Troubleshoot my saw - a woodcutting mystery...

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Stegman

Stegman

Feeling the Heat
Jan 4, 2011
317
Sterling, MA
So I landed a decent free wood score from a neighbor who had to cut down a 40-foot red maple last weekend. Been carting it home all week, but today was the day we had to cut up the monster trunk - basically a three-in-one trunk that's probably a good 36 inches in diameter.

So I get my saw going and set about going to work and it won't cut. The chain is moving, but nothing's happening. No chips, no sawdust, nothing. This was with a brand new chain - out-of-the-box new. I did notice a couple of small sparks and was worried I might have nicked hit a nail or something, so I ran home and grabbed the old chain I had lying around. Tried that on a different piece of stump and again, nothing. Well, I shouldn't say nothing. It was actually burning the wood with friction, but that was about it.

The only thing I can think of is that I might have a bar issue. The last time I used it got pinched beneath a leaner. I had to take the bar off the body and then "persuade" the bar to come out. The bar looks fine to my eye, but I was wondering if a bent/warped bar could cause it to spark like it did. Seems like if the chain is moving, though, it should be cutting.

Any thoughts?
 
Boy its embarassing but I agree with the previous poster. If the chain is moving and its not cutting the chain is on backwards.
 
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Sounds like both chains are dull as sin. Are they? What sort of chain do you have here?

Truth is that if the chain isn't cutting right, trying more ain't going to help it cut better. Busting out your files and sharpening it is what you need to do. A good, sharp chain doesn't burn wood, not in the slightest, ever. So I'd suggest you resharpen the chains and reset the rakers and try again.

Assuming your chains are semi-chisel, one of the big challenges with that cutter type is that it is harder to sharpen them than it is to sharpen round-filed or square-filed chisel cutters. The rounded cutter makes it hard to judge sharpness, since there is no clear working corner to examine, whether by hand or visually. I quit using semi-chisel for anything except 3/8LP loops on the top-handle saws for just that reason. I can get a round-filed or square-filed chisel chain razor sharp, better than out-the-box, but damned if I can get a semi-chisel to anywhere near a factory edge.
 
Gotta agree with those above about the chain being on backwards. Even a dull chain will produce some sawdust.
 
Burning definitely indicates extreme dullness or directional error- backwards cutters.
 
I agree with the rest of the guys......chain is on backwards. When you are holding the saw like you are about to cut into a piece of wood, look down at the top rail of your bar. The chisels should be pointing forward, towards the tip. Is this the case? If so, then you are good to go. If the chisels are pointing back towards the saw, then its on backwards. My buddy did this one time, he was in a big hurry and threw on a chain. 10 seconds into the next attempt to cut, sparks and smoke, no chips. He was pissed off at the saw, I told him to look at the chain and sure enough in his haste, he put it on backwards!
 
Backwards.
 
I've never been happier about being a complete moron. In my haste, I didn't even think to check that. What's amazing isn't that I put the chain on backward - but that I did it twice!

Thanks everyone.
 
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Stegman said:
I've never been happier about being a complete moron. In my haste, I didn't even think to check that. What's amazing isn't that I put the chain on backward - but that I did it twice!

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the club (you can recognize other members because we all wear our ball caps backwards)!
 
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Welcome to the "oh, crap" club!
I'm the chairman.
 
Here is a story to make you feel better. Not that I have ever put the chain on backwards, but this tops it. The brakes on my Silverado 2500 were making noise indicating they needed replacement. Being a do it yourselfer, and having done this many times, I promptly headed to the National Auto parts for new pads/rotors. Logic says front brakes are the source of wear first, with 65k on the truck that was my assumption. I do the work and head out for a test drive. First time I hit the brakes, there is the noise again. Ok, needed brakes all around, so off to the shop for rear brakes. Do that job and drive it down the road only to hear the same exact noise! WTF!! Found myself doing work at a dealership and asked the service department if they could figure out what was going on while I worked there for which they obliged. Tech catches me in 20 minutes and says he found the problem. Right side brakes on backwards. I cocked my head and said "you mean the pads are directional? Like the inside ones should have been outside?" Nope, he says they were on backwards. My head cocked even further. I said that I was obviously not understanding what he was saying and to please show me. What I could not accept was that I somehow put the pad on with the clips facing the rotors, and therefore had to see it to believe it. Further, I would have had to make the same mistake on two different days, but on the same side of the truck, since I had done the fronts one day and the rears another. Turns out that is exactly what happened. Ruined two rotors, brand new. Spent an extra 400 bucks to fix my money saving efforts. I had been really sick the week this happened, and can only hope that was a factor. Yes I will do the brakes again myself, but that will never happen again. A 9 on the list of embarrassing mistakes.
 
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That's an expensive "D'oh!" moment, MyWay. I'm thankful mine didn't hit my wallet at all.

On the good side, I got to run a Stihl for the first time. My neighbor has a trusty old 021. That was nice.

On the bad side, I probably won't be able to get a new saw now. My wife suggested it yesterday, but I fessed up this morning and told her she married an idiot.
 
Well, if you're an idiot for putting a chain on backwards then I am too. I'm the kind of guy who takes apart his saw to clean it and ends up at the dealer to pick up the parts I broke or lost taking it apart.
 
Stegman said:
I've never been happier about being a complete moron. In my haste, I didn't even think to check that. What's amazing isn't that I put the chain on backward - but that I did it twice!

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...
Happens to the best of them......it'll stay in your memory for a while, then come back to haunt you when you least expect it!;)
 
I don't think I would be going out on a limb here to say that just about all of us who cut an appreciable amount of wood have at one time or another had one of those "d'oh" moments where we have put our chain on backwards . . . and as mentioned . . . usually that one time is enough of an educational lesson to keep you from doing it in the future.
 
Been there done that, dont plan to do it again.

Of course there are the generic ethnic joke (fill in the nearest ethnic group), An old wood cutter hangs up his handsaw and heads over to the chainsaw shop and buys himself a new saw. A week later he brings it back to the dealer and says he has been using the saw all week and he is cutting less wood than with his bucksaw. The dealer says okay lets look at it and starts it up and its running good, the old timer looks at the dealer and says "whats that noise?":)
 
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Worst mistake I heard (really, it was not mine!) was a co-worker of mine bought spark plugs for both his cars and changed them at the same time. He started the engine on the first one and heard a loud metallic sound. Yup, his pistons kissed the too-long spark plugs that belonged in the OTHER car. That was a very expensive way to try to save money.
 
So, not that any of you needed confirmation about this, but you were all right. The chain was on backward. I went back over last night for the last big hunk of trunk and the saw worked fine.

Thanks for the edumacation.
 
Stegman said:
I've never been happier about being a complete moron. In my haste, I didn't even think to check that. What's amazing isn't that I put the chain on backward - but that I did it twice!

Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...
Hey--no stealing thunder from me!!;lol That's the kind of stuff Iive done. Kind of like the time I called an electrician friend to troubleshoot an outlet, then realized that I had accidentally hit the lightswitch that controlled that one.;em
 
I think it was the year before last. I topped up the fuel and oil on my saw as I did I saw the gas boiling in the tank and couldn't figure out why. Then the saw would start and stall. I just couldn't get it to run so I used another saw. Had my buddy check it out when he came over. He came over to me laughing said I put oil in the gas and gas in the oil.

Billy
 
Stegman , you're no idiot . It just took you longer to make the same mistake we've all made . I've done it several times , but only failed to catch it once . That was when I mounted a new chain , realized I hadn't flipped the bar . So, I flipped the bar with the chain still mounted ......took a second to realize what I had done ! :)
 
about 4 years ago I bought my first saw. After my first cutting session I wanted to clean it really good. I took the clutch cover off, wondering why is it so hard to get it off. Only after I was done cleaning it I realized that I had the chain brake engaged.
 
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