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11 Rules For Caring For Your Chainsaw Chain

orders@rcpw.com — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 11:53:00 -0500

Caring for the chain is just as important as caring for the chainsaw. After all, the chain is doing the work!

Here's a list of chain care rules to keep your cuts sharper than ever:

Refrain from hitting the ground, rocks, or any other abrasive material while cutting.
Never allow your chain to sag down. Check the chain's tension often!
Don't cut with a dull chain! Forcing it just increases the risk of injury and it will damage the bar and chain.
When installing a new chain, inspect the sprocket. If the sprocket is worn -- replace it!
Be sure to always sharpen chain cutters to correct angles.
With every sharpening, measure the depth gauges. Lower and re-profile as necessary.
Look over the chain often for visible wear or any damage.
Verify that the bar groove has proper link clearance, then examine the bar rails for even wear and clean the bar groove.
Wear protective gloves when handling a saw chain!
Put a protective scabbard on the bar when you're not using the saw.
Always make sure that your chain is lubricated properly! Use quality brands for your bar and chain lubricant.

There you have it! Eleven rules to keep in mind about your chainsaw chain. Now that you've got your chain in proper order -- go out there and make the cut!

Caring for the chain is just as important as caring for the chainsaw. After all, the chain is doing the work!

Here's a list of chain care rules to keep your cuts sharper than ever:

Refrain from hitting the ground, rocks, or any other abrasive material while cutting.
Never allow your chain to sag down. Check the chain's tension often!
Don't cut with a dull chain! Forcing it just increases the risk of injury and it will damage the bar and chain.
When installing a new chain, inspect the sprocket. If the sprocket is worn -- replace it!
Be sure to always sharpen chain cutters to correct angles.
With every sharpening, measure the depth gauges. Lower and re-profile as necessary.
Look over the chain often for visible wear or any damage.
Verify that the bar groove has proper link clearance, then examine the bar rails for even wear and clean the bar groove.
Wear protective gloves when handling a saw chain!
Put a protective scabbard on the bar when you're not using the saw.
Always make sure that your chain is lubricated properly! Use quality brands for your bar and chain lubricant.

There you have it! Eleven rules to keep in mind about your chainsaw chain. Now that you've got your chain in proper order -- go out there and make the cut!

Regular Chainsaw Maintenance

orders@rcpw.com — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 11:53:00 -0500

As with any piece of outdoor power equipment, regular chainsaw maintenance will help keep your chainsaw running in mint condition for years to come. In this article you'll read about a few tips and regular maintenance tasks that will help prolong the life of your chainsaw.

Fuel

Let's start this discussion with one of the most important things to keep your saw running: gas. Most gasoline sold these days contains ethanol, so it's important to understand how ethanol affects small engines. Ethanol fuel can severely damage your small engine in a short period of time. The ethanol in the fuel absorbs moisture from the atmosphere, this ethanol-water mixture separates from the good fuel and sinks. This mixture corrodes the metal components of your small engine and gums up your carburetor. If you can still find ethanol free fuel, use it! There are still a small number of stations and service centers that sell ethanol free gasoline, view this resource to try and locate a place near you to purchase ethanol free fuel. If you're going to use fuel with ethanol we recommend using a fuel stabilizer.

It can be difficult to know what kind of oil to use in your chainsaw, because sometimes engines require oil to be mixed with fuel and sometimes there's a separate reservoir. It's important to use the correct gas-to-oil mixture. You'll want to refer to your owner's manual for the correct mixture for your saw. Using an incorrect mixture can cause your engine to run rich or to over-heat both can cause harm to your saws engine. If you're using an electric saw, you won't have to worry about using any gas-to-fuel mixtures.

Both electric and gas powered chainsaws use a special bar and chain lubrication oil. It is important not to let your saw run out of this bar and chain oil while in use. Letting this happen can cause serious damage to your saw.

Don't buy cheap oil! You'll quickly learn that buying cheap bar and chain oil or 2-cycle oil doesn't provide the same lubrication that high quality oil will. High quality oils provide better viscosity, they last longer in-between fillings, and provide better lubrication.

Tips from the mechanics: It's a good idea to get into the habit of refilling both the gas and bar oil reservoirs each time you use the saw. This helps ensure that your saw won't run out of lubricating oil while being used.

Regular Upkeep

We recommend reading your owner's manual for specific maintenance instructions for your saw. That being said, there are general maintenance tasks that should be performed each time you use your saw. You'll want to inspect your guide bar for signs of wear. After closing your choke, you'll want to remove and clean the air filter. Closing your choke before removing your air filter will help prevent debris from entering your carburetor. If your air filter is extremely dirty we recommend replacing it instead of trying to clean it. You'll also want to check the muffler and spark arrestor to make sure neither is clogged. A clogged muffler or spark arrestor will prevent exhaust from leaving the motor which can prevent it from running.

Performing a black/gray check before starting your saw is very important. A black/gray check is the process of checking the condition and function of all black or gray fasteners, switches and handles on your saw. These are important to check as all the safety features on your saw will be black or gray, this process checks to insure that they are functioning properly.

This is also a good time to check the guide bar's chain groove and remove any debris. You'll want to remove your saws chain to inspect the guide bar's chain groove. Once cleared of all debris you'll want to put the chain back on and make sure it's properly tightened. It's very important to make sure your saw's chain is correctly tensioned and not too loose.

Tips from the mechanics: Your saw's chain should have no visible slack, should give approximately an eighth of an inch when you pull/stretch it and should snap back into place.

After finishing your quick inspection, you'll want to give the saw a general once over, making sure everything is fastened well and correctly installed. It's important to make sure nothing is too loose or incorrectly installed as this may cause damage to your saw or could create a hazardous operating condition. Once you've finished your inspection and are ready to put your saw to good use, we recommend reviewing proper chainsaw safety to brush up on safe chainsaw use tips provided by the pros!

Tips for When You're Done

After you use your saw for about a day, we recommend removing the chain and flipping the guide bar of your saw (this doesn't apply to the newer GÇ£anti-kickbackGÇ¥ bars that have distinctive prow-shaped noses). Doing this promotes even wearing of the saw's guide bar. It also gives us another good opportunity to make sure our guide bar's chain groove is clear of debris.

If you notice your chain chattering, producing saw dust rather than chips, or making curved cuts it's time to sharpen it! It's important to maintain a sharp chain for your saw. A dull chain puts more strain on your chainsaw engine and can lead to problems down the road if the chain isn't replaced or sharpened. A dull chain also increases the risk of kickback, a dangerous occurrence that happens when a saw's chain makes contact with a solid object or is pinched. The energy from the cutting force of the chain causes the saw to GÇ£kickbackGÇ¥ in the opposite direction of the chains movement, typically towards the sawyer.

A chainsaw is a complex piece of outdoor power equipment, but after building these regular maintenance habits it won't take a specialist to keep your saw running in peak condition for years to come.

Fuel

Tips from the mechanics: It's a good idea to get into the habit of refilling both the gas and bar oil reservoirs each time you use the saw. This helps ensure that your saw won't run out of lubricating oil while being used.

Regular Upkeep

Tips from the mechanics: Your saw's chain should have no visible slack, should give approximately an eighth of an inch when you pull/stretch it and should snap back into place.

Tips for When You're Done

A chainsaw is a complex piece of outdoor power equipment, but after building these regular maintenance habits it won't take a specialist to keep your saw running in peak condition for years to come.

Chainsaws: Getting to Know Your Chain

orders@rcpw.com — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 11:53:00 -0500

As a chainsaw owner or operator, it's important to know your chainsaw's chain. With terms flying around like pitch, gauge, round-tooth, square-tooth, chisel, full-complement, half-skip, and full-skip it's easy to become confused. Let's start with learning the anatomy of saw chain.

Chain Links

Every chain is made of links; your saw's chain has three types: cutting teeth, drive links, and tie straps. Your chain's cutting teeth are the "businessGÇ¥ end of the chain; these do the cutting or chipping when you cut with your saw. These cutting teeth come in different varieties which are referred to as different cutting tooth profiles. The next type of link found in your chain is the drive link. The drive links travel inside the groove on your chainsaw's guide bar while the drive sprocket makes contact with the tang of the links. This is what propels your saws chain around your guide bar. It's important to make sure your chain's gauge is compatible with your guide bar's groove width. The tie straps are the links that attach the cutting teeth and the drive links together. They don't have cutting teeth or the tang of the drive links, these links just hold the chain together. A tie strap with preset rivets is called a preset tie strap, the other half that just has rivet holes is referred to as a tie strap. Depending on your chain's cutting tooth spacing there may be more or less of these in your chain.

Cutting Tooth Profile

Typically speaking, consumer chainsaws come with round-tooth profile chains. These chains are less prone to kickback and vibration. They can handle a more versatile work load. Kickback is a strong thrust of the saw back towards the sawyer because of improperly using the top corner of the guide bar's nose. These chains scoop wood out of a cut and are best suited for removing tree limbs, clearing brush, stumping, and cutting through frozen or dirt- and mud-covered wood or hardwoods. These chains require more effort from the engine when making big cuts and are best applied to shorter bars. Most professionals, however, use square-tooth, or chisel profile chains. These chains chip the wood away, severing the wood fiber faster, and are best applied to longer bars (usually 24GÇ¥+). There is no consensus as to which tooth profile is better as they serve different purposes and do different jobs more effectively.

Pitch & Gauge

Pitch and gauge are measurements used to describe the size of your chain. Pitch refers to the spacing between the rivets holding the chain links together. This is measured as fractions of an inch (1/4) or in thousandths of an inch (.404) and is calculated by taking the distance between any three consecutive rivets and dividing it by two. The numbers increase as the chains size increases. Gauge refers to the width of the chains drive teeth. This is measured in thousandths of an inch (.063). These measurements are mainly used as a reference to the chain's compatibility with your saw's guide bar and drive sprocket. You must match exactly the guide bars groove width and your chains gauge. If these numbers don't match, the chain won't have the correct clearance to rotate around your guide bar.

Tips from the mechanics: Always write down and keep these measurements in a place where you can easily access them for reference. When replacing your chain, it's important to use a chain with measurements compatible with your guide bar and drive sprocket.

Cutting Teeth Spacing

When we're talking about full-complement, half-skip and full-skip, we're talking about the spacing between the cutting teeth on the chain. A full-complement chain has the maximum number of teeth possible. These are the chains that are typically used on consumer equipment with a round-toothed profile. The benefits of these chains can also be considered their weaknesses. By having as many cutting teeth as possible these chains make smooth and clean cuts and respond more predictably to user input. These clean smooth cuts are the result of the saw cutting slower, as the close set teeth are pulling more debris out of the cut. But the tradeoff with the slower, smoother cut is increased engine strain.

Half-skip chains add a spacer or non-toothed link between pairs of cutting teeth and full-skip chains add two of these spacers which ends up reducing the number of teeth by approximately 1/3. A half-skip chain installed on a longer bar makes a rougher cut, but it cuts faster and easier through denser wood.

Half-skip chains tend to be a rare choice as replacement chains. Most occasional users tend to replace their full-complement chains with similar or identical full-complement chains, and most professionals prefer full skip chains. This leaves the half-skip replacement chains in the limbo of neither, consumers or professionals, wanting to experiment with this middle ground option.

At the end of the day, it's important to remember the pitch and gauge of your original chain and to consider what types of cutting you plan on doing with your saw when choosing your replacement chain. You'll want to keep a record of the pitch and gauge from your saw's original chain, as you'll want to find a replacement with the same measurements to fit your saw's guide bar. Deciding what types of cutting tasks you'll be performing with your chainsaw will help you decide which saw tooth profile and cutting tooth spacing is best for your saw and its intended work load.

Now that you're educated and know what you're looking for, check out our selection of chainsaw chain and guide bars!

Chain Links

Cutting Tooth Profile

Pitch & Gauge

Tips from the mechanics: Always write down and keep these measurements in a place where you can easily access them for reference. When replacing your chain, it's important to use a chain with measurements compatible with your guide bar and drive sprocket.

Cutting Teeth Spacing

Now that you're educated and know what you're looking for, check out our selection of chainsaw chain and guide bars!