mineral oil in a chainsaw???

[anthonyk]

Has anyone ever heard of this?

Today I was talking with a guy who cuts firewood for a living and he and I both happen to have the same Husqvarna chainsaw.
We chatted a bit about sharpening and stuff.
He then told me that he occasionally put a 50-50 blend of mineral oil in with the bar oil and then ran the saw at high speed (not cutting wood) and that in about 30 seconds it would expel all this gunk and would clean out the bar etc.

I was surprised, but willing to listen.
Has anyone else ever heard of anything like that???

thanks,

anthony

 

[Egon]

What is all this gunk in the bar and where does it hide?

 

[Bird]

Since bar oil is a fairly thick oil (high viscosity), I would expect any light weight oil for a short period of time to have some "cleaning" effect. Kind of like people who used to add automatic transmission fluid to the crankcase of an automobile to flush the oil system. But, personally, I always just made liberal use of compressed air to clean my chain saws after each use.

 

[Redbug]

Mostly the air compressor is what I use each time, also. Occasionally I spray the whole thing down with Gunk and hose off, drying down with the air compressor.

 

[shaley]

You'd be better off cleaning the grove and oil feed holes with compressed air as other have recommended or a bar pick. The real reason for having the bar off is to flip it over after ever sharpening so the rails will wear evenly. I paid $45 for the last Stihl bar and I like to get the most out of them.
See page 7 of the saw guide.
http://www.stihllibrary.com/pdf/SharpAdvice061301final.pdf

 

[tallyho8]

You'd be better off cleaning the grove and oil feed holes with compressed air as other have recommended or a bar pick. The real reason for having the bar off is to flip it over after ever sharpening so the rails will wear evenly. I paid $45 for the last Stihl bar and I like to get the most out of them.
See page 7 of the saw guide.
http://www.stihllibrary.com/pdf/SharpAdvice061301final.pdf

Thanks for the link to the saw chain guide. It is very helpful.

 

[WayneB]

Different strokes for different folks. There always seems to be an easy way to do things, but I have found that most of them either don't work or cause damage.

I would suggest you stick to the owners manual and keep the chain sharp.

I hardly ever sharpen a chain on the saw. It is easier for me to take it off and use my Oregon chain sharpener. Once set up it is quick and all teeth are sharpened identically.

Prior to installing the chain I insect the the bar and clean it and at the same time I go ahead and turn it top to bottom. I think it give more life to the bar, but not sure of that.

 

[anthonyk]

Thanks, it did seem kind of odd to me, that's why I asked all you geniuses

On a serious note, I didn't know you were supposed to reverse the bar!
Thanks for the tip and the link,


Anthony

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Different strokes for different folks. There always seems to be an easy way to do things, but I have found that most of them either don't work or cause damage.

I would suggest you stick to the owners manual and keep the chain sharp.

I hardly ever sharpen a chain on the saw. It is easier for me to take it off and use my Oregon chain sharpener. Once set up it is quick and all teeth are sharpened identically.

Prior to installing the chain I insect the the bar and clean it and at the same time I go ahead and turn it top to bottom. I think it give more life to the bar, but not sure of that.

This is almost exactly what the loggers aroung here tell me to do.

As far as using mineral oil, I wouldn't. Just remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

 

[WayneB]

Anthony, if you find yourself pushing down on the saw to make it cut, it might be past the time to sharpen the chain. Don't forget to file down the depth gauges too. As for turning the bar it will give even wear to both sides of the bar chain track. The bottom line is the saw should be doing the work and you should just guide the saw through the wood.

If you are only cutting a little bit of wood spend the extra money and buy a good brand name of chain oil and make sure the oiler is working. I try to only 3/4 fill the gas tank and fill the oil tank. That way I know I will run out of gas sooner than I run out of chain oil.


Wayne Country Hose, yep most of those old loggers know how to get the most out of their equipment. Some really use up a saw quickly though and I don't think I would buy a used saw from them. LOL

Wayne