Chainsaw gurus

[sstterry]

My biggest chainsaw problem is starting them. Awful! Any tips/ tricks?

Always run the tank all the way empty after each use and use fresh gas the next time. Or, the best is to use a non-ethanol fuel like True Fuel or one of the others like Sthil fuel. These fuels are more expensive, but I have not had a problem with starting since using them.

 

[jltrent]

On sharpening a chain I use an electric chain grinder to get the proper angle, if the chain is real dull grind down to a point and get all the teeth the same depth. Then I mount the bar in a vice and finish razor sharpening with a file. Also I gauge the rakers to see if they need taken down. The smaller the chainsaw the less you take down the rakers. On a large chainsaw with power you can make them chew some big chunks, especially with a skip tooth chain. A dull and/or improper adjusted chain can cause some expensive repairs.

 

[TexasRancher]

A plastic crankcase homeowner clamshell would not last long logging. Keep the bar rails clean and the saw oil pump will provide oil to the tip. If you are cutting in dirty conditions use a solid hard non roller tip bar designed to do so.

I've pulled out and stripped few of those bar-holding-bolts mounted in the plastic core...it really sucks when that happens. You know a lot sir.

 

[TexasRancher]

My biggest chainsaw problem is starting them. Awful! Any tips/ tricks?

Don't keep last year gas in your saw. Fresh gas-oil mix. Push the gas plunger (make sure you see-feel-hear it fill or squirt each time) about 10 times in 4 or 5 seconds. Then the most important thing...is always use full choke until you hear the saw actually start or try to start. Then remove all choke, no choke and start the chainsaw regularly.
If you really have a difficult saw that's super hard starting or is not oiling...clear out gas or oil and use straight kerosene soaking overnight...prime it with kerosene...into the carb and let 'er soak overnight...same goes for a clogged oiler. In the field i run all sort of crappy used motor oil, even used transmission fluid is fair game (not recommended though) in the bar oil....kerosene or diesel works magic. Flush out the solvent in the morning and fill with proper fluids.

 

[jltrent]

I've pulled out and stripped few of those bar-holding-bolts mounted in the plastic core...it really sucks when that happens. You know a lot sir.

They make an oversize stud to replace those if pull out. I just put one in a Stihl MS250 for a neighbor. I bought one from here as these are sold out, but others available.

They are not cheap, but it beats replacing the crankcase. The part number is 1123 664 2405.

OEM STIHL 1123 664 2405 BAR STUD MS170 MS171 MS180 MS181 MS210 NOT AFTERMARKET | eBay

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[Rmc]

If it's a stihl you are trying to start this is the easiest way I have found to start them .
Put on full choke pull cord until it coughs once. Move to 1/2 choke (one click) then pull again .almost always starts with one or two pulls after moving to 1/2 choke.

 

[jltrent]

On the starting use pure gas, run dry when not in use for long periods. Also eventually all saws will need a fresh carb kit to keep starting good as the diaphragms get stiff. The way a saws starts is the cylinder motion on the up down stroke creates impulses that work the diaphragm in the carburetor that works the needle motion to pull gas in and then to the TDC and create combustion. A saw low on compression will be hard to start as it does not create a strong impulse to pull the gas. During this process a lot of things can go wrong and that is were the fixing comes in. A pressure/vacuum test maybe needed to find air leaks after doing the basic checklist and everything seems right, but still want start. Always check the fuel line as one of the first checks, along with checking for fire. I bought a saw a few days ago that had been basically junked cheap and it took me maybe 5 minutes to fix. The impulse line had came off and once putting that back on it ran fine. Worked on these for a lot of years.

 

[TexasRancher]

They make an oversize stud to replace those if pull out. I just put one in a Stihl MS250 for a neighbor. I bought one from here as these are sold out, but others available.

They are not cheap, but it beats replacing the crankcase. The part number is 1123 664 2405.

OEM STIHL 1123 664 2405 BAR STUD MS170 MS171 MS180 MS181 MS210 NOT AFTERMARKET | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for OEM STIHL 1123 664 2405 BAR STUD MS170 MS171 MS180 MS181 MS210 NOT AFTERMARKET at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Yeah i figured they did (i'll save that number)...what i did was jam a small wedge screw...pounded back in the stud and then jb welded it. Then, i had to be very careful not to over-tighten that particular stud's nut. Lasted about 4 to 7 bar-chain off-on usages before it broken again. After that, there was a period in my crazy collection addiction where i actually had-purchased and owned 13 or 14 chainsaws...literally....loved them all. Down to 3 now, sold 10 of them. I was getting them for ~65 to 90 dollars each 38cc, 42cc, 45cc, 52cc , mint w/ 16", 18", 20", 22" bars i couldn't stop buying them for under $100 factory refurbished/blems.

 

[Dave]

I have a Silvey Razor Sharp grinder. I have also filed away a couple miles of chain. I have done it enough I could almost do it blindfolded. We never ran chain past about half gone. I would tell myself that will make a firewood chain. When I moved I tossed two apple boxes full of "firewood chain" into the scrap iron load along with 15 or 20 assorted worn out bars. I kept a new 42 inch bar. Not that I will ever need it. I just couldn't throw away a new bar.

 

[jltrent]

I have a Silvey Razor Sharp grinder. I have also filed away a couple miles of chain. I have done it enough I could almost do it blindfolded. We never ran chain past about half gone. I would tell myself that will make a firewood chain. When I moved I tossed two apple boxes full of "firewood chain" into the scrap iron load along with 15 or 20 assorted worn out bars. I kept a new 42 inch bar. Not that I will ever need it. I just couldn't throw away a new bar.

Good post. A chainsaw tells a lot about a person. I see a lot of cheap azzes who wear the chains down toothless which puts extra strain on the PTO side, the bar down until the chain cuts into the crankcase, put cancer causing used/burnt motor oil that gets slung all over them for bar oil, on top of it staining the saw, clogging it up which causes over heating, shortens the life of the oiler, coil and everything else. Throw the bar away when it get wear, throw the chain away when it gets a little over half gone and buy bar oil.

Another thing clean the air filter as there is a balance between air/fuel and a clogged air filter will cause a saw to run rich, which cause carbon buildup on the internals, excessive scoring on the piston/cylinder and stops the muffler screen up. Another thing make sure the air filter is sealed and the flock in good shape. A chainsaw eating sawdust will burn the crank/rod bearings up.

 

[Dave]

Everyday at the end of the day I would put on a fresh sharp chain. We all used a horse shoe nail on the end of our measuring tape. That worked to run down between the rails on the bar. It also cleaned out the oil hole in the bar. Then you popped off the air filter and cleaned it. Get use to doing this every day and it just took a minute to do. When you get paid based on how much wood you put on the ground you need everything running at top performance. A new saw every 6-8 months. The old saw became the spare and the old spare was sold to some firewood cutter. That doesn't include saws that committed suicide. When things go sideways it was every man for himself. Saws were on their own. I had a brand new first day on the job saw get smashed. I don't think there was a straight screw left. It hurt to buy another new saw that afternoon but not as much as it would have if I had stayed with the saw.

 

[Atimm693]

What do most of you use to sharpen a chain. I just use a file clamped to one of those guides, and sharpen it on the saw before I go out cutting firewood a vice on the back of my truck to clamp the bar helps immensely . I have got quite proficient at it and can keep them cutting well right to the end of the chains life. Keeping the rails dressed down so they are even is also important for a straight cut, I have been using a bench grinder for that these days, the foot keeps the bar at rt angles to the stone and I am carefull to only take off enough to get them even, I rotate the bar then. I have also recently bought a gadget that closes the rails so not the slop there. I don't muck around though and will replace a bar once it looks a bit tired and the chain before it is too worn, once it gets back a bit the width of the cut narrows and things tend to hang up a bit. A buy chain in bulk and make up my own, it is not expensive and worth it to have things cutting well again. Bars are not that bad price wise and worth replacing than trying to get more out of a worn one.

Ken

File. I have a grinder but rarely use it, only on chains that are badly damaged. Clamp the bar in a vice and hold the file with both hands. Don't saw at it back and forth, and apply quite a bit of pressure. If there isn't a pile of chips on the vice you aren't accomplishing anything.

I know it isn't the "right" way, but once a chain gets worn by 1/2 or so, I will take an angle grinder and just kiss each raker. Doesn't take much. They make a guide and depth gauge that allows you to do it more precisely with a flat file.

My biggest chainsaw problem is starting them. Awful! Any tips/ tricks?

Full choke, pull until it pops. Then no choke, with the fast idle engaged. Most saws do it automatically when you take the choke off, and it stays engaged until you hit the trigger, but on some older ones you had to lock the trigger. If it has a primer hit that 10 times or so or as much as you want, it won't flood them, just purges the lines going to and from the carb.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Good post. A chainsaw tells a lot about a person. I see a lot of cheap azzes who wear the chains down toothless which puts extra strain on the PTO side, the bar down until the chain cuts into the crankcase, put cancer causing used/burnt motor oil that gets slung all over them for bar oil, on top of it staining the saw, clogging it up which causes over heating, shortens the life of the oiler, coil and everything else. Throw the bar away when it get wear, throw the chain away when it gets a little over half gone and buy bar oil.

Another thing clean the air filter as there is a balance between air/fuel and a clogged air filter will cause a saw to run rich, which cause carbon buildup on the internals, excessive scoring on the piston/cylinder and stops the muffler screen up. Another thing make sure the air filter is sealed and the flock in good shape. A chainsaw eating sawdust will burn the crank/rod bearings up.

Do you have a preference between Stihl regular bar oil and Stihl synthetic bar oil?

 

[jltrent]

Here are some Stihl 036/MS360s I just started to repair.

 

[jltrent]

Do you have a preference between Stihl regular bar oil and Stihl synthetic bar oil?

I always use regular, but as slick as synthetic is I bet it would extend the life of the bar, oil pump, and everything on the PTO side.

 

[wbvs58]

I learnt early on not to skimp by using cheap bar oil.

Ken

 

[TexasRancher]

I learnt early on not to skimp by using cheap bar oil.

Ken

What $20. for a new bar?....I use used transmission fluid or any old dirty motor oil. Finally fixed the oiler on one of my chainsaw's yesterday....got tired of dipping the bar in oil every 10 minutes. What jltrent doesn't know is I run my non-professional chainsaw's HARDER than the professional ones....and I get a lot more life out of that $100. to $150. investment....then buying a $500. machine. I love those plastic case 42cc chainsaws.

 

[jltrent]

What $20. for a new bar?....I use used transmission fluid or any old dirty motor oil. Finally fixed the oiler on one of my chainsaw's yesterday....got tired of dipping the bar in oil every 10 minutes. What jltrent doesn't know is I run my non-professional chainsaw's HARDER than the professional ones....and I get a lot more life out of that $100. to $150. investment....then buying a $500. machine. I love those plastic case 42cc chainsaws.

LOL...........

 

[wbvs58]

I found the chain and bar ran noticebly hotter using inferior chain oil and if chain becomes dull and you keep running it the chain teeth will lose their temper and then will get dull very quickly each time you use it. I am a bit pedantic about using a well known brand chain oil.

Ken