spudulike

This advice is damn spot on, only thing to add is look at the bottom of the saw for a judge of how harsh it has been used and check the oiler works.

Latest one in, a big box containing a MS200T...............in bits:001_rolleyes: It has two stripped threads on the exhaust and an oil leak on the crankcase. The threads are now helicoiled and the leak.....it was caused by wood chip in the recoil cover screw hole nearest the lower AV mount punching a hole through to the oil tank. I have degreased the area and put JB Weld around the area to seal it.

I just cut my own firewood but use the brake when walking or moving with the saw and when other people are around me when I have finished cutting.

I would go with Rich on this one. If the ring is worn then the skirts on your piston wil have probably worn as well. Although the ring makes a large percentage of the compression, the piston fit also makes a significant difference on compression and the corresponding torque of the machine. The piston should be 44.3mm in diameter - I would measure it and also look to see if any of the machining marks are still visible - you can also take it off and run it up the bore (no ring on it) with your thumb on the plug hole and feel if there is compression or not. The other thing I do is get the piston near the bottom of it's stroke and move it forward and back (not up and down) to check for signs of piston slap. Up to you and guess it depends if it is a customer repair, budget or your own machine!

I guess it depends on what sort of work you have in mind for the saw. Ringing up 1' - 2' trunks and the 365 is in its element. If it is for a bit of domestic firewood then a 346XP or its replacement 550XP would be a good choice if you are not on a tight budget.

Ur a hard man Dave, that was below the belt:blushing:

Done this many times, keep a number of thicknesses of gasket paper in the workshop - punch the smaller holes with a hand punch and cut the shape with a scalpel.

If you do import from the US, factor in the extra 20% VAT and around £10 handling that the import will attract!

Garden Hire Spares Green Stripe are two outfits I have used, 537 01 71-01 537 01 72-01. Are the ones for the crank case 503 92 27-01 503 71 97-01. Are for the clutch cover Look for 372xp IPL on Google to look at the parts type

Given up on the McCulloch Titan 50 for now, it runs and oils but is leaking fluids a bit - needs more work:001_rolleyes: Got the seal back in the MS660, fiddly little bugger - would have been easier with a chamfer on the crank shaft where the seal slides on but thats life. Found a method that works and now got a decent seal and it passes checks:thumbup:

A saw and pole cutter have gone walkies that I had serviced/ported in the past. I regularly look out for them on ebay but they haven't turned up to date. Both had some distinctive mods I had done hence me looking! I think the stolen kit gets pushed around under the radar as far as I can tell!

Nothing wrong with your choice, good saws, pretty bullet proof and should last a long time.

Got an old McCulloch Titan 50 that I purchased ages ago, surprisingly it did start so thought I would give it a quick going over ready for sale:001_rolleyes: The clutch spring had snapped and had to grind out two lots of rivits to get the spring retaining plates off so I could get a new spring on. Then...the bloody thing wouldn't start - fuel line had fallen apart as had the breather pipes, the oil pickup and the spaghetti junction of pipes around the manual oil pump:thumbdown: Got them all replaced and just need to reassemble it and clean the carb - hopefully it will all be OK once fuelled up and pulled over.

Stops the oil coming out of the feed pipe:thumbup:

Nice view in the workshop this weekend, three ported Huskys - two 372s and 350, now boxed and ready to go after a taching and run up:thumbup: Been pulling seals also - got to show these pics just to piss off the techs without this tool:001_rolleyes:

Ask Agg221 about Allen Scythes - he has one he resurected and runs:thumbup:

550 & 560 if new or 357 & 346 if secondhand - they will bring a smile to your face and tend to rip a little:thumbup:

It generally works well with small saws with roller crank bearings, for the larger saws I generally use pullers or the Stihl tool. You do need to go easy to avoid any damage but it is a method that is used by many with success. Spinning the crank wheel round 180 degrees and trying again can help tricky ones. I have made puller extensions before out of steel to pull off flywheels. These small Dolmar/Makitas often use needle rollers - the Dolmar 309 I had was very similar.

Wedge a screwdriver between the crankcase and flywheel and belt the end of the crankshaft with a mallet:thumbup:

The chain should not hang off the bar(no drive links visible), you should be able to spin it by hand around the bar and it should carry on moving for a second or so after your hand has stopped pulling it round. when done at speed. When tightening the chain, make sure you either chock under the bar to force it upwards as it will loosen if you don't do it - you can, alternatively, pull the chain of the top part of the bar on tightening that has the same effect. I appologize if you already know this but it does ensure parts don't get worn and the saw is used safely.

no worries, I also forgot to mention the clutch, if you look at the image, you can see one spring gleaming.....just look at the coils on the other two and compare. It looks like one spring has failed and the previous owner......has replaced one spring:001_rolleyes: these things are about one and a half quid each, if one fails.....it means the others, that have had the same life, will fail soon - CHANGE THEM IN SETS, you know it makes sense:001_rolleyes::lol:

Yes, I know, wouldn't be so bad if the owner had got good use out of it or had paid a fair price for it:thumbdown: Not a good one by far but will be much improved when he gets it back!

Had a MS650 in for a service, bit of a catalogue of disasters...looks nice in the first picture doesn't it:001_rolleyes: Well it isn't, this is one of the British Alcan saws that has been used for cutting Aluminium billets and has been repainted, the metal behind the clutch is bare and battered aluminium alloy. Various things are wrong with it, the oiler is knackered, pinion worm drive stripped, the pump was full of metal swarf and the gear badly worn, the crank bearigs have play in them, the crank seals are leaking, the chain brake handle had bad wear around the pivot, the bore looks a bit worn but compression wasn't too bad at 150psi. The carb did look clean though:thumbup: I am sorting out the real bad stuff - have sleeved the brake handle and it is now tight, the oil pump and pinion will be sorted and new crank seals to get rid of the minor vacuum leak. The saw is really too worn to take the cost of new crank bearings but the owner has had a few bad issues as of late so am doing this as a bit of an act of charity - not that he asked but am a very reasonable fella:blushing: Am keeping the costs right down and am not going to charge labour against the owners wishes!

That's the one, nice adaptation:thumbup: