Chain Saw Recommendations

[bcbender]

Great stories,... Alot of misused machines are out there waiting for a gentle hand...I enjoyed working on L&G equipment when I was out of Highschool and did it for several years before going back to school. I think I may as you eye a spot in retirement to keep tinkering when I am not working on my own... but that means I need to finish my own..

Side note, after reading about the false air on the saw you fixed, I am now wondering if that is what is wrong with my BR600.. its a 10y old blower and after a refueling would not run off choke (partial choke). 1/2 choke is / seems fine, idles fine... I didn't have time to deal with it or throw parts at it but it has a wet crank seal and looks like some around the case halves. Was running fine before with zero issues for 10y.... Gave me an excuse to buy that 800C (with remote start) I'd been eyeing but still want to get the 600 back running for my son.

 

[Walker111]

And I held a memorial service at my bench for this unfortunate MS290.



Gary

My 290 is a retired fire department saw. Poor guy was *****d out doing terrible things for most of its life. Our chainsaw shop put it out of service, said it would cost too much to repair, itd be cheaper to buy new. I took it home, filter, plug, and new clutch springs and she's been running great for me for over 6 years.

 

[Dl5treez]

Thanks for the history lesson, @Dl5treez good info. Big saws for sure, I know throwing my 661 around all day isn’t much fun, I’m betting those guys are 20+ lbs.

Every bit of it. Roughly 17.5 lbs for the powerhead and another 4-5 for the 30" bar and chain. Plus fuel and bar oil.....

 

[GCroyle]

How about a little bit older rig with a slotted past.

This 61 came in for a trigger job, busted off. I asked how old it was, guess was over 40 yrs.

In order for ME to R&R the trigger pulling the tank was very helpful as this was all thin ice for me. Tank off, big clean up, find the surprise parts, reverse procedure etc and darn thing runs and barks a bit too. The broken trigger is in second pic after new trigger installed.

And now for the mystery. Why can you see chain where your shouldn't be able to see chain?

Surely one of you super cutters can figure this modification out.

 

[GCroyle]

And yes we get all kinds of 2 stroke stuff, Stihl and Husqvarna are the norm but wow many ways to package the stuff. This is a Stihl auger sporting a 4 Mix engine. Yup it has valves, no crankcase oil just 50:1 mix. This engine is like a 2 stroke and 4 stroke went to Niagara Falls for a get away. Only one cam lobe!

This is valve adj time and a bit of servicing.

 

[bcbender]

I love how Stihl made it so you had to buy a special feeler gauge to set the valve lash...

 

[endoscott]

I think some of their bolts are proprietary thread too if I remember correctly. Took a blower apart down to the last bolt with my 3 year old Grandson and had to chase down a replacement bolt at the Stihl dealer when we put it back together. But I love my Stihl chainsaws. 1982 vintage, beat to s*** 032 still runs great. Although I grab my wifes little Stihl electric for lots of things now, just not firewood....the old one has put on a lot of weight.

 

[GCroyle]

I love how Stihl made it so you had to buy a special feeler gauge to set the valve lash...

I took a .010” and trimmed it for my first adj before I got this job but yup you need Stihl gage or fab one up. Boss gave me my own gage a few weeks ago!

 

[GCroyle]

I think some of their bolts are proprietary thread too if I remember correctly. Took a blower apart down to the last bolt with my 3 year old Grandson and had to chase down a replacement bolt at the Stihl dealer when we put it back together.

Still learning but I think those special threads are self tapping into the castings etc. We have new and a box full of em for just these cases. Sometimes you wind up with screws for plastic, self tapping and metric thread on the same job. Don’t mix those up.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

And now for the mystery. Why can you see chain where your shouldn't be able to see chain?

View attachment 136146
Surely one of you super cutters can figure this modification out.

I'm guessing 40+ years of hard use, abuse, and neglect. A loose enough chain could ride up into the underside of the clutch cover and over time wear right through.

 

[GCroyle]

Take another look at post 164, the see the chain shot thru the side cover. time for the reveal as to what that modification was for at one time.

Above is a similar vintage saw and the modification was to allow a BOW SAW to run on that power head. I've never run one but these I'm told were favorites of firewood cutters as you just let it go right thru the log no pinching. We still get one in every so often and we have a talented tech that puts the magic back into them when possible.

OK how about one from the bench. An 18 yr old MS290 didn't run. Initial visual showed promise and pulling the muffler showed a piston and rings worthy of a saw calendar shot, excellent condition!

Spider senses and customer states hasn't run in a while point to carb time. Take it apart, hot tank, carb kit and badda boom we have a winner! It's ALIVE with gusto. And yes SOP includes blowing out the tank and a new fuel filter.

Thought you might like to see likely major no fuel for you culprit. the in carb fuel screen was clogged like a lint filter on a Kenmore drier. New metering diaphragm, fuel pump and gaskets and it's soon headed back to its owner. New fuel screen on the left vs clogged one.

Gary

 

[endoscott]

love this chainsaw stuff, keep it coming!

 

[GCroyle]

I know you've all been waiting for the next chapter in as the chain turns. I bring you, no soup for you.

CS was blah blah blah it only needs some TLC etc. So we'll skip to the good part. after first "attempts" to pump it, I mean start it the secret was soon dribbling out of the exhaust. What's that!

Next I pulled the plug and tipped the saw plug down and pulled the pump handle.

This is about half of what came out of the cyl. Then I cleared the dauber doors over the muffler screws to remove the reservoir oops muffler just might have held the rest of the story. That's a quarter in the pic for comparison. Looks like it was left in the rain for a bit.

Fuel lines were questionable, it tried to run so new lines, tank grommets and a carb hot tank and kit and it runs. Not sure if any major internal damage to bottom end. The piston, ring and cyl wall viewed thru the sewer port looked "ok" but service life TBD.

Gary

 

[crispyboy]

Don't laugh too hard..... My chainsaw fleet is mostly "old school. I typically use these saws a few times per month. They are used for clearing brush, sharpening fence posts and cutting trees of all sizes.

• Echo CS3000 - a gift from my father-in-law. I use it to build fence braces, trim trees and cut small thorn trees.
• Echo X series 501P - I needed a lighter saw for clearing brush and smaller trees. I have owned this saw for almost two years. It has performed well and I have been impressed so far. The X Series saw is supposed to be better than the regular Echo saws. I compared it to a similar sized Stihl made in Germany. It was a tough decision but the Echo was $150 less.
• Lombard Comango (2) - old school - I love the simplicity of the saws. These were manufactured in Harrison, OH a long time ago. These are probably 37 years old. I use them for the big trees and sharpening fence post. 20 inch bars and 4.2 cu in.

• Remington SL11 - old school - This is a mosquito fogger! Apparently the bar oil gets sucked into the engine and creates a bit of blue smoke. Too bad it can't be fixed as this saw had good anti-vibration qualities. I can't complain as it was a yard sale purchase for $11. It gave us several years of service. I will put it up on craigslist and see if someone needs an antique for their shelf.

 

[Ozymandias]

Nice collection, I just would sort out the three without a chain brake.
I like the small Echo, looks like my 192 Stihl. Didn't know that Echo had one too.

 

[GCroyle]

That's a few old unique ones. We have an owners collection at work on display but I snapped this at a festival in PA last fall. A few oldies for sure.

 

[crispyboy]

I think I see a hoffco brush cutter in that picture. They have a 2 cycle Tecumpsah motor. I have one of those too.

 

[GCroyle]

This hit my bench recently and when I saw it, kinda a what's that moment happened. Husqvarna 3120XP the saw of saws in the Husq lineup when a big one needs to come down. At least based on a little Google time Husq says it'll take a 6' bar. Yikes!

First inspection revealed some oh that's not quite right but pulling the muffler closed the door. Scratchemus pistonitis and a bit of boreinflamation and we pronounced it DOA pending owners desire to keep it on life support.

Anybody notice the modified scrench hanging over my calendar? That's my spin on a Husq chain brake resetting tool and yes, it gets used for the home owner oh no you messed up your chain brake too! And if anybody is interested I can post a pic of my fuel tank fuel line grommet insertion tool, it WORKS!

 

[bcbender]

ID be interested in that grommet tool.. they can be a real PITA. Making tools along the way is priceless in time savings, I have many!

 

[bcbender]

Scratchemus pistonitis and a bit of boreinflamation and we pronounced it DOA

Hahahaa... that made my morning, great humor sir!