sthil Issues

[zrock]

I have a little MS 170 that usually sits on the front of my ATV and gets very little love and is really only used for cutting trees when out on the trail. Last year i replaced the bar and chain and never really though of it until today that it has never really cut as nice as my old chain and bar, but i thought it just needed a good sharpening. Yesterday i decided to cut a stump down to ground lever and was probably a bit more than i should have been doing with this saw. The issue was i could get nothing but sawdust when i was trying to make cuts unless i was using the tip or using the top side of the bar then i was getting nice long shavings like i should have been (heck my old chain/bar cut better and it had been sharpened so much i was missing teeth). Im not stranger to sharpening and can always get a nice sharp chain by hand or using my sthil 2 in one sharpener, i usually always use the sthil sharpener as its just easier to get a good quick sharpen. I thought maybe the rackers were to long and filed them down a bit more and that made no difference.. It also tends to pull to the right but i think that's just the way i hold the saw as i grip more to the right so im probably putting a twist in it. So its it possible i just got a messed up chain right from the get go, i also noticed that it is completely missing a tooth and i do not remember having a gap like that in my old chain.

I should have just been smart and used a buddies falling saw and just purchased him a new chain when i was done as it would have kissed the dirt a few times.. If the saw would have cut like it normally does i would have been done in a hour and not 4 hours later and 5 tanks of fuel.. LOL

Was not a good day for gas power equipment, it was a real bear to get the saw running it seemed like it was flooding and took me a while after starting to get it to build up RPM. Plug was dry and looked good but going to grab a fresh plug and filter for it today.. Same with my leaf blower always a PIA to start right from new and its sthil as well..

 

[salecker]

Pic's of the chain would help...
if you were using the 170 for 4 hours with a bad chain i would pull the muffler to make sure the saw wasn't damaged.

 

[zrock]

that is the plan... they sure do not make the home owners series as good as the professional series. I had a Polan chain saw for years and did more stump cutting and trail clearing than i ever did with this one, never giving it cool down time like i do with the sthil. Never let me down really only reason i upgraded it the recoil went on it and it was having carb issues and was getting hard to start..

As far as the cutting goes a buddy looked at the chain and said its good and sharp, using the tip i can get 4" shavings no problem. So its either the bar or a crap chain

Will be the last sthil product i ever purchase. Already looking at going out and replacing everything gas with electric..

 

[salecker]

Yea sure blame the saw manufacture for a bad chain...
Post some pic's of the chain and bar.
I allways find bad chains on burnt up saws.The simple thing of having a good sharp chain can save your saws life.

 

[blades]

something must not be set up right with the 2/1 unit vs the chain. perhaps the wrong size file for the current chain. the tiny lo or micro teeth on 3/8 and 325 chain are a bit of a a bugger to sharpen correctly, with the 1/4 pitch being even worse. they also do not do well with a 30 across the top angel 25 is better. about .025 clearance for the depth gauges ( raker as some call them ) I have no love for those double bumper safety chains either. just my take. If the bar is not cutting on the body of the blade then it is a sharpening problem. p[ossible that the top plate is to blunt, othe is that maybe the chain is being tension too tightly to allow the teeth to rock and bite ( this related to depth gauge height).

 

[zrock]

Well the cyl is good no marks or any sign of damage other than the exhaust bolt i broke.. But as i was looking at it and wondering why the chain was fitting so loosely in the bar lots if side to side movement i noticed the bottom of my chain is just about ground right off and that's not from a lack of oil.. Im thinking the dealer sold me the wrong or a bad chain or bar. I remember when putting it on last year something did not seem right and it was riding to high on the tip compared to other saws i had used but figured it just needed to get some run time.. Now i know why i could not ever keep this chain tight to where it needed to be after every tank it needed adjusting..

And no its not my sharpening skills that are in question here.. I was taught by a good faller on how to sharpen a chain and in 10 years of using a saw both professionally and personally i have never had a issue sharpening a chain by hand or with a cheater tool. I have been sharpening this size chain for over 8 years between a couple of different saws and always get it sharp and have good shavings coming from my cuts not saw dust. Im no professional with a saw but know how to do the basics and can usually figure out the rest for repairs.

 

[zrock]

Should have converted to battery operated years ago... SO much nicer not having to mess with fuel, nice and quiet, and super light.. being to light is a down fall since now i have to get the feel for all the new tools now.. now to find someone that wants the old saw to tinker on and for parts..

 

[salecker]

It doesn't mater what powers the chain if it's dull or no good.
The best modification to any saw is a sharp good cutting chain.
If you want to get rid of the saw and you are in B.C. i would be interested in it as i have a few 017 that need parts.

 

[bigealta]

My dad's ms170 works great and for many years. Cut's like a boss for a small saw. I bet you smoked the chain. Cutting stumps near the dirt always seems to cause problems between the dirt contact and the hard wood at the flare.

 

[zrock]

My dad's ms170 works great and for many years. Cut's like a boss for a small saw. I bet you smoked the chain. Cutting stumps near the dirt always seems to cause problems between the dirt contact and the hard wood at the flare.

Was not cutting at ground level i made sure to stay out of the dirt since i have killed chains before on my old saw doing stumps.. The issue was when i got a new bar and chain from the dealer they gave me a roller tip bar and the bar and chain were not matched, i needed a larger tooth chain for this bar from what i can see.. The chain rides up on the tip and had lots of side to side slop in the flats of the bar..
Sorta sucks you go to where you purchased the saw where the professionals work to get the right parts and you get the wrong. Im thinking the sales guy was going by memory and jsut when to the hook where the bars were stored and grabbed the one from where it should have been hanging, but someone previously may have put the wrong bar in that location.. Who knows..

 

[bigealta]

Sounds like .43 chain on .5 bar. Chain size should be stamped on the bar.
check 1:13 on this video.

 

[bigealta]

Here is a better video about just the bar and chain options and installation.

 

[zrock]

just went out and checked and that is what happened.. Wish i would have kept my receipts i would have taken the saw back and told them to fix everything back to new..

 

[xman23]

Did I follow this correct, you don't know the problem. I sharpen chains with a file. But when I'm done and there not as good as new, they go in the garbage. Every cutting straight or sawdust issue has been the chain.
I cut a lot of stumps off, right at the ground. Last week I toasted 2 new chains on the last few inches of a 18" stump. I thought it's a rock in there. But it was just dirt in.

As to electric. maybe for the ATV, but you can't do much work with it.

 

[zrock]

Did I follow this correct, you don't know the problem. I sharpen chains with a file. But when I'm done and there not as good as new, they go in the garbage. Every cutting straight or sawdust issue has been the chain.
I cut a lot of stumps off, right at the ground. Last week I toasted 2 new chains on the last few inches of a 18" stump. I thought it's a rock in there. But it was just dirt in.

As to electric. maybe for the ATV, but you can't do much work with it.

no you did not read this right originally i could not figure out the issue, in the end i found mismatched bar and chain. My sharpening skills are not in question as i can always get a chain sharper than new no matter what the condition of the chain.

When i cut stumps i gut them in a way that im not in the dirt, then i usually come back with a old chain and take the final 4" around the edge of the stump, just for good measure i dig down and hit it with the pressure washer to get as much of the dirt and crap out of the stump.. This usually leaves my main chain it good shape and i just kill the old chain more.. i have cut out more stumps than i care to imagine and once i started using this technique it goes much faster and i save my good chain.

As for the electric saw im not a logger and i only need the saw to get fire word for camping, or on the atv for trail clearing.. I have 3 batteries for is since i purchased 3 different items so im not overly worried about run time.