Electric chainsaw

[Michael Weber]

I replaced a plastic drive gear in my “one step up from Harbor Freight” Craftsman model corded electric Craftsman chainsaw. As I was reassembling it I saw a small black tube 1 1/2 long on the garage floor below where I was working. I have no idea if it came out of the saw. It’s totally unfamiliar to me. It is not shown on any exploded diagram I can find nor is there any obvious place for it. It’s ribbed or threaded on the outside, and is very flexible. Pictures attached. Kind of afraid to reassemble without it. My only thought is it fell out of the plastic tube that runs to or from the oiler pump to limit the flow of the oil. IDK. It does fit nicely inside but I wouldn’t want to put it there without confirmation. Just asking here due to the wide base of the forums knowledge and experience. Hoping someone can advise.36C2F2FB-93B1-4E05-A111-095987E9875D.jpg51844443-8B96-4DE1-8ED2-C93A5EA4A8E3.jpg Wasn’t sure which topic to put this in. Admins feel free to move it.

[John K Jordan]

I replaced a plastic drive gear in my “one step up from Harbor Freight” Craftsman model corded electric Craftsman chainsaw. As I was reassembling it I saw a small black tube 1 1/2 long on the garage floor below where I was working. I have no idea if it came out of the saw. It’s totally unfamiliar to me. It is not shown on any exploded diagram I can find nor is there any obvious place for it. It’s ribbed or threaded on the outside, and is very flexible. Pictures attached. Kind of afraid to reassemble without it. My only thought is it fell out of the plastic tube that runs to or from the oiler pump to limit the flow of the oil. IDK. It does fit nicely inside but I wouldn’t want to put it there without confirmation. Just asking here due to the wide base of the forums knowledge and experience. Hoping someone can advise.36C2F2FB-93B1-4E05-A111-095987E9875D.jpg51844443-8B96-4DE1-8ED2-C93A5EA4A8E3.jpg Wasn’t sure which topic to put this in. Admins feel free to move it.

This seems like as good a place as any to me.

I'm not familiar with that saw so I can't help with the part the part. From the ends in the first picture it almost looks like a spring. Is it a spiral or solid? Long, weak springs are sometimes used inside of flexible tubes where there is a bend to keep them from collapsing. When you picked it up was it oily or dry?

JKJ

[Michael Weber]

It appears to be spiral. Wish I had noticed if it was oily when I picked it up. It is now for sure . Good point about it being to help prevent collapse. The tubing does make a bit of a sharp turn where it attaches. Hum. Thanks

[Dave Zellers]

Yeah, I'm with John. An anti-kinking thing-a-ma-bob.

But it's also the perfect excuse to drop 400 bucks on a new battery powered cordless chainsaw with all the trimmings.

Not to late to send a letter off to the North Pole...

[John K Jordan]

...
But it's also the perfect excuse to drop 400 bucks on a new battery powered cordless chainsaw with all the trimmings.

Or $600+ for a nice Stihl corded!

After having a variety of brands over the years I'll stick with Stihl. I have four Stihls, one a corded electric. I love the corded electric! I usually use it just outside the shop and occasionally in the shop, mostly to prepare blanks for woodturning. I personally prefer a corded electric since I get tired of fooling with keeping batteries charged. A few months ago I got a gas Stihl trim saw on a long extendable pole. I can't believe how handy that thing has been around the estate grounds, er, farm!

JKJ

[Dave Zellers]

Or $600+ for a nice Stihl corded!

Ooh. Can only imagine how cool that must be. If your work is close to an outlet, I can totally see the value of a corded saw.

But if you need to grab your saw for a trek down to the lower 1/4, manly men reach for their 16", 36 volt, Makita battery powered cordless chainsaws.

Maybe we should rename this thread to "Let's spend Michaels money"

[Michael Weber]

If I had more than very occasional use for the saw a better quality might be desirable. The truth is it’s always done everything I need and has been around a while. Quite frankly it was my fault the gear failed. A utility tree service had pruned our alley trees and for some reason left some large sycamore logs on the ground. Wanting to quarter saw one to try and get that beautiful lace grain pattern I pulled one to my yard with my truck. about 24 inches long and 18 in diameter. I was using the saw to trim a couple of inches off 4 sides so I could get it on my band saw. Went well and fast until I hit 2 large nails. That’s when the gear stripped and also lost teeth on the blade. Thanks for your advise. I’ll try putting it in tomorrow and confirm it’s still oiling.

[John K Jordan]

It’a painless to spend Michael’s money. 😄

That 16” battery electric sounds like a good big boy toy for Christmas. But it might be less than optimum for some of my jobs, including 30-36” oaks and the biggest I’ve ever cut up, a 48” white oak. That one was an effort for even my largest saw with the 24” bar.

This week I’m cutting up a few tons of black locust, ash, and hickory for a friend’s winter heat.

JKJ

Ooh. Can only imagine how cool that must be. If your work is close to an outlet, I can totally see the value of a corded saw.

But if you need to grab your saw for a trek down to the lower 1/4, manly men reach for their 16", 36 volt, Makita battery powered cordless chainsaws.

Maybe we should rename this thread to "Let's spend Michaels money"

[John K Jordan]

…Went well and fast until I hit 2 large nails. …

I HATE it when that happens!

Yard trees (nails and hooks) and farm trees (barbed wire) are the worst. Once I cut into a tree with an embedded screwdriver and another time a railroad spike. Last time it was a 1/2” steel rod someone had pounded into a cedar tree. All do a nasty number on my Woodmizer sawmill blades. I have metal detectors for suspect trees but sometimes I forget to check.

Fortunately it’s only a $30 blade ruined and replaced in 5 minutes.

Here’s hoping your saw will be fixed now. Oh, I forgot to suggest calling a friendly chainsaw repair shop - the might know.

[Tom M King]

How old is it, and can you post a picture? I have a very old one that I can take apart to see what it is, if it's the same model.

[Jim Becker]

I have an older Remington corded electric chainsaw that I originally bought for in-shop use on turning blanks. It's actually pretty effective for the "bigger" of the smaller jobs where my smaller, 10" battery powered electric chain saw really doesn't cut the mustard. I doubt I'll ever use my Stihl Farm Boss again here at this property but will wait another year before I decide to keep it or not.

That said, I feel for the OP. It's a pain when something breaks like that and unfortunately, if it's something older it may be harder to deal with the parts thing.

[Michael Weber]

I HATE it when that happens!

Yard trees (nails and hooks) and farm trees (barbed wire) are the worst. Once I cut into a tree with an embedded screwdriver and another time a railroad spike. Last time it was a 1/2” steel rod someone had pounded into a cedar tree. All do a nasty number on my Woodmizer sawmill blades. I have metal detectors for suspect trees but sometimes I forget to check.

Fortunately it’s only a $30 blade ruined and replaced in 5 minutes.

Here’s hoping your saw will be fixed now. Oh, I forgot to suggest calling a friendly chainsaw repair shop - the might know.

now that you mention metal detectors I suspect that’s why these pieces were left behind stacked neatly beside a neighbors fence. I’m guessing the utilities contractor found the metal with one so couldn’t put it through their very big and expensive chipper. Set it aside and forgot about it.

[Charlie Velasquez]

Uh, kinda off topic, but….
My son has a corded electric. Was thinking of getting him some chaps for Christmas.
But all of the chaps I see in the big box stores say “Not for electric chainsaws”

What is available?

[John K Jordan]

Uh, kinda off topic, but….
My son has a corded electric. Was thinking of getting him some chaps for Christmas.
But all of the chaps I see in the big box stores say “Not for electric chainsaws”

What is available?

You might call Baileys Online, the best place I know for professional tree management equipment and supplies. They've been very helpful on the phone when I had questions.
https://www.baileysonline.com/

I do see this statement in the chaps writeups:
Chainsaw pants and chaps are designed for gas powered chainsaws and will not stop the sprocket on most electric powered chainsaws.
This sounds like a serious issue. Will the electric saw continue to cut through the chaps and your leg? Will the electric powered saws simply not stall when snagged by the kevlar fiber in the chaps? Maybe it's a problem with the clutch. (Do they have a clutch?) Notice it says "most", perhaps the wimpy consumer electrics are OK.

I personally don't wear chaps when using my electric saw at the shop. Highly recommended though when cutting and limbing around downed trees, especially in piles, on steep hillsides, etc.

JKJ

[Brian Elfert]

I suspect the Kevlar in the chainsaw chaps grabs the chain and stalls the engine on a gas chainsaw. Something I never thought of since I only use battery chainsaws now.