Stihl Chain Saw Bar

[luvmexfood]

I have a Stihl 029. It originally came with a bar that didn't have an end roller with teeth. Well dropped it off tractor and bent it. Bought an Oregon bar and chain combo at Tractor Supply and after a little use the end roller froze up. Thought I would just drill out the rivets and take it out. BIG MISTAKE. It sucked the chain into the bar and wedged it in a tree. Had a dozer working around me and he picked the tree up and shook it. No luck. Finally got it unhung.

Replaced bar with a Stihl bar with the end rollers. I am having problems with the roller freezing up. Apparently small pieces of wood are getting in the roller and jamming. Have to stop, remove bar and work to clean out and get free. Any fix or recommendations on how to prevent this. Am cutting some large trees that saw will not go all the way through. Cut down one side then go to the other and cut.

Any manufacture make a bar that does not have this roller when it becomes time to replace bar?

[woodtech]

Is your oiler turned all the way up? 

[Buck]

I use stihl and oregon most of the time without any problem. I too would suggest checking your oiler and possibly increasing the flow.

[beenthere]

Some other problem than the roller in the bar. On one roller bar, it lasted through many chains and 35 years with never a problem with the roller. The Stihl bar I have now is soon to be 10 years and never a hint of a problem with debris. And I bore cut a lot, when felling and when bucking logs into firewood lengths (rather than placing a wedge in the cut to keep it from closing on the bar/chain, I will bore cut just under the top of the log thus leaving about 1" of wood that blocks the cut (kerf) from closing.

Maybe give us some more info on how you do your cutting and we can very likely help you get over this problem. It is not the roller in the bar ;)

[01crewcab]

Do you remove the bar and clean the groove daily? It also sounds to like you could use a bigger saw and bar.

[luvmexfood]

I had the saw checked by a Stihl shop and they said oiler was fine. Does throw a spray when checking it by reving up and seeing that a spray coats something that it is held close to. Today I was bucking a Poplar. Cutting down through it and the bar would not go all the way through for a complete cut. Second question. I have another Stihl bar that has a very slight warp in it as in from top to bottom. Perhaps 3/32". It was making a racket (I pinched it) so I replaced it. When putting the old chain back on it about 4 links were totally warped. That might have been what my problem was. I guess when I replaced the bar that I had pinched I should have compared it to the new one to see how close the tolerance is.

[clww]

I had the OEM Stihl bar on my MS290 do the same thing when I first bought that particular saw. Pain in the neck having to keep stopping, tearing it down, clean, etc. Lots of wasted time. >:(
I went to TSC and got a Forrester bar and it has worked as it should.

[Oliver1655]

What you are asking about is called a hard tipped/nosed bar.  Stihl calls theirs a "Duromatic C or E" bar.  "C" is for carving & "E" is is for general purpose. So - a Stihl "Duromatic-E  is what you are asking for. Remember, this bar is great for dirty/stump work!  However, it does use up part of the available horse power. (I have heard up to 20% but I don't know for sure). Due to the added friction going around the tip it will shorten your chain life.   ???

When I break in a new sprocket tipped bar, I like to liberally apply oil to the sprocket & let it set overnight to ensure it is properly lubricated.  Before putting a saw away at the end of the day, I will idle/slow spin it until the chain is wet with bar oil.  This will allow the oil to drip onto the sprocket overnight, soak onto the pins, & help protect the chain from humidity.  Probably over kill, but it provides me with peace of mind.   ;D

I do have a 17" hard tipped bar on my Stihl S10 (56 cc / 7,000 rpm).

[woodtech]

I talked to a logger who has bid on a lot of forestry jobs I've set up for sale, and asked him what species of wood clogs up bars.  He said popple and cottonwood.  Those long stringy fibers build up real bad for him.  What species of wood are you cutting?  Also, I hate asking the same question twice about the oiler, but i just want to make sure I make myself understood.  The factory setting on the oil pump is very lean on a lot of these new saws.  Im sure it will oil fine on this setting, but its still not enough.  It needs to be turned all the way up. 
Another thing to think about is: are your chains matched with your sprockets?  When I buy new chains, I buy three at a crack and switch them out so they wear evenly on the  bar sprocket and the saw's sprocket.  As chains stretch the pitch changes.  If I swap out chains and keep them stretching at the same rate, my bars and sprockets will last longer.
I put a new bar and chain on a saw I used to have without replacing the sprocket on the saw.  I assumed the sprocket was fine and never bothered to even check it.  Well, apparently it was in need of replacement, because I burnt the tip out of my brand new bar.  That was expensive education for me.
Sorry if you already knew that information, just wanted to help you out.

[tyb525]

You might have your chain too tight and it's putting too much pressure on the sprocket, or too loose and it's allowing too many chips under the chain, and it can also allow the chain to "miss" the oil if it isn't in the groove enough.

The only time I have had a sprocket freeze up, it was a 15 year old 20" Stihl bar, and the tip of it got pinched very hard under a 20" white oak. I was able to get it turning again with a hammer and screwdriver. I used it for a long time and then sold the saw.

The saw I have now is at least 20 years old, and I bought it with the original Stihl bar, the guide rails wore wore down too much, but the sprocket was still fine.

I have never oiled the roller tip, whatever oil gets to it from the chain is all the oil it gets. Carlton brand 24" is what I have had on my 038 for a couple years now. So far so good.