How to Put a Chain on a Chainsaw

A chainsaw is an important tool for everyone who loves spending his or her free time gardening, as well as anyone who works as a gardener. You simply cannot act like a gardener without having the proper equipment. Consequently, a good chainsaw is always a must in a gardener’s set of tools. It will cut your woods, branches, and other undesirable parts of your backyard. So you must take care of it for a full and efficient operation.

With the passage of time and because of using it often for your needs, it is common that this equipment might slow down, get rusty, dull or even end up breaking. Thus, not only will your chainsaw not work properly, but it might become a big danger. While you use it, unpleasant and unwanted incidents may occur.

Below you will find all the necessary steps that we have listed in order for you to properly replace the chain of your chainsaw with great ease. This will help in avoiding all future troubles that you may experience. There is need for a mechanic or an expert as you will find the right instructions just by reading this article.

Replacing the Chain of Your Chainsaw

1. Knowing When to Replace the Chain

A crucial moment that is important to know is when is the right time to replace the old chain of your chainsaw. As we mentioned above, your chainsaw might get slower due to rust or start to dull. This will affect the efficiency of your device. Despite the fact that you might have oiled the chain, you may still notice that your chainsaw is not cutting effectively. In fact it might even stall in the process.

Furthermore, you might also notice that the teeth of the chain are not as sharp as before. As you can understand, the chain of your chainsaw has been worn down and the time has come to replace it. The next step is finding a suitable place where you can put your chainsaw and hold it firm. This way it will not give you any problem while you put on the new chain.

Before removing the old chain make sure that you have unplugged your chainsaw or that the start button is turned off. Precautionary steps must be taken in order to avoid any accidents while replacing the chain.

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2. Remove the Old Chain From Your Chainsaw

Firstly make sure that the chain is free before loosening the nuts on the cover. Find the proper wrench or screwdriver to remove the nuts so you can take off the side cover. If you do not have the proper wrench – depending on the kind of the nut on the cover part – a universal one that twists any type of nuts will do the work just fine.

After you have removed the side cover, you will see the bar and a round shaped gear, which is called the clutch drum. Beneath the clutch is the sprocket: an engine mechanism where the chain is fixed that sets the circular movement of the chain. Next, hold the bar away from the chain tensioner, thus releasing the tension of the chain and simply rise the chain up by removing it from the bar of the chainsaw.

Prior to the replacement of the chain of your chainsaw, adjust the tensioning screw on the other side of the bar a little bit, so that the tension is taken away. This procedure is very important, because you may not be able to remove the chain without reducing the pressure on the tensioner screw.

3. Put on the New Chain

Once you have removed the old chain and taken the tension away, it is very easy to also remove the bar from the chainsaw. Such thing should done in order to clean several parts of the chainsaw. Firstly, start it with the bar. Wipe out the dirt using a cleaning cloth and put some oil all over the borders of the bar, which is the part where the new chain will be fixed.

It is very important that the chain circulates quite smoothly for full efficiency. Next, you can apply the same procedure on the clutch drum and sprocket. Starting with the replacement of the new chain, the latter’s direction must be kept in mind. When placing the chain into the guide bar, make sure that the part with the cutting teeth of the chain is facing away from the body of the chainsaw on the top edge of the guide bar.

Thus, the cutting edge should be in the direction of the blade’s rotation. Next, put the chain around the bar and make sure it firmly fixed. Then, move the chain back and forth and check whether it moves in a smooth motion and does not jam.

4. Closing the Cover and Testing

After you have replaced the chain and checked whether you have properly suited it into the sprocket, it is time to put the cover part and screw it back again. Take the cover and place it over the clutch drum and start to screw the nut. Firstly, you need to make sure that the tension screw has not been tighten completely, otherwise it will not allow the chain to move freely.

To make that you have perfectly screwed the tension just pull the chain above the bar up to the point where the teeth or the nuts do not completely get out of the bar. Ensure that the sprocket does not move, otherwise not only the chainsaw will not work properly, but you might as well wreck it. After that, take the wrench and fix the two nuts so that the cover fits perfectly into the chainsaw.

Once you have screwed the nuts, you can test it by moving the chainsaw and verifying that it will not stuck and smoothly circulate. If everything is ok, consider the job done and start using your chainsaw to cut all the unnecessary woods on your garden.

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Conclusions

To sum it up, replacing the old chain of your chainsaw is an easy procedure if you follow the above steps. Remember that using it very often, the chain will wear out and will start losing efficiency, thus lacking cutting ability. Knowing this, you will need to replace it with a new one.

Keep in mind that a cold tension is preferable so loosen it after operation thus, you won’t have the chain neither tight, nor too loose but in a correct mode. After removing the old chain, do not forget to clean and oil the bar, as well as the sprocket. Proper attention must given to the direction of the new chain while placing it over the bar, as the cutting part must face away from the body of the chainsaw.

Following the replacement of the chain of your chainsaw make sure by using your hands that the chain moves freely, thus it has been properly implemented. Close the cover by screwing the nuts and test you chainsaw first at a minimum speed to avoid any unwanted incidents. After that, increase the velocity of the chain and simply enjoy your device which looks like a brand new one.