Why does my chainsaw bar tilt left?

A couple weeks ago I made my first chainsaw chain replacement and was the first time I had removed the bar. It seemed straightforward and went back together smoothly. I noticed it had a slight lean to the left but checking everything 3 times did not change it. I cautiously fired it up and she ran great. I checked others at Lowes and they all (gas powered once at least) seem to do this. Why? I normally put the front plastic part of the chainsaw flush against the log being cut (when bucking logs) and this produces a slightly angled cut. Now I hold it a little tilted back the other way to get a flush cut.

Can some explain this? My saw is a Poulon by the way.

Uneven chain sharpening would be my guess

You should flip your bar every day or every other day depending on how long it was used

Any more than a three or four tanks I would flip it

Patiently waiting for Eric

Went fishing

If the bar is worn unevenly (i.e., one of the "rails" is lower than the other), you have have the bar "trued" at a chainsaw dealership. It helps if you bought the saw from them, but they'll probably do it for you anyway. What they basically do is put it on a grinder and level off the rails. In case you're not clear about what part I'm talking about, the rails are the solid sections on either side of the groove. The chain runs in the groove, and the rails support it on its sides. If they are uneven, the chain will be cocked to one side or the other and not cut straight.

Don't ever try to run your saw assembled differently from the way it was designed. If you're unsure, find someone who knows to make sure. Too many potential hazards in trying to freelance with such a precision machine.

BTW, uneven rails usually result from not flipping your bar around on a regular basis.

I guess I'm not exactly clear on the situation. Are you saying that looking down from the top of the saw, the bar tip points left, (like pointing to 11 o'clock instead of 12) or is it more of the top of the bar not being perfectly plumb with the bottom?

One question would be what you are referencing the tilt to. Old saws used to be square bottoms and sides with a square handle, but more modern saws are "ergonomic" with slanted sides, handles, etc so there aren't many perfectly straight sides to reference to.

Corey

Thats what I was wondering.

When you look at a lot saws the bar looks like it's angled left. My new husky is the same way. When I butt the chassis against the log the cut is slightly angled just like he says. And I know my bar is on correctly. I wonder if this is just an optical illusion? and it's hard to make square cuts with these "ergonomic" saws?

yeah...yeah...what Jared said. It appears to be on correctly. I doubt my saw has been used enough to be worn. it appears to be a design thing. Please note I see other brand new saws at the store doing this. Below I have reproduced what i am talking baout although the angle is exaggerated. You see the slight left angle of the bar when looking down from the top.






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Now you have me curious...I took a look at my Husky and the bare seems to be square and true with the very front case of the saw. The handle and hand guard are definitely angled, though.

Corey

Hi Guys,

On that note, I have another comment.

I read here that you guys flip your bars regularly. My Husky 359, has an original Husky bar (it says Husqvarna on both sides) but it is flat on the bottom and slightly rounded on the top (i.e. the top and bottom are not the same).

Won't flipping this bar make the saw cut differently? Any other consequences?

Carpniels

Hey Carpniels.

The reason for flipping it regularly is to avoid uneven wear. Depending on how much wear there is, it might or might not cut differently, but I can't think of any reason not to try it and see.

You might want to consider taking it in to Kahler's (or wherever) and having them check it out. "Truing" (grinding) a bar is no big deal and should cost less than $10, I'm guessing. If you're a good customer and you buy some stuff while you're there, they might even do it for free. If you have some time and want to try to file it down yourself with a bastard file or a raker file, you can do that too.

I'm a little confused about the tilted bar thing, but I haven't had a chance to check out the new Huskys in awhile. One thing to bear in mind is that if you put the bar and sideplate back on and inadvertantly don't get the chain-tensioning gizmo into its hole on the bar, the bar will not go on right (it will tilt) and you won't be able to tension your chain. You'll also bend the gizmo (it's usually just a protrusion riding on a threaded bolt) and have to replace it. It might even cut for awhile like that.

A pic of what you're talking about would be nice.

I took off work today to try out my new Husky which I got yesterday. I also was making cuts at an angle. I had to kinda rotate my body to the right just a hair to get a straight cut. It's no big deal but after years of cutting with my old 2 saws, this old dog has to change just a hair. I just went to the basement and the Husky is angles a little. BTW, this baby is great.

CB