CHAINSAW!!
So several weeks ago my chainsaw abandoned me in the middle of a job.
I discovered that the fuel line had gone to shit, so I got a new one. No difference.
I discovered that the return line wasn’t much better, I replaced it. No difference.
I replaced the filter, also to no avail.
I tore down the carb (If you can call something the size of a ping pong ball a “Carb”)
I checked the spark, and it was incredible.
Five seconds before flinging the saw in the garbage I decided to yank the engine (if you can call something the size of a beercan an “Engine”) and discovered it had a broken ring. And then I ordered the ring from sears to discover it was not the right animal based on their number. Finally I found a place on Ebay, who mailed me the ring, and it arrived on Christmas eve.
I now know the inside of this chainsaw better than I should, that’s for sure. A bloody nightmare to make all the hoses and tubes and wires and shit go where they’re supposed to go without kinking. But I get it all together and realize I’ve failed to install the inner chain guide, a small washer that goes unde the clutch. As I get it back apart i also realize that the screws holding the oil pump in are missing so I put those on. Then I sit it on the ground and try to start it, and it doesn’t. So I flip the “Kill” switch and it starts on the first pull, and runs like a striped ape.
So I take it BACK apart and flip the kill switch so it’s in the correct position, then put the cover back on, and am just about to stick it in it’s case when I realize I’ve left the filter off, so I take it apart AGAIN and put the filter back in and put the cover on, and then check it to make sure it still starts, and it does, like a maniac.
I will most likely want to futz with the idle some, but basically, I’m good. And tickled to have my chainsaw back, after so damned much time, even though it cost only a couple dollars. I hope to get a couple more years out of it and in the meantime I’mna look for a deal on a Dolmar.
Now I can cut up some of that big wood in the yard into useful-size pieces. Damn, that feels good. Now I’m tempted to buy some old Poulan saws and rehab them now that I have been INSIDE AND OUT OF THE DAMNEED THINGS.
It is tempting isn’t it. I did one for the neighbor a few years back. See them on craigslist all the time.
Turning a gratifying hobby into a small money making operation is a bad thing?
Yep, you sure wouldn’t want to do it too often now that you got the hang of it. Let the next guy throw it out and buy the newer, crappier models. There’s nothing you can offer him. He’s too dumb to know different, and you sure won’t tell him. That is so not like you. hehehe
There is nothing, NOTHING, that satisfies like a well tuned, sharp, chainsaw going through timber like it was butter. :-)
Pascal: The trick is, to let him throw it out, then garbage pick it
LOL. I am reparably humbled.
Huzzah! Nothing is better than a well managed chainsaw. Well done!
A saw rebuild (for fun) is on my “bucket list” but mine won’t need it for years (I hope). Even so I’d pay good money for a quality detailed (on-line?) course in rebuilding a Stihl.
Years ago I invested in a high end chain sharpener with all the bells and whistles. I highly recommend it. A good saw with a perfect chain becomes Excalibur.
Unfortunately my sharpener is smarter than me. I only know the angles for my favorite chain. If I ever find a good reference for the angles on all/most chains I might sharpen for money. I need another business/hobby like I need a hole in the head but amassing another marketable skill is always a good thing.
Happy logging.
I am looking hard at garbage picking a few just for practice.
My wife feels I have an unhealthy love affair with my saws. But I do love to tinker with them. My Dolmar 7900 is my pride and joy. I was told that having her time my cuts so I could compare the different ways I sharpened chains was a bit much.
You do have to be careful though. After performing a muffler mod on the 7900, I fired it up to check the tune. I forgot to put the clutch drum back on before hand. When the clutch lets go at 13,000 RPM, that shit will ricochet around the barn a long time.
Roger
And that’s why I fuel my chainsaw with electrons rather than gasoline. Of course the length of the fuel line for the ‘trons can become a problem sometimes, heh, heh, heh.