Sometimes a new chainsaw bar is not needed, but the old bar may need to be flipped over. Bars wear down in some parts but are okay if turned over to double the life of your bar.
Step 1: Loosen everything with a Pocket Chainsaw Wrench
You will need both a screwdriver and a wrench. Fortunately, most chainsaw operators have a Pocket Chainsaw Wrench or a two-tools-in-one tool called a scwrench. On the motor, use the screwdriver part in the hole between the bolts to loosen the chain tension, then use the wrench to unbolt the nuts to remove the motor’s panel.
Step 2: Remove the old chain and bar
Wiggle the bar and it should come loose so you can remove it with the chain.
If it does not, the chain’s safety lock may be engaged. Disengage the lock.
Step 3: Add your new chainsaw bar
Put your new (or flipped) bar in place, with the long slot over the two bolts, and with the pin at the bottom inserted into the hole below the slot.
Step 4: Put your chain on
Un-kink your new chain, and find the cutting direction of the chain so that the cutting teeth point forward along the top of the bar, and backwards beneath.
Hook the chain over the nose of the bar and feed the rest of the chain along the top. Use the tension screw to adjust chain tension if you need to, so you can hook the chain over the motor sprocket.
Then tighten the chain a little.
Check the chain tension
Step 5: Close the panel
Put the panel back on the motor, line up the bolts to the holes, and loosely put the nuts on the bolts.
Turn the tension screw to the chain becomes reasonably tight – with a little give.
Then turn the bolts to secure the panel and lock the bar in place.
Step 6: Tightening your chain
When you install a new bar, take up the tension in the chain by moving the bar forward, then tighten the bolts to keep the bar in place.
Then turn the screwdriver end of the scwrench in the tension hole (between the bolts) to tighten the chain.
During use, the chain will heat, expand and lengthen, meaning that it will become loose on your bar and need to be tightened.
If you do this, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you loosen the chain again before you rest. If the chain is hot and tight, and then you take a break, the chain will cool down and constrict, causing damage to your motor.
Step 7: Oil and grease
A good chainsaw bar oil will save your chainsaw.
Keep oil in your motor’s oil reservoir and the motor will supply oil to the bar.
The sprocket at the tip of your bar usually needs grease. Most models of chainsaw have a hole on the tip of the bar into which you can squirt grease with a grease gun to keep the sprocket turning freely. This will reduce drag, heat and strain on the motor.
With all that, and a few other pro-tips to extend the life of your chainsaw, we hope that you will be ripping through timber for many years to come.
Happy cutting!