spudulike

254s are great saws, I get them in for porting now and then and the small size and weight always get me, nice and compact and after porting.......bloody hell they are bonkers. When I first did Tom Ds (first one for me) when I first fired it up, I was gobsmacked by the transformation. They were no sluggard standard but wow, pickup was transformed in to a right mini beast!

My back wasn't that bad but would get episodes after lifting heavy weights due to compression of the spine or any sort of heavy physical prolonged lifting work would knock it out. I wanted to lose a bit of excess round my middle so started doing 10, 20 then 30 sit ups a night and the back pain went progressively after 2-3 months, I was pretty amazed as well but it was just down to strengthening the core. I have since lost a couple of stone as I am now on my feet all day rather than behind a desk and very rarely get back issues. The difference is that if I get them, it goes straight in to a tight feeling rather than the "knife in the back" sharp pain I used to get a few years back and heals in a day or two rather than weeks of being bent double. My issue - 6'2" and having a relatively long spine!

Thought it already had..... http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/devastated-police-community-support-officer-issues-stark-warning-that-norfolk-will-not-be-as-safe-or-secure-after-pcsos-are-axed-1-5246223

It is probably more about bending the rules a little and leaning more toward some two stroke racing/tuning principles rather than sticking to mainstream manufacturers guidelines than anything else. Sure, they have their own enforced parameters that the two stroke tuners don't. All saws are different but there are usually some limiting factors that can be removed

Repair and run better, not faster on that one, just another of my hobbies!

It isn't quite like that, manufactures have to ensure the saw produces around 114db or less noise, emissions are getting hit by the American EPA which is a laugh considering the 1950 - 1980s muscle cars they were driving but hey ho, and some of the tolerances manufactures are dictated by in mass production are pushed to more known "racing" standards. I haven't seen any detriment to a saws life as generally the bottom ends are strong and the ported saw runs cooler by clearing the exhaust gasses faster. Some like to have their kit work better, faster, harder. I have spent most of my life fixing, modifying and getting kit run faster from 1830s long case clocks to £750,000 industrial printers and power presses, it is just how I am made. Some share a love and kick a fast machine gives them, others worry about lots of things and don't try it. Guys either like ported kit or it leaves some cold - that is fine by me, I never force anyone to make a decision and in, fact, as I did in my first post on this thread, give the cold hard facts good or bad and let the customer decide. I find most try a friends machine or get one done and from there, they end up like Stubby and have everything done (he isn't on commission but he says as he has found). I did say forestry guys who get paid by the tonne like ported saws and bingo, you have heard from one - not one of mine but no problem. To them a ported saw gives less body damage and increased productivity - the latter being my goal in my manufacturing days. So there you go - I am thinking you like a standard saw and porting isn't for you, not a problem and no offence at all from my side.

I am guessing at worse than when the saw is standard but not as bad as earlier generations of the saw. In my opinion, I wouldn't expect the emissions to be a big safety issue but it is always a personal choice. Bit like chipping your car but on a £600 pound saw, less of a decision than on an £18k hatchback!

List the saws you are thinking about having done and am sure some of my customers and others will advise with what they think. In short, ported saws are not for your employees as the H&S exec may take a dim view if you as an employer, give an employee a ported saw as a work saw if an accident happens. In reality, you tend to use a saw a size down to do the same work so your body takes less of a beating in doing the same work so a MS201/200 is replaced by a MS150, a 346XP replaces a 357XP etc it isn't quite that black and white but is the US basis of porting where MS460s did the work of the MS660 in forestry work! In safe hands, they are just as safe as a normal saw and many saws I have had to port have had missing chain catchers or faulty/filthy chain brake mechanisms so is porting that unsafe??? I find most customers for ported saws are contractors, self employed or in forestry work liking the extra performance to avoid splitting/fractures in the cut and higher productivity. Ported saws create more noise and use more fuel but are a lot of fun to use if used using due care and attention as per your training.

I'm just on my way back to Britain from Niedersachsen, where the consensus is not that a 10% rise is an "explosion"? Maybe not an explosion but also not something I would want in my environment and also depends on the type of "crime". It is fairly obvious that if you let people from poor, violent countries in to a relatively well off environment then the people with nothing will take from the better off more so if they are not working and have no income. I can't but think that the elite in the Saxony area won't be too happy with this! Time may find equilibrium to this population change or result in other less savoury history occurring.

I got the puller tool as it was at a good price. I do however, use an awl to get most out although the smaller ones, like on the 066/MS260 flywheel side, are much easier with the tool.

Could be a multitude of things. The previously mentioned compression check is worth doing. If you haven't got a gauge then pulling the muffler off and looking at the piston through the exhaust port is one good option. Any vertical scoring isn't good - a photo will be good on here for an educated opinion. Other than that, does it feel easier to turn over? If you try to start it with the decomp out, does it kick like a mule? Check the colour of the spark plug, it should be dark to mid tan colour. It is possible that you have a restriction in fuel delivery - could be a split fuel line or blocked gauze internal carb strainer. The issue does sound like fuel or compression though.

That 020 looks like it has an interesting strop connector on it - was that one of my mods?

Depends on the general condition of the saw. I usually only do one if one is buggered and once fitted, there are zero leaks but up to you really. If it is in a shocking state then perhaps do both!

Think it is one of those repairs that you need the saw in front of you to asses what can be done. I think the original screw has a screw thread rather than being M5/M6. Can you put a bolt all the way through with spacers where they are needed? Just remember, the chain brake is there for a reason and an unsafe repair isn't a good one!

Sounds like seals to me. Pressure tends to show splits and holes in rubber more so than vacuum. I don't think you will have a decomp valve on that saw type. Best to whip the clutch, drum etc off the saw, turn it on its side and give it some vacuum and when it leaks, run some heavy oil around the seal and see if it begins to alter the vacuum leak-down. If it doesn't, try the flywheel side in the same way. The classic sign of a vacuum leak is that the saw will just not snap down to idle and will hold on to revs. The saw will also have a tendency to stall after a while idling.

I know cock all about hedge laying but that looks like a top job to me!

Mmm, Supermarkets - People who leave their trolley bang in the middle of the aisle blocking it and then dither about what they are buying. I get to the point where I side swipe them with my trolley and carry on walking apologizing profusely through gritted teeth. People who walk excessively slowly down narrow shop aisles - we are not talking disabled or very old people either!! I usually start slapping my feet down on the ground as I walk, it sort of unnerves them a bit

Sounds a bit weird, if the tank is flushed, the pickup line and filter are clean, the pump gear spins freely, the oil pinion worm isn't stripped or damaged, the pump inlet and outlet are free, the oil channel to pump channel is clear....there is little else that can fail. I have seen melting between the pump and worm but if all this is OK, it is unlikely no oil will flow. Just make sure it isn't just down to cold weather and thickening of the oil. One last thing, check the oil tank breather is clear of crud.

Some saws have no washers and some have just a nut - do what the parts list has on it. On the subject of torqueing flywheels - a lot of the old flywheels could be really cranked down tight, especially the Stihls with steel bosses. Some modern Stihls in particular, have thin inner bosses that the crank taper will crack if tightened too much. If you do this, it will make a "ping" noise like hitting the flywheel with a small screwdriver. Failure to recognize it may cause the flywheel boss to burst which won't be pretty. I have only done one and replaced it at my expense and just warning people. Doing these saws probably gives the owner a bit of extra knowledge but won't make you a super tech unless you REALLY get in to it in a big way.

What circlip - did you 100% fit one either side on the piston? If you didn't, it will detonate and take the top end out!

Two things - when driving, idiots in the inside line just indicating to pull out in to your lane when it is obvious you are just behind them in the lane they are trying to pull out in to, don't they teach "Mirror, Signal" now!!! Roundabouts - idiots in the slow lane who go round the roundabout cutting in to the middle of the roundabout and nearly take you out rather than sticking to the outside lane around the roundabout!

Very few, got a couple of McCullochs, one 1960s and the other 1970s and both run - don't see the latest saws lasting that long!

That was a very clean saw, nice condition as I remember!

Sounds about right, looking forward to it already. I once gave some rat poison to a guy whose primer bulb had been nibbled by mice - will pop a bit of slug killer in your box when I send it back.....it is these sorts of detail that my customers like Anyway....Happy Christmas, no hard feelings, all good

You have now. Think it was a 28" bar on it at the time - was the one I was talking to you about.....not nice!