chain saw adjustment

allen levine

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new york city burbs
I dont know where to put this, and I dont have an instruction booklet for this tool.
Bought it maybe 18 years ago? Used it to cut the logs to size for a fire place I had back then for 10 years.

I lent it to my brotherinlaw, and it came back with the piece that holds the chain/blade loose, and the chain falls off when I run it.
Im sure the middle screw here adjusts it, but how tight do I make this thing?
How do I know the correct tension on the chain?
I just dont want to put it away again unusable, in case I need to grab it for anything.
Any help would be appreciated.
 

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...Im sure the middle screw here adjusts it, but how tight do I make this thing? How do I know the correct tension on the chain...
I'm not an expert on chain saws, but I keep my chain tensioned almost firm, but not tight. I can lift the chain off the top of the bar maybe an 1/8" or so.

I'd suggest going ahead and taking the bar off completely (it's very easy...just undo the nut you can see holding it on) and cleaning everything before putting it back together. When you do that, I think you'll also be able to see how the tensioning screw works.
 
Allen,

First I would try to adjust the chain to make it nice and tight...to see if the chain is not stretched too much...to say "time to replace me". If you can adjust it that far, I set mine so the pieces that ride in the bar groove are about a third of the way out when you lift the chain up at the center of the bar. Some Pros run then looser, but that's not for me. Some adjust so the chain slides smoothly when pulled along the bar. A good cleaning, and chain sharpening will ensure it's ready to go when you need it. :thumb:

:wave:
 
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well the adjustment gang have all given you good advice,,the way i do it is to set the bar against a high point and put pressure against it then adjust the chain to what greg cook said just able to pull the chain up the reason for settin it the tip up hight is to replicate the use on the log your pushing against it when cuttin and there your tight chain on the flat might be loose ON the log or to tight.. the yellow thing you show isnt like any adjustment wrench Ive ever seen it looks like a threaded hanger for something...:huh: as vaughn said if you take of your bar you will see how the adjustment goes but i want you to look at the "dog" closely that is the thing that tightens the chain on the bar, if you try to put it back together and the dog doesn't fit in its space you can on some saws break your case if tighten it up with he dog in the wrong place....
 
The guide plate is missing. Thin metal thing with the corners bent out a bit. Pretty essential to have. And, as others said, the chain must be fairly tight, about 1/8" slack in center.
 
The guide plate is missing. Thin metal thing with the corners bent out a bit. Pretty essential to have. And, as others said, the chain must be fairly tight, about 1/8" slack in center.
I'm not sure it's missing. I've got a Poulan that has no visible plate/thin metal thing in the hole, as I recall.
 
quess it would be nice to know what brand and mopdel we are lookin at???? could use a manual to lok at,,this thing doesnt seem to be all therea s frank suggested,,you dont just have aone bolt to tighten down on any saw i have ever used..
 
its a Wen, model 5016, or 5106? 16 inch electric, not a loggers tool, just a fireplace log cutter.

Im going to give a look and see if any instruction booklet is available online
 

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The "Dogs" are on the left side of the blade there, they are plastic dogs, most of the smaller electric have them.

Allen, do yourself a favour and buy a new chain, keep that one for a back up :D

On most chainsaw bars, the rails will get worn, this does now allow the chain to track straight. Take your bar off the saw, clean it well, and take a look, use something like the rear tip of a sawzall blade to clean the groove out and then see if the rails are mushroomed, if they are, you can file them down a bit, but not very much before you will need a new bar, and I bet a good quality new bar for that saw would not cost you much at all, it is a small saw.

For adjusting the chain tension, once you get a nice new bar and chain, adjusting the tension is fairly easy, but one thing that most do know know is that there are differences with the type of bar you have. I have a hard nose bar on my big saw, it came that way, and I am too cheap to buy a new one, it has no sprocket at the tip, so I have to run my chain a lot looser. The hard nose bar is great for situations where you might be getting into the dirt, the sprocket tipped bars will not last in those dirty situations, but in general, the sprocket tipped bars are what you want.

Cheers!
 
To get the proper tension you have to hold up the tip of the bar and then tighten the chain by turning a slack adjuster. It looks like your saw is of the old style when you tighten it by loosening the bolt, tugging the bar out from the body of the saw by hand and tightening the nut. That's been outdated since before I was born, but it does work I guess.

I know you seldom use the saw, but if you got the budget for it, you might think about upgrading. You can buy a dandy saw for 200-300 bucks and it will be lighter, easier to use and more serviceable.

By the way, nice looking stacks of lumber there in the background of your picture. :thumb:
 
I rarely take this thing out, havent in so long. The few downed branches I had in recent years, I used the battery operated Ryobi.(and it worked like a charm for the 2-4 inche diameters)

I dont think its more than 20 years old, but I might have also bought it on a closeout sale, something that was outdated then.

Id take it apart and clean it, but IM afraid I wont be able to put it back together again. (Stu, Im not good with machines, maybe not such a good place like here to admit it)
My son said hed find me instructions somewhere online, then Ill take it apart and give it a good cleaning out.
 
Find a reputable saw dealer/mechanic. Have them service it and install the chain after sharpening or a new chain if needed. They will have the working knowledge of the parts if missing or not. Also tell them to look it over first and make an estimate of repair so you can look at newer/used models and make a sound financial decision before jumping into this deal.
A good rule of thumb on chain tension, with the blade up as others have said, the chain should be able to be pulled from the top of the blade in the middle no more than the thickness of a dime.
 
My saw dealer told me to check if the chain is tensioned proper(sproket nose) lift the middle of the chain and if it snaps backs down it is set.
 
To get the proper tension you have to hold up the tip of the bar and then tighten the chain by turning a slack adjuster. It looks like your saw is of the old style when you tighten it by loosening the bolt, tugging the bar out from the body of the saw by hand and tightening the nut. That's been outdated since before I was born, but it does work I guess.

:

and you are right. I loosened the bolt, held the bar out as far as it could go, and tightened the bolt. The chain comes up about 1/8th of an inch, wont come off track. I sprayed some WD40 onto the metal parts to clean it up, wiped it all down. I looked into the oil well cap, and stuck my finger in. The oil is still clean, and I dont know if anyone has changed it, since I gave the oil with it, and never got the jar back.(gotta be old though)
I ran the saw, cut some 4x4's, it went through easy enough, so I think it will do.
 
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