What did I do wrong?

[StackedLumber]

Was cutting some large (3 ft round +) beech and maple rounds this weekend and I got the sprocket jammed up (and thus the chain) on the nose of my saw . . . . I've never had this happen before. I usually well grease the nose sprocket and it still got jammed up . . . I assume that I was doing something wrong-help me on this.

I did think my chain was tight enough-no visible slack in it . . . .

 

[basswidow]

I had the same thing happen on my saw and made a post in the gear section regarding the tip sprocket.

I am new to this and I've pinched the bar before, but not this time. The chain track was fine and it seized on a regular cut.

I wonder if making the chain tension too tight could premnaturely burn up this tip sprocket?

Most of the responses told me to just keep it clean. Lube or oil is ok, but can attract particles. Some bars have a lube hole and lube gun to keep it lubricated. Mine did not.

I bought a replacement bar (cheap enough fix) and put a drop of oil on the sprocket. Maybe I need to work on my chain adjustments? and not over tighten it? Maybe too many plunge cuts? Cheaply made bar? Don't know?

 

[Wood Duck]

I know very little about chinsaws, but I know the chain is supposed to have a little slack. Seems like this could be related to your problem, but i really am just guessing.

 

[smokinj]

should always keep the nose of the bar clear so it will clean out chips better they will clog up with dust in the bar channel if you dont keep the nose clear.

 

[wood spliter]

After allot of use the bar will sometimes split.. This will cause the saw to bind

 

[kevin j]

that is probably not anything you did, it is normal. If a bit of wood gets in the rollers it locks up. or small bit of fiber or string or strigny wood sometimes.
flood it with light oil, wd40 or diesel fuel, then push the bar/chain down on a log and rock it back and forth (engine off) this will usually get it moving. Or remove the chain and rock back and forth on the sprocket teeh . I find rocking the chain grabs the log better. There isn't much tooth sticking out past the bar. Once it frees up, spin and flood it with light oil some more, then lube it with bar oil and go back to work.

Grease vs no grease. good arguments both way. I know in industrial bearings, and automotive suspension, there is good logic that greasing tends to drive in more larger particles unless the grease entry point is perfectly clean before putting the gun on. I'd think the similar thing happens on bar tips. There is probably more chance of pushing in dirt that can cause a catastrophic failure. Modern bar lubes are better, so the grease risk may outweight the benefits. Some bars have grease holes, some don't and they rely totally on the oil from the chain. That, IMO, is a good argument against using waste oil, engine oil, or any other non fortified oil in the bar. It simply doesn't stick well enough to stay on the links around the tip and work into the rollers.

anyway, I don't grease the tips, I rely on the oil. I tend to run rich on the oil.

also, good argument to do one or the other, but if you start greasing, don't stop. The grease forms a sort of labrinth seal along the sides and prevents oil from working its way in. so if you want to change to oiling, clean it thoroughly with light oil.

 

[LLigetfa]

"Keep your nose clean" I've been told that often. Only ever had one sprocket nose failure and that was in some real dirty cutting. I grease mine often.

 

[basswidow]

Explain the keeping the nose clear?

My saw is only 16 inches and I cut many huge rounds almost double of that. Which means the tip is well inside the round during bucking. Could this cause a problem? Sounds like that is what the original poster was doing too 3+ foot round - mine was also maple. I thought the chain brings all of the discharge out toward the saw motor anyways. Perhaps I am putting my little saw through too much - it's more of a limbing size and I am expecting it to do the work of a professional logger saw.

I still think I may have been cranking my chain tension down too tight. How do you check the chain tension? Walk me through it? When you pull on the chain - how much of a gap or play do you look for?

I'd like to get all these rookie mistakes made and cleared up before I upgrade to a bigger more expensive powerful saw and longer bar.

 

[StackedLumber]

keeping the "nose clear" in every situation isn't going to happen I don't think. Like my situation, I was cutting 3-4ft rounds w/ an 18 in bar . . . . I know there's lots of people that cut lots of rounds that are bigger than their bar. For chain tensioning, I take all the visible slack out of the chain and move it with my hand to see if it slides freely along the bar. I also lift up on it to see if there's a lot of slack then too.

I'm just wondering when doing larger cuts like that if there is anything in technique that will keep it from happening. Or if it is something that does just happen on occasion. (although, in 6 yrs of steady cutting, i've never had it happen) At every gas up, I clean the grease holes w/ an awl and grease it w/ my grease pen. The one thing i did wonder is if as I got closer to the ground, if I allowed the saw to get to close to the ground and the chips that come out the bottom didn't have the space to get out of there. The day after when I sharpened my chains and cleaned my saw up, I noticed back in the oil pump housing that there was a lot of dust-more than usual.

In the end, I just shut her off and raked it on the end of the log . . . .that worked the 1st time, but the second time I had to take it apart and clean out the sprocket. After that it ran fine for the last 1 hr or 2 of cutting.

 

[thewoodlands]

Was cutting some large (3 ft round +) beech and maple rounds this weekend and I got the sprocket jammed up (and thus the chain) on the nose of my saw . . . . I've never had this happen before. I usually well grease the nose sprocket and it still got jammed up . . . I assume that I was doing something wrong-help me on this.

I did think my chain was tight enough-no visible slack in it . . . .

Had my bar do that, cleaned the tip it's been great since. Had some wood chips jam it up also the bars I use (Stihl) don't need to be greased.


Zap

 

[LLigetfa]

The one thing i did wonder is if as I got closer to the ground, if I allowed the saw to get to close to the ground and the chips that come out the bottom didn't have the space to get out of there. The day after when I sharpened my chains and cleaned my saw up, I noticed back in the oil pump housing that there was a lot of dust-more than usual.

Ja, if the chips can't clear away under the clutch housing and get pulled back around into the bar, they get under the chain into the groove and into the sprocket nose. This is something you really need to be careful of when noodling.

 

[smokinj]

Explain the keeping the nose clear?

My saw is only 16 inches and I cut many huge rounds almost double of that. Which means the tip is well inside the round during bucking. Could this cause a problem? Sounds like that is what the original poster was doing too 3+ foot round - mine was also maple. I thought the chain brings all of the discharge out toward the saw motor anyways. Perhaps I am putting my little saw through too much - it's more of a limbing size and I am expecting it to do the work of a professional logger saw.

I still think I may have been cranking my chain tension down too tight. How do you check the chain tension? Walk me through it? When you pull on the chain - how much of a gap or play do you look for?

I'd like to get all these rookie mistakes made and cleared up before I upgrade to a bigger more expensive powerful saw and longer bar.

once the nose is buried in the wood go to the other side of the log. This will give you a clean out.

 

[southbound]

I have got lucky enough to cut a little with my FIL..He is a old time type logger...He learned his trade way before auto oiliers and such... Anyway one thing he has learned me as he would saw is got to let the oil get to the bar.When you are in a cut with the tip covered you need to stop and let some oil flow over the bar you don't have to take it out of the cut but it does help if you pull the bar out enough to get it out of the cut but still in the groove and run it like you are checking for oil coming off the bar. Then continue the cut..Pulling the bar back also helps to let some of the chips out and keeps the tip from getting to hot...