Chain Tensioning

[Henz]

What does everyone like to run their chains at tensioning wise? What is your rule of thumb?????

 

[smokinj]

hard pull on the chain I like to see it come off the bar 1/8-1/4 inch not much more than that.

 

[Henz]

my manual says it should not sag, but not sagging isnt very tight at all but is typically how I run it

 

[Highbeam]

I make it so that nomatter how hard I pull on the chain, I can't pull the drive teeth completely away from the bar grooves. Any looser and the dang chain spins at idle.

YOu might want to consider bar length with these types of chain tension methods. Seems that the chain on a 36" bar would have to be really tight to keep the drive teeth against the bar groove using my method.

I will tighten it until at a low idle, the chain doesn't free spin.

 

[savageactor7]

If I'm just bucking the chain will be just a tad looser than recommended. If I'm harvesting/ limbing just a tad tighter than what the specs call for. NOT tight just slightly more tension so the chain when tipped 90° tracks in the rails better. We stage up logs so things are done differently...making firewood isn't a 1 tree at a time start to finish operation here.

 

[Henz]

how ofter does everyone flip their bar. this is one thing that I need to start to rememebr to do. I ahve never dont it as practice. My manual says every time you use your saw you should flip the bar. I would do this if I spent 5 hours one day and 5 hours the next etc

 

[thewoodlands]

how ofter does everyone flip their bar. this is one thing that I need to start to rememebr to do. I ahve never dont it as practice. My manual says every time you use your saw you should flip the bar. I would do this if I spent 5 hours one day and 5 hours the next etc

I flip the bar when I put a new chain on or after I sharpen with a file twice.

zap

 

[Henz]

good idear. I am going through my manual, even though I ahve had the saw for thee years now. Just realized you know, I should probably change the plug and air filter even though it runs fine.

 

[smokinj]

good idear. I am going through my manual, even though I ahve had the saw for thee years now. Just realized you know, I should probably change the plug and air filter even though it runs fine.

blow out the air filter spark plugs will last a long time. fuel filter is the big one.

 

[Gunks]

how ofter does everyone flip their bar. this is one thing that I need to start to rememebr to do. I ahve never dont it as practice. My manual says every time you use your saw you should flip the bar. I would do this if I spent 5 hours one day and 5 hours the next etc

Learn something new. I didn't know I'm supposed to flip the bar.

 

[Henz]

yup, for even wear, which makes sence since your applying downward pressure (more pressure ) at the bottom of the bar that the top..I am gonna flip my bar after every use from now on given equal use that is

 

[Gooserider]

Rule I've been following for a while that seems to work pretty well is "No sag / No drag" - the chain should be JUST tight enough to be contacting the bar all the way around, but not so tight that there is significantly more drag than on a fully loose chain. Usually to get this, I loosen the chain with the bar adjust screw until there is a LOT of sag, then while holding up on the tip of the bar enough to lift the front of the saw off the ground, tighten up the chain until it just barely touches the bottom rails of the bar. Note that if you go to far, you need to back WAY off until you are back to the lots of sag point and start over.... If you pull the chain around when it's loose, and then try it again when you have it properly adjusted, the amount of drag should be the same, i.e. very little.

Excessive drag should be avoided, as it increases wear on the bar, all the chain rivets and the clutch/sprocket.... In addition, it increases the amount of saw horsepower that has to go into dragging the chain around the bar as opposed to cutting wood...

I have found that when adjusted to this level, the chain can be pulled away from the bar, but it will "snap" back when released - how far away from the bar the chain can be pulled depends on the length of the bar. On my 12" bar Pull-on I can hardly get much of a gap. On my Dolmar with the 20" bar, I get about half the drive link, on my 28" bar I get about 3/4 of it.

If this is done on a broken in chain, you should be good for quite a while - you may see a LITTLE sag when the chain is hot, but not more than about 1/2 a drive link, and this will disappear when the saw cools back down. I sharpen the chain on the saw, and find that I only need to adjust the tension every 4-5 times I use the saw.

If breaking in a new chain, you may have to adjust it a couple of times as it stretches out - however if you adjust a chain when it is hot, you should back off the adjustment before the saw cools down, especially on a big bar. According to the guys on Arboristsite, a chain that was adjusted when hot will shrink enough when it cools to possibly damage the bar mounts or other parts of the saw or even bend a crankshaft...

As to bar flipping, I do that any time that I have the bar off the saw for any reason, but usually I don't take the bar off just to flip it... (Also note that if you have an asymmetric bar like the "banana bars" they used to have on some of the older saws, you should not flip it. However the modern style symmetric bars should be flipped on a regular basis)

Gooserider

 

[Henz]

so to clarify you dont flip you bar that much

 

[Highbeam]

That's how I was taught. Seems that if you don't lift the tip that the chain will loosen when the tip works its way up to the lifted position while using the saw. The downward pressure will eventually allow the bar to move up.

The chain is tightest when the bar is perfectly in line with the mount studs. Just like a motorcycle chain as you compress the suspension to horizontal the chain tightens.

 

[firefighterjake]

I've always gone with tight enough so you can only pull the chain up a bit from the bar . . . but not so tight that the chain is binding or hard to spin around.

 

[Gooserider]

Adirondackwoodburner: so to clarify you dont flip you bar that much

Not really, though it still works out that I will end up flipping at least occasionally, as I do occasionally take the bar off to do things like cleaning out the cruft around the brake, or other bar maintenance like cleaning out the groove, or checking the rails for level and lack of burrs, etc... I don't really keep a count on how often I flip, but would guess at least once per gallon of pre-mix.

Highbeam: That’s how I was taught. Seems that if you don’t lift the tip that the chain will loosen when the tip works its way up to the lifted position while using the saw. The downward pressure will eventually allow the bar to move up.

The chain is tightest when the bar is perfectly in line with the mount studs. Just like a motorcycle chain as you compress the suspension to horizontal the chain tightens.

Exactly... The bar tip needs to be kept up during the entire process - I find the easiest is just to hold the bar tip up with one hand so that it's lifting the front of the saw - some folks put a block under the bar tip, but that makes it harder to check for drag. I just hold the bar up so the saw is sitting on the rear handle, with a little side support from the front handle. I adjust the chain and then tighten the bar nuts back up without letting the tip down.

The entire idea is that you need to adjust the tension so that the bar ends up in the same condition it will be in when the saw is in use... It's also the reason why I said that if you get overly tight with the adjuster you need to back it off far enough that the bar has pulled back with the adjuster and then start over, so that you always TIGHTEN into the final position, as the adjuster pin must be what is holding the bar in position, while the bar nuts hold it down... If that pin is not tightly holding the bar in place the chain will loosen in a hurry. By tightening into adjustment, you have gotten rid of all the slack both between the pin and the bar, and the internal slack in the adjuster itself.

Gooserider

 

[Deere10]

I run 1/8 to 1/4 slack on a good pull down. Flip bar ay every sharpen, It really cant hurt,keeps things equal. Long live sharp chains and true bars....

 

[charly]

I've always relaxed my chain tension, when done cutting. Suppose to save wear on your crank bearings and seals. :coolsmile:

 

[Oldmainer]

Hello...there is nuthin' magic about tightenin' your saw chain. You do it a few times and ya get the hang of it real quick. Snug it so it pulls freely around the bar and just pulls off the bar in about the middle...either pulled away on the top or bottom. Flip your bar over every time you sharpen the chain to get the most miles out of it. I clean the air filter every day...doesn't take much to do it...and you will maintain the maximim power from your saw. Can't say it much plainer then that. You want to gain the max from your saw treat it right and keep it sharp and adjusted. Franklin

 

[charly]

For what's it worth, I always kept a small paint brush with me, brush my gas and oil cap off before I open them to refuel or top off the bar oil. Never in over 20 years have I ever had any fuel or oiling problems, no junk in the tanks! Easy to do.

 

[smokinj]

For what's it worth, I always kept a small paint brush with me, brush my gas and oil cap off before I open them to refuel or top off the bar oil. Never in over 20 years have I ever had any fuel or oiling problems, no junk in the tanks! Easy to do.

thats a good idea, I am alway useing old towel that gets wet in the back of the truck.

 

[charly]

Even a parts washer brush works well. A friend of mine I climbed with , used a brush 25 years ago, and I started to from that time on. A simple brush saves a big headache, and provides a running money making saw.

 

[timberr]

One thing no one has mentioned is don't tension your chain when it is hot. The will lead to stretching the chain. Usually a loss chain results from a dulling chain which increases heat and cause's the chain to stretch. If my chain is getting loos then it is time to fill the tanks, touch up the chain and by then it is cool enough to tighten. I tighten it so that is snug, 1/8" or less of moment.

As for the Bar, about every 8 hours I usually take the air hose to the saw, since the bar is off, I run a flat file to flatten and take sharp edges and when I mount the bar I flip it.

 

[charly]

I'll second the air hose to the saw. That keeps em' running cool. Clear cylinder fin's. Keeps a saw like new.

 

[WoodMann]

I flip at every other chain..................