Why does your chainsaw cut crooked?

Answer 1

Chainsaws cut in a curve (walk) if their chains are dull. The user applies more force to compensate for the dull chain, and usually applies uneven force because both hands are on the same side of the cutting bar. They can also walk if one side of the chain has been damage by contact with stone or metal.

Well not exactly..... i'd say 95% time its either your bar is worn uneven (get a new bar or have it ground by a professional with a bar grinder) or the teeth on your chainsaw are not sharpened evenly. you're probably sharpening your chain by yourself...using a hand sharpener instead of a pro grinder the saw shops use. Well when you do it yourself you arent getting all the teeth ground evenly. When they arent even you'll start cutting crooked. So its always much better to get your saws ground from a shop (or you can buy a grinder if you do A LOT of cutting, silvey or Oregon make good ones). Plus taking it to a shop you can also have your rakers (depth gauges) ground. So you will still pull the same size chips. (so you will cut as good or better than new). Unless you are running low-kick back chain. But if you're running that you should throw it away because it sucks. Learn from a professional class how to use your saw and then run chain that works.

Having experienced curved cutting and trying the following solutions: sharpened chain, bought new chain, and flipped the bar, I found that the solution that worked best was to clean out both oiling ports. At least on my Stihl 08S there are ports on both sides of the chain. When one becomes restricted or plugs up, the saw cuts become curved. Cleaning the ports will result in straight cuts even with a dull chain and a worn bar.