Just been out to do some logging and getting annoyed by my chainsaw cutting from right to left. I dont recall it doing it before… Its going to make chopping a bit of a git as I dont have any perpendicular cuts to sit the logs on now!

I was cutting some large dia willow with my 14″ bar.

So is it:
a) uneven sharpening of the chain teeth?
b) trying to cut 12″+ dia logs with a 14″ bar?
c) my technique
d) all of the above
e) none of the above?

pulling/cutting in one direction/at angle sounds to me like uneven sharpening, have experienced this myself – I’d try a new chain

mcmoonter to the forum!

No matter how I try.. I cant seem to successfully sharpen my chain 🙁

What a ball ache it is too.. so much so that I just swap the chain now when it goes blunt.

Don’t think its en-even sharpening chain teeth or cutting too thick logs. My saw deviates a lot more noticeably when the chain tension is slightly out (too slack).

Hmmm, hadnt thought about chain tension. That would make sense if it were slack enough to tilt in the groove…

I find chain sharpening not too much f a bother – with the proper stihl file and guide its easy enough. And quite therapeutic in the shed with a glass of wine. Wouldnt want to have to do it in the rain on the back of a landy in the forest though.

Elzorillo – your local dealer/supplier will probably offer a sharpening service for about a fiver. If you begrudge paying that much then get the cheap version of the Stihl sharpening aid and it’ll ensure an all-round good and even job. I’ve got one but don’t use it anymore because I’ve got better at shaprening manually over the years but I can vouch for their effectiveness.

Edit : Ideally a chain should be sharpened everytime you fill the fuel tank. A sharp tool and all that…

Mine does this when the chain needs sharpening – I get my chains here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310364934339?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Hi
Not an uncommon pobelm on these smal, narrow chain, “domestic” chanisaws that teh public seem to have fallen in love with.
It can be uneven sharpening of your chain but usualy its uneven wear of your bar ( or so i was told when it occurred to me)
This can be down to, but not limited to, poor lubing of the chain.
Do you refill the chain lube every tiem you refil with 2 stroke mix? Most chainsaw are set up to hold more chain lube than fuel, so that if you refil every tiem you refuel, you’ll never run out of lube. forget, and the chain runs unlubed on the bar causing wear, which is rarely even, causing the “curving cut” problem. WOPrse on narrow chains.
Alternately if you hit a nail/stone etc, and damage teeth on one side of the chain only then you can see a similar issue.
Bang on a new chain cheap enough and it pays to ahve a spare and seeif you problem is sorted. If not the bar need levelling, a competent chainsaw mechaninc will normally do this pretty quickly and cheaply.

Check for burring/wear/splaying of the bar (maybe turn it over as a quick test if you don’t rotate the cutting edge routinely)….. but as Richie says, my Husky is quite sensitive to chain tension.

Its a Stihl MS230 – hardly contract power, but not a DIY feather duster either.

I get exactly one:one oil to petrol tank consumption which is perfect.

I sharpen the chain after about 3 tanks.

bar need levelling

is that to get the guide slot true and square?

Oh, well. Will check all those things. Will sharpen the chain tonight, check the bar and maybe flip it, re-do the tension and take it for a spin on Wednesday. Cheers for the pointers.

Going to go throw the maul around for a bit. That’s technology even I can handle 😉

I find this can happen with less than sharp chains as you tend to put more effort in to compensate. Keeping them nice and tight helps. Not sure about the smaller saws but I find my old Stihl 039 needs sharpening about every 20 tanks of fuel. its only 5 minutes unless its hammered. Got a fairly heavy chain on it. Replace a chain when its worn!!!! Don’t you mean every 5 years even if it doesn’t need it? No idea how much wood I cut a year but roughly guessing based on the ads that sell it by the ton, maybe 15 to 20 tons.

I would say it is a combination of uneven wear when sharpening your chain, chain tension and bar wear.

If you cut a lot of smaller stuff on a saw horse, you can wear a portion of the bar close to the motor. If you are cutting larger stuff you cut using the full length of the bar and chain. If there is cumulative wear on the chain and bar the saw wont cut straight.

Keep an eye on the chain tension. You shouldnt be able to pull it from the bar groove. Never try to keep sharpening a chain past the wear sharpening grove/guide.

New chains are cheap enough on ebay.

This was something that came down in the last storm. My saw has an 18 inch bar and I still d to cut from both sides.

Found this a bit late, however;

I do my sharpening in the rain, in the middle of the forest, somewhere round about I left a Landy/tractor

Lack of tension won’t help matters and will exagerate the problem.
Check for even sharpening of the cutters, you’ll tend to have a strong side when sharpening depending how you hold the saw. Don’t forget to check the rakers too.
Don’t necassarily have to sharpen at every fill-up, just when blunt, no point over sharpening, chain is expensive when your getting through 100′ rolls every year.

Next up, check the bar, the rails should be even, and burrs removed, file away from the nose. Flipping the bar on a regular basis (whenever you do a full clean) will help longevity. Usually the bar is stamped on one side and this helps you keep track of which way round it was.

There is some technique to it, but a sharp saw will lead and you shouldn’t have to work it through. Check your hold of the saw is balanced.

There are various methods for cuting stuff, bigger than your bar, but it involves lots of pictures and arm waving, or a demo. Sure you can work it out. You can take a 36″ dia. base out with a 15″ bar if it’s a long walk back to the Land Rover for something bigger.

It takes a long time to master sharpening a chain evenly. Yes uneven bar rails will make your saw cut to one side or the other, but if your a relative novice saw opperator its the fact that your sharpening one side more. Or your getting your angles wrong on each side of the chain
Keep perservering, it will come in time. Or take it to your local saw supplyers and they will stick it on a jig and make it like new, the chain that is!

Oh yea, thou i don’t recomend it, your chain can be as slack as a slack thing. If bar and chain are tickety boo it’ll cut straight! but it may jump off from time to time!!

f_f is right about the angles, they vary between 15-35 degrees depending on the chain, although, if you’re consistently wrong it should cut straight, just not efficiently.

Unless it’s a big chain that needs doing, most places will hand sharpen if it is on a saw, 2 min job when you know what you’re doing.

Also, if you sharpen by machine, you can’t sharpen effectively by hand afterwards as the machine will heat and further harden the chain. Thats why our power sharpener is unused in the back of a cupboard, screws you up once out on site.

I do know what I’m on about. cutting em up, cutting em down. Harvest em, forwarding em. Climbing em, planting em. Logging em, planking em. It’s what I do. I got wood!!! 😛

cheers you two. Just found this thread again.

I found my chain was slack so nipped it up a bit and got it in the vice for one evenign this week for a sharpen. I have the Stihl sharpening file & guide which is useful.