spudulike

These coil flywheel changes are a pain. It is usual to have the magnets meeting the coil at pretty much TDC but had a Stihl blower once where it was around 180 degrees out and with the wrong coil, you go some good backfires! Get the incorrect combination and the engine just won't work as it should, may cause possible engine damage or simply won't start. I set the ignition timing manually on my 066 once, got it completely wrong and by the noise the engine made when I started it, swear it would have grenaded if I gave it any revs

Nothing to be scared of really, you just turn it in very small increments, capo on the first fret, push on the last and tap both the E strings to ensure there is a bit of relief. If you get a bit of fret buzz, especially near the machine heads, you can often get rid of it with a bit of a tweak. Just don't go stupid and most adjustments are usually under 1/8th of a turn plus on my Artcore, clockwise tightens the truss and on the Ibanez S970, it is the opposite but it is obvious if you take it very easy. The good thing about Ibanez is they have a quick access hatch on the adjuster, a flap that is pushed to one side, a very nice touch. You need to usually tweak them if you change string gauge anyway.

Damn, I thought you were looking for an accountant!

Well that didn't last, now got a fret rocker, fret beam and crowning file as the Artcore had a buzzy B string on frets 3 + 4. Set to the Ibanez Artcore 73 and ....well....interesting, super low action and by that, I view around 1.5mm on the 12th fret as being relatively good but am now at circa 1mm on top and low E string now, a real big difference and playing is a joy. I quite like working on guitars, no wood chip and crap to deal with.

That's because 5 years on the latest saws is about it. Older saws like this, the MS460 etc will keep bopping well after the lights have gone down on your MS500/MS462/572XPs etc.

Damn, some people give in pretty easy. One of the best 70cc saws produced and it is being dumped. I would fit a new Meteor piston, lightly hone the bore and get another 10-15 years out of it. I would have done a compression check before tearing it down and if it was 160+ then all is good. 150 and lower then it is time for a new piston. The bottom ends are pretty solid as is the rest of the build. It just needs a bit of a clean.

Check the impulse line an the fuel hose where it pushes through the tank wall as they are prone to split there. Other than that, if the limiters are off the carb, perhaps it has been tuned by an "expert". It could just be dodgy fuel mix but the saw will need a full check over otherwise you will end up with another failure. Once saw a 346 that came in with three destroyed top ends......I found the big end had failed before fitting a fourth!

Most saws will be tuned between 13-15Krpm so to hold 14k in the cut, you would either be holding the saw up in the cut, shifting very little chip on a very narrow kerf or have something like a true custom hot saw powered by some sort of cart or bike engine etc capable of hitting high revs and having so much power that the drag of cutting has negligible effect on chain speed.

8 pin V 7 pin, the 8 is only faster if the revs can be kept on the power band. Any bogging and the race is lost with much depending on the length, kerf and type of chain fitted! Stick an 8 pin on a 660 with a 20" bar...deep joy, do it on a 36" and not so joyous.

I learnt about cheap cranks from a scrimping customer who wanted a cheap crank in his 660, one sheared I half, one big end grenaded and then I fitted a new OEM crank, lasted a year and some scrote then stole it!!!! If it is a primary saw then there isn't really a choice bar Meteor or possibly Hyway on top ends.

Same for non paying customers, lump hammer and insulation tape....usually works after one knee cap goes

Looks very nice but you know what people are like, they like Chhhheeeeeeeeppppppp and wouldn't know quality if it hit them on the head from a great height!! Prepare to be disappointed and any positive will be good. Probably eBay may be the best option and do it on a £1 total fee weekend.

The 020T had a big lump of triangular plastic on the chain brake cover that acted as a catcher. If this has been replaced with the later cover, just fit an MS200T catcher.

obviously not, anyone want a lump hammer...cheap?

Winter is good for me time wise for any work. The bit about if it isn't broke - had this out with a tool maker once and my reply.....so you never change the engine oil in your car then??? A bit of maintenance can actually can save a lot of money, I have had to scrap saws through a cheap clutch bearing not being changed when it should and the crank then wore and the saws were scrapped as the owners didn't see the issue as an issue.

I think this is the little blighter - Rope Rotor for Stihl BG66, BG66C - 4241 195 0400 | Stihl Parts WWW.LSENGINEERS.CO.UK Rope rotor/pulley Genuine Stihl Part OEM Part No. 4241 195 0400 Suitable for the following Stihl Machines: BG 66, BG 66...

Damn, so that's how you should do it

The meaning of life...lets start with that!

I don't think I have ever read it, can anyone tell me if it is any good

A service generally depends on the state of the saw and the customers expectations. I don't tend to do a new plug, clean the air filter and adjust the carb a little for £70 type of service. Most of mine are a bit more....covers off, damn good clean, carb stripped and cleaned, air filter cleaned, clutch and drum stripped and checked, brake mechanism cleaned and checked, recoil cleaned and checked plus a load of other stuff including a few possible issues reported by the customer - Joe Newton gets a liberal application of Britney Perfume as he likes it. Once you have seen a load of kit across your bench, you instinctively see issues whilst stripping and cleaning the machine and also know machines weak areas from past experience. You can generally immediately see if the owner has looked after the saw plus the age of it to gauge how deep a service needs to be - it becomes an instinct or second nature after doing a few hundred machines. Some find it difficult to understand but it isn't the flash workshop, the amount of high tech, the amount of money charged or the companies ethical procedure or corporate statement that gives you good service, it is the ability of that guy who has your bit of kit in in their hands to know instinctively what your machine needs within seconds of handling it, pulling it over and giving it a look over. As the fella said last night when I ported his MS150 and tested it with him watching, "I was trying to not be impressed but OMG, was that really Hornbeam"?

Mark Skylands response is also my opinion and answer to this problem, sure, it makes the blower a bit heavier on the starter handle but it is a more reliable solution.

My usual conversation on 3-5 year old saws in for porting or service.... Me - I think your local service guy isn't doing to much to your saw from what I can see - reckon you should bin him. Owner - Ah, I don't think I have had it serviced it since new Me - So, this four year old saw has never been serviced Owner - No, I don't believe so Me -

Just looked at a MS261 where the clutch bearing was so bad, the drum was locked on to the clutch and was on the piss because of the damaged bearing, when you pulled it over, the chain span round. The saw was covered in dry bio oil and the brake was that stiff, it didn't click on and off, it was more of a lethargic thunk giving no confidence it actually would do anything. I wonder what the insurance company would say about that and as the owner was an employer of people - what the H&S would say if someone got seriously hurt using it. I guess he doesn't understand that one of the first questions from the H&S would be "can I see your maintenance records" and not having serviced a machine used daily for 3-4 years will probably be seen as negligent! It never ceases to amaze me what some see as an acceptable interval of maintenance - it seems for many it is when the saw is totally buggered!

I find that very interesting as I have always been told that you need a better specification oil with the AT/Strato machines. Knowing how these machines work and the problems that they can have with bearings and premature piston wear, it seems logical to use the best oil possible.

All Strato engines should be run on either semi or full synthetic.....so....."the green stuff"!! Your hand book should have made that clear. These machines sniff fuel using much less than their earlier models. Because of this, far less oil is seen on the bearings, bore and all moving parts. Stihl Red is just not good enough for these modern machines and you aren't the only one! If you are lucky, a new piston and a bit of work on the bore should see it come back. It would be interesting to see an AT download as it will tell you how the saw fuel was set at the time it failed.