Chainsaw curve

[Notchndrop]

When cutting with my new Husqvarna 395 which has a "slightly used" bar and chain it curves....or arcs as I am cutting. Any explanation for this ?

 

[Wonkydonkey]

It could be A few reasons.
Bar rail lower on one side, so needs dressing properly.
Chain could need a good filing and rakers set.

Ways to try figure out why.
Try a New chain. It can help eliminate a chain prob from the bar

Or Flip bar over and see if it still does it. But that does not mean the other side is in a better condition and also needs dressing. Nor does it eliminate a chain problem.

I'd try dressing the bar and sharpening the chain, if I still had the problem I’d buy the chain first. As it’s cheaper than a bar.

Or find a friend that has lots of experience with saws.

 

[Nutball]

Could be a dull chain, uneven depth gauges, too wide of a bar gauge (due to wear), usually something like more than .015 larger than what it is supposed to be can cause problems.

Maybe you are not supporting the weight of that heavy powerhead, so it torques on the bar and curves right.

Pushing hard when you cut will help defects in the bar and chain to show especially if the depth gauges or rails are uneven.

 

[Notchndrop]

Could be a dull chain, uneven depth gauges, too wide of a bar gauge (due to wear), usually something like more than .015 larger than what it is supposed to be can cause problems.

Maybe you are not supporting the weight of that heavy powerhead, so it torques on the bar and curves right.

Pushing hard when you cut will help defects in the bar and chain to show especially if the depth gauges or rails are uneven.

 

[Notchndrop]

Bar is really like new and chain was sharpened once. I will try flipping bar AND try a new chain. Frustrating when trying to ring a stump. Thank you Nutball and wonky !

 

[Marshy]

It's likely your chain. One side of the chain cutters are removing more wood than the other side. It's either sharpness or raker depth on one side is lower than the other.

 

[Lightning Performance]

All of the above and a slightly twisted bar.

 

[Marshy]

All of the above and a slightly twisted bar.

That should be easy to rule out. Just lay it on a flat surface.

 

[Derf]

Chain has uneven sharpening between left and right cutters.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MustangMike]

Likely when the chain was re sharpened the angles were not the same on both sides, or some teeth are damaged on one side, or the rakers are not the same.

Was the chain rocked before it was sharpened? If so, make sure the re sharpening reached all the corners.

 

[Wolverine]

Uneven length of cutters. Betting the rakers were never touched and the filing job was a tad wonky. You are usually more comfortable filing one side and therefore remove a bit more metal. I went through this issue way back when I learned to file.

 

[huskyboy]

Maybe you are not supporting the weight of that heavy powerhead, so it torques on the bar and curves right.

That’s not the issue. I’ve cut a lot of wood with a 394/5 and never had to “support” the powerhead to prevent curving cuts.

 

[Skeans1]

What length of bar? What bar are you using? Single or dual dawgs? I’ve run a 36” light weight Oregon bar if everything isn’t dead on the cut will curve or walk on you


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Wonkydonkey]

Uneven length of cutters. Betting the rakers were never touched and the filing job was a tad wonky. You are usually more comfortable filing one side and therefore remove a bit more metal. I went through this issue way back when I learned to file.

Yes your correct... Ive seen those on some saws. It depends if your R or L hande, it’s usually you take more off because you can put more pressure when filing into the tooth. Although It doesn’t show up straight away, normally 3rd or 4th filing

I try to correct it by adding a few more strokes to those on the other side that I can’t put as much pressure on.

Cheers

 

[Marshy]

It's really not the length of the cutter that matters. It's the sharpness and the raker height. If you sharpen more strokes on all the left teeth per say and you dont adjust the rakers accordingly then those teeth remove less material. However, if the left and right teeth are equally as sharp and the rakers are adjusted properly but one side of the the cutters are shorter, then the chain will still cut straight.

 

[huskyboy]

What length of bar? What bar are you using? Single or dual dawgs? I’ve run a 36” light weight Oregon bar if everything isn’t dead on the cut will curve or walk on you


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yeah those bars are floppy. The 28” I have is more floppy than a 36” sugihara or normal oregon bar. I guess to get light you have to sacrifice strength.

 

[huskyboy]

It's really not the length of the cutter that matters. It's the sharpness and the raker height. If you sharpen more strokes on all the left teeth per say and you dont adjust the rakers accordingly then those teeth remove less material. However, if the left and right teeth are equally as sharp and the rakers are adjusted properly but one side of the the cutters are shorter, then the chain will still cut straight.

I agree with this. It’s why I use a gauge to adjust the rakes every so often to even them up. Most of the time I just take a certain amount of swipes off freehand. But if I hit something, especially on one side of the chain, I use the gauge. I could file half the teeth off one side of the chain and as long as the rakes were all the same height... it will cut straight.

 

[Skeans1]

Yeah those bars are floppy. The 28” I have is more floppy than a 36” sugihara or normal oregon bar. I guess to get light you have to sacrifice strength.

I tweaked one packing out one morning after that I learned the dawgs needed to be up against my shoulder and light down pressure nothing like the 42 cannon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Marshy]

I agree with this. It’s why I use a gauge to take adjust the rakes every so often to even them up. Most of the time I just take a certain amount of swipes off freehand. But if I hit something, especially on one side of the chain, I use the gauge. I could file half the teeth off one side of the chain and as long as the rakes were all the correct height for each respective tooth... it will cut straight.

Fixed! Subtle difference in my correction but it's the difference between cutting straight and cutting in a circle. Other wise I agree with you and I think we agree we are saying the same thing.

I recommend the a progressive type raker gauge. They set the raker height based on the length of the individual cutter. Not like those gauges that lay across several teeth at once.

 

[Al Smith]

If you file you have to figure out which method works best for you .Some people are of a mindset they have to have bolt on guides and some do very well free handing .
In my case I go over the top doing a left,then a right not all left then all right .To me I can see the angles better some can't with that method .I might only take the rakers down three or four times in the whole useful life of the chain .Some feel they have to do the rakers every time .It's not for me to say,whatever floats your boat .