As advised by a previous poster, you should top off the chain/bar oil
whenever refilling your saw with gas. You should also be able to increase
the oil feed to your chain to increase the lubrication there, either
manually or through a screw setting. The wear on your bar is normal and
can't be avoided. The paint is simply cosmetic. You do need to avoid running
your bar/chain too hot. It can warp the bar somewhat; however you can take
it in and have the bar "trued" if this happens. Make sure to tighten the
chain periodically as it will become loose and prone to jump off the bar.
Always have a spare chain or two for back up when going out to cut a lot of
wood and always cut with a sharp chain as you're much less likely to have
accidents when the saw is sharp and running well.

Like you, I spent about three hours yesterday afternoon cutting down and
sawing up a couple of large white oaks (24" - 30") diameter with my 20 year
old Shindaiwa 488 (18") saw. It had recently been tuned, bar trued and new
chain installed. It ran like a champ zipping through the wood. Then, like
your's the chain slowly gave out and I had to put on my spare.

To the last part of your question - you got experience! I doubt if
anything's broken.

My Buck stove is going to love this white oak next winter. Like they say
Wood warms you twice, first when you cut and split it and again when you
burn it.

John

My question: What signs of damage to the saw, bar, or chain should I be
looking for at this point? I suspect that the paint burning off of the
bar is premature wear at this point, but I'm not sure if that is a
indicator of damage. Does it sound like I got lucky this time, or could
something have been damaged that is not yet obvious?


Thanks,
JKG