The Rookie Error People Make With Their Chainsaws. Getting chainsaw chain tension wrong will kill your saw bar and engine. You need to know when to tension your chain and, more importantly, WHEN TO SLACKEN IT !
Also for me....but I did not overlook the cooling of the chasin....I assumed that the blade also was heated enough so both would have to shrink within a little margin tha same. It seems I was wromg.
An over-tight chain will make a high pitched whistling sound and that’s a tell-tale sign to listen for. Loosening a hot chain while it cools (meal breaks or at the end of work) is a critical piece of maintenance especially if you’re cutting at low winter temperatures and the cooling can be very rapid.
I was a forester for the US forest service and a wild land firefighter. Good tip, another missed item is the bar sprocket lube holes for grease, some bars will have little holes near the end sprocket and they should have grease pushed into them until it squeezes out of the sprocket when you gas the saw and check tension. Another missed lube point is the drive sprocket under the chain cover, if it has a hole in the middle of the stud put grease there also, not a huge amount just a few pushes of the chain saw grease gun with the tapered tip, this will lube the drive bearing. Side note, if you are doing a lot of work cutting and stop to sharpen flip the bar over to even out the bar wear and clean the chain groove while you do that.
I am a wild land firefighter and forester since 2004. I NEVER grease the end bearings. They get bar oil. Once you grease them, the spinning forms a well which blocks the oil from getting to them. So once you grease, you always have to grease them. Just don’t grease them and you will be fine. 👍
Best advice I was ever given was to throw away the bar with the end sprocket and get a solid hard nose bar. Don't have any with rollers and probably never will.
I used to cut professionally in northern Michigan and this is a commonly overlooked procedure by even pro loggers and the like. Fortunately I was taught by a very knowledgeable and experienced man and this very thing was one of the things he stressed daily. With so many people using saws at home or on farms, they may never cut enough at in one go for them to notice this but I can tell you that there were more than a couple pros out there in the woods with us that blew apart their drive bearings and overheated many bars by not knowing this particular process. Thank you for sharing this and taking the time to explain the mechanics behind it for everyone who may not be as versed in the many nuances of running saws.
I use to cut professionally and after awhile I decided I’d start cutting amateurishly. Lot more work cutting as an inexperienced saw operator. I figure one of these days I’ll pick it back up professionally.
Been cutting over 45 years and never knew this. Probably has A LOT to do with my bars not lasting as long as I believe they should and excessive wear on the sprocket! I have a relatively new chain on the saw now, will pay close attention. Thank you for posting the information in a clear way!
More bars are destroyed from running a chain loose rather than too tight. A proper working saw is nearly impossible to get the chain too tight. I've worked on thousands of every brand but specifically Stihl. I worked as a Stihl Platinum service tech for 20 years. If your saw is bogging, the last thing you should be worried about is chain tightness. It's most likely other issues. Way too many people run their chain way too loose. It's easy to tell when near the bar tip has an indent.
I’ve watched 100’s of chain saw videos and no one ever explained this. This happened to me and I could not figure out why the saw was bogging down. Tore it apart and changed the carb. Worked fine for a few hours, went back to work and same thing. I finally decided to not use the saw more than a couple hours a day on a project on my property. Now I know. Thank you!
Hi, Excellent information! I was a chainsaw dealer in the seventies. I wouldn't sell a saw unless the buyers 1) were phisically capable of handling the saw (no kids or grand mothers) and 2) they had to take my Saw and Safety course before they got their saws. I didn'' want anyone getting hurt. I used to teach adjusting the chain by losening the chain, holding the bar tip up, tightening the chain until it just kissed the bar and then locking the bar attachment bolts. Lastly, make sure the chain pulls around freely. Always do that last step before starting or cutting. Your explanation of expansion and contraction is spot on. Thanks! Shalom/gw
Now I know. Have been puzzled by this for years and didn’t understand what should have obvious. Best advice I’ve ever had on chainsaw maintenance. Thanks !
If your chain gets that hot you have other problems, usually lack of oil or clogged channel or oil holes. After sawing for the day I take my saw apart, clean out the channel, clean out the clutch (important) and covers. I sharpen the chain and put it back together for the next day. Wet chain will rust. I keep my spare chains in a pot of oil and stick my bars in it to keep the rollers oiled. If you have your chain too lose then the slack is taken up by it riding up the chain sprocket and you wear out the ends.
This is the best chainsaw information I’ve ever received from maintenance primarily because I just experienced this on the weekend, and couldn’t figure out why the chain was reacting the way it was. I think you just saved my chainsaw. Thank you for this!👍
Another note is spare parts: at least one nut, drive sprocket, needle bearing, plug and air filter, felling wedges. Just great to have on hand. I never leave home without two bars as well.. I've cut professionally for many years and everyone gets a pinch now and then and the easiest way is to cut yourself a relieve cut.
I’ve always made a point of doing this each and every time I’ve finished using the saw and am surprised to see this very important tip on a video for the first time. I’m sure you have just highlighted this for many who were unaware of its importance. Well done sir!
I was very lucky that the after sales guy that set up my new MS-230 at the agri store gave me the 60 second do’s and don’ts run down after he’d fitted the bar and tested the saw for me and it included this tip.
Great idea and something most people would never think about. Usually my last cuts leave the chain in a loose way so I put it away without tightening. But now that I'm aware of this I will check and make sure. Thank you for making this video.
I'm an auto mechanic, and I know a little bit about how temperature effects tolerances. When I bought my first chainsaw I noticed how the chain became slack after an hour of continuous cutting, but I knew that at least some of this had to be from heating the metal. I did not stop to adjust the chain tension. I just let it cool completely down and sure enough it did not need any adjustment.
Good video. I was a Territorial Force (TF) Royal New Zealand Engineer from 1984-96. We were taught to tighten chainsaw chains as necessary and to ease them off when we stopped for a break, at SME, Linton Military Camp, in October 1984. I am still surprised, at times, when I encounter chainsaw users who either were not trained to do this OR who were too damned idle to read the owner’s manual. It does not matter whether you have a modern single-screw chain cover or the older style two-screw cover. Taking the time to release chain tension also means that you look over the entire saw. I once noticed that a machine screw (when the thread goes all the way to the head, it is a machine screw instead of a bolt) had come away from the starter cord housing on my XP540 and another screw was about to fall out, when l went to let off the chain tension.
this is explained in the Stihl hand book,I have been doing this since the first time I used a chainsaw that was thirty years ago,So yes very important and good maintenance tip👍
Great video. You can actually feel the saw struggling if you're paying attention. I always leave the chain with just a bit of sag in it. Not enough to be a sloppy fit, but just enough to feel the saw rev freely.
Damn. I've been using chainsaws for 15 years, and have never thought of this, but I have experienced the described problem with three of my five chainsaws. It makes perfect sense watching this video. Thanks alot! That's sound advice and a life saver regarding the chainsaw. I'll head over to my workshop right away and take the tension off (used two of them earlier today) 👍
Same exact thing happened to me on my first use of my new chainsaw. Thankfully I realized what was happening before i went out and used it. Thanks for sharing!
Anyone who uses a chainsaw seriously which means you have a proper commercial machine with a heavier chain knows that every tank you sharpen the chain properly and you adjust it and periodically remove the cover and bar clean reset dress and lubricate it. Chains shouldn't get too hot if they are really sharp cutting quickly and bar oil lubrication working properly. A hot chain is generally a blunt chain from bad practice. Unless your using a toy saw.
Just got my first chain saw earlier this year a Husqvarna 445 and the second time I used it the chain was really tight didn't want to even move. Now I realize why as I had adjusted the chain tighter after 30min of using it the first time. Thanks for the great video
Thanks James, this is something else I've learnt today about my chainsaw. As a long time hobbyist user, I never thought about loosening the chain after use. I will from now on. Safe Chainsawing.
If you didn’t adjust it while it was hot? You won’t need to loosen it off at the end of the day. It just returns to how you set it in the morning when cold.
I've only been cutting firewood for home in the last couple of years and I've watched a lot of RU-vid videos on "how to's". I'm so happy that I came across this video. Thank you so much for this great advice 👍🙏
I read about this in some form. I always check the tension before using it. I keep over tightening in mind. I'm a new user BTW. Did lots of reading (especially the manual) and watching before ever starting my saw. Good reminder to ease off tension if you tighten it during use.
I did not know this and just about a week ago I bought a new chain for my chainsaw. It did in fact keep listening up and I did in fact keep tightening it. As I watch this, I pulled out my chainsaw and it the chain is very tight. Thank you. Very informative video.
Beware the fatal shrinking chain 😳 I sharpen my chain after use and have it ready to go next time. Have avoided the dreaded shrink monster for 25 years so far
Excellent information! Also, adjust your chain with the saw’s nose sitting on a block of wood so when you tighten the adjusting nuts, the bar is in its uppermost position.
Sir, you just gained another subscriber. I'm embarrassed to admit this never occurred to me, nor was it taught when I was a full- time arborist. I knew where you were going with this during the coffee break...🤔🤦♂️😂🙌👍👍
Fancy that,a precise,informative,on subject video,now it all makes sense!@76yrs.l can take it on board and ,maybe,save a few dollars! Thanks mate,Tasmania.
The Stihl book for my MS 261 saw covers this, never thought about it for 50 years, but now I slacken all the saw chains when I'm done for the day. Good Job!
Makes total sense. My bows (traditional archery) ideally need to be unstrung till next use. Makes sense that a chain under tension with fluctuating temps affecting its metallurgical structure would need de-tensioning after each session..
I think I’ve been very careful of over tightening through the many years, been cognizant of the fact that almost everything in our world experiences expansion and contraction through heat and cooling, but never thought of how it could affect my chain. Brilliant, and thanks a bunch.
Obviously watching this after having killed my first chain... this exact way... thanks for the explanation! May the next chains benefit from your wisdom!
Thank you, this video popped up as looking at other non related chainsaw stuff, well very please I’ve learnt a new thing and hopefully saved my chainsaw for premature ware and tear in the future 😎😎😎😊
From the first time I ever picked up a chainsaw I was not only taught this but I told if I didn't retension un untension the chain I would be wearing it in a very painful place. I have noticed the Stihl cordless saws have a quick no tool release system to make this procedure easier.
Great share my friend....here it is in my laymen terms... The stretch is actually the chain link holes get worn from overheating and a lack of oil. Also, after each use at the end of the day, loosen the tension, to help prevent the hole and pins fron holding pressure on them and slow the " holes from wollering out. I found most of these clues from you and other people, so don't think I am an expert. Just sharing the knowledge I have been shown. Remember if this sounds odd, but having 70 and more links in a chain, and getting each hole say 1/16" each of hole wear, then add that up and you understand how the chain will be longer overall when installed and pulled to length. Metal expands when over heated. Just a litte simple math. Be safe out there and enjoy the great outdoors !
Great fricking tip! More like a fundamental. I feel like I should have known or figured this out many years ago when I used to cut full-time. Perhaps I did. If so, I definitely needed a reminder!
Gordy west coast saws does video with Jacob Rodgers about changing the sprocket and chain tension .very interesting he talked with makers head of Oregon they recommend changing sprocket way way more than most of us guys do .very good video.
From what I can see, the same issues here ate the same dynamics at play with motorcycle chains. That's also why they have slack ranges on the chains because the chain will loosen/tighten depending on whether it's hot or cold.
I always check my oil, gas, and chain before running. But after watching, I think this might be a good idea to implement, with less tension on everything while not in use. I will still do my pre-check as always. Thanks for the tip.
This was a great tip (on considering the sprocket & needle bearing) to finally become aware of this after years of using chainsaws is enlightening'... thanks
It’s actually mentioned in the Owners Manual 😂. But the title to your video is much more eye catching, I have to admit. Also that your explanation is much more convincing than that of the Owners Manual too. Occasionally I remember to do this but when I’m dog tired, I forget. No Bull. Hey, thanks for this vid!
