Lent a buddy a saw the other week and just got it back this morning. He got the saw pinched pretty good bucking up a downed tree and pinched the chain channel on the bar pretty good, chain doesn't move freely and smokes if run. Tried to 'unpinch' it, but not having much luck. Do you think the bar is toast?
Pinched bar
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zzr7ky
Minister of Fire
- Jun 12, 2006
- 1,053
Hi - I put the bar in a solid vice. Clean it. Lay a straight edge along both sides. I then use a flatish piece of barstock and a hammer to encourage the bar channel back into the proper shape.
True up the bar with a mill file and your all set. You might want a second bar, so youcan rescue the first bar if it gets stuck. I needed one this Winter when I was too slow on the wedge.
ATB,
Mike
True up the bar with a mill file and your all set. You might want a second bar, so youcan rescue the first bar if it gets stuck. I needed one this Winter when I was too slow on the wedge.
ATB,
Mike
Thanks guys! I was debating putting a 16 on the 350, so if I can't straighten it I guess that just speeds up the timeline for that decision.
Make your buddy pay for a new bar and chain. I do not lend my saws. I don't want to sound like a snob but I get bad feelings about giving my tools to anyone. You are essentially giving it away when you loan it.
heat seeker
Minister of Fire
Yup - somebody wants to use my gear, I go with it. If I can't go, or don't want to, the gear stays home. If you lend something, consider it gone, and if it comes back okay, it's a plus. Just a result of bad experiences...
JeffRey30747
Member
Most likely it can be fixed. Probably won't ever look "brand new" again but it will work. Put it in a vise and open it up with a hammer and cold chisel driven into the groove. you can check your progress by sliding chain drive links along the tight spot. By the time you get it freed up, it will probably look way too wide at the top of the groove. Drop it down in the vise and use it to squeeze everything back close to where it should be. Finish by filing and cleaning up any rough spots.
I'd hit the friend up for at least a contribution toward the new bar. An extra can be useful at times.
I'd hit the friend up for at least a contribution toward the new bar. An extra can be useful at times.
Adios Pantalones
Minister of Fire
RNLA said:
If they don't have a saw in the first place, I'd think they didn't have the experience to borrow mine. If they do have one- then they probably don't need mine.
The idea of lending out my saw is almost leaving my dogs at someone's house for the weekend.
3fordasho
Minister of Fire
Yep, I only borrow out tools I really won't miss if they're never returned. Chainsaws _never_ get borrowed out. If the bar was pinched that bad I wonder how much abuse the AV mounts took when the borrower was trying to yank that saw out of the pinched cut?
Even the tools I don't give a rats A** about don't get borrowed to certain people. A good example would be my A**hat neighbor who never returned a borrowed tool in his life! Seems to think they are his once they are in his possession. I had to go track down every tool I ever borrowed him...one a year and a half later... never again!
Even the tools I don't give a rats A** about don't get borrowed to certain people. A good example would be my A**hat neighbor who never returned a borrowed tool in his life! Seems to think they are his once they are in his possession. I had to go track down every tool I ever borrowed him...one a year and a half later... never again!
Yes, it takes pretty extreme abuse to press in the bar rails, or a total idiot IMHO.
One tool that might help you to re-gauge the bar is an angled offset screwdriver, the sort that's shaped in an "S"- with bar in vise, insert blade as deep as possible and twist a bit in tight spots until there are no more. I'd still make him pay for a new bar, and chain if you're feeling lucky.
Better for you and your buddy in the future, that he hire your services with you running the saw. Probably lots cheaper too.
One tool that might help you to re-gauge the bar is an angled offset screwdriver, the sort that's shaped in an "S"- with bar in vise, insert blade as deep as possible and twist a bit in tight spots until there are no more. I'd still make him pay for a new bar, and chain if you're feeling lucky.
Better for you and your buddy in the future, that he hire your services with you running the saw. Probably lots cheaper too.
Thistle
Minister of Fire
Adios Pantalones said:
Exactly.I used to get asked all the time "Hey Jon can I borrow your chainsaw/skilsaw/sawsall/router/hammerdrill /minigrinderw/diamond wheel/wood chisels.. blah blah?"
My standard answer was & still is "No,but I'll come over do what you need done,whether its 5 minutes,5 hrs or 2 days & bring my gear back home with me" Had too many things get messed up & small things get lost yrs ago.
Woody Stover
Minister of Fire
The last time I got a bar stuck, I put a floor jack under the trunk to take some pressure off, then made a cut next to the bar with another saw.
The last time I loaned a power tool, my Sawzall sounded different when it came back.
The last time I loaned a power tool, my Sawzall sounded different when it came back.
Kenster
Minister of Fire
I'll admit to getting one pinched occasionally but a few taps on a wedge usually frees it pretty quickly. In my early days of cutting, I was felling a tree that sat down on my bar in the back cut. Ruined the bar but didn't hurt the chain. That was with my 'starter' saw- a little Craftsman- a few years before I got my 'real saw.' Stihl MS390.
mayhem
Minister of Fire
I seem to have a penchant for misreading the stress zone on a cut, usually only on a limb though so I'm lucky enough that I can usually get the bar out by lifting on the branch or making a quick counter cut with a hand saw or even the fiskars. I've never actually damaged a bar or chain from a misread though.
Had someone do it on my old saw though, dropping a tree and it twisted badly as it went over and put a 20 degree bend in the bar and chain, neat as if it went through a mandrel bender.
Bottom line is if someone borrows your stuff and brings it back in a condition worse than it was when it left, they owe you the repairs. I always leave borrowed vehicles with more gas than I got it with and if I borrow anyone OPE for any length of time I'll change the oil and clean the carb for them.
Had someone do it on my old saw though, dropping a tree and it twisted badly as it went over and put a 20 degree bend in the bar and chain, neat as if it went through a mandrel bender.
Bottom line is if someone borrows your stuff and brings it back in a condition worse than it was when it left, they owe you the repairs. I always leave borrowed vehicles with more gas than I got it with and if I borrow anyone OPE for any length of time I'll change the oil and clean the carb for them.
weatherguy
Minister of Fire
I lent my BIL my chop saw, didnt work when I got it back, he never said a word to me, so I asked him if everything worked OK, he said yeah, fine. I told him it doesnt turn on and he says, oh yeah, that happened to me too. Im on the "dont ask me to borrow a tool list now too".
DanCorcoran
Minister of Fire
Because I only have one chainsaw, I keep an old-but-usable bar and chain on hand. If I'm unable to extricate the bar, I just remove the head from the bar, attach the spare bar and chain, and use it to cut out the one that's stuck.
Adios Pantalones said:
Bingo. And I don't consider my saw as a beginner saw. Your not gonna learn on my saw.
Bspring
Feeling the Heat
Are you sure it's the bar? I had one that ended up getting skewed on a cut, and then twisted so the chain came off. I was sure my bar was pinched, it wouldn't turn and was jammed up. It turned out that one or two of the links got bent, so a new chain worked fine. Cheaper than a bar. Just a suggestion since you weren't there to see it happen, if he popped the chain it could have bent the tabs and that would feel the same. Maybe throw a different chain on just to check?
It was the bar. Taking the advice given here, I put it in a bench vise and opened it up with a screwdriver and hammer. Worked like a charm. Seems to be all set now.
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