Teething problems
I have been thinking about upgrading my chainsaw for a while.
By sheer chance, a brand new one [metaphorically] landed on my lap the other day.
A bloke didn't want it as the chain kept coming off. It's brand new and he has only used it a couple of times but has decided that either he doesn't like it or it doesn't like him.
Never one to look a gift horse in the arse, I took it and brought it down to Spanner. "Teeth need filing" says he and that was it. No offers to do it for me or anything, just a laconic grunt. Bastard.
I took it asunder yesterday and had it in bits all over the kitchen table. I don't know if any of you have tried filing chainsaw teeth, but it is a very messy job. The chain is stiff in one direction and bendy in another so the damn thing kept getting itself tied in knots. The individual links are small and they are damned difficult to hold still while filing. Add to that the fact that it is like barbed wire and is oozing oil and you can see a problem emerging?
Anyhows I spent a not so happy hour or two filing the little ratchet parts of the teeth. Some of the links needed doing and others didn't so I kept getting lost, as they all look exactly the same. I ended up tying on a piece of string to mark my starting point but then kept getting confused as to which direction I was working in.
Eventually I reassembled the whole thing and left it in a corner of the kitchen with the intention of trying it out today.
I passed it this morning as it sat there leering at me and it was then I noticed I had put the fucking chain on backwards.
So now I have to head off and find all my tools again, disassemble it and reassemble it.
Fuck it.
It can wait 'til tomorrow.
Many, many moons ago I was working a lot (all day every day) with a chainsaw, and sharpening was a daily job. I never took the chain off to do it, though. It's much easier when the chain is mounted on the blade. Dunno about where you live, but round here (where just about everybody owns a chainsaw) there are tool shops that have a machine that sharpens them. Just whip the chain off and take it in. Half an hour and a couple of Euros, job done. Five minutes to put the chain back on, and Bob's yer uncle. Although on occasion I've been too lazy to drive to the sharpening place and just popped in to my local store and bought a new one. About €13, I think.
Aha! There are two sides to every tooth. The outside teeth are fine and sharp [as my hands will testify] as they have only been around the block [as it were] a couple of times. It's the inner teeth that slot into the chain guide. Each time the chain came off they got damaged and that made things worse, as the reason the chain was coming off was because they were damaged. Your classic Vicious Circus [as Herself calls it].
I could buy a new chain but it's against my religion which compels me to try to fix everything myself first.
2 stroke engines will run backwards quite happily, if the timing is retarded a bit. Could save you the bother of turning the chain round…
Are you mad???? That would turn all my nice logs back into a tree-trunk again.
Sorry – I’m talking bollocks again. They run quite happily in reverse if the standard timing is ADVANCED
What happened there? I’m sure I didn’t hit the “Post Comment” button… Anyway, how do I know this pearl of wisdom? – My late father had a twin cylinder 2 stroke Scott Squirrel motorbike during the war years, and like many machines of the era, it had manual advance & retard for the ignition. Although he claims never to have done it, some unfortunate riders forgot to retard this when coming to a stop, and didn’t notice the engine backfire and then run the other way. They DID notice when it was time to pull away once more…
I don't know what a chain costs in Eire, but here in England it's not worth the time messing with one. I've just replaced the chain on my chainsaw for a fiver, whatever that is in those euro things. It took 10 minutes, and yes it was messy but then my Ryobi seems to piss oil all the time.
Why have I done this given I don't need to hack anything down chez moi? Well, my daughter said: "Why don't you and mum spend Easter with us?" Never one to pass up free meals and beer, and some time with our daughter, son in law and grand-daughter, we said "yes". Then she said: "Dad please bring your chainsaw, we have a 20-foot tree that needs hacking down!" Kids, eh.
I sure that if I ever picked up a chainsaw I would have my arm off.
Ancient 2 strokes like BSA Bantams, Ariel Leaders etc can be coaxed to run backwards but not for long as the induction cycle is reversed. A RGV Suzuki or Powervalve yam or even an disc valve Kawasaki A7 Avenger on the other hand only run the correct way or not at all. I can't say about the latest generation Husky Chainsaws but no doubt there is a E.U. reg. which prevents them from running in reverse.
"Ancient 2 strokes like BSA Bantams, Ariel Leaders etc can be coaxed to run backwards but not for long as the induction cycle is reversed."
No its not. On old 2 strokes a vacuum is created in the crankcase as the piston moves up, which sucks in the fuel vapour. Then when the piston comes down it compresses the air (fuel vapour) below it and blows it up the transfer ports to the combustion chamber. It doesn't matter to the induction which way the crank is turning.
I always sharpen mine, with a 4mm round file. I mark the first tooth with a white paint pen and stick about 10 teeth at a time in a vice.
I have no vices. 😉
Jesus gd,don't post anything about washing machines or else we'll be here all fucking night.
I love the way comments head off on a path of their own! Much more interesting than the original post.
Are you sure it is herself who is booked in for that eye thingummjig you mentioned a few weeks back?
OOpps my bad. Too many reed valves and power valve systems have cluttered up my mind.