If you are using a chainsaw regularly for any of your professional or occasional needs, you have to familiar some of the technical and mechanical terms related to a chainsaw. Proper tensioning adjustment of the chainsaw chain is one of them.
Tension adjustment of your chain is how much necessary you will probably realize when your chainsaws chain becomes too tight or too loose.
After long term use, repeated use or after facing any mechanical damage, your chainsaw becomes too loose or too tight.
So what to do in that case? There is no need to worry at all; we are here today with the details procedure on how to tighten the chainsaw chain.
Let’s go for the details on How to tighten chainsaw chain-
Check the chain tensioning
It is the pre requisition to tighten the chain. This process will help you to understand whether your chain becomes loose or not.
However, switch off your chainsaw. Place it on a flat surface.
Now pull the chain from the metal plate in such a way that it seems you are trying to separate a particular portion of the chain from the metal plate.
Despite your heart and soul trying, if only you can displace a little portion of the chain from the chain bar, without replacing the drive link little a bit, that means your chain is engaging into the chain bar with an adequate tension.
In a proper tensioning chain, you will never be able to separate the drive link from the guide bar in where they ate attaching.
If the opposite scenario happens with your chain, that means if along with the chain portion, you may able to separate the drive link from its attached part of the guide bar that means your chain is loose, and you have to tighten it accurately.
The problem associated with a loose or a tight chain
Suppose in middle of your wood cutting if the chain just throughout from the guide bar and flying around you, how you will feel?
If this flying chain strikes the opposite side to you, you may stay safe luckily. But if the chain is flying towards you, then it may cause a severe health injury to you.
A too loose chain or too tight chain both are contraindicated for the chainsaw and also the chainsaw user.
If the chain is loosely attached to the chain bar, you will be unable to cut the woods smoothly. Besides this, it will make your cutting process lengthy.
How to tighten the chainsaw chain
We are giving three easy steps describing the details of the tightening procedure of a chainsaw chain. Here they are-
Step-1: Loose the side plate nut
Use the wrench or screwdriver, which is included in the chainsaw to lose the side plate nut, which is placed on the guide bar side panel.
Losing this nut will allow the chain and chain bar to make space so that they can tighten adequately.
In some chainsaw, the side panel of this device may contain the chain brake, which you need to unblock before you start to remove the side panel.
Step-2: Tighten the tensioning screw
It is the second step you need to do very accurately. You will find the tension adjustment screw is placed on the side of the chain bar. This screw is the central part that fixes the tightening of the chainsaw chain.
However, tight the tensioning screws clockwise to tight your chainsaw chain. Again tight this screw anticlockwise to lose the chain.
In the middle of this process, don’t forget to check the chain is appropriately engaging with the chain bar or not.
Stop the tightening process once you feel that the chain is smoothly and adequately engaged with the bar.
An over-tightening if your chain will become responsible for breaking the chainsaw suddenly. That’s why never goes for an over tight of this tensioning screw.
Once you finish the tension adjusting of your chainsaw chain, cross-check it by doing a snap test.
Step-3: Re tightens the side plate nut
It is the third and final stage you need to do at the tightening process of your chainsaw chain. It is an essential process since in here, the Nose of the chainsaw lift towards up.
When your chain got a proper tension, the Nose of the chain will stand straight forward.
So properly tight this nut, it will secure the guide bar and the chain from any odd placement.
Chain tightening for an electric chainsaw:
In many electric chainsaws features a side-mounted auto-adjusting tensioning knob into the machine body.
It is the most straightforward process if your chainsaw has an auto-adjusting chain tensioning system.
Turn the knob right to tighten the chain. Again turn the knob left or anticlockwise to loosen the chain of your chainsaw.
You can gradually move the knob left or right and can observe at which point your chain is properly sited into the chain bar.
It is not mandatory every time your chain will utterly engage in the chain bar at a fixed previous reading of the knob.
As there are some other factors also relevant to ensure a proper chain tightening, do not expect the same knob reading at each time of your chain tensioning adjustment.
Final verdict
There is no doubt; a chainsaw without a chain is just like a human with no life. A human is dead without his/her life. Same to this, a chainsaw is priceless without its chain.
What can you do with a chainless chainsaw? You can do nothing with it.
A chain is such an item; ensure a clean wood cutting within a short time. And only a proper tightening chain can do a quality cut rapidly.
To ensure the proper tensioning your chainsaw chain, it is no more a laborious process. Keep faith in yourself, if you are unable to properly tight the chain, repeatedly practice simply following our article.
So here is all our effort to deliver all the information regarding how to tighten the chainsaw chain.
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