HELP! 36” bar damaged can it be fixed

[JD22]

Can it be fixed??

 

[Loony661]

What’s the back story?

 

[JD22]

Nothing much, guy just claimed his chain wouldn’t stay on or run right. And he bought 2 new bars 36” after handing me this 1, saying if I can fix it, it’s mine to keep. I can only think, he runs his chains too loose and that same spot kept getting slapped till the chain finally grabbed and he tried throttling it out. He does milling, this was totaled on a bore cut.

 

[drf256]

That could be tig welded and redressed. The issue would be cost and a questionable rail vs new bar costs.

 

[IH1972]

That could be tig welded and redressed. The issue would be cost and a questionable rail vs new bar costs.

What kind of steel is the bar made from? I've made similar repairs with my TIG welder, but knowing the alloy would be helpful. Regular mild steel TIG rod isn't going to be very hard so that spot on the bar won't be the same hardness as the rest of the bar. If you consider that with the cost of repair vs the cost of a new bar, I believe I would rather have a new bar. Of course if you can weld it and reset the gauge yourself, you don't have anything to lose really other than your time.
If it were mine, I would get a new bar.

 

[rocketnorton]

put piece of copper in groove, then wire gun - harder welds

got tig here too, as mentioned, softer

 

[SimonHS]

As the bar is free I would use it with the bad part facing upwards only, so that pressure on the chain is on the good side.

You would get some good use out of it that way, until it gets worn out.

Unless the damage is bad enough that the chain jumps out too often?

 

[JD22]

Bar has barley been used, I have a welding buddy I’ll see if he’s up for the job.

 

[davidwyby]

Fix it!

 

[davidwyby]

Or I’ll buy it

 

[Loony661]

I honestly feel that with proper chain tension, that bar would work just fine for most cutting tasks..

 

[Czed]

I run much worse bars than that with chunks missing from the rails
No issues.

 

[Duce]

Just ask @srcarr52 if it’s repairable?

 

[Stump Shot]

The bar is made of a very hard material, could be an issue possibly. Then again, nothing ventured nothing gained as it was already broken before you tried to fix it.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

Loose chains slap the bar just after the nose.
Milling is a good clue as to what happened, the clamp for the back of the bar was probably tightened down on the rail and run ,could have slid there also . Considering that the paint is marked by the calmp alignment of the damage.

 

[srcarr52]

Just ask @srcarr52 if it’s repairable?

I like many here don’t understand how it got damaged. Usually loose chain slap is on the heals and on the lee side of the tip.

Anyway, if the groove is deep enough you might be able to dress the bar out and get some life out of it. If not that local area could be built up with weld and grooved back out. I’ve used a thin cutoff wheel to cut grooves back out in a pinch.

 

[Loony661]

It should be noted that most bars are case-hardened on the rails to maximize life of the bar. Welding will affect its temper. Just run it. If it’s kicking chains off, even when properly tensioned, then address it.

 

[Nutball]

Maybe a bolt was cut with it putting enough pressure on that spot to overheat it. I'd file the burrs off and run it.

 

[Al Smith]

Take a 3-4" cut off wheel used on a die grinder and smooth out the inner portion of the rail then just run it . For what ever caused the rail to get pinched is just after the fact .

 

[RCBS]

Send it to Rich.