Sharpening Chainsaws

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brendomac said:
Hijacking the thread for a question. Is it normal that a chainsaw leaks bar oil when you leave it sitting for a period of time?

If so, any tricks to stop it?
Changes in temperature can push oil out of the tank to the bar, some saws just leak from new because they can, try opening the fill plug when you finish sawing then put it back in just to release any pressure from the saw being hot.
Piece of rag or spud bag under your saw is the easiest fix and you won't loose much oil.
 
Hullo 20x, looking at the photo you posted I see some very basic mistakes that most people make when new to chainsaw sharpening. The file in your jig is sitting to low in the tooth so instead of sharpening the tooth you are undercutting it, also the chain clamp on the jig is to low.

When you setup the jig on the cutter bar the top edge of the chain clamp needs to be above the centre of the link rivets to stop the link lifting as you sharpen.
The file should sit against the tooth with a fifth of the file above the tooth to be sharpened. I would guess the chain can be saved with very careful sharpening but it will be tedious because the file is going to try to slip down into the hook you have created under the tooth.

The cutter bar is probably damaged but most probably not beyond repair. you could dress it yourself but since you are new to saws I'd recommend taking it to a chainsaw shop to have it dressed. About $20 to have a bar dressed locally.

Garry.
 
Been using 20W50 engine oil for bar oil for 8 years now,had some chains go 2 seasons and bars the same cutting a lot of wood. :8
Should say in 2 MS660's and a Husky.
 
Bar oil is sticky and i don't think it would be as dear as engine oil.
I can tell you chains , bars and sprockets do last a bit longer using the good stuff.
Can't tell you a price as we bought 205L drum about 5 or 6 years ago.
 
Chain oil is always the biggest expense. Yes, the proper bar oil probably gives the chain and bar the longest life but was never the most economical. We'd use, if available, old sump oil, engine oil, cooking oil and at one stage acquired hundreds of liters of oil that came from military tanks (it stunk).
It was cheaper to use those oils and pay for the extra bar/chain wear. Probably averaging 30 tonnes a week (conservative), I'd expect several weeks out of one chain. Although I do remember working in one area where a chain wouldn't last a fortnight. The area was by the coast and the bark was full of sand.
One of the better saving if using the saw regularly is to have a rim sprocket fitted.
 
brendomac said:
Hijacking the thread for a question. Is it normal that a chainsaw leaks bar oil when you leave it sitting for a period of time?

If so, any tricks to stop it?

G'day

Many saws have that issue, some saws use a feed line from the crank case to the oil tanks so as to pressurize the oil tank to make it feed the oil out to the bar/chain when it is running, this was particular to some of the early Homelite saws, but when you stop cutting you have the crack the lid on the oil tank to release the pressure or it would just keep the oil coming out, some use a system where they have a pump with a diaphragm operating on crank case pulses to feed the oil out, and some have a mechanical pump that is located in behind the drive sprocket, so all have either pressure to the tank or cause a vacuum in the tank.

When finished its always best to crack the oil tank lid to make sure the tank is not under pressure, a lot of saws also use a delivery line that goes from an opening in the bottom of the oil tank to the pump body and then up to the oil hole between the bar mounts, usually it is sandwiched between the side mount plate on the crank case, and under a thin metal chain guide plate or cover plate, these rubber formed hoses can deteriorate get holes in them where they will leak out, usually you will notice this because the oil does not feed properly on to the bar anyway.

Some models have an adjustable oil pump and they are usually located on the drive side and underneath the saw, these can also leak from the o rings, or between the pump and the mounting there are gasket that may leak as well, also some saws have the oil tank in two pieces and form part of the crank case and have a gasket in between so these can leak as well, so there are many and varied reasons why you can get an annoying leak from your saw when its just sitting idle, the best method when you are finished using it is to crack the tank lid and empty the contents of the tank out until you are ready to use it again, and even store the saw on its side with the oil tank facing upwards.

I have a Ryobi one cordless saw, it will allow the oil tank to leak until its empty, even after you crack the lid come primer pump, its a design flaw and although I have not fully investigated it what I do now is I don't put any oil into the tank and have just made up a squeeze bottle with oil in it and as its a slow running saw and only just used around the garden I just give it a bit of a squirt of oil on the chain every now and again, I would not recommend this on a petrol saw as they run at far greater rpm's and it would be easy to wreck your bar and chain.

cheers

stayyerAU
 
Bought a 10/10 S Mc Cullough made in 2006 going by the serial number. Got from a mates father for $80 new bar and chain. I used to work on Mc Cullogh saws and in my opinion these were the best general use saws they made. Cleaned it up and serviced it. Runs well.
 
If your not a professional cutter I really wouldnt bother with taking down the rakers. Most people will just create problems that werent there in the first place. Very rarely file the rakers.much more important to learn how to sharpen with a file. Its not hard but takes a bit of practice. Read what your saw it telling you and sharpen in response.
Mind you I learnt the hard way as Ive always used full chisel chain. 1 cut in dirty wood and its screwed.
 
Bjay said:
Mind you I learnt the hard way as Ive always used full chisel chain. 1 cut in dirty wood and its screwed.

But doesn't full chisel cut like stink if your saw can handle it!
 
A little update on the leaking oil part of this thread.

I have two chainsaws, one is Ryobi 18v (Sadly, not brushless). The Ryobi is the one that leaks a lot. Someone mentioned earlier that it is common for those, so I thought I'd ask Ryobi themselves. This is their answer:

Thanks for getting in touch about your RYOBI product enquiry.

The oil that is coming out will be coming from the nozzle that sits just above the chain and bar, which lubricates the chain.
We recommend always emptying the oil tank when you have finished using the chainsaw to prevent oil from pooling.

This is a bit of a pain to be honest, especially if you just want it to sit ready over a weekend away.
 
brendomac said:
A little update on the leaking oil part of this thread.

I have two chainsaws, one is Ryobi 18v (Sadly, not brushless). The Ryobi is the one that leaks a lot. Someone mentioned earlier that it is common for those, so I thought I'd ask Ryobi themselves. This is their answer:

Thanks for getting in touch about your RYOBI product enquiry.

The oil that is coming out will be coming from the nozzle that sits just above the chain and bar, which lubricates the chain.
We recommend always emptying the oil tank when you have finished using the chainsaw to prevent oil from pooling.

This is a bit of a pain to be honest, especially if you just want it to sit ready over a weekend away.

Can you see the oil feeder tube they speak of, if so put a tapered toothpick in the hole to plug it, or something similar.
 
After having 2 Ryobi (36volt) saws I've found that the batteries build is not as good as the older ones. They failed after 3 years no warranty to old. So I tested a whole lot of different Battery Chain Saws and came away with a EGO 18" 56Volt machine and it certainly is a very good machine. Went head to head with the Milwaukee, Markita, Dewalt and Skil, just overall battery lasted longer more cuts per battery and better build longer warranty. Came out a clear winner now what do I do with the Ryobi Hedger x2, Lawn Mower, Chain saws x2, Pole Trim Saw, Lawn Edger, Branch Lopper, Bush cutter. All Ryobi 36Volt. :lol:
 
Great idea Manpa, I just pulled it apart to have a look and the hole is behind the chain. So, unfortunately, a no-go for me.

Storing it on its side, battery side down, might help a little.
 
brendomac said:
Great idea Manpa, I just pulled it apart to have a look and the hole is behind the chain. So, unfortunately, a no-go for me.

Storing it on its side, battery side down, might help a little.

Bugga!
 
Crack off the oil filler cap after use as the oil expands when in use & hot and allows the pressure to continue leaking out the oiler port, is most common on all makes of chainsaws.
This has always worked for me
 
brendomac said:
A little update on the leaking oil part of this thread.

I have two chainsaws, one is Ryobi 18v (Sadly, not brushless). The Ryobi is the one that leaks a lot. Someone mentioned earlier that it is common for those, so I thought I'd ask Ryobi themselves. This is their answer:

Thanks for getting in touch about your RYOBI product enquiry.

The oil that is coming out will be coming from the nozzle that sits just above the chain and bar, which lubricates the chain.
We recommend always emptying the oil tank when you have finished using the chainsaw to prevent oil from pooling.

This is a bit of a pain to be honest, especially if you just want it to sit ready over a weekend away.

G'day

I have one of those Ryobi 18V chain saws as well, bloody thing leaks like anything if you leave any oil in the tank at all, no matter whether you crack the lid to release any pressure or even empty the tank completely as you can there is still some residual oil that will come out and make a mess, they are not a high revving machine and are quite slow in operation really, so the fact is the chain does not need a huge amount of lubrication, I resolved this by making up a squeezy plastic oil bottle with a 6" length of 5 mm clear tube on it and ever now and again I just run the saw and drip some oil onto the chain, you could use an oil can with some tubing on the end of it for this as well if you wanted to.

I have only using been it for the odd bit of yard pruning so this method works better than cleaning up the oil mess if you forget to empty the tank out after use.

cheers

stayyerAU
 

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