Chainsaw Making Wood Smoke When Cutting?

[GaTrapper]

Hey Y'all,

Lately when using my saw after a few cuts, my saw will start making the wood smoke. It starts to cut differently, but it still cuts alright. I have noticed that it starts to make chain loosen up as well.

I checked to see if the hole was plugged where the bar oil coats the chain and everything seems normal.

Any ideas?

[Greyhound]

Usually its a dull chain.  It starts to make more friction/heat than chips.  However, I was getting steam from some frozen wood today even with fresh sharp chain.  Like "seeing you breath" when it's cold outside.

[DelawhereJoe]

It sounds like your bar and chain are heating up past what they should be. Has your bar been pinched really hard lately or the last time it was used. Have you changed chains, maybe the drive gauge is wrong. What kinda bar oil have you been using, any chance your bar oil was contaminated with dirt or chips and it just can't pump oil ?

[GaTrapper]

My bar did get pinched pretty good while cutting a giant privet tree.

I'll head to the dealer in the AM to grab a new bar.

Could I pick up an Oregon bar at the local hardware store down the road, or am I better off getting a Stihl bar? Would I even notice the difference?

[wndwlkr65]

I would think dull chain.

[John Mc]

It sounds as though that hard pinch you mentioned may be your problem.

Another thing to check: The fact that the oil hole is open does not necessarily mean that oil is getting to your bar. Do you know the bar is actually getting oiled? You can aim the tip of the bar at a log and run the saw a bit. You should see some oil getting flung off the bar and painting a stripe of oil on the log.

[GaTrapper]

I'll check tomorrow. If I do not see the oil on the wood, how would I fix the problem?

[John Mc]

I'll check tomorrow. If I do not see the oil on the wood, how would I fix the problem?

The first thing is to correct any damage from the pinched bar. Nothing is going to work well if it's still deformed. You might be able to see a pinched point by removing the chain and sighting down the bar. You can also check the bar groove with the handy 36¢ bar groove checker: A dime should fit in the slot of of an .050" gauge bar, a nickle should fit in an .058", and a quarter should fit in an .063 gauge bar.

One of the simple things you've already checked: make sure the hole in the bar that takes the oil is clear. Another one is to make sure the groove in your bar is cleaned out.

Check to see if oil is coming out of the oil exit on your saw. If it's not, you could have crud in your oil tank clogging things up, or your oil pump could have problems. (describing how to fix that is beyond me)

[Al_Smith]

If you have a pinch it the rail it will grab the drivers as they got round .Pretty easy to tell .Slack the chain and run it around by hand,It will hang on the pinch .Usually with a little hammer and a big stout screwdriver you can spread the rail .