How to Tension a Chain on a Makita Power Saw

A mobile device for cutting wood is an indispensable attribute of almost any summer cottage or private home. Electric saws, which make it possible to work both outdoors and indoors, are especially popular in this regard. In order for the tool to work efficiently and properly, from time to time it will be necessary to tighten or change its chain.

Compatibility check

Usually the saw chain is changed in case of extreme wear, when sharpening or repair is already useless.

  • Changing any part of the electric saw, it is advisable to buy a product from the same manufacturer as the tool itself. This guarantees the greatest match.
  • It is important to consider the type of tasks to be solved. For heavy loads, 3/8 ”pitch chains are designed. If the saw is rarely used, 0.325 inches will suffice.
  • The angle of grinding of teeth is of great importance: it is more convenient to cut large volumes of dry wood with cutting edges with a grinding angle of 30 degrees. For working with raw or frozen material sharpening of 10 degrees is more suitable. The same applies to longitudinal sawing. A small sharpening angle in such cases significantly reduces the degree of wear of the cutting device.
  • When choosing the length of the chain, you need to focus on the dimensions of the tire.

How to properly install the chain on an electric saw

How to Tension a Chain on a Makita Power Saw

The procedure for installing a new chain has some features, depending on the type of tension on a particular tool.

On instruments with lateral tension, proceed as follows:

  1. Release the brake. This is achieved by pulling on the protective strip until it clicks.
  2. Loosen the stretch. To do this, use a screwdriver to turn the tension screw, after which the clamping nut will begin to rotate freely.
  3. Lift the cover under which the saw elements are located. To remove the chain, it must be removed from the guide sprockets (at the same time, the guide bar is removed). If this fails, you need to loosen the tension screw even further.
  4. It is more convenient to start the installation of a new component from the top of the tire. It is worn over the sprocket, after which the tire can be inserted back, focusing on the guides.
  5. To tighten the chain, a tension screw is used: it should sag slightly.
  6. The final nut clamping is carried out after replacing the protective cover.

The sequence of installing a new chain on tools with “quick tension”:

  1. The first step is to remove the saw from the brake.
  2. Open the handle of the nut until it stops.
  3. The purpose of the wing nut in such designs is not only to fix the flap, but also to clamp the guide rail. Rotate the nut counterclockwise.
  4. After removing the protective housing from the sprocket, you need to shift the tire in the opposite direction. This will allow the dismantling of the old chain. The driven sprocket is freed from it in the first place.
  5. When refueling a new product, they also start with an asterisk. At this stage, it is important to understand the direction of installation: in the lower part of the tire, its cutting edge should “look” into the tool body.
  6. The tension is set by adjusting the guide.
  7. After installing the sprocket cover, the fastening nut must be tightened, but not clamped.
  8. The wing nut is screwed by hand at the very end of the procedure, following the idler.

Features of chain tension adjustment

During operation of the electric saw, it is necessary to carefully monitor the degree of tension of its chain. The easiest way is to pull the chain tooth up (for testing, the upper part of the tire is selected, approximately in the center). The normal level of tension allows you to stay inside the seat during tension 1/3 point (provided that the chain rotates freely by hand).

To adjust the chain tension in different models of Makita power saws, tensioners in the form of a screw or a wing nut can be used:

  • In the first case, you need a screwdriver to tighten the tension screw: its rotation is allowed to be carried out with the side nuts relaxed. In the direction of increasing the tension, it is necessary to rotate the chain forward to eliminate the articulated play and check the smoothness of its travel.
  • On tools with “quick tension” the sprocket plate is fixed with a wing nut. There is a special wheel under the cover: to tighten the chain, you need to rotate it to the right, to loosen it. To the left. This type of tensioners is more convenient, as it makes it possible to carry out adjustment directly in the course of work.

To replace the chain on an electric saw or adjust its tension, it is not necessary to contact a service center. These manipulations can be carried out independently, observing the above recommendations.