pump and all lines are only single digit hours from new. The oil hole in the bar was plugged solid so I cleared it. Short time later, same result, no oil and the hole was plugged again. Cleaned the saw behind the wear plate and ran the saw without the wear plate, bar etc. and confirmed oil was making its way to the space behind the wear plate. Confirmed the bar hole aligned with the saw supply slot. Put the bar (only) on and ran the saw, no to very little oil. Yanked the bar and found the bars groove had a lot of sawdust in it, it was full to the bottom of the chain. Could only guess the chain was pushing sawdust into the bars oil hole? Weird, never had that happen. So, with everybody clean of wood debris, chain off I fired up the saw and ran it watching down in the bar groove with a flashlight. It took longer than I liked but oil did appear, slowly, it was like watch for a pot to boil or waiting for the oil light to go off on some old piece of equipment. I feel like a dog chasing its tail. Is there a rule of thumb or procedure for verifying bar oiling before putting a saw to work?
Funny the things you take for granted until you experience an episode of "I've never seen that before".
Funny the things you take for granted until you experience an episode of "I've never seen that before".