Where’s the best place or way to increase performance with a chainsaw.

[MossRoad]

Re: Where痴 the best place or way to increase performance with a chainsaw.

The saw runs good until just recently when the carburetor fell out of adjustment. That wasn稚 the point of this thread. Chains weren稚 the point of this thread either. Obviously a good sharp chain is better than a dull one or one with bad rakers. The point was if gaining more power was practical. Since we致e already gone off the rails ( I知 not upset, if you can稚 handle that this isn稚 a good website for you) what is the easiest most fail proof way to adjust a carb.

My little Poulan 42cc saw was running fine with no adjustments for many years. Then all of a sudden it started loosing power. I bought carb adjustment tools, start tweaking it, etc... with little success. I finally found that the coil was the issue. It's a bunch of metal plates laminated together, with the last plate being the mounting foot. There was a little, tiny crack in that foot. As the saw would get hot, it would run worse, and if I stopped to fill the gas, I couldn't start it for an hour. I replaced the coil and set the carb back to near factory adjustments and it's all better again. Just a thought.

 

[MossRoad]

Forgot to mention that I had that little 25 cubic inch engine taking me down the 1/4 mile track in 11.92 seconds at 119mph....

 

[4570Man]

My saw seems to randomly run better. It’s never been a 2 pull starter and that hasn’t changed much.

 

[dragoneggs]

My saw seems to randomly run better. It’s never been a 2 pull starter and that hasn’t changed much.

I was a two pull starter on Saturday and my back went out! :ashamed: :smiley_aafz:

 

[standup616]

Re: Where痴 the best place or way to increase performance with a chainsaw.

There are alot of variables in these little carbs unless they have changed in 10 years and Im going on what I have fooled with so Im not a 塗usky chanisaw expert. The 吐uel bowl on one side of carb is a diaphragm, it has a little button that pushes a spring loaded lever. the needle seat are on other side of this lever with a fork that retains the needle. All of these work together with precision to keep ample supply of fuel under the diaphragm with atmospheric pressure on the other side of diaphragm. The tiniest change of the tension or 菟op off pressure , the force it takes to open the needle, due to a hardened diaphragm, stiffer weaker spring worn sticky components and in conjunction with atmospheric pressure and the personality of the engine changes. There is a fuel pump diaphragm on other side of carb that pulsates with crankcase pressure pumping fuel using a series of flapper reed type valves to keep a steady supply of liquid fuel at the needle and seat with the excess fuel and hopefully any air or vaporized fuel pumping through return back to fuel tank. If this diaphragm is getting harder may not pump enough fuel. Traces of dirt, corrosion on jets, just like clogged arteries in the heart restrict flow. Simply, things get harder, springs get weaker dont move as well and tiny passages can get clogged totally altering the performance

 

[MossRoad]

I was a two pull starter on Saturday and my back went out! :ashamed: :smiley_aafz:

A few weeks ago I was working on a sticking choke cable in my Power Trac. I leaned over to pick up a wrench and that was that. I was on my knees crying like a baby. Took me about 20 minutes to get 40' to the house. Took a full day before I could move without wincing, and it was sore for a week. Got out my empowered woman yoga mat and started doing my back excersices again that I'd been slacking off on. :laughing:

 

[John_Mc]

Re: Where痴 the best place or way to increase performance with a chainsaw.

I don't think there's as many people that can hand file a chain as there are that think they can. I閾ｴe only met one person that can make the nice ribbon curls from oak with a hand filed chain.

I agree 100% with that. I've met dozens of people who think they are great at freehand sharpening (sharpening with just a bare file and no sort of guide). I've met two in my life who actually are good at it. However, it's very easy to learn to hand file with the appropriate file guide. Two that I've used with good results:

Husqvarna Swedish Roller Guide: Easy to use once you figure out how to lace it correctly on the chain, but does not fit some types of consumer safety chains (the extra bumper link gets in the way, preventing proper positioning of the guide). Get the one which has the attached depth gauge tool - it's very convenient for setting the depth gauges with a flat file.



Oregon Filing Guide: also easy to use, once you get the knack. As long as you get the right size for your chain, it will work on any style steel chain.


And one that my friend swears by: The Pferd Chain Sharp CS-X (also sold as the Stihl 2 in 1 Easy File). I've only used it once, but it got the job done. It sharpens the tooth and sets the depth gauge height at the same time.

I've only met one person that can make the nice ribbon curls from oak with a hand filed chain.

That's probably good, because "ribbon curls" are not what a chain is supposed to make. If you are cross-cutting, which is how a chainsaw is generally used, a chain should make discrete chips (not sawdust). The exception to this is if you are making ripping cuts: cuts along and parallel to the grain. This is sometimes called "noodling" for the long curlicue strips of wood it makes. However, it does not take a particualerly well sharpened chain to generate the noodles.

 

[newbury]

Re: Where痴 the best place or way to increase performance with a chainsaw.

<snip> Simply, things get harder, springs get weaker dont move as well and tiny passages can get clogged totally altering the performance

Both in machines and man

A few weeks ago I was working on a sticking choke cable in my Power Trac. I leaned over to pick up a wrench and that was that. I was on my knees crying like a baby. Took me about 20 minutes to get 40' to the house. Took a full day before I could move without wincing, and it was sore for a week. Got out my empowered woman yoga mat and started doing my back excersices again that I'd been slacking off on. :laughing:

 

[4570Man]

I agree 100% with that. I've met dozens of people who think they are great at freehand sharpening (sharpening with just a bare file and no sort of guide). I've met two in my life who actually are good at it. However, it's very easy to learn to hand file with the appropriate file guide. Two that I've used with good results:

Husqvarna Swedish Roller Guide: Easy to use once you figure out how to lace it correctly on the chain, but does not fit some types of consumer safety chains (the extra bumper link gets in the way, preventing proper positioning of the guide). Get the one which has the attached depth gauge tool - it's very convenient for setting the depth gauges with a flat file.

View attachment 576330

Oregon Filing Guide: also easy to use, once you get the knack. As long as you get the right size for your chain, it will work on any style steel chain.
View attachment 576331

And one that my friend swears by: The Pferd Chain Sharp CS-X (also sold as the Stihl 2 in 1 Easy File). I've only used it once, but it got the job done. It sharpens the tooth and sets the depth gauge height at the same time.
View attachment 576335



That's probably good, because "ribbon curls" are not what a chain is supposed to make. If you are cross-cutting, which is how a chainsaw is generally used, a chain should make discrete chips (not sawdust). The exception to this is if you are making ripping cuts: cuts along and parallel to the grain. This is sometimes called "noodling" for the long curlicue strips of wood it makes. However, it does not take a particualerly well sharpened chain to generate the noodles.

Ribbon curls might be a stretch. He can make 1/2 inch long chips crosscutting oak. And it’s only a 50cc saw. I can do a good job with the timberline but it’s slow and a delicate process.

 

[John_Mc]

Re: Where痴 the best place or way to increase performance with a chainsaw.

This thread wasn遞 about a sharp chain or not. It was about modifying the saw and how much power is really to be gained. And I遏･ pretty sure the carb on my saw needs adjusted rather I decided to mod the saw or not. It starts harder than it used to and doesn遞 seem to reach as high of rpm as it used to. It also seems to smoke a little more.

Well, what you asked was the best way to increase performance with a chainsaw. A dull or improperly sharpened chain is probably the most overlooked issue by far too many chainsaw owners.

If you are beyond that, the next step is tuning the carb properly and assuring the spark screen on your muffler is not clogged up. Here's a good link on tuning the carb on a saw (Click on the "Saw Tuning" link). It includes audio files so you can hear what they are talking about when folks refer to "four stroking". You'll need good speakers or headphones to be able to hear this clearly (many laptop speakers are garbage, and won't work well for this. NOTE: depending on how old your saw is, you may need special screwdrivers to adjust the mixture, and you may need to figure out how to defeat the limiter caps on the mixture screws.

The next step beyond that is doing a muffler mod (If your saw has a catalytic muffler on it, simply replacing that with a non-catalytic one is a simple step in the right direction, though not as effective as a properly done muffler mod.) either of these requires retuning the carb after the modification. A muffler mod is not particularly difficult to do, but do seek some guidance (and be aware that catalytic mufflers have some toxic metals in them, so take appropriate precautions if you are gutting one). A good place for input on muffler mods and other chainsaw repairs: the Chainsaw Repair Forum. One of the reason I like it is because it's dedicated to sharing information and helping people to learn: You don't get jumped on by a bunch of macho jerks for asking a beginner question. (Which happens to be one of the reasons I also like TractorByNet and the Forestry Forum)

The next step is a bit more radical: taking your saw to someone to get it ported. You want someone who is experienced at this (as someone else mentioned, let them get their beginner mistakes out on someone else's saw). In my experience, there are more folks out there who think they know what they are doing than there are folks who actually do know. I'd start with the simple stuff first. If you do end up deciding to get it ported, you probably want what is known as a "woods port" - one designed to improve power, possibly help the saw run cooler, and still have it hold up well over time. A Racing Port is designed to get the absolute maximum performance out of a saw, but generally at the expense of drastically shortening the saw's life. Not the kind of thing I want done on my daily work saws.