I didn't break my chainsaw
I was taking apart a tree that fell. I was wrapping up at the base of the trunk, working close to the ground, where I couldn't get under it to cut from below. It wasn't that big of a piece, so I worked carefully from the top. The tip got pinched a little bit at the end of the cut.
I prepared for the next cut, and nothing happened. That's not true; I heard the faint squeal of complaint as the motor tried to turn vainly, and the torque limiter cut power. It wasn't the chain brake this time. I soon found that the sprocket at the nose of the bar wouldn't turn. It seemed unlikely, but maybe all the pinching on the last tree finally caught up with me?
After some research, I had two pieces of information.
- If the chain tension is not high enough, chips can get into that sprocket and jam it.
- For my saw, the chain should pull "1-2 mm" away from the bar, not the "almost pulling the whole drive link out" that I had been using.
Pushing the sprocket with a screwdriver, it suddenly broke free and spit oily chips all over the workbench. Yay! I finished cleaning and reassembling the saw, and it worked again.
(Hat tip to Firewood Hoarders for the "jammed with chips" idea.)