Just excited (frustrated!) about my new saw (Husky 346XP)

[FixedGearFlyer]

I have no purpose for posting other than to talk about the Husky 346XP that I picked up last night. I've been using a Husky 55 Rancher, a Jonsered 2152, and a little 30-something CC Homelite that have been begged and borrowed, and can't wait to get out in the woods with MY OWN saw tonight. I'm not a pro and am only putting up about 10 cords of wood per year, but as a former carpenter I have a huge appreciation for good tools and I think this qualifies.

My new goal in life is to get it through the break in period and re-tuned for higher RPMs as soon as I can without breaking it in too quickly.

BTW, I know a lot of folks are searching for non-ETEC, non-cat versions. They're definitely out there. In fact, both dealers I visited had the non-cat version in stock. Any porting or muff mod fun will wait until after the warranty period, since the stock muff seems to have plenty of get up and go as is.

So, anyway, HAPPY NEW SAW DAY

 

[wendell]

Congratulations. I hope you love yours half has much as mine. It is interesting to see how often I grab mine when in the past I wouldn't have thought twice about grabbing the 7901.

 

[FixedGearFlyer]

Well, that sucked.

I dropped and limbed about 6 or 7 nice mixed hardwoods, then started bucking. In the middle of a cut, the saw started to sound like it was bogging down. About 5 seconds later, the chain stopped but the motor was still running. I figured the brake was stuck on, so I pulled the clutch cover and made sure everything was working as it should. It was.

The culprit is the nose sprocket on the bar. It doesn't move AT ALL. It's totally seized. I greased it before I went out this evening and didn't even get through one tank of gas before it crapped out. I'm on the road for work tomorrow and Thursday, so I'll have to wait until Friday to drop by the shop and ask them to replace the bar. There's absolutely no way it should have done that - I didn't touch anything but wood and certainly didn't abuse my brand new saw!

At least the saw itself seemed to run well. It's definitely too rich, but I think they down-tuned it on the rich side for break-in. I'm looking forward to having a working bar AND a broken in, tuned saw!

 

[wendell]

The same thing happened shortly after I got my 350. Somehow, a bunch of small chips had gotten jammed into the the nose sprocket. Cleaned them out and it was fine. I had never had that happen before or since.

 

[mrfjsf]

sucks to hear you got either a bad bar from factory or just got it jammed up bad. Congrats on the new saw! I just got one myself last week. I have a couple of tanks through it already and im very impressed with this saw! I am so glad I bought it and im sure you will feel the same once your get that bar fixed.

 

[fjord]

Well, that sucked.
I dropped and limbed about 6 or 7 nice mixed hardwoods, then started bucking. In the middle of a cut, the saw started to sound like it was bogging down. About 5 seconds later, the chain stopped but the motor was still running. I figured the brake was stuck on, so I pulled the clutch cover and made sure everything was working as it should. It was.
The culprit is the nose sprocket on the bar. It doesn't move AT ALL. It's totally seized. I greased it before I went out this evening and didn't even get through one tank of gas before it crapped out. I'm on the road for work tomorrow and Thursday, so I'll have to wait until Friday to drop by the shop and ask them to replace the bar. There's absolutely no way it should have done that - I didn't touch anything but wood and certainly didn't abuse my brand new saw!
At least the saw itself seemed to run well. It's definitely too rich, but I think they down-tuned it on the rich side for break-in. I'm looking forward to having a working bar AND a broken in, tuned saw!

Before taking a trip to your dealer, remove the bar. Check that wood chips have not clogged the bar groove and/or nose sprocket. If the bar is pinched, or you had to hard pull the bar out of a cut, wood will clog the chain. Be sure that the grooves are shiny clean AND getting enough oil.
Then, soak the nose in a tub of bar oil. New sprockets sometimes have machining debris inside the bearings.
Then, the sprocket should turn easily by hand.
If not, you got a defective bar. Not unheard of. Pro dealers will replace defective parts.....always.
We never grease roller nose sprockets; they should get enough lubrication from your oiler. Some do grease their noses. :roll:

 

[FixedGearFlyer]

Well, the verdict is in.

I pulled the bar, cleaned what little there was to clean, put it in a vise, and used a flat-blade screw driver to force the sprocket around. It literally took a few hammer blows on the screw driver to get it moving, but it finally started to loosen up. After blowing it out with a lot of compressed air, there were a few wood chips (expected) and a good bit of grease with metal shavings (not expected) in it on my bench. I re-greased it and it seems to be OK now, so I'll hold off on the visit to the saw shop and keep an eye on it over the next few sessions.

Fjord, the tub of bar oil is a great suggestion and I'll do that before I leave for my business trip in the morning. Hopefully a couple of days in the sauce will float any remaining debris out of the nose.

It's funny that, like Wendell, I've never had an issue with a bar sprocket until I bought my first brand new saw. My Father-in-law says that it's because his
'seasoned' 55 Rancher has a properly 'worn-in' bar and he'd be happy to trade me even-Steven for my crappy, stiff new saw. Do you think I should take him up on that generous offer? :-D

 

[HittinSteel]

It happens to me sometimes. I just forcefully "push" the tip of the bar and chain on the closest log, while giving throttle. Usually frees it up.

I can see not wanting to do this on a brand new saw though.

 

[CJW88]

I carry a thin blade paring(sp.?) knife in my tool kit with my saw for odd occurences like that. Chips can get stuck in the damndest places.

 

[FixedGearFlyer]

Strange that I've never had that happen before and that my father-in-law (who was also out cutting with me) has never seen anything like it, either. Looks like others have seen it and that it's easily fixed with a paring knife or some compressed air.

The kicker is that I didn't get the bar fixed until after dark and I'm now out on a two day business trip, so it will be Friday before I can run the new saw again. Bummer!

As always, you guys are a huge source of knowledge and advice. Thanks, all!

 

[Danno77]

It happens to me sometimes. I just forcefully "push" the tip of the bar and chain on the closest log, while giving throttle. Usually frees it up.

I can see not wanting to do this on a brand new saw though.

+1 (thanks for saving me some typing...)

 

[midwestcoast]

Had similar happen first time I used my reconditioned 455 Rancher (new B & C), didn't get as jammed as yours though. Happened a couple times as I cut through the bottom of large Red Oak rounds (thick bark). I figured I must've been easing-up on the throttle before I was totally through the wood & bark? Hasn't happened since.