Another "curving cut" question

[mxjamie540]

I was reading in another thread about a user's saw curving to the left..... yada yada yada... I have the same problem only toward teh right. DUring the other thread there was a debate as to which side of the chain the teeth were sharper, thus causing the curve.

In my circumstance, I have a relatively new bar, and have even flipped it to no avail. I still curve to the right. I beleieved the left side teeth to be sharper, so I have now sharpened the right side teeth 2x alone. I had them very sharp on today's outing....... however, still cut to the right........ and maybe a little worse than before.

So my question is.... Which side need sharpened? Left or right? I am positive it is not a bar problem. I cannot find any facts on the web as to which teeth cause a curve in said directions.



HELP!

 

[sedanman]

It may not be a matter of one set of teeth being "sharper" than the other, rather one set may be more aggresive than the other. My suggestion is to have the chain machine sharpened and have the bar rails trued. This will cure your problem. If you are sure it is not the bar install a new chain and the problem should go away. If the curve still happens with a new chain the bar is to blame. Either way having a spare chain is a good idea.

 

[smokinj]

It may not be a matter of one set of teeth being "sharper" than the other, rather one set may be more aggresive than the other. My suggestion is to have the chain machine sharpened and have the bar rails trued. This will cure your problem. If you are sure it is not the bar install a new chain and the problem should go away. If the curve still happens with a new chain the bar is to blame. Either way having a spare chain is a good idea.

+1 get it true and then try again!

 

[mxjamie540]

So, which teeth control the direction of a right handed curve? Is it the right hand teeth or the left hand teeth? If I knew for sure which side of teeth were to blame, then I would be able to focus my attention a bit more accurately on the proper side.

 

[EKLawton]

So, which teeth control the direction of a right handed curve? Is it the right hand teeth or the left hand teeth? If I knew for sure which side of teeth were to blame, then I would be able to focus my attention a bit more accurately on the proper side.

smokinjay can tell you for sure he is the man when it comes to sharpening... The answer is the right side is removing more wood than the left ;-)

 

[Captain Hornet]

My 034 Stihl had the same problem, really a bad curved cut to the left. It was so bad that the saw would bind before the blade was all the way into the wood. I worried with this for a couple of months. Had the chain professionally sharpened on a machine, and the bar trued. Still the same thing. I went out and bought a Stihl 441 Magnum just to cut the big stuff the road dept left for me. It was a water oak that was three foot at the base. I had to get it right away because they were paving the road and it was in the right of way. So finely after things calmed down a bit, I worried some more with it. Then I took the chain off and threw it in the trash. Put a new Stihl chisel chain on it, for only $22.49. and that was the end of the problem. I use the 034 for limbing and smaller bucking now and it cuts better than it ever did. The old chain was a Oregan. All that said, I still feel like a dumb ass for not changing the chain first thing. David.

 

[Gooserider]

Look at the side plates on the chain where they ride on the rail - both should be worn the same, if one side is worn more than the other, then you need to toss the chain. This is the matching problem to the bar rails being worn, as both cause the chain to tilt to one side as it goes around the bar. Fixing one w/o fixing the other won't cure the problem, and the worn chain will rapidly wear the fixed bar, both by wearing one rail more, and by the center drive links rubbing the inside of the bar groove... Unfortunately, while you can true the bar, and close up the rail gap, there isn't a way to fix the chain wear - so you need to either toss the chain or pair it up with a junk bar for use in cutting up suspect wood, stumps, and other such "rock saw" applications.

Gooserider

 

[savageactor7]

Look in the back of your owners manual under trouble shooting...

...saw cuts down and to the right. Teeth on right are sharper than on left so sharpen left side teeth only.

Should have been no debate ...that's chain saw 101 stuff.

To be fair there are rare occasions when there is a another contribution factor but that's rare.

 

[smokinj]

Look in the back of your owners manual under trouble shooting...

...saw cuts down and to the right. Teeth on right are sharper than on left so sharpen left side teeth only.

Should have been no debate ...that's chain saw 101 stuff.

To be fair there are rare occasions when there is a another contribution factor but that's rare.

that is the quick answer,what I see more often is damage to a tooth and in this case bad left side tooth

 

[quads]

My 034 Stihl had the same problem, really a bad curved cut to the left. It was so bad that the saw would bind before the blade was all the way into the wood. I worried with this for a couple of months. Had the chain professionally sharpened on a machine, and the bar trued. Still the same thing. I went out and bought a Stihl 441 Magnum just to cut the big stuff the road dept left for me. It was a water oak that was three foot at the base. I had to get it right away because they were paving the road and it was in the right of way. So finely after things calmed down a bit, I worried some more with it. Then I took the chain off and threw it in the trash. Put a new Stihl chisel chain on it, for only $22.49. and that was the end of the problem. I use the 034 for limbing and smaller bucking now and it cuts better than it ever did. The old chain was a Oregan. All that said, I still feel like a dumb ass for not changing the chain first thing. David.

Funny you mentioned Oregon chain, it never occurred to me before until I read your post just now. I had the same problem many years ago. Never did figure it out. Bought a new Stihl chain and the problem went away. I have never had this problem since with any Stihl chain ever, and I am terrible at sharpening and maintaining bars and chains. But, I have never bought another Oregon chain.

Not saying the Oregon chain was the problem, because I don't know and it never occurred to me at the time. Just thought I'd mention it since it came to mind after reading Captain Hornet's post. I might even still have that Oregon chain hanging in the garage somewhere.

 

[smokinj]

My 034 Stihl had the same problem, really a bad curved cut to the left. It was so bad that the saw would bind before the blade was all the way into the wood. I worried with this for a couple of months. Had the chain professionally sharpened on a machine, and the bar trued. Still the same thing. I went out and bought a Stihl 441 Magnum just to cut the big stuff the road dept left for me. It was a water oak that was three foot at the base. I had to get it right away because they were paving the road and it was in the right of way. So finely after things calmed down a bit, I worried some more with it. Then I took the chain off and threw it in the trash. Put a new Stihl chisel chain on it, for only $22.49. and that was the end of the problem. I use the 034 for limbing and smaller bucking now and it cuts better than it ever did. The old chain was a Oregan. All that said, I still feel like a dumb ass for not changing the chain first thing. David.

Funny you mentioned Oregon chain, it never occurred to me before until I read your post just now. I had the same problem many years ago. Never did figure it out. Bought a new Stihl chain and the problem went away. I have never had this problem since with any Stihl chain ever, and I am terrible at sharpening and maintaining bars and chains. But, I have never bought another Oregon chain.

Not saying the Oregon chain was the problem, because I don't know and it never occurred to me at the time. Just thought I'd mention it since it came to mind after reading Captain Hornet's post. I might even still have that Oregon chain hanging in the garage somewhere.

there can be an issue that will make any chain do that! I have one chain that is missing the top of the cutter and it still does ok.. If you dont have a a grinder where you can true it, then have some one do it! I have oregon chains woodlawn pro and stihl they all cut stright when done right....

 

[quads]

My 034 Stihl had the same problem, really a bad curved cut to the left. It was so bad that the saw would bind before the blade was all the way into the wood. I worried with this for a couple of months. Had the chain professionally sharpened on a machine, and the bar trued. Still the same thing. I went out and bought a Stihl 441 Magnum just to cut the big stuff the road dept left for me. It was a water oak that was three foot at the base. I had to get it right away because they were paving the road and it was in the right of way. So finely after things calmed down a bit, I worried some more with it. Then I took the chain off and threw it in the trash. Put a new Stihl chisel chain on it, for only $22.49. and that was the end of the problem. I use the 034 for limbing and smaller bucking now and it cuts better than it ever did. The old chain was a Oregan. All that said, I still feel like a dumb ass for not changing the chain first thing. David.

Funny you mentioned Oregon chain, it never occurred to me before until I read your post just now. I had the same problem many years ago. Never did figure it out. Bought a new Stihl chain and the problem went away. I have never had this problem since with any Stihl chain ever, and I am terrible at sharpening and maintaining bars and chains. But, I have never bought another Oregon chain.

Not saying the Oregon chain was the problem, because I don't know and it never occurred to me at the time. Just thought I'd mention it since it came to mind after reading Captain Hornet's post. I might even still have that Oregon chain hanging in the garage somewhere.

there can be an issue that will make any chain do that! I have one chain that is missing the top of the cutter and it still does ok.. If you dont have a a grinder where you can true it, then have some one do it! I have oregon chains woodlawn pro and stihl they all cut stright when done right....

I figured it probably wasn't the Oregon brand that was the problem. Just thought it was a coincidence that I had the same problem as Captain Hornet did with the same brand. I checked in the garage and I do still have that old chain that cuts crooked, but it doesn't have a lot of life left in it anyway.

 

[smokinj]

My 034 Stihl had the same problem, really a bad curved cut to the left. It was so bad that the saw would bind before the blade was all the way into the wood. I worried with this for a couple of months. Had the chain professionally sharpened on a machine, and the bar trued. Still the same thing. I went out and bought a Stihl 441 Magnum just to cut the big stuff the road dept left for me. It was a water oak that was three foot at the base. I had to get it right away because they were paving the road and it was in the right of way. So finely after things calmed down a bit, I worried some more with it. Then I took the chain off and threw it in the trash. Put a new Stihl chisel chain on it, for only $22.49. and that was the end of the problem. I use the 034 for limbing and smaller bucking now and it cuts better than it ever did. The old chain was a Oregan. All that said, I still feel like a dumb ass for not changing the chain first thing. David.

Funny you mentioned Oregon chain, it never occurred to me before until I read your post just now. I had the same problem many years ago. Never did figure it out. Bought a new Stihl chain and the problem went away. I have never had this problem since with any Stihl chain ever, and I am terrible at sharpening and maintaining bars and chains. But, I have never bought another Oregon chain.

Not saying the Oregon chain was the problem, because I don't know and it never occurred to me at the time. Just thought I'd mention it since it came to mind after reading Captain Hornet's post. I might even still have that Oregon chain hanging in the garage somewhere.

there can be an issue that will make any chain do that! I have one chain that is missing the top of the cutter and it still does ok.. If you dont have a a grinder where you can true it, then have some one do it! I have oregon chains woodlawn pro and stihl they all cut stright when done right....

I figured it probably wasn't the Oregon brand that was the problem. Just thought it was a coincidence that I had the same problem as Captain Hornet did with the same brand. I checked in the garage and I do still have that old chain that cuts crooked, but it doesn't have a lot of life left in it anyway.

have it machined a lot of the really good race chains are made out of the oregon chains but for a work chain there middle of the road

 

[mxjamie540]

Well, sharpened the left side teeth with about 6 good strokes..... and guess what?

Cuts like gangbusters now (well as much as can be expected from a CS-440), in a straight line no less


I want to personally thank all who chimed in and helped me through this little dilemma. This is what is so great about internet BB's. I can get the collective experience of the 3 old timers at the local saw shop, and not have to sift through the whatnot as much!

Thanks again in all seriousness.