When a board goes thru the cutting bars raise up. we have checked out and tightened the locking bar. everything seems fine.

Hi J:
Not only can this be frustrating, it can be dangerous.
Here are a some of things to consider:
- First, review what happened immediately before the problem became apparent. If the chain and bar had been off the saw, were the guide plates installed properly? They should have the tapered edge located so the chain is directed to the center of the drive sprocket.
- Check the inner side of the chain for damage to the "fin" or tab that slides in the groove in the bar. Sometimes these can get twisted or bent. They are soft steel so can be easily damaged. Repair or replace chain as necessary.
- Chain tension. With the chain installed and the bar retaining nuts just barely snug, Lift the tip of the bar, and with it in that position, adjust the chain tension so that the centre of the top of the chain will lift, but not clear, the slot in the bar. Tighten the nuts while holding the bar in the raised position.
* This should have you cutting like a good thing.
Cheers.

Duplicate question. See Q&A at: http://www.fixya.com/answer/answerpageslideview.aspx?thid=25656501

Loosen and remove bar lock nuts and cover. screw tensioning screw to loosest point. wrap chain onto teeth of drive sprocket, then within grooves on bar. Be certain cutting edges are facing forward. Look at chain before removing. set bar with new chain to ensure the tension pin aligns with bar tensioning hole. Replace cover set nuts loosely. Tighten chain to about 1/4" out of groove when pulled on (wear gloves). Tighten nuts, spin chain to see it moves freely but does not hang free og bar groove. re-tension as necessary. Happy cutting!

Open machine face cover you would be able to see what happen to your presser bar. If you can raise the lever but the presser bar not response Or if you can push up the presser bar easily with your hand, the presser bar tension screw is loose. Upper part of the bar would have the tension/presser spring, press up the presser bar till you can feel enough tension to press the material then tighten the tension screw which is located behind the bar.(Most machine you can access the screw thru a small entry at the back of machine, right behind the bar itself. You may have to repeat this until the bar have enough presser to press the material. Hope this is helpful.

HOW 2 TRUE UP YOUR BAR SO THE SAW CAN CUT STRAIGHT and
HOW TO replace a chain.
This is for first timers--so dont laugh too hard,all you old timers out there!
and maybe some of you old timers
should read this too, as you might pick up a trick or two.
You might say ," I always wondered why it did that and how to fix it."


first ,you need the proper chain to install so look at your owners manual for the chain number. or use oregon.com cross reference
you will need the make & model # of you saw as well as the bar length and their web site will cross reference you to a oregon chain #.

to install chain: loosen two shiny 3/4 inch bolts on the bar side of the chain saw and look low on the right side of the bar when viewed from the back handle of the saw for the chain tensioning screw.
it is black and has a single slot for a screwdriver.
loosening this screw (but only after the two 3/4 inch BAR LOCK DOWN nuts have been loosened ) will move the bar backwards towards the engine clutch sprocket.

look at the chain mounted on the bar and note the front of the teeth on top of the bar pointed forwards. also note that on the bottom of the bar ,the chain teeth are pointed backwards toward the saw handle.
REMemBER THIS ,so you dont put on the chain backwards and wonder why a new chain wont cut.

take the 3/4 inch nuts off compleatly and hold the bar on so you can see how things should look. you can put 1 nut back on snug to hold the bar in position while you learn your way around.
someplace inside there is a plastic raised picture of a chain tooth to remind you which way the chain teeth go.

there is a sheet metal chain guard sheild on the 2 studs that the 3/4 in nuts came off from. the bottom of the sheet metal guard has a 2&1/2in slot in it and the wings on top & bottom point outwards on the outside shield and inwards on the inside sheild .
P.S. the slots on the bottom of the shield allow the chain tensioner nib to move forwards to tighten the chain and backwards to loosen the chain.
remove the hold on 3/4 nut and take 1 outside sheet metal shield off the studs.

look at the chain bar underneath the two studs that the 3/4 inch nuts came off from. You will see the tip of the chain adjuster tensioning screw fitted through a hole in the bar.
now loosen the chain tension adjustment screw which will move the bar backwards and make the chain loose.
when the chain gets loose enough , you can remove it from the bar. but ,I bet that the will come off or fall off first. dont worry,this normal.after you take the chain off,you have to take the bar off anyways.
wipe the oil & saw dust off the chain,so you can see out of your good eye, like one eyed pete always says, and look at the bar rails.

these are the two rails that the chain drive teeth, the ones that go around the clutch sprocket and the idler sprocket at the tip of the bar ,fit into.
THESE rails must each be the same length or the saw will try to cut circles to either the right or the left. also, the chain teeth must be equally sharp on both the right side facing teeth and on the left side facing teeth, or again, the saw will try to cut circles either to the right or left. The only reason the saw cant cut circles is because the bar is too wide to make the circle. anyways ,the saw is susposed to cut straight and not in circles.


If your saw it cutting right or left,when you get far enough into a curved wood slot , you will reach a point where the chain teeth can no longer touch the wood and cutting stops, even though the motor is still turning the chain.

so,first we need to insure that the bar rails are even with each other and HERE is one way to do it.
Buy some 60 grit emery cloth and put it on a flat table top.
I use the top of my table saw, but any flat table top will work if the table is stable.
Place the bar with the rails perpendicular to the 60 grit emery cloth. THat means --at right angles to,or at 90 degrees,or straight up & down and sand the metal bar until
the rails are even and all chain chatter marks have been sanded off. This is usually the fine finishing step of severly
worn and burnt bars and works well for lightly worn bars.

ANOTHER WAY for really messed up bars is to hold the bar straight up & down on top of the table, with either your hand or clamp it in a bench vise.
DO NOT SQUEEZE THE RAILS together or the drive links of the chain wont be able to fit in the slot and even if they do fit in,they may not run in the slot because the slot is too tight;and that might burn out your centrifical clutch shoes or your electric chain saw motor.

Use first a course double cut metal file to even the chain rails of the bar and then a fine double cut or single cut file to do finishing strokes and then sand with 60 grit emery cloth as above.

Take the file and run it across the 4 inch wide sides of the bar where the rails are worn over the edge so that only a right angle, square edge remains between the 4 inch wide sides of the
bar and the bar's chain running rails.
this will allow the bar to go easily up and down in a wood slot without getting caught and binding and requiring extra force to free up, only to get stuck again & again.

IF YOUR BAR is too messed up for even a file to cure.
use the 6 inch or 8 inch side of a grinding wheel, to true up
the rails. a lighter grit ,like 100 grit circular stone is better than a 60 grit stone ,because the stone is fast and takes off a lot of metal quick . you can use a 60 grit wheel if you have a light sure touch and can see well out of your good eye but an old artheritis riden , and almost blind out of my good eye
unelse im wearing 2.75 power reading glasses , which always slip off my nose when im grinding anyways, id rather use the 100 grit,because its slower, like i am.

YET ANOTHER WAY to true up your bar is to use a bench sander with 60 grit belt. It does a good job , but eventually
you will cut through and rip your belt and have to spend $10.00 to replace it. thats why I dont use it much anymore
after ruining 1 belt & replacing it. But its great for those problem rails and beats spending $30.00 plus tax and $12.95 shipping for a new bar.

SO. now that your bar is all trued up ,we can finally put on the new chain.

You should save you old chain and buy a chain sharpening file and clip on angle holder for the size of file recommended for your model chain. cost about $10.00 and you can get 10 to 15 resharpenings out of one chain
before you end put taking too much metal off the cutting teeth or stretch the chain out too far or break off too many teeth by hiting nails in the wood. (ive done it all) and speak from experience.

NOW, PUT THE BAR back on and make sure that the nub of the chain tensioning screw is in the hole in the bar. You can put 1 3/4 in shiny bar lock down nut on finger snug to things in place. next ,put the chain shield back on the studs and insure that the slot is down [on the bottom side] and that the tenisioner screw nub is still in the hole of the bar and that the shield wings are angled outwards. make sure that the tensioner is all the way towards the back saw handle so the bar is loose and install the chain on to the bar with the cutting teeth facing forward on top of the barand backwards on the bottom of the bar. all the drive teeth should be inside of the top bar rails and should be properly engaged on the clutch sprocket.
If need be ,check the clutch sprocket engagement of the chain's drive teeth by removing the outer shield to look see
and reassemble. place the plastic cover on the 2 bar lock down studs and finger tighten the two-3/4 inch lock down nuts . I usually finger tighten only one of the 3/4 inch lock down nuts in case something pops out from where it is susposed to be ,as it usually does.
NOW, take all but a little bit of tension off the 3/4 inch lock down nut so that they bar can move forward when the screw tensioner is tightened. AS you tighten the bar, the drive teeth will be pulled into the rail slots on the bottom of the bar.
You will need a look see to insure all the drive teeth are inside the rails. Tighten up the chain until it has about 1&1/2 inch slack in the center of the bar and tighten up finger tight
one or both of the bar lock down nuts. now test the chain for free running by turning the chain by hand.
BE VERY CAREFUL where your fingers pinch the chain between thumb and index finger because you dont want to pinch a cutting tooth. you also dont want to loose your grip and have your fingers slip into a cutting tooth.
If you start with the chain somewhat loose,you will feel how easy it is to turn the chain by hand. as you tighten the chain,
it will become harder and harder to turn until it locks solid into place.
WHEN THE CHAIN GETS HARD to turn,this is when you can loose your two finger grip and have your fingers slide into a cutting tooth. the chain is already too tight to run without burning up the clutch a little. loosen the chain until it runs freely but does not sag more than a 1&1/2 INCH TO 2 INCHES in the middle of the bar. There is a point where the chain will not run any more freely even if it is loosened more.
if you hit this point tighten up the chain some until you feel it begining to run harder. check the chain sag tension11/2 inch in the middle of the bar or 2 inch max if the chain seems to be running a little hard.

Its better to have the chain a bit loose that a bit tight but you dont want the chain so loose that it will come off the bar.
new chains stretch a lot a first and will have to be readjusted twice as much as an older chain that is done with most of its stretching.

Put a lock washer on it to stop it from backing off.

You need to loosen the front bolt that holds the handle bars to the front wheel raise it to your desired position and then tighten it again, making sure that the handle bars are at the position you desire them. This will lock them in place so you can ride your bike and not let them fall back down deeper into the front wheel shaft.

You probably have a warped bar. Remove side cover and chain, then remove and reverse bar ( move the top to the bottom ) . Pour bar and chain oil on the tip of your bar and spin gear inside with a flat screwdriver to allow oil total penetration. re - install chain and side cover, adjust chain and tighten cover.Make sure you keep the oil reservoir full - refill everytime you add fuel. When it starts cutting crooked just reverse the bar again.

Does the brake seem to 'snap-over' like it should? Pull it back to release position, and remove the drive cover. Check the entire brake for debris accumulation or bent/damaged brake band. Check the chain to see if it is being oiled. Remove the bar/chain and clean the entire assembly, particularly the small oil passages in the drive end of the bar. Start the engine and watch for oil oozing out of the small side port where the bar fits. If ok, reassemble the bar/chain. If no oil comes out, investigate the oil pump, lines, and filter/valve in the oil tank. Mount the side cover, but leave the fasteners finger tight. (The chain teeth cut toward you on the bottom run) Tighten the chain until the lower run comes up to the bar, but can still be turned by hand. Tighten the fasteners and recheck the tension. Trip the chain brake and make sure it locks the chain, then release it and make sure it turns freely. Check the chain oiling by running the bar tip at speed near some cardboard--it should leave a thin line of oil on the board. Hope this helps!

Operator's manual for the 22-547 is here.

It sounds like you may need to adjust the knives. Page 10 and 11 of the operator's manual discuss the details. See below: (I have removede references to the figure and diagrams in the manual - look there for pictures).

ADJUSTING KNIVES

To check and adjust the knives, proceed as follows:
1. DISCONNECT THE TOOL FROM THE POWER SOURCE.

2. Lower the head assembly by turning handle

3. Remove chip deflector

4. Carefully place knife setting gage, on the cutterhead so the rounded sections are directly over the knife as shown. When adjusted correctly, the knife should just contact the bottom of the center portion at each end of gage. Check the other knife in the same manner.

5. If an adjustment to one or both knives is necessary, slightly loosen the seven locking screws, by turning the screws CLOCKWISE into the knife locking bar just enough to relieve stress in the cutterhead and not disturb the knife setting.

6. With setting gage, in place, apply pressure to the knife being reset. Turn the seven knife locking screws, CLOCKWISE until the knife locking bar becomes loose. Lift springs will automatically raise the knife until it comes in contact with gage. Snug the knife locking bar by lightly turning the seven locking screws, COUNTERCLOCKWISE.

IMPORTANT: AT THIS TIME, ONLY TIGHTEN THE KNIFE LOCKING BAR JUST ENOUGH TO HOLD THE KNIFE IN POSITON INSIDE THE CUTTERHEAD SLOT.

7. If the other knife needs adjustment, repeat STEP 6.

8. After both knives are positioned in the cutterhead, turn each of the seven screws, COUNTERCLOCKWISE until the knife is secure in the cutterhead. NOTE: When tightening knife locking screws, tighten the end screws first, then inward toward the center of the cutterhead.

9. Replace chip deflector.