Ego Bar/Cutting Issues

[SuperSpy]

I have a 14" Ego 56v chainsaw, and until now it's been great for me. I've probably abused it with poor technique a few times, so I've gone through a few chains, but with a sharp chain it's a great little saw.

Yesterday, I went out to clean up some deadfall and standing dead trees, and while cutting up the deadfall it was fine for the first dozen cuts but then it started to only want to cut on a curve. I wrote it off to poor technique initially, but eventually it started wandering so sharply it started pinching the bar/chain, which lead me to overheating the chain.

My initial thought is that I bent or twisted the bar somehow, and while that might be the case, it must not be by very much because I can't easily see a twist or bend. I didn't get a chance to take the bar off and check it against a flat surface to be sure, however.

I ordered a new bar and chain combo, actually upgrading the saw to 16" as both models use the same body and motor, so that should fix it for now, but I'm curious what might have caused it so I can avoid it in the future.

 

[blades]

Might have caught a little bit of something in the cut that dulled one set of cutters other side being sharp will then tend to make curved cuts favoring the sharp side. Happens all the time. i run a commercial shop see this all the time.

 

[SuperSpy]

That makes sense actually as it would intermittently cut then not cut depending on my positioning. I was probably inadvertently leaning on the sharp side of the chain trying to correct the curve.

 

[Dug8498]

Might have caught a little bit of something in the cut that dulled one set of cutters other side being sharp will then tend to make curved cuts favoring the sharp side. Happens all the time. i run a commercial shop see this all the time.

Interesting. Superspy, I was just going to post a thread on this, but see that I now don't need to. I just bought an Echo CS590 to cut up some pine trees left by tree cutters. I sharpened the chain about 3/4 way through the job and noticed the same thing; I was making curved cuts that were really pinching the bar/ chain once the saw got into the wood.

Wondering if I can correct the sharpening error by doing another round of sharpening? or should I just go buy a new chain... Like you, I also dont see any bend in the bar itself and am hoping I dont need to replace it as it's only a few weeks old.

 

[greg13]

Proper sharpening with the same angle on both sides is the key. often you will have different angles on the two sides. you may need to buy a sharpening gig keep the proper angle.

 

[jetsam]

If you screw it up with hand sharpening, you should either use a chain grinder or a jig like a Granberg, or take the chain out to get sharpened (which is pretty much just you paying for someone else's grinder in installments).

If you're in the woods and need it fixed now, a Stihl/Pferd 2N1 and a set of calipers can get you in the right ballpark pretty fast.

I have been hand sharpening chains since I was a kid, and it really wasn't until I bought a Granberg that I learned exactly how bad at it I am.

 

[DodgyNomad]

I don't think I saw if you or someone else sharpens your chains. If it's you, you're likely not sharpening both sides equally.

 

[SuperSpy]

My sharpening routine thus far has been "meh new chains are only like $8, I'll learn how to sharpen later". I haven't done a ton of work with the saw though so this will only be my 3rd chain so far, but I plan on using it a lot more now that the weather has cooled down, so I'm going to have to bite the bullet soon.

 

[jetsam]

My sharpening routine thus far has been "meh new chains are only like $8, I'll learn how to sharpen later". I haven't done a ton of work with the saw though so this will only be my 3rd chain so far, but I plan on using it a lot more now that the weather has cooled down, so I'm going to have to bite the bullet soon.

If I had to pick only one tool to sharpen with, it would either be a 2N1 and a cheap pair of calipers, or a Granberg. The 2N1 has a much less steep learning curve but the Granberg is better once you figure it all out. The 2N1 is much faster even if you know both.