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Sloppy Chain In Groove - Not Cutting Straight


Wendelspanswick
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I stupidly lent my Husqvarna 61 to a pal as I don't use it much, when I got it back the bar and chain was in an awful state, he'd been using the saw to chop out tree roots in the ground!

I put the chain on the grinder to restore the cutting edge and cleaned the bar up but when I tried it today for the first time the saw won't cut straight, curving to the left badly.

I checked the cutters and they are sharp and equal on both sides but when I apply pressure to the side of the chain it moves alot, also the chain links seems to be worn at the base where it rubs the bar more on one side than the other. I haven't checked yet whether one side rail of the bar is more worn than the other as well.

I will get a new chain as I can't see a solution to resolve the uneven wear on the base of the links but I was hoping to salvage the bar.

 

So my questions are:

Is it acceptable to close up the bar groove? (It's a laminated bar).

 

If not where's the cheapest place for a replacement bar, most probably an Oregon Pro-lite 20".

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Both will probably be worn so you are likely to end up needing a new bar, however yes you can close up the bar rails to get a bit more life out of it. I have a special roller tool thingy for this, but before I had one I used to use a hammer to close them and a large flat bladed screwdriver to tweak open the bits where it was a bit too tight afterwards.

 

Alec

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I stupidly lent my Husqvarna 61 to a pal as I don't use it much, when I got it back the bar and chain was in an awful state, he'd been using the saw to chop out tree roots in the ground!

I put the chain on the grinder to restore the cutting edge and cleaned the bar up but when I tried it today for the first time the saw won't cut straight, curving to the left badly.

I checked the cutters and they are sharp and equal on both sides but when I apply pressure to the side of the chain it moves alot, also the chain links seems to be worn at the base where it rubs the bar more on one side than the other. I haven't checked yet whether one side rail of the bar is more worn than the other as well.

I will get a new chain as I can't see a solution to resolve the uneven wear on the base of the links but I was hoping to salvage the bar.

 

So my questions are:

Is it acceptable to close up the bar groove? (It's a laminated bar).

 

If not where's the cheapest place for a replacement bar, most probably an Oregon Pro-lite 20".

 

I had just this problem today. After ploughing through a sand-laden compression fork, the chain and groove was mega sloppy. The rails were roughly even height but they had become worn on the insides especially closest to the chain. No amount of pinching the bar closed would have helped, so I bit the bullet and filed a whole lot off the entire bar length. In a vice with a good flat file, took 10 minutes. Almost a millimetre, I'd guess. eventually a square corner was achieved. I refitted chain and tried it and it cut as well as ever.

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I stupidly lent my Husqvarna 61 to a pal as I don't use it much, when I got it back the bar and chain was in an awful state, he'd been using the saw to chop out tree roots in the ground!

I put the chain on the grinder to restore the cutting edge and cleaned the bar up but when I tried it today for the first time the saw won't cut straight, curving to the left badly.

I checked the cutters and they are sharp and equal on both sides but when I apply pressure to the side of the chain it moves alot, also the chain links seems to be worn at the base where it rubs the bar more on one side than the other. I haven't checked yet whether one side rail of the bar is more worn than the other as well.

I will get a new chain as I can't see a solution to resolve the uneven wear on the base of the links but I was hoping to salvage the bar.

 

So my questions are:

Is it acceptable to close up the bar groove? (It's a laminated bar).

 

 

 

If not where's the cheapest place for a replacement bar, most probably an Oregon Pro-lite 20".

 

 

Try new saw chains .Co. UK based at Hurn near Bournemouth will send it by post to you .if your not sure of bar options ring mark and he will tell you what you can put on it .also his prices are very reasonable so ask about a chain for it ,I think you will find you end up buying both . Hope you get it sorted.

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As others have said, lending out kit can be at worst dangerous to the uninitiated and at best, you tend to get a mullered machine back - best to do it yourself and get them to pay you in beer, wine or Wonga.

 

The issue you have, as others have said, will be either splaying of the bar rails which can be closed up as Alec has said (don't know where he got that tip from:001_tongue:) or the rails can be uneven. The latter is a case of putting the bar in a bench vice and putting a steel rule across it at various points along its length to make sure the rails are square.

 

If they are not square, I grind them on a bench grinder with the foot set at the correct angle and then finish with a dremmel but you do need to make sure you have enough rail depth to cover the driver and support the chain side plates on the rail itself.

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