Straightening a chainsaw bar?

[TexMedium]

I think I already know the answer, but, hope springs eternal... I dropped a tree in my backyard this afternoon and the thing bit my saw bar. Can a bent bar be straightened? Should a bent bar be straightened? How would a bent bar be straightened? The saw is a Stihl if that might make a difference.

 

[mcj115]

How much is a new bar versus a future co-pay to the ER? That does not even take into account pain and suffering.

 

[ecotec]

Seems like a terrible idea…

 

[The Cobbler]

you know the answer already , and it has been re affirmed

 

[shawhite]

How bent are we talking about and where? If it’s bent near the nose sprocket trash it and spend $100 on a bar and 2 new chains. If it has a slight bow in the middle and still serviceable otherwise chunk it in the press and straighten it out.

 

[Daveyclimber]

Bars get straightened all the time by saw shops. Depending on severity and location of bend, may be easier to buy new. Chainsaw bars bend just like any other mild steel.

 

[TnClimber]

I have attempted to fix one small 16" bar. Darn thing never would cut right and threw the chain. I wouldn't do that on my 460 or climbing saw. Buy a new one and next time have a clear retreat path!

 

[F-22]

Chainsaw is possibly one of the most dangerous tools you own at home, even with a new perfectly straight bar. Do you really want to use a straightened bar on one? They're not really that terribly expensive.

 

[Rinspeed]

Not worth the time to me.

 

[Boilerhouse]

You didn't say how old the saw was, but bars are consumable and it may be due for replacement anyways. I finally replaced mine a few years ago after waiting far too long.

 

[Garcky]

I wouldn't. Time for a new bar and chain.

 

[goldtang]

The bar is a consumable if it is worn ,bent or broken. It is time for new , if it throws a chain etc and you have an accident and you wear I am sorry to say we don’t have any consumable parts on our body to replace

 

[WillyBoy]

When you go to the Stihl dealer to ask them, I suspect the guy at the counter will go get a new bar for you.
Eventually bars wear. If it gets too bad, there will be a rolled edge on the bottom side.

I saw a guy at the dealer once with a bar bent at 90 degrees, counter guy says "How did you do this?" Guy replies, "It got jammed in a tree and I pulled it out with my Jeep.

 

[dnschmidt]

It's simple. You have to do some simple math and then ask the question how broke are you? A new bar cost X, a visit to the hospital cost at least 100X. Unless you're so broke you can't afford X and you don't have any heath insurance anyway (because you're broke) and you're on welfare so the government pays for your hospital bill I think paying X makes more sense.

 

[PCustoms]

How bent is bent?

 

[TexMedium]

It wasn't really much of a debate in my mind. More curiosity about something i've never had any experience with. A new bar, ONE new chain and $97.50 out the door of the second place I went to. The first place wanted the serial number of the machine, kid behind the counter said, "we have to check against the lists of stolen property!" I asked him if he always started by accusing customers of being criminals. Then me and my money walked out. Someday a judge is going to ask me how I plead, and I'm gonna say, "Not guilty your Honor because of the sheer effrontery of my assailants! Them people deserved everything I did to them!!!"

 

[Kurt4440]

Pictures would really help tell the story.
FYI
You need to pull out earlier.

 

[mike93lx]

Pictures would really help tell the story.
FYI
You need to pull out earlier.

Timing that is always difficult

 

[kaymccampbell]

I've straightened a bar. It was marginally successful. It held up for a while, long enough to finish the day, but the rebending seemed to delaminate it. Guess it cracked the rivets. Anyway, I picked up a new bar, the next morning, on the way to the next job.

 

[johninct]

It depends on how bent. If it is a slight bend, I would say straighten it. I have had my bar get jamed up in a tree and when I pull it out, I think it is slightly bent so I have stuck it back into the tree and bent it back. I bet all of my bars have a slight bend in them.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I keep an extra bar, two chains, plugs and air filter for each saw. Well no plugs or air filter for the dewalt.

 

[Kurt4440]

I keep an extra bar, two chains, plugs and air filter for each saw. Well no plugs or air filter for the dewalt.

So do I. I also keep maintenance supplies on hand for all of my equipment. My smarter friends have started to follow suit.

 

[PCustoms]

Extra bar has saved my **** a few times.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Bars get straightened all the time by saw shops. Depending on severity and location of bend, may be easier to buy new. Chainsaw bars bend just like any other mild steel.

I call BS on that one. What Shop is going to straighten as opposed to selling a new one, and take on the liability that goes with straightening a bar? Maybe 40 or 50 years ago, not today.

 

[shawhite]

I call BS on that one. What Shop is going to straighten as opposed to selling a new one, and take on the liability that goes with straightening a bar? Maybe 40 or 50 years ago, not today.

Seems like everyone on this thread believe just because a bar is bent or repaired that it will somehow make the chainsaw a ticking time bomb. And somehow if you throw the chain you will get severely injuries. This simply is not true. The crew I work on use chainsaws daily to top utility poles and I can bet you at least half of these saws are ran with bent bars because they are company tools and most people don’t care. The most I have seen out of a bent bar is subpar performance and premature chain wear. Even if you throw a chain I have yet to see it be catastrophic.

Op buy another chain you should alternate a new bar with 2 chains. Flip the bar when you change chains to even out wear, sharpen and repeat.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Not saying it can't be done, or that when done it isn't safe. Just that in the day and age we live in, with bottom feeding attorneys lurking everywhere, a shop that did that for the general public would have to be insane.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Seems like everyone on this thread believe just because a bar is bent or repaired that it will somehow make the chainsaw a ticking time bomb. And somehow if you throw the chain you will get severely injuries. This simply is not true. The crew I work on use chainsaws daily to top utility poles and I can bet you at least half of these saws are ran with bent bars because they are company tools and most people don’t care. The most I have seen out of a bent bar is subpar performance and premature chain wear. Even if you throw a chain I have yet to see it be catastrophic.

Op buy another chain you should alternate a new bar with 2 chains. Flip the bar when you change chains to even out wear, sharpen and repeat.

I've seen a thrown chain be nearly catastrophic. My grandfather popped the chain while topping a pole for a new machinery shed. It came back and wrapped around his hand, and then continued on to slice him open from chin to mid chest. Luckily, it was near lunchtime, and grandma was headed out to tell him lunch was ready. I spent some time off from school, keeping the farm running while he healed up. He was a miserable patient.

 

[F-22]

It wasn't really much of a debate in my mind. More curiosity about something i've never had any experience with. A new bar, ONE new chain and $97.50 out the door of the second place I went to. The first place wanted the serial number of the machine, kid behind the counter said, "we have to check against the lists of stolen property!" I asked him if he always started by accusing customers of being criminals. Then me and my money walked out. Someday a judge is going to ask me how I plead, and I'm gonna say, "Not guilty your Honor because of the sheer effrontery of my assailants! Them people deserved everything I did to them!!!"

I think Stihl chainsaw bars are the same for many decades. Considering how many Stihl chainsaws there are, this is interesting...
In most shops here, they just ask for the markings on the bar. I did not know there even is some sort of a registry of stolen stihl chainsaw serial numbers. I certainly wouldn't know the serial number of my chainsaws if they were stolen.

 

[shawhite]

I've seen a thrown chain be nearly catastrophic. My grandfather popped the chain while topping a pole for a new machinery shed. It came back and wrapped around his hand, and then continued on to slice him open from chin to mid chest. Luckily, it was near lunchtime, and grandma was headed out to tell him lunch was ready. I spent some time off from school, keeping the farm running while he healed up. He was a miserable patient.

Yeah not buying this story in the least. If the chain is in contact with the object it is cutting when the chain dismounts it will slow very rapidly. For this story to even be plausible the chainsaw would had to be operated not in contact with anything operated at a high speed and close to the body WITH NO GUARD.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Some of the ultralight Stihl bars are pretty much toast once bent... I tried with one for a while, Really did NOT want to drive back down the hill to get a new one... but this thing was hosed. Something about the composite filler they use between the rails deforming... if you try to heat it to correct it it just comes apart. Yuck!

2 hours of futzing with it, finally hrew in the towel, made the drive, and came back with a new pair, so when I effed up the new one I had a back up.

 

[PoorUB]

Most chainsaw bars I am familiar with are pretty tough and do not want to bend easily. They were almost like spring steel. If it was my saw I might try straighten it, but I would not expect decent results.

 

[Mr_B]

Bar prices are pretty cheap for smaller sizes most home back yarders likely be using, as cheap as paying someone or time wasted mess with a bent one ...

 

[kaymccampbell]

Yeah not buying this story in the least. If the chain is in contact with the object it is cutting when the chain dismounts it will slow very rapidly. For this story to even be plausible the chainsaw would had to be operated not in contact with anything operated at a high speed and close to the body WITH NO GUARD.

Then more the fool you be.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I posed this question about 10 years ago to the forum.

The majority advice was no different than a decade ago and that bent bar went in the scrap bucket.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/bent-chainsaw-bar.178768/

 

[scooterbum46]

"........ Eventually bars wear. If it gets too bad, there will be a rolled edge on the bottom side."

Bars should be flipped when the chain is changed, If the rails are showing wear or rolling over at the edge, an Oregon Bar Rail Dresser (111439) will flatten the rail and remove that rolled edge.