What Are The Chains For Chainsaws

The chainsaw chain sharpener allows you to sharpen saw chains quickly and efficiently.

OREGON 542654

Another professional machine from OREGON. 542654.

This model differs from other professional machines by the presence of a hydraulic booster. The angle of the OREGON.542654 machine has been increased to 55 degrees. According to the manufacturer’s assurances, the sharpening time for this machine is reduced to 50%. Just like the previous machine, it is equipped with three discs.

Specifications of the OREGON 542654 machine

What machines are there for sharpening and how to choose?

Chain sharpeners can be divided into two categories: professional and amateur.

STIHL HOS

Sthil USG machine

In addition to chains, this machine can sharpen brush cutter discs, garden tools and other cutting surfaces. Unlike the USG machine, it does not have a rotary device, the tilt is set according to the Shtil’s recommendations.

Unfortunately, I did not find the characteristics of this machine. I can only say that the manufacturer does not recommend using it for sharpening chains whose edges are ground and carbide chains. With its rather high price, it cannot be the best choice, in my opinion.

Chain sharpening machine: is it necessary and how to choose?

The chainsaw chain sharpener allows you to sharpen saw chains quickly and efficiently. Compared to a manual chain file, a chain sharpener is much more efficient and convenient. It allows you to maintain the required angle by setting it once.

Let’s start by determining in what cases you may need chainsaw sharpener:

Professional chain sharpeners:

Two renowned chain manufacturers in the world: Stihl and Oregon. And both produce professional models of sharpening machines.

Stihl launches a machine called STIHL HOS.

Chain sharpening machine Prorab 6510

This machine has a modification 6511, which has a lot of power. The machine has an attractive price and is suitable for sharpening chains at home.

Machine characteristics PRORAB 6510

How is a chainsaw chain lubricated?

During the operation of the garden tool, the chainsaw lubricant is distributed not only to the tire, but also to the chain used for cutting. As soon as the lubricant hits the standard tire, the used saw element starts to move, originally equipped with holes or small inconspicuous grooves. During normal operation of the garden tool, as the engine speed rises, the lubrication system increases the speed of the oil along the tire.

Some saws are branded with separate adjusting mechanisms, the main task of which is to allow operators to adjust the amount of oil required to lubricate the headset. This feature saves lubrication, reduces blade slippage and prevents premature saw blade wear.

Quite often, novice fellers do not know how to lubricate the needle bearing of a chainsaw. Best suited for this purpose are oils produced by the Husqvarna and Stihl brands. It is quite easy to add oil to lubricate this element. To do this, you will initially need an ordinary syringe, which will help you quickly fill the product without spilling it, and preventing dust from getting into it.

Chainsaw chains

The efficiency of the chainsaw and the quality of sawing wood largely depends on the chain installed on the garden tool. In order for buyers to quickly choose certain chains, manufacturers divide their headset into certain types. They differ from each other in size, characteristics and capabilities. This must be remembered when choosing chains for performing certain chores.

How to shorten a chainsaw chain with your own hands?

Long-term use of the headset will cause it to gradually sag. Faced with this for the first time, many inexperienced fellers do not know what to do if the chain on a chainsaw is stretched. To solve the problem, the first thing you need to do is assess the level of sagging. After that, you can start preparing tools that will help you shorten the chain on your chainsaw.

The subsequent procedure should look like this:

1. First, you need to carefully disconnect the links in the sagging part of the headset. It will be quite difficult and dangerous to do this with a grinder, especially if a solid diamond chain is being repaired. It is best to disconnect the links with a file or an ordinary file. Performing the procedure, it is necessary to grind off each side of the links. Then you need to unscrew the worn out rivets using a prepared beard;
2. Immediately after the operator has been able to gently rivet the chain, the detached parts of the headset must be put aside. You do not need to throw them away, since later they may be needed to replace worn links;
3. The operator must then rivet the chain evenly. To do this, you need to calculate in advance the teeth available in the saw element device, and carefully connect the remaining links together using a rivet. To do this, you need to firmly press the lateral parts of the links to the rivet used;
4. Then you can proceed to welding the links. Elements welded to each other will need to be carefully cleaned with a file, otherwise the bulges and other welding marks will severely scratch the tire surface;
5. Allow the headset to cool down before riveting the chain. After that, a household drill must be equipped with a pre-prepared 7-centimeter steel workpiece, turned from an ordinary nail;

Quite often, instead of a blank and 2 files for shortening the headset at home, a special riveter for chains is used. It allows you to connect the links faster and more accurately without the need for further filing.

How does the chain lubrication system work?

The system for automatically applying oil to the saw headset works according to a rather simple principle. Chainsaw chain lubrication is carried out continuously under the influence of the built-in oil pump, the speed of which depends on the speed of the engine crankshaft. As soon as the operator pulls the gas trigger, thereby increasing the speed of the internal combustion engine of the saw, the gear located on the main shaft of the motor increases the speed of the pump shaft.

For stable interaction of the gear and the shaft of the standard pump, a worm gear is provided in the chainsaw configuration. As the pump speed increases, the pump builds up the pressure required to pump oil towards the tire. The end of the oil line is located in the part where the longitudinal standard groove is located. In the same place, the tire connects to the factory crankcase of the gasoline saw. When the tire is installed on a garden tool used in everyday life, the part is connected to an oil channel, through which the lubricant flows freely to the saw headset.

What are chainsaw chains?

Depending on the purpose, that is, on the planned direction of sawing wood, chains for household saws are divided directly into such types;

• Longitudinal a feature of this type of headset is that when it is installed and used on a garden tool, the productivity of the latter increases almost 2 times;
• Transverse By installing a cross-headset with victorious solders, the chainsaw operator is able to significantly reduce the aggressiveness of the garden tool and reduce the load on the built-in factory motor, thereby making the internal combustion engine vibration less noticeable.

Another important parameter for stable operation, according to which chains are constantly divided, is their step. The chain pitch of a chainsaw is the length of the gap between the three links.

There are headsets on the market with the following pitch characteristics:

• 0.25 or 1/4 of these parts are completed with one-handed household saws that do not stand out for high power. Most often, gardening tools of this type are used for accurate cutting of wood and short-term work in a very limited space;
• 0.325 or 3/8 headset of this type is equipped with most household chainsaws;
• 0.404 or 3/4 carbide saw blades of this type are large. They are installed exclusively on powerful professional garden tools that can be used to work on aerated concrete.

All available sawing parts are manufactured with the consideration that the larger their size, the higher their productivity. However, as the size of the saw blades increases, the desired cutting width of the wood increases. To make the resistance of the material being cut less noticeable, you only need to install a large headset on saws with an impressive power reserve.

Quite often, manufacturers divide sawing elements according to the thickness of their shanks, which must necessarily coincide with the specified groove values ​​for the standard garden tool tires. Compliance with this rule will improve the reliability of the fastening of the part on the tire, and also prevent the headset from slipping.

Another important parameter is the number of headset links. The larger the number, the faster the gasoline saw will cut hard wood or perform work on concrete.

How to properly tension the chain on a chainsaw?

Well-known brands produce garden tools, taking into account that even an inexperienced beginner could install a chain on a chainsaw. To do this, almost every model has a side tensioner in the device, which allows you to both put the chain on the chainsaw and tighten the already installed headset. Thanks to this mechanism, the chain tension on the chainsaw can be done by hand. In most cases, saw manufacturers provide free access to the tensioner, which greatly simplifies the replacement of the drive roller and other parts of the mechanism.

The chain should only be installed on the chainsaw when the engine and garden tool bar are completely cool. If this requirement is ignored, the cold saw element on the hot tire may deform. Over, this quite often happens even in those cases when a victorious chain is installed for a chainsaw.

To properly put the chain on the chainsaw, you must follow the following procedure:

1. First, you need to check if the lock for the random start of the garden tool is turned on. Also, the owner of the saw will need to turn on the inertial brake in advance;
2. Next, you need to dismantle the protective plastic cover located on the right side of the saw and unscrew the screws;
3. Then you need to determine which side to put the chain on the chainsaw. Manufacturers advise to install the headset in such a way that the cutter located at the top of the installed bar is exactly directed directly in the direction of rotation of the chain;
4. After that, you need to put on protective gloves made of dense material and begin to slowly rotate the headset on the tire;
5. If the operator detects that the saw unit being used is slack, it will need to be retightened. To do this, turn the tensioner until the part to be cut is stretched;
6. Then you need to loosen the screws, which in the standard configuration are intended for fastening the factory bus;
7. Next, you need to insert the tire and tighten the screws.

At the end, it remains to check the tension of the saw element again. When properly installed, the chain should not sag and should not be too tight. It is best that when you press on it with the index finger of your hand, the part sags by about 0.5 cm.

Is the cutting link sequence important?

In the usual case, when the saw is made at the factory, it is customary to put two driving links on one cutting link, thus, 50% of the total cutting teeth is obtained. Then the performance of the equipment remains at the level, and the quality of the cut is not lame, but in order to reduce the cost of the chain, the cutting links can not set every step, but after one or even two steps, which will bring the total number of cutting links to 37.5%. The chainsaw will become cheaper, but the cutting quality will deteriorate greatly, so it is better not to pay attention to such devices.

Chain pitch

This parameter is a value in millimeters, although it is customary to write inches in the documentation. It is calculated by dividing by 2 the distance between the three rivets. It is from this characteristic that it is customary to divide the canvases into several main groups:

1. Step into 0.25 inches (6.35 mm) used in devices with a minimum power, which are suitable exclusively for summer cottage work. Dimensional logs with such a pitch cannot be cut. Chains for chainsaws with this pitch are not very common.
2. The next two groups where step in is used 0.325 and 0.375 inches (8.25 and 9.3 mm respectively) are the most common of all, as approximately 70% of all chainsaws that are produced in the world are in these groups. Accordingly, they can be used for most of the existing household tasks. But there is one little trick! Since it is quite easy to confuse the numbers 0.325 and 0.375, chains with a pitch of 0.375 are designated 3/8, that is, 3/8 inches.
3. The last group with a step in 0.404 and 0.75 inches (10.26 and 19.05 mm) used for the most difficult tasks. In this case, we are talking about a harvesting tool rather than a saw for domestic use. That is, chains with such a pitch can only be found on professional chainsaws.

There is a direct relationship between the step size and the performance of the tool, but it must also be borne in mind that a large step requires a more powerful motor. The cutting quality of devices with a large pitch is still inferior to devices from the first three categories, since the teeth are located there more densely. For a power of 2.5 liters, a step of 0.325 mm is suitable, and it is better to put a saw blade and a 3/8 mm chain on a more productive chainsaw, as this will help to unleash the saw’s potential to the fullest.

What to look for when choosing a saw chain?

The key characteristics of a saw chain are its pitch, shank or drive link thickness, depth of cut and profile size, and chain length. The direction of the cut should also be taken into account. It is from these parameters that you need to build on when you buy a chain instead of a worn out one, or when you need to purchase a chain for some special needs. In order not to be mistaken, you can look at the device’s passport, where the manufacturer indicates the main parameters of the saw. If we are talking about the initial purchase of a tool, then these parameters themselves should correspond to the purposes of using the chainsaw.

Carbide chains

Such chains are an order of magnitude more expensive, and they have a special purpose for working with frozen wood or with contaminated material. In all other situations, the money will be wasted, since for simple wood there is no sense in carbide brazing.

Low profile and high profile chains

What do you need to know about chain height? It determines how deep the saw will cut. Based on this parameter, the saw can be either low or high-profile, respectively, in the first case, the chips will be removed thinner, but the work will be somewhat slower, while in the second case the depth and productivity will be greater. For a low-profile tool, a parameter of 0.635 mm is used, and for a high-profile tool, 0.762 mm. If we consider specifically devices for household use, then they are always low-profile, while professional equipment can be produced in two versions. At the same time, in order to stabilize the vibration that inevitably occurs during operation, manufacturers balance the profile height with the number of steps. For a small step, make a high profile, and vice versa. Failure to comply with this rule will lead to the fact that it will be impossible to work with the chainsaw for a long time, although the wood will be cut very quickly. This balance must be observed if there is an intention to sharpen at home, in all other situations, it remains only to choose a saw for the home or for professional cutting.

How to define a chain for ripping or cross cutting?

• For cross-cutting, the chain sharpening angle is 30 degrees.
• For rip sawing, the sharpening angle of the saw chain is 10 degrees.

Stihl’s rip saw chain is PMX. For example, STIHL 63 PMX 50.

Oregon will have an R in its chain model index. Example: 73RD100R

Bar and chain installation

The tire is dismantled to clean the oil line, check the technical condition or replace it. The sequence of work is described in the instruction manual. Upon completion of the installation, make sure that there is no backlash and that the threaded fasteners are tightened.

With the right skill, it only takes a few minutes to remove and install a new or sharpened chain. The technology prescribes the inclusion of an unauthorized start blocking and, in some cases, an emergency stop mechanism.

• Depending on the design of the tensioner, the chain is loosened to the desired degree by turning the adjusting screw or setting disc, until the shanks freely exit the groove of the guide bar.
• After checking the direction of rotation, the shanks of the new chain are inserted into the guide groove and onto the crown of the drive sprocket. Tensioning is done upside-down.
• To check the tension, just pull the chain in the middle of the bar. The exit of the link shank in this place should not exceed 2/3 of its height. A properly tensioned chain should run along the bar with little effort.

After installing and adjusting the saw headset, it is advisable to start the engine and keep the saw at medium speed for several minutes. During this time, you can check the operation of the lubrication system.

After turning off the power unit, you must turn on the start lock and check the headset for local overheating of the bar and changes in the degree of chain tension.

Choice of bus length taking into account drive power

The length of the new guide rail is determined by the power and torque ratio of the power unit.

• Chainsaw models of small and medium power range are equipped with tires from 30 to 40 cm long.
• Longer saw sets create excessive loads on the engine and tool kinematics, which negatively affect its traction characteristics and service life.
• The enclosed application manual contains the recommended guide bar length. This means that the installation of a shorter headset is not excluded, but there are a number of restrictions on the operation of the tool with an extended length bus.

Professional-grade chainsaw technology is equipped with powertrains, the power of which allows you to take advantage of tires up to 75 cm long. Often times, the tire size in centimeters and inches is applied to its side plane.

Recommendations for extending the service life

The approximate service life of a branded tire is equal to the total resource of 3 high-quality saw chains, the drive sprocket changes according to state. Experts recommend using a set of several chains in work.

This method allows you to reduce the loss of working time, which is spent on periodic sharpening of the chains, as well as to optimize the wear of the saw mechanism as a whole. Accelerated tire wear is a consequence of improper maintenance of the chainsaw and its illiterate operation.

The main factors of early tire failure:

• Excessive tension of the chain initiating a quick development of the groove and shanks or the inconsistency of its pitch with the characteristics of the crown of the driving sprocket;
• Application of significant efforts when sawing hard or frozen wood;
• The tire heats up and wears out intensively due to the lack of lubricant supply, due to a malfunction or improper adjustment of the standard oil pump;
• Saving money on the use of low-quality chain oil or oil substitutes such as mining.

The forced consumption of the resource of the saw headset takes place when soil or sand gets into it, the new chain works on the worn crown of the drive sprocket.

Chainsaw tire: we select and install the right option

Household, semi-professional and professional hand-held chainsaw equipment, regardless of cost and performance, has an identical design. The cutting attachment, which includes a chainsaw bar and a saw chain, belongs to the category of replacement equipment.

The decision on which tire to put on the chainsaw is made by the owner taking into account many factors. First of all, this is the compatibility of the seat and the channels for supplying lubricant to the working area, the engine power, the specifics of the upcoming work.

The advice of experienced specialists or information on the instructions for use can provide specific assistance in choosing a tire on your own.

In particular, a long saw head is preferable for felling and sawing large diameter trees, a short one for tree crown and preparation for construction timber installation.

Consumer demand leaders

In the process of natural selection, the first lines of the sales ratings were taken by the products of the leading European and Asian manufacturers of chainsaw equipment. Maximum demand for components of Stihl, Husqvarna, Makita, and others brands.

In all respects, the Oregon tire has proven itself excellently, which in various modifications complements the removable saw equipment of the middle and higher price levels.

General design

In the standard solution, the chainsaw bar is an elongated oval shape made of quality steel.

Holes for threaded fasteners are located at one end, a driven sprocket is installed at the other end of long busbars. This arrangement of the tire contributes to the smooth running of the chain and reduces the load on the engine.

A groove is made along the perimeter of the tire, into which the shanks of the saw chain are inserted. Chain oil is supplied to the working area in a metered amount through special bores for cooling and lubricating the headset.