Hey Woodsman, u saved my day. Have had HQ345e for 17 yrs, never caused any problems. I did what u said, it happened like u said. Thanks again🇳🇴😀 ULTRAMAGA 2024🇺🇸
I got a hard lesson in the chain brake when I had the same problem of a jumped chain jamming in the drive sprocket. Not knowing what I was doing, I thought I could reset the brake by taking the screws off the inside cover in the chain-brake unit. This was after prying the brake cover off the saw with the chain brake tripped. Big mistake. An incredibly stiff spring popped out, and I only got it popped back in by spending the entire afternoon abusing a pair of Vise Grips to slowly squeeze the brake trigger linkage to compress the spring enough to get it back in its slot. The Big Squeeze is applied by jockeying the Grips into position and then turning the knurled knob with a pair of pliers. Not the safest procedure, but I had to get this back together again. I was only able to get the chain brake spring popped back in with the brake linkage in the "stop" position, but once I got it that way, I kind of guessed that the only way I was ever going to compress the spring into the "release" position was by, as so well explained in this video, holding the chain brake cover against the saw and than pushing the chain-brake handle back to compress the spring. In case you are wondering what is under the inside cover screwed on to the chain brake, I looked inside so you don't have to. Think of that cross-shaped metal piece inside the chain brake unit as connected to the crankshaft of your car engine. Turning this crankshaft by turning the metal piece pushes on a connecting rod pushing on a cylinder sliding in a piston. Think of the stiff spring as the compression of a very high compression engine as the piston is pushed up into the cylinder. Think of the "release" position of the chain brake as the crank turned so the connecting rod is lined straight up, holding the piston at top-dead-center against the maximum compression force of the spring. Were the saw to kick back in a cut, dangerously pitching the chain bar upwards at you, your hand on that rest that is actually the brake handle turns the crank. The slightest nudge of the crank angles the connecting rod outward from straight up at top dead center where it is holding the piston against all of this spring compression. The spring lets go, pushing back on the connecting rod and turning the crank, which brings all of this spring force to bear clamping down on the metal band surrounding the centrifugal clutch. The click you hear is this brake engaging to jam against the centrifugal clutch housing, stopping the saw chain in an instant. Once the brake is tripped, it takes a lot of force on that handle as shown by our host grunting to turn the crankshaft to compress the spring back into the "release" position so you can wipe the sweat of your brow by a disaster averted and get back to work. There is no way in Creation you are going to apply enough force to that metal X without using the saw handle as shown in the video. Those engineers who figured this design are pretty smart as is our You Tube host!
Thank you sir! Four hours on the floor trying to figure out how in the world to get that darn thing back on.... At least I was on the right track... Taking the bar off is what I didn't do.... Off to try again, appreciate it! 👍😊
Agreed, not sure why you would ever want to do that. It's not cutting down a tree or bucking firewood that you generally don't have to worry about. It's limbing, and in particular where I live, vines that will grab your chain and kick back the saw. The brake has saved me at least a couple of times.
