When you cut pine, spruce or anything sappy, resin builds up on the chain, in the bar groove and on the sprocket. It makes the saw cut slowly, run hot and blunt the chain faster. Saw blades on circular saws, mitre saws and bandsaws suffer the same way.
Chainsaws
- Make it safe. Switch off, let it cool, put the chain brake on and remove the battery or the spark plug lead. Wear gloves: the chain is sharp even when clean.
- Remove the side cover, bar and chain following the manual.
- Spray resin remover onto the chain, bar and sprocket. Leave it a few minutes to soften the resin.
- Brush and wipe. Use a stiff brush on the chain. Clean the bar groove with a groove cleaner or a thin flat tool, and clear the bar's oil holes so chain oil can reach the chain.
- Clean the sprocket area and the inside of the cover, where sawdust and oil pack hard.
- Neutralise and protect. The resin remover maker recommends finishing with Ballistol to neutralise the cleaner and protect the steel. A light spray on the chain and bar does it.
- Refit, tension the chain and fill up with proper chain and bar oil before use. Ballistol isn't a substitute for bar oil.
Saw blades and woodworking tools
Spray resin remover on circular saw blades, bandsaw blades, planer knives, router bits and chisels, leave it a few minutes and wipe off with paper towel. Repeat on heavy deposits. Then wipe with a little Ballistol to protect against rust. Take blades off the machine first, and always unplug the tool.
Hand saws, pruning saws and axes
The same method works on hand tools. Clean the wooden handles and give them a coat of oil as well. See garden tool care.
Wear gloves when using resin remover, as the product instructions recommend, and work in a ventilated area.
