Almost all of us have a chainsaw in our homes. For cutting trees or cleaning the garden or backyard by removing the tree limbs, the first tool that comes to our mind is a chainsaw. It is such a valuable tool in our day-to-day life. As we often use it, it needs to take care of properly as well.
One of them is shortening the chainsaw chain. Sometimes we don’t get the right size of chain for our blade. Also sometimes, after working for some months the chain gets stretched. So in those situations, we need to shorten the chainsaw chain. We often go to a saw shop to shorten the chain. So rather than buying a new chain, removing a link will save some of your bucks and time. But we can do it ourselves if we just learn it. Also, it is not very complex. So as DIY workers we should learn and do in own.
Necessary tools for shortening chainsaw chain
- A rivet gun
- A wrench
- A pliers
- Chain breaking tool
Safety manuals:
- Make sure the spark plug is removed from the outlet.
- If you just used the chainsaw, the blade and motor will be hot, so give enough time to cool down the motor and blade.
- Use eye protection and gloved when you are working with a power tool.
We have divided the whole process into 3 parts. Firstly you need to remove the chain from the chainsaw. Secondly, you need to remove any link to shorten the chain. And finally, you need to put the chain in the chainsaw and reassemble the chainsaw.
We also have reviewed the best chainsaws for carving.Check it.
Remove the chain from the chainsaw:
- Find the sidebar and remove both the nuts from the sidebar with a wrench.
- Before removing the sidebar you need to unlock the brake otherwise you won’t able to attach the sidebar again.
- Then you need to pull the chainsaw bar, with a sound you will notice that the chain release tension.
- You need to lift the chain and keep it beside the chainsaw
Remove a link for shortening the chain:
- Firstly select the link that you want to remove.
- Take the chain breaking tool and turn the handle to the left direction enough so that you can place the link in the notch of the chain breaking tool. Then place the link that you want to remove in the chain breaking tool and line up the push arm on the pin
- Turn the tool handle towards the right until the push bar out the pin from the link.
- Do that same thing on the other side of the link. Remove the link from the chain with a little pull.
- Finally, connect both ends of the chain and place the pin on the link hole. Then place the link in the chain tool and turn the handle until the pin is fully placed into the hole of the link. Check the link whether the pin is tightly secured to the link. Repeat the process on the other side of the link.
How to reassemble the chin on the chainsaw:
- Firstly loosen the tension screw for making easy the reassembling process. You can find the tension screw between the chainsaw and blade.
- Then put the chain over the chainsaw bar by engaging the drive link to the sprocket.
- Pull the blade a little bit for giving the tension.
- Place the blade correctly on the adjustment pin.
- Then put the side cover and nuts.
- By using a wrench tighten the tensioning screws.
- Finally, use the wrench to tighten the nuts.
We have tried our best to give you clear knowledge about how to shorten a chainsaw chain.
Last Updated on January 31, 2022 by John G. Anderson
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