Need some chain saw help.

Did you set the warm saw down in some snow or ice? Possibly the warm chain melted the ice a bit and then refroze the chain to the bar. Warm up the saws and then with a gloved hand, see if you can pull the chain around as it is on the bar and saw. It should pull easily.

With all that cutting, have you sharpened the chain? You might have dulled the chain to the point that it was making excessive heat for the small amount of oil it was getting. It is possible to burn up a chain so that the links do not flex.

Good Luck, and most important...take care of yourself.

Paul in MN

Your line about that chain safety brake brings back a memory of a couple of old guys in my home town. We're going back to when chain saws first came out. A local took on a dealer ship, sold the first saw to two brothers. The next night they were back, took 3 hours to saw down a 6" tree. Quite a few onlookers voiced their opinions, each of them trying the saw on a log behind the shop. If I remember correctly they tried it a second day, still no luck. That night thay were back, and this time wanting their money back. Dealers 12 old son was an onlooker, spoke up and suggested they had the chain on backwards. That cured it.

This machine was a Timberjack 230 with Detroit diesel engine. With the owner watching my first entry into bush, I was going gentle, roughly half throttle. The skidder went over a bump, my foot temporarily came off foot throttle, that old Detroit gave cough, fired up going backwards. I imediately hit the throttle, it blew the top of the oil bath breather and sprayed most of the oil in there all over machine and myself. I shut the damn thing down. We filled breather with oil put breather back together. He then advised me the only way to use a Detroit was full throttle, and if one wanted to go slow, it was gear shift only, there is no slower speed he advised.

Well, I used that machine all day. Vowed I'd never buy a Detroit deisel for any use. At the end of the day the owner came back, I advised him Detroit might well be an efficient diesel, however if mankind were meant to tolerate them he would have been born with ear muffs, or without ears and hearing.

Seriously, I think Chris has it nailed, chain just a wee bit too tight, bar pinched. Rambunctious guys trying to get it cleaned up in a hurry will do this. Ask yourself how often you got bar pinched from tree presure.

The end of bar roller may also be a factor, but that should lubricate from oil going along bar, is your oiler putting out enough oil. Take the bar off, see if oil ports may be partially plugged. If you rev the saw up with end of bar pointed at clean snow or a board, it should put a slight oil stain on either. Not a lot, you should see traces of oil on the snow or board after 10 seconds. Another factor to check are you using chain saw chain oil and proper viscosity for season? That can have an effect, other type oils are a nono.