replacing a gear

Stan in Oly, WA

Well-known Member
I bought a Harbor Freight electric chain saw yesterday because it only has to last for the job I'm currently working on to more than pay for itself. I read the reviews of it before I bought it. I feel that the Harbor Freight online reviews are probably uncensored because the negative reviews are always numerous and sometimes extreme. There were more 5 star reviews than 1 star reviews for this tool, with a fair number of reviewers stating that they were impressed by the durability of the saw, and several suggesting that the people who gave it low marks may have overworked it, or forced it beyond its lightweight tool capabilities. This was reinforced, perhaps, by the number of 1 star reviewers who said that the weak point was a plastic gear that drove the chain. A plastic gear sounds like a bad (cheap) choice in any case, but it clearly represents a weak point if someone is going to bear down on the saw while cutting.

In general, how likely would I be to find a useable replacement for the plastic gear made of any metal? Not too likely, is my guess, but I wouldn't mind getting a few educated opinions.

Thanks,

Stan
 
Somewhere between slim and impossible. A lot would depend on what you think your time running one down is worth compared to the cost of a saw. Sure as shootin the part will be just a little different that the good part/saw they based the HF saw design on...
 
Stan: I'm betting it won't be all that difficult. However, it will depend on a few things--first, your willingness to hunt around a bit, second, your willingness and ability to modify either the gear or the saw to fit, and third, the assumption that this is a fairly straightforward gear. Like many things, it will very possibly be more trouble than it's worth from a straight financial perspective, but if you're like many of us here (and I've read enough of your posts, including this one, to know you are), the value of doing it isn't just the money saved, it's the knowledge gained.
 
Friend bought a 15" planer from HF. It had an aluminum cutter shaft that broke easy. HF replaced the shaft twice. but each shaft broke after a little use. He took the broken shaft to a machinist and had a steel cutter shaft made, even though HF was standing behind the machine.

That planer was a real workhorse with that steel shaft.

Probably shouldn't be too hard to find a machinist that could make a steel gear.

I bought an electric chain saw at HF Black Friday sale last fall. Got a concussion soon after and now trying to recover from a fall that broke my shoulder. Haven't used the chain saw yet; only wanted it for once-a-year trimming on 3 trees. Maybe brother will do the trimming when he comes down this winter.
 
A Russian engineer once said to me "It izz a zickness". We go out of our way to adopt and or acquire a problem so we can solve or otherwise fix it.
 
"Probably shouldn't be too hard to find a machinist that could make a steel gear."

You must not know very much about making gears. Pretty big deal. It could be done with a cnc, would likely cost a couple hundy.
 
I am guessing that a Amish friend could make that gear with his 70? year old machinery, I know he has the capabilities to cut some gears.
 
I'm guessing the gear is the weak link, kind of like a shear pin. If you do get a steel one would you be so kind as to tell us what breaks next? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
Gear or sprocket? I'm guessing you could find a metal gear fairly easily, a sprocket, not so much. When I was working in the flight sim lab, we would often get gears from PIC, Stock Drive Products, Arrow Gear and Boston Gear, but I suspect it'd be cheaper to buy a spare saw from HF than to buy a new one from any of these folks, as they probably have a minimum order that's more than the price of the saw.
 
"Gear or sprocket?"

It's probably both. Likely, a plastic gear with internal teeth, compounded with a sprocket the the saw chain runs on.
 
I've bought several Remington electric chain saws and they had the plastic gear. I looked at it this way they were less then 50.00 and usually lasted 3 years. I do tree trimming using a bucket truck and a generator to run the saws. I felt they lasted pretty good for the abuse I gave them. If you keep a sharp chain so you don't try to force the saw you will be happy. Poulin and Sears have the same electric saw and they were better then Remington
 
That works for me. If it weren't for problems to solve or fix, any job would eventually be like sitting in a toll booth making change for commuters for eight hours a day.

Stan
 
Yeah, your accident. How are you doing after taking that fall? We don't heal so fast anymore, do we?

Whether it's you or your brother who uses the chain saw, you're going to have to go easy with it (unless you bought the extended warranty with it). You're way past the 90 days that they'll give you a replacement or your money back if the smoke comes out.

Take care of yourself,

Stan
 
I would tell you, but I'm probably not going to make much of an effort looking for a steel gear (or sprocket). If I did find one, I still might not use the saw enough for the next thing to break. I probably don't use my regular chain saw even once a year, although a little electric one might be just enough handier to get me to use it more often. It did cut through maple branches up to about 10" in diameter yesterday.

Stan
 
When I was a kid growing up, since my father died when I was 10, Mom was the best dad that I ever had after that, doing what she could with what she could afford. Every year she would buy a $5.00 rake to rake the lawn that pretty much lasted that one season and was missing tines by the time I finished. You know the rake? Short, thin handle, round wirey tines, narrow sweep, weighed about one pound? I know it would have been tough to swing, but one good $20 rake from back then would still be around in use today decades later. You know the kind? Thick, heavy shaft, thick reinforced wide flat tines, wide sweep, weighed a ton?

I know what you mean. But then again, God bless Mom for doing the best she could and can at being Mom and Dad. One lesson she taught me, never buy a $5.00 rake.

Mark
 
Hi Stan , Did you see on American Restoration when they needed a gear for a floor sander the kid water jetted one out on the CNC. It was a pretty low stress application as it was an antique disoplay piece.
 
If you are concerned, check what replacement plastic sprockets costs and order one or several to keep on hand.

It could be quite expensive to have a machinist measure the old (worn out?) sprocket, make a sketch and machine a new metal sprocket from scratch. Look at the old sprocket and count the number of bevels and chamfers on it, a machinist will likely turn the profile in a lathe and then cut the teeth into it. The plastic sprocket was likely injection molded in one step. If the manufacturer had used a metal equivalent, it would also have been mass produced as a casting or a lost wax casting.

For a $50 to $100 electric chain saw, it will probably be less expensive to just install another plastic sprocket, or replace the whole saw than to find/make a metal sprocket.

Watch Craig's List and garage sales. Lightly used electric chain saws often sell for only $10 to $20.
 

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