chainsaw help please.

[firem3]

I have a Stihl 029 (not the new all plastic junk) with an 18 inch bar. I have had it for years and it has ran perfect all these years but it has recently began acting goofy. Not engine wise but cutting I cannot make a straight cut to save my life it seems to trail off to one side or the other and when cutting i cant hardly get it to cut on the length it just sits there spinning away and after i give it a good wobble it goes to cutting crooked. It cuts like a champ on the tip of the bar so lately ive been plunge cutting to get me by and frankly im sick of doing it since its not the correct way and way more work. I have my chains sharpened at the local shop and have installed a new bar thinking my bar was bent. Any ideas.

 

[Toulle]

I have an 025 now and have used the 029 in the past. My first thought, when you mentioned crooked cutting, was an improperly sharpened chain - sharper teeth in one direction than the other. But you said it was sharpened at the saw shop, sooooo maybe not that.
I thought bent bar, but you say it still does that with a new bar?

I am pretty sure the 029 has a hand brake. Check that to see if it is dragging.
Check the cogs on the side, under the cover, that drive the chain. Maybe gummed up or worn down.

 

[Toulle]

Oh, btw, I used to live in St Clair County. Pretty country.

 

[gettinaclue]

Spoke with DH and he said the same things you already went over...either improperly sharpened or a bent bar are the only things he can think of that would make it cut crooked.

 

[firem3]

Toulle, they sharpen them on one of those little machines, you reckon they are using the wrong size stone or something? Where in st. Clair did you live? Im in Odenville.

 

[k15n1]

Sounds like the chain to me. Buy a new chain and see if that does the trick. Then, have it sharpened and see if that causes the problem.

 

[Toulle]

I would also try a new chain. While you're at it, take the bar off and lay it on its side on something you know is very flat.

I lived in Springville for just over a year. It was one of those towns that if you weren't from there you never would be, if you know what I mean.

 

[dacjohns]

I'm with everyone else. A bent bar or unevenly sharpened chain. If the teeth aren't all the same length then the chain isn't right.

 

[gourdhead]

after a lot of use or cutting with a loose chain the bar groove will become too wide allowing the chain to tilt to one side or the other. some bars will use a chain with a drive of .050 and when the groove gets too wide you can purchase a chain that has a drive of .058 0r if the bar is really worn you can go to .063. some stihl models start with .050 and others with .063. husqvarna can start with .050 or .058. it is even possible to close up the groove by carefully using a hammer. if you close it up too much and the chain is tight you can use a screwdriver to open it up. this can be useful when you pinch a portion of your bar. hope this helps. jon