Thread: dressing bar etc

i get a bar dressed wen there is a lip on the edge of the bar, if it isnt cutting staight it needs to be dressed.
and if its not cutting i'd say the chain needs to be sharpened and/or rakers filed down.

cheers
james

thanks james for that

Originally Posted by robyn2839

how do i know if the bar needs dressing?, how much should the chain wobble in the bar? and when do i replace bar and chain and how much ,reason is i bought an old rancher50 husqvarna today starts and runs ok but wouldn,t cut squat..................................bob

Bob, If the chain wobbles here is how to check it.
From the Oregon Chain/Bar Manual:

You can get that manual on line from the Oregon site. Lotsa good info on sharpening and bar maintenance

If the bar has never been dressed you might be able to dress if down far enough to recover it to a point where you can get rid of enough of the wear to warrant putting on a new chain, but if it is as bad as the picture I would just buy a new bar and chain AND sprocket.

Originally Posted by BobL

Bob, If the chain wobbles here is how to check it.
From the Oregon Chain/Bar Manual:
~snip~

g,day ,what about tapping in the side rails a bit so it makes the gap smaller and hold the chain upright and stopping it from flopping around ?? Seems to help but I dont know if its recommended . Mat

Originally Posted by james223

i get a bar dressed wen there is a lip on the edge of the bar, if it isnt cutting staight it needs to be dressed.
and if its not cutting i'd say the chain needs to be sharpened and/or rakers filed down.

cheers
james

Not definitavely James, if the chain is badly sharpened, she will not cut straight even if the bar is brand new.

If all things are good as mentioned by Bob, then either the chain is blunt, rakers need knocking back(as James said) or the chain is almost worn out and the 'kerf' has been reduced too much to cut effectively.

If this is a new saw to you (ie your first) and being a second hand saw, I suggest buying a new bar and chain - starting fresh, will give you time to learn. But down in Bris-Vegas chain and bars will be bloody expensive, as an example, here at home I get chains for my 24" 372XP for around $28-$30 in Brissy the one chain I had to buy was over $50.

I'm onto my second bar for my Husky and it's about ready to chuck - in four years, if you look after them they will last well. If you're chain is too tight the bar gets worn much quicker, if you have a tendency of putting the chain in the cut before letting it get oil around the bar, it will wear quicker, if you push like buggery on the saw while it's blunt it will wear quicker.

Mat, didn't see ya post while I was typing my epic

tapping in the sides to close the gap, would be something I would consider if I just had to get through something and had no other way of getting things done and was no-where near resources to replace the bar etc.

By knocking in the edges you are weakening the bar and also can't get a uniform gap closure, so this means some spots will create excessive wear on the drive teeth of your chain, thereby weakening the chain

Yeah you could get away with it if you need to, but I have too much respect/fear for chainsaws and feel the natural wear of the components is dangerous enough if not watched closely without contributing to more wear. Potential injuries from chainsaws, just aren't worth the $'s to replace worn gear

I agree with Sidgi. My old man used the "bending in the sides of the bar" trick several times to get him out of bind, like driving back 100 kms to the mill. It's very hard to do evenly and can lead to serious problems like if the bar edge breaks while you are cutting. This happened to dad while at the very end of making a final cut on a large karri when he jammed the 3ft 6" bar of his big Mac. As he was up to the dogs he couldn't take the engine off the bar. His smaller saw with only a 2 ft 6" bar was too small and after messing about for a couple of hours (with the tree swaying and cracking and crunching in the rising wind) he had to give up for the day and go back to the mill to get another saw. Next morning when he got back the tree was down and the saw was laying mangled under the tree. That's when he finally was able to see that a 2" section of the bar edge had broken off near the tip and that's probably where the chain came off the bar.