Chain saw curving while cutting question

[tcreeley]

Dull chains cause you to bear down a little more with the left had on the bar. Causes me to cut slightly to the right. Sharp chains do all the work but you still have to watch and steer to get a really straight cut. Some guys have had faulty sharpen jobs where only one side of the chain was sharpened. That too will cause an angled cut.

Like my saw today- cutting brush!

 

[LD1]

Dull chains cause you to bear down a little more with the left had on the bar. Causes me to cut slightly to the right. Sharp chains do all the work but you still have to watch and steer to get a really straight cut.

Valid point with a chainsaw, but the OP has a pole saw:confused2:

 

[turnkey4099]

Yep, check the drive links of BOTH chains and compare to what the bar requires. (usually stamped on the bar.)

IF the one chain works and the other dont, that leads me to believe that the chain is the problem, NOT the bar. And since you are cutting post tops, and not down in the dirt or hitting nails, I doubt it is a dull chian. And if you have not attempted to sharpen or lower the rakers on this chain, it should be good "top-side".

Get out the calipers or mics and check the thickness of the drive-links. Common ones are .043, .050, .058, and .063

As others have mentioned, if one is an .043 and the bar is made for .050, there is too much slop and it will cause a crooked cut.

I got two .050 chains from a dealer at the same time (woodland pro). One had a section of several drivers tht were over guage and would jam in the bar groove. All makings, stamps were correct for .050 chain. Dealer replaced it, no charge and didnt even want the bad one back to look at it.

Moral. Don't assume that what is stamped on it is correct.

Harry K

 

[beppington]

Just found out my co-worker has a micrometer, & he's bringing it in to work tomorrow :thumbsup: I have both several old chains as well as the new, problem chain with me in my truck.

 

[LD1]

Let us know the results

 

[beppington]

OK, my co-worker brought in his little 1" micrometer, & I've checked the thickness of 3 random teeth on the curving chain & on 2 older chains that worked fine but are just dull now.

Curving chain: 0.0557", 0.0559", 0.0560"

Old chain 1: 0.0570", 0.0558", 0.0564"

Old chain 2: 0.0561", 0.0574", 0.0554"

Keep in mind all chains have been used (the curving one a lot less than the older ones), & while I probably should've cleaned them before measuring, I didn't. They appeared fairly clean, though.

So ... since the older chains that worked fine each have some teeth that are thicker than all 3 of the curving chain's measured teeth, I'm going to assume the thickness of the teeth is not the cause of either the curving or the excessive heat.

Next, I laid all 3 chains out here on my desk side-by-side. The space between the teeth on the curving chain is clearly shorter than the space on the 2 older chains; I'm sure those 2 chains have stretched. I laid one of the old chains on top of the newer curving chain, pulled them until they were both taut, & measured the difference between the length of the 2 chains to be 0.1" over half the length of the chain, so about 0.2" over the entire length of the chain. Of course I would adjust the bar to tighten the chain as I'd use those older chains. Is this difference enough to cause my curving & heat?

To me, it's still a mystery. Unfortunately I have no way of taking close-up pics of the teeth.

 

[dodge man]

I'll throw something out there. When I sharpen my chain on my chainsaw, there are these little things in front of the tooth I have to file down every once in a while. I think they are called rakers? Does a pole saw chain have these? If it does, is that the problem?

If thats not it, I'd get another new chain and forget about the old new one, its probably not worth the aggravation.

 

[arrow]

OK, my co-worker brought in his little 1" micrometer, & I've checked the thickness of 3 random teeth on the curving chain & on 2 older chains that worked fine but are just dull now.

Curving chain: 0.0557", 0.0559", 0.0560"

Old chain 1: 0.0570", 0.0558", 0.0564"

Old chain 2: 0.0561", 0.0574", 0.0554"

Keep in mind all chains have been used (the curving one a lot less than the older ones), & while I probably should've cleaned them before measuring, I didn't. They appeared fairly clean, though.

So ... since the older chains that worked fine each have some teeth that are thicker than all 3 of the curving chain's measured teeth, I'm going to assume the thickness of the teeth is not the cause of either the curving or the excessive heat.

Next, I laid all 3 chains out here on my desk side-by-side. The space between the teeth on the curving chain is clearly shorter than the space on the 2 older chains; I'm sure those 2 chains have stretched. I laid one of the old chains on top of the newer curving chain, pulled them until they were both taut, & measured the difference between the length of the 2 chains to be 0.1" over half the length of the chain, so about 0.2" over the entire length of the chain. Of course I would adjust the bar to tighten the chain as I'd use those older chains. Is this difference enough to cause my curving & heat?

To me, it's still a mystery. Unfortunately I have no way of taking close-up pics of the teeth.

I doubt it. Curving chains have usually problems with cutter length or angle or raker depth. Second to that is over tightening. Your problem is differentiated as two old chains work fine. The newer chain just need 2 or 3 alien drivelinks to cause problems so I would check ALL drivelinks on the new chain. Clues to your problem is over heating bar. This can be caused by lack of bar oil, over tightened chain, wrong size gauge chain or exit wobble from a worn sprocket which kicks out chain as it approaches back to the bar. I assume you'veve checked drivelink -sprocket engagement.You may need a new sprocket for the new chain. I would try buying yet another new chain and see if the problem goes away as you may have a faulty new chain. Keep taking measurements with the micrometer. A thousandth or two isn't going to be reflective of what is going on. There lies a more overt reason.

 

[LD1]

Well, based on those findings, I'd say the DL's are NOT the problem.

And you DID say that you have NOT tried to sharpen this chain??

If not, I'd try to sharpen it. IF it is still crooked-cutting, throw it away and get a new one. As mentioned already, it isnt worth the aggrevation.

Last year, I had one of my 24" chains do the very same thing. Cut so crooked that in larger 16" plus wood, it would pull SO far that I couldnt even force it to cut, the top of the bar was binding. I think the overheating may be a result of cutting crooked and NOT a symptom. And I know operator error was not the problem either, I have been sawing for a long time, and other chains worked fine as well.

Long story short, I sharpened, re-sharpened, made sure bar was tight and dressed nice (even though other chain was fine) an STILL cut crooked. I pitched the chain and havent looked back. I just guess that sometimes, you get a bum chain???? I dont know what else it possibly could have been. And it sounds like you could be in the same situation. So how much aggrevation is a $15 chain worth to you????????

 

[SPYDERLK]

OK, my co-worker brought in his little 1" micrometer, & I've checked the thickness of 3 random teeth on the curving chain & on 2 older chains that worked fine but are just dull now.

Curving chain: 0.0557", 0.0559", 0.0560"

Old chain 1: 0.0570", 0.0558", 0.0564"

Old chain 2: 0.0561", 0.0574", 0.0554"

Keep in mind all chains have been used (the curving one a lot less than the older ones), & while I probably should've cleaned them before measuring, I didn't. They appeared fairly clean, though.

So ... since the older chains that worked fine each have some teeth that are thicker than all 3 of the curving chain's measured teeth, I'm going to assume the thickness of the teeth is not the cause of either the curving or the excessive heat.

Next, I laid all 3 chains out here on my desk side-by-side. The space between the teeth on the curving chain is clearly shorter than the space on the 2 older chains; I'm sure those 2 chains have stretched. I laid one of the old chains on top of the newer curving chain, pulled them until they were both taut, & measured the difference between the length of the 2 chains to be 0.1" over half the length of the chain, so about 0.2" over the entire length of the chain. Of course I would adjust the bar to tighten the chain as I'd use those older chains. Is this difference enough to cause my curving & heat?

To me, it's still a mystery. Unfortunately I have no way of taking close-up pics of the teeth.

:confused2: This makes nonsense. ... Did you ever flip the bar? Does the chain have a lot more cutting teeth on one side than the other? Are any of the cutting teeth bent outward from the normal line of travel? :confused3:Its possible the "grabbing" could have bent it.
larry