Husqvarna Chain & Bar Installation

Lay a cardboard sheet on a work table or bench surface and place the saw on top of the cardboard on its side. Position the bar and chain within easy reach, and put on work gloves to avoid getting scratched by the teeth of the chain or the sharp edge of the bar. The two nuts that hold the bar in place should be facing up toward you. Loosen and remove these nuts with the socket fitting on the scrench and remove the plastic housing.

Position the blade so the saw's two bolts fit in the groove on the end. Hold the other end with one hand to keep the bar in place as you set the chain in place. Loosely wrap the chain around the sprocket drive wheel first. Stretch the chain out around the bar, switching your hand position as you go to keep the bar tight to the housing. Carefully insert the lower tips of the chain into the groove circumventing the bar and pull on the business end of the bar to keep the chain from loosening and slipping off the bar. Consult the user's manual or any diagrams that might be on the chain packaging to be certain the top teeth are facing the proper direction. Sometimes the bar itself has a small diagram.

Hold the outer end of the bar tightly with the chain fitting snug, and replace the housing while closely watching the chain-tightening mechanism. There should be a square or rounded stub sticking out from the chain-tightening screw toward the blade. You'll need to match this up correctly with the small hole in the bar before you continue. Keep the chain as tight as you can while re-fitting the housing to keep it from falling off the bar. You may have to use the screwdriver side of the scrench to adjust the tightening screw for proper fitting. Once the housing is lined up perfectly, hold it tight to the saw as you pull the blade with your other hand to remove slack.

Replace the nuts over the housing and hand tighten them. Pull on the chain to check that it's still snugly fitting in the bar groove and moving properly. There should be some limited resistance, but if it takes too much strength to move the chain you'll need to loosen the tightening screw. Once the chain is semi-tight, crank the nuts just a bit more with the socket side of the scrench and fit the blade in a vise. Center the vise a few inches out from the housing so that the chain can move freely and you can access the tightening screw. Drive the tightening screw until the chain is as tight as you can get it without restricting movement around the bar edge. Use the scrench again on the nuts for a final tightening.

Dab some bar and chain oil on your gloved thumb and index finger, and lubricate the chain all around the bar area. Test the movement by pulling the chain a bit, and apply more oil as needed. Remove the bar from the vise, and you're ready to cut.