First time sharpening chain...now it smokes

[HybridFyre]

Hi there. First time sharpening a chain. Not this particular time...I mean it was my first time sharpening ever. It's a stihl MS 271 and a green anti kickback chain (safety chain). I probably went about 5 or so fill ups which I'm sure was too long.

Anyways I bought the hand file stihl kit with the guide file and the metal tab thing to measure the taker depth. I filed 5 times per tooth because it had gotten pretty dull. I am sure I had the right angle. When finished I put the metal raker guide on and there was just a little tiny nub showing so I left it.

Start the chainsaw. It cuts great for 1 minute throwing good chips and then it bogs down and the bar starts smoking and it even threw a spark or two. I figured the oiler was actin up since the chain was just sharpened. I let it cool. Swapped the chain to a brand new yellow a stihl chain. Not a safety chain. Then it cut great. No sparks no slowdown or bar smoking.

So what's the issue? Is that little nub overhang on the raker really make that much difference? I'll put the chain back on tomorrow and try to get a close up pic so you guys can tell me what the issue is.

 

[lazeedan]

That does sound like an oil issue. Always make sure the oil holes in the bar are clean. I like to used compressed air to make sure they are clear.

 

[HybridFyre]

That's just it. Before I sharpened the chain I took it apart and cleaned up the whole thing and blew out the bar. I didn't clean a thing when it started smoking and changed to the new chain. Second chain worked flawlessly for several cuts till I was done. No idea what to think except it was something with the chain. Can a little bit of raker height make that big of a difference? It also cut like crap after the first minute too before it started smoking the bar. I did however hold the bar near a piece of wood and it was still throwing some oil though not as much as I would have liked.

 

[lazeedan]

Raker height will not make chain smoke. Rakers control size of chips you get.

 

[BrotherBart]

Put the old chain back on and tighten it correctly and give it a go and get back to us.

 

[TreePointer]

When I first started sawing, I put a chain back on the bar after sharpening it, it cut like crap and made a lot of smoke in the cut. Then I realized that I had put the chain on backwards.

 

[Jon1270]

Maybe you hit a rock or a nail? A picture or two would really help here if you have a camera capable of taking a good closeup of the chain's teeth.

 

[mike van]

Too tight?

 

[HybridFyre]

I will put it on and try again and take a pic. It sure didn't seem to hang too loose or too tight for that matter and when I finished the cut with the new chain the piece was clean and I didn't notice any nails. No rocks I was cutting it on a sawbuck

 

[maple1]

5 tanks may or may not be a long time - depends what you're cutting. But anything not soft & clean it might be.

Every new chain I've ever had I didn't need to touch the depth (rakers) until after a few sharpenings.

5 strokes per tooth sounds OK - but it depends on how dull the chain was.

Did you take the chain off or loosen the bar nuts at all in your sharpening process? Is it making chips, or dust? Should be able to tell a bad sharpening job long before it gets so hot it smokes - like as soon as the chain hits the wood.

 

[HybridFyre]

I did not take the chain off or loosen bar nuts during sharpening. When I first hit the piece of wood it threw great chips for about a minute and then started cutting like crap and a minute later it started smoking. That's why I thought the oiler but when I changed chains the bar channel wasn't clogged and neither was the oiler hole and the new chain cut like butter for 10 minutes till I was done.

 

[HybridFyre]

Here is the new chain. If I pull up in the middle by the weight of the saw this is the clearance I get. Too tight?

 

[maple1]

Is there any sag at all on the bottom of the bar under the chain when it is just sitting there? I just tighten mine up enough to almost take all the sag out and there's still just a little bit of space at the bottom. Can you spin it easy by hand?

 

[Jon1270]

I haven't found the size of the gap when pulling on the chain to be a useful tension indicator. Instead, I adjust it so that all of the slack is taken out and the chain lightly snaps back into place when pulled away and released. Typically I start with the chain hanging a bit loose, turn the adjuster until the chain just pulls up against the bar, move the chain along the bar several inches by hand, which distributes the tension easily and usually causes a bit more slack to appear, and then turn the screw a bit more to take out that new slack. You don't want it sagging off the bottom of the bar, but you also don't want tension that makes it difficult to draw the chain around the bar by hand.

 

[Jon1270]

Also, how about a pic of the chain you sharpened?

 

[blades]

If you were filing by hand it looks like the file may have been the wrong size. If you get the top plate of the cutter edge too thin and long it will cut great for a short but quickly dull just like a knife. An extremely thin edge will get razor sharp but will not hold up long, a fat edge on the other hand because it has more support behind the edge will last much longer. So I would say you were guilty of the thin edge. its tough to judge by pics and I would take a pass or two on the depth gauges. not a lot, just a light stroke , too much and it will get really grabby ( chatter) which is hard on the saw.

 

[mike van]

The chain in the pic isn't the green safety type, can you do a pic of it Chris? Where in Ct. are you?

 

[tsquini]

Were you doing any punch cuts or large rounds? I have had the chips clog up the bar making the chain slow down and the chain eventually jamming. Yes, there is smoke when that happens.

 

[HybridFyre]

Ok put the chain back on. Here's the deal.

Took the chain off that was running fine. Weeper hole is nice and clean still and so was the bar. So unless the bad chain somehow clogged the bar more than the new chain I'm not sure that is the reason.

The file is the right size. I have a .325 chain and the file is 3/16's. Just like the directions say it should be and it's the stihl sharpener kit with a stihl chain.

Here are some close ups of the chain. Same amount of slack I had before. Turns pretty easy without too much slack. And some close ups of the chain itself. I don't think I sharpened it too thin but it's my first time maybe I did. I haven't run it again yet to see if the issue persists.

 

[maple1]

It might be possible that your chain/bar picked up some dirt/chips after you sharpened, then got rid of them after you put the other chain on. The timing with the sharpening might be coincidental. My 250 will jam up the grove & nosewheel sometimes if I bury it in a soft cut. I can usually feel it happening, pull it out, give it some revs, and it will clean out again. I have never seen smoke coming from the chain/bar though, no matter how dull or jammed up it gets.

 

[tsquini]

when I see smoke it is coming from the clutch not the bar or chain.

 

[HybridFyre]

Definitely smoking from the bar. Usually the top of the bar stops digging altogether and then it starts slowing down and not throwing many chips and starts smoking.

The only non Stihl product I'm using is the bar oil. I'm currently using jonsered bar oil.

 

[bobdog2o02]

What kind of tree are you cutting. I also notice the cutter doesn't have any "clean" shiny cutting edge like I am accustomed to seeing on my chain.

 

[HybridFyre]

It may not have a clean edge because I took it off after it cooled and then coiled it up and put it back in the chain box. Probably got it dirty in the process.


The cut is a hard maple. First cut about 2 months ago. Been sitting since. It's a biatch to hand split. My axe just bounces off most of the rounds.

 

[Jon1270]

I'm with bobdog; that chain does not look like it was sharpened only 1 minute of runtime ago. Dirt picked up while coiling it and putting it in a box doesn't explain that sort of discoloration.

It's hard to judge the sharpness, tooth shape and condition from that picture. Have you tried cutting with it again since it has cooled off?