Changing Chainsaw Blades

[Billy_S]

Is this the area where I should be posting this question? Oh well, here goes anyway.

I have two Stihl chainsaws. One has a 14 inch bar and the other has a 25 inch bar. The 25 inch saw about kicks my scrawny butt just to use, but there are some chores that only it will handle. It was my only saw until recently, when I bought the 14 incher.

Last night, I went to change blades on both saws. It was the first time I had changed the blade on the 14 inch saw. That was uneventful. But the 25 inch saw is always a challenge for me to change the blade. I get it on the top of the guidebar and it slips off when I try to get it on the bottom. It just seems to me that there has to be an easier way. Is there a trick or is changing the blade on a large saw just not all that easy to do?

 

[AndyMA]

I usually just hook the chain around the sprocket and use that to keep it tight as I put it on the bar if it falls off. Put the chain on the bar with the bar laying horiontal. Hold the loose end of the chain with your finger and keep it tight as you put it on the sprocket. If all else fails perhaps a piece of electrical tape would help keep it on the bar until mounted.

Andy

 

[randy41]

i loosen the bar (adjust the screw so the bar is 'shorter')and then run the chain around the sprocket and drape it over the top of the bar (the chain should be slack at this point) and then guide it into the bottom bar slot while tightening the bar (adjust the screw so the bar is 'longer'). the bar is in a vertical position while doing this.

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Billy,
I use the same method as Randy. Seems to work fine for me. I mostly use my Stihl 025 Wood Boss. That saw has the 16" blade. Its always a good time to clean all the gunk out of there at that time. In a pinch I have flipped the blade over to get a few more miles out of it !

 

[johnk]

Scott,
That is a very good point to flip the bar over after a lot of usage. When you take your chain off each time to sharpen it flip the bar. If you sharpen it while on the bar,, Flip the bar every 4 tanks of gas or so.. Just a good habit to get into.

 

[WayneB]

I normally flip the bar everytime that I sharpen the chain. I have husqvarna Rancher with an 18 inch bar. I will touch up a chain on the bar from time to time, but usually I take the chain off and use an Oregon grinder to sharpen the chain.

Flipping the bar will diffently extend the life of the bar.

 

[greenedeere]

I also use the Randy way, when I check the condition of chain I also feel the edge of the bar, and file lightly the sharp edges on the bar and then flip. It seems to last alot longer by doing this, I also squirt bar oil on chain and bar each time I clean,sharpen and tighten the chain,try to always keep it out of the dirt if I can.I use a stihl file holder and angle guide when sharping chain is also has a depth gauge.

 

[dillo99]

I normally flip the bar everytime that I sharpen the chain. I have husqvarna Rancher with an 18 inch bar. I will touch up a chain on the bar from time to time, but usually I take the chain off and use an Oregon grinder to sharpen the chain.

Flipping the bar will diffently extend the life of the bar.

Different question - how do you know when a new bar is in order? What is warn out?????

 

[greenedeere]

I have always replaced the bar if I screw up and bend it,if the chain binds while sliding it along loose when sharpening,if I can clean it or spread it I will,if doing so and I break or crack it I change it. I watch the amount I tighten the chain also,to prevent the overtightened chain from wearing sharpe edge on the bar.If the bar has a upward wear while laying on a straight edge and the wear is deep enough,then the chain will not ride in the groove without the driven inside teeth bottoming out,causing flat spots on the inside teeth and more drag and friction.these items may not matter to some. The roller gear, if you have one on the end needs greasing from time to time if not it will also bind.

 

[schmism]

Different question - how do you know when a new bar is in order? What is warn out?????

a quality stihl (oregon) bar can be squared up. if your shaping by hand and not getting your teeth ground evenly (left sides higher than the right) the saw wont cut straight (you might have experience this) this loads one rail of the bar more than the other. this lead to one side getting more were than the other which can make the bottom of the bar uneven. Most quality bars have a slot thats deaper than the drive link allowing them to be reground sq a couple of times.

The nose can wear out, but on a 24-25" bar your crazy if your not running a sprocket nose which can also wear out but much more slowly.

the bar can also become bent or warped from being pinched in a tree, or running with no/not enough oil and becomeing excessivly hot.

a finnal way that the bar can become worn is from a worn drive sprocket. If its warn bad enough then the chain comming off the bar/onto the bar will not want to track right because its trying to line up with the worn drive sprocket.

I run a 24" bar on my 039 but also have a 20" which is MUCH lighter and more ballanced. but when cutting 24-36" tree's that 24" bar rocks.

I have a small 010 limb saw with a 12" bar that rocks for stuff upto 6" as its about 1/4 the weight the large saw.

I really perfer my 2 saw combo as one "farm boss" Size saw CAN do both, but does neither really well....

 

[Billy_S]

Thanks for the input, gentlemen.

While we're on the subject of chainsaws, let me ask another question and get the benefit of your superior experience and knowledge.

Most of the stuff I have to cut is in the 2-6 inch diameter range, thus the reason I bought the smaller saw. A couple of weekends ago, I did fell a tree that was maybe 16" in diameter and 40' tall. Although it was uneventful, I was very wary the whole time I was cutting. The tree made a horrendous noise when it finally did fall, but my son and I thought it was really neat. For the most part, I leave the really big trees to the professionals.

Anyway, on to my question. I am fairly small of stature as well as brains. I am also fast approaching 50 years old. The 25 inch saw is difficult for me to handle. I wonder if changing to a smaller bar would make it easier or is the reason it is difficult for me to handle because of the weight of the engine?

 

[billbill1]

A 16" bar is what I cut with and try and avoid stuff bigger than that. A 16" diameter log is about all I want to put on the splitter anymore and makes 5 or 6 nice size chunks of firewood. I usually cut my firewoods 24" long, my furnace will take a 30" long log. I ran a 20" bar and chain on an 041AV Stihl for several years but kept getting into stuff (dirt-wire) and found the 16" more to my liking.

 

[randy41]

i have either an 18 or 20 on my 038...i forget. 36 drive links. theres been nothing i cant cut with it. if the diameter of the tree or log is too wide for the saw i'll plunge cut and saw outwards.
i too am very wary when cutting down a tree and make sure i have room to run. but it has nothing to do with my age (57 this year) but my desire to keep on living.
i love the sound of a falling tree. a 25" saw seems like overkill and i think i would end up smashing the end of the bar into all sorts of things.

 

[turnkey4099]

Thanks for the input, gentlemen.

While we're on the subject of chainsaws, let me ask another question and get the benefit of your superior experience and knowledge.

Most of the stuff I have to cut is in the 2-6 inch diameter range, thus the reason I bought the smaller saw. A couple of weekends ago, I did fell a tree that was maybe 16" in diameter and 40' tall. Although it was uneventful, I was very wary the whole time I was cutting. The tree made a horrendous noise when it finally did fall, but my son and I thought it was really neat. For the most part, I leave the really big trees to the professionals.

Anyway, on to my question. I am fairly small of stature as well as brains. I am also fast approaching 50 years old. The 25 inch saw is difficult for me to handle. I wonder if changing to a smaller bar would make it easier or is the reason it is difficult for me to handle because of the weight of the engine?

Don't sweat the 'approaching 50' I am still out there at a soon-to-be 72. It is making wood that is my physical excercise and also recreation. If it werent' for the work I do in the woods, I would be 500 lb couch potato and probably dead from a heart attack.

Do use PPE (Personal Protection Equipment). At a bare minimum, a pair of chainsaw chaps. One trip to the emergency room to get a saw cut stitched up will have paid for their cost. Safety goggles by all means (I am one eyed due to stupid carpentry accident). EARMUFFS. Loss of hearing is permanent and it doesn't take much of that saw buzz to deteriorate it. I learned too late but now wear them when using my mowers, my splitter and the saws. To be sure, I carry one set in the PU and hang one on the riding mower thus I never have the excuse that I "forgot them".

That falling trees is my least favorite thing. Been making my firewood for right at 30 years now working big stuff. 30" and up at the butt. Running 3 saws:
Stihl 041/24" for the falling and big bucking.
Stihl 310/20" for most bucking
Husky 51/16" for limb/trim/small bucking.
Makes a great stabe witht the right size for everything...well, there are times I wish I had a saw with about a 32" bar .

You haven't said what saw you have the 25" on. In general, for the stuff you are cutting, a saw big enough to haul a 25" bar is way oversize for wood hat size. Putting a shorter bar on it, maybe a 16", would be better but you will still be boosting around a fairly heavy set-up and then it will be a bit unbalanced.

When cutting stuff thicker than the bar length you can cut em up using two techniques.

Start the cut with saw on top of log and rotate the bar down vertically on the off side as you cut in (keep the nose out of the dirt), then rotate the saw back towards you pivoting pretty much around the bar nose.

Start the cut horizontally as normal, cut down most of the way or as low as you can without getting into dirt, go around the opposite side and do the same thing. Calls for moving around a lot and I sometimes have a problem with my cuts not lining up too well.
You haven't said what model saw you have.

Bar 'flipping' I do that every time I sharpen the chain. I use a magic marker to put an arrow on the bar pointing up before I take it off the saw. That way I can tell how to remount it 'flipped'. The bar and saw should be cleaned regularly. After each use is best but I do it when I am sharping chains.

Take the chain/bar off
Set choke full on to keep crud out, pull carboretor cover.
Use compressor to blow all the crud off of the saw and out of all crevices you can reach.
Remove air filter and give it a good cleaning.
Clean bar - The depth guage tool has two 'teeth' on one end that are sized to slide down the bar rails cleaing all the gunk out. You will be amazed at how much stuff is crammed in there. Also be sure the oiler holes in the bar are clear - usually a blast of air will do it but I have had to use a wire to dig small chips out sometimes.

If you aren't going to use the saw in the near future, empty the gas and run it dry. At least that is the recommendation. saws sitting on a shelf with fuel in them tend to crud up the carb. I do it sometimes. Haven't done it to mine this year yet as I got a sudden weather change that shut me down for the season...hmmm, looks like a good job to be doing today.

Harry K

 

[Billy_S]

Harry, the 25" saw is a Stihl 046. Maybe 064 but I think it is 046. Thanks for the tips.

 

[schmism]

i know my 039 is much easyer to handle with a 20" than my 24" bar.....

if they sell a saw with a 16" bar go ahead and put a 12 or 14" one on... youll be surprised how much better it handles and how it really can power through stuff up to 6-8"...

 

[rox]

I'm using the stihl combi system chainsaw. basically a chainsaw at the end of a long pole. we are pruing over 700 trees so it is worked all day every day. i was pushing it hard today, forcing a bigger cut then i should have and i noticed for the very first time the engine got hot, (the engine is on the opposite end of the pole chain saw) and it gave off some black smoke. i know it was hot because i had it resting on my stomach. it did that twice today both times when i was forcing it to cut bigger stuff than it was designed for. Do these Stihls need motor oil as well as bar oil?

Willing to admit I'm no expert. The motor was running but the chain wasn't turning, so i took off the chain and flipped it over. Nothing happened, the darned thing wouldn't cut at all. Then i took it back apart and put the chain on the other way and it cut. the reason the chain wasn't turning was the connecting poles had eased apart, i really didn't need to fuss with the chain at all. I keep thinking about that intense heat and the black smoke that blew out, what was that? is there any action i should take?

 

[Michael_E_Tx]

I keep thinking about that intense heat and the black smoke that blew out, what was that? is there any action i should take?

Hi Rox. Nice to meet you.

My guess would be that the black smoke was coming from your clutch. If so, there is nothing to be done really. If the period of black smoke was fairly short, you probably haven't hurt much.

If you have burned up enough clutch to do damage, you will soon know, as the clutch will start slipping, making more smoke and more difficulties with the chain stalling. If you should experience this, the only remedy is to replace the friction clutch parts or perhaps the whole clutch assembly. Not too big of a deal unless your Stihl dealer is far away.

As to the need for motor oil. Your engine should only require the normal "mix" oil that you add to your gas. This gives you the normal 50/1 ratio and is all you should ever need.

Mike

 

[rox]

Mike-Thank you, i had forgotten about the oil my husband adds to the gas. He alwas does that so that is why i didn'tt hink about it. It is still under warranty so after we get these trees prunned in a couple months i'll take it in. I have an excellent dealer, we ahve bought 2 chain saws from them and also they repair our leafe blower/vaccuum which we use during the olive harvest. i'm in pretty tight with the techs, they always stop what they are doing and work on my stuff right away as thye know we are using the equipment professionally, not jsut as a home gardener. They also gave me a nice small package of chocolates which the owner told me was for their best customers. i do believe that too because another custoemr saw me have it in the shop and he went up front but came back empty handed. during the harvest i needed the leaf blower fixed right away, i dropped it off made a run to the mill and swung back and picked it up and then i realized i didn't have the business checking account with me only the personal one. The owner jsut gave me the invice, said she trusted me and that i should come back later and pay. Now that is a pretty good dealer.

 

[shaley]

Harry, the 25" saw is a Stihl 046. Maybe 064 but I think it is 046. Thanks for the tips.

The 046 is a pretty heavy and big saw. Definitely in the professional category. Stihl use to make all the even number saws with magnesium cases in order to reduce the weight and increase strength. The 046 is a 6 HP 14 lb saw, so that is a saw for felling and bucking. I have the same complaint about the my 044 with the 20" bar and I think it is due to balance more than anything else. I also use a 066 w/a 16" full chisel chain and it actually feels better on my back. You might trade that saw in on a smaller unit.