My dad gave me a Homelite XL with a 14" bar.  The saw is just for cutting firewood but it tends to cut to the left if you can visualize what I mean.  I start out with the bar perpendicular to the wood but it ends up that the only way it will go is on a leftward angle as it goes.  SO I replaced the bar with a 16" one and a good sharp chain and the problem went away.  What gives?

Also might be looking for something with more power in a 16" bar.  What's a good saw at a good price?

Howdy.............Think I may be able to help some.  Take the old bar and lay it flat on the side, take a file and lay it flat on the face of the bar. Keep a slight pressure on the file and smooth up the bar.  What has happened is there are ridges on the edge of the bar (where the chain runs thru the groove) and this will make the chain track to one side or the other.  Also, don't run the saw with the chain to tight. You will need  to tighten it up after some running, but don't start out with it to tight.  By laying the file flat on the side of the bar you remove the edges uniformly.  Let me know if this helps...........Watch them damn things too......they will eat you up!!!!

i have 2 xl's with 14" bars.

remove the chain and look at the bar...especially the pressure areas just in front of the power head. are they worn? is the bar straight?

is the chain sharpened correctly?

my advice is to get your chain professionally re-sharpened ($4 in my area) and by a new bar/chain combo (made by oregon...about $20) at lowes/home depot.

i also own an 18" poulen pro...good saw for the $149 it cost.

The bar is worn in the groove that the chain runs in. Bar is trash. replacing it as you did is solution.
Most people think a bar/chain are permanent, but they are consumables and must be replaced.
Go Husqvarna. Model 51 or 55.

a saw chain has cutters that cut to each side of the bar. They've got to be evenly sharp.  SO you sharpen the cutters that face left, then turn the saw around and sharpen the cutters that face right.  The bar could also have some nicks and burrs that cause it to pull, but uneven sharpening is the most likely cause.

Saw pros HATE to work on homelites.

Stihl, Husqvarna and Jonserad are the premium saw makers, not necessarily in that order.

Poulan is owned by the same company that owns Husqvarna....Electrolux.

If you need a saw for more than just ocasional limb trimming get a good one. STHIL makes some very nice models.

Touch up the cutters regularly with a round file and flip the bar over. You will get a lot more mileage out of the chain and bar if you flip it over now and then. It wears more evenly that way.

I think icemanat95, and lawlessman are hitting the nail on the head. The bar might be worn out too. Figure out how to sharpen the left and right cutting teeth the exact same amount. If one side or the other is better sharpened, the saw will cut left or right. Get a gauge and a small file to set the height of cutting depth drags, once the chain starts to wear.

Also, when I worked for the Forest Service here, we used Sthils for all our projects. Trail maintenance, brush clearance, etc. But when summer and fire season started, we would be shipped out across the U.S. The opened up the fire cache and sent us out with only Husqvarna's.

If you don't have a bucking spike on it then it will cut which ever way you inadvertatly push it!

A bucking spike will bite into the tree bark,and allow you to cut straight through the tree with just slight forward pressure!

 Bob [:D]