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Various engineering suppliers for the proper stuff, or try ebay searching for 'gasket material'. However, the alternative is to buy a bottle of gasket shellac compound and use thin card (not shiny on either side). Apply the gasket shellac to the card so that it soaks in and seals it - proof against fuel, oil etc. It's a lot of hassle, buying a gasket is a lot easier and pretty cheap, but the above works well for NLA parts. Alec

Oddly enough I'm looking for a nice bland pear butt - the trunk from an old standard would do nicely. I want to make a longcase clock case in late 17th century style, using ebonised pear. The one on ebay is too short though. I don't reckon the woodworm will have gone right through that one - maybe a couple of inches in all round, which would still leave a decent lump if I'm right. I reckon this because it has been barn stored, and the worm give up when it gets too dry and move on to something more palatable. Alec

Soak the worst of it out with Fuller's earth if you can get it, dry sand if you can't (Fuller's earth works much better). Then dissolve up some biological washing powder in water, cover it to keep it damp and let it do its thing. What's left should wash off fairly easily. Alec

To the OP - what do you want to learn with the saw? Is it how to use it, or how to maintain it? If it's use it, anything that works well enough will probably do. If it's to take it apart etc. then an older pro saw is probably the best bet. The homeowner saws are designed differently, which makes them cheaper to build but more awkward to work on. As has been said, not everything that comes out of China is poor quality. In the 1950s, 'Japanese' was a term for cheap tat, as that was what they supplied - consider where they are now. China is developing - many high end global companies now have parts manufactured there at least, and to a very high standard. There was an entertaining position shortly after Omega moved watch production to China. The movements are made in one factory, the cases in another, then shipped to Switzerland for final assembly which allows them to be branded 'Made in Switzerland'. You can buy 'replica' watches for about £200 (c.f. the several £k for the genuine item) - these are copy fakes, rather than bad look alikes. At one point, the factory making the Omega movements was supplying the 'replica' movements from the same production line and the factory making the cases was supplying the replica cases. The only differences between real and fake were that the fake case was a higher grade of stainless, and cost a lot less! I wouldn't be surprised if some of the parts in a Stihl or Husqvarna are made in China. I would anticipate that the price is made up of the sum of the parts, the 'value' in the brand, and offsetting the real development costs incurred. The first of these is a real potential difference between, say, Stihl and Mitox. It's quite feasible to build a decent product to a much lower price - Spud quotes the price of the carb from Stihl, vs the price of the Chinese carb, but these are prices not costs. If you price up a carb repair kit from Stihl it could be £20-30. The identical item from Rowena (genuine Tillotson/Walbro etc) is likely to be £5-10. Everyone is making their mark-up on the cheaper one, but someone isn't making a big slice off the top. Personally, I think the market is ready for someone to make a solid and reliable but not exceptional saw. It would have to conform to emissions regs, but otherwise it could perhaps be a bit lower on power to weight etc. Maybe Mitox are heading in this direction, or will it be Ryobi, or Makita? Alec

I didn't count the stands, but I certainly had an impression of more active stands - the blacksmith was new, the chainsaw carving was back (wasn't there last year) and there were two people doing wattle fencing - one cleft, plus the usual turning, bow making/fletching, pole lathe etc. It was good to catch up with a few people and the food was excellent - particularly enjoyed my salt brisket burger. Having small children, I really like the fact that the activities are all free within the entrance fee. There's nothing worse than them wanting to try something, paying, and then they decide they don't want to do it about 30 seconds later! It kept them entertained for about 6hrs, which is pretty good going. Will try to catch up with more people next time. Alec

Weather looks OK, forecast is good, I will annoy the neighbours less if I mill tomorrow than today - so we're off! If anyone else happens to be there, look out for the 2yr old with the bright pink duffle coat/red and pink horizontally striped top (also there with 4yr old and wife). Alec

You could also try the 034/036. For some reason they're less popular than the 024/026 or the 044/046 - probably because they sort of fall between the two. However, they're a good crosscutting saw, will do a few hours of firewooding or some reasonable felling, and the parts are easily available - genuine and pattern. The fact that they're less popular makes them cheaper - saw an 036 make £50 on Ebay not that long back. Alec

Yes - I followed the thread when it was being written. It's got some good info but a couple of minor errors, particularly around the badges on the recoil, which are currently aluminium and rivetted - see pic below and note the date it was shipped from the Stihl factory. There are also a couple of other easy reference features, such as the way the decompression spring is fitted to the top of the pot, which are really useful for quickly confirming what you've got. On the skip-link chain - yes it has its place. It is definitely quicker on bigger wood if set up correctly, and on a really long bar it's pretty much essential. However it's largely a moot point now as it's not currently available (sadly Oregon won't currently supply Rob D) unless you grind your own. I can confirm that this takes a very long time on a 216 drive link chain. Alec

For the OP - I suspect you're looking at a Catch 22 on covering the cost of training before being paid for the job? One suggestion is to use a Silky hand saw. If you haven't tried one, they are extremely quick cutting Japanese pull saws. No idea what your hedge is like, but if the majority of stems are 4" or under it would be viable and to be honest may not even be slower by the time you factor in starting/stopping/ppe on and off etc. Buy the right one and you'll comfortably go through 8" stuff, so long as you aren't doing too many of them in a day. You still need 'training' (and believe me, they bite, as the scar on my face attests) but a formal training course would not be required, and you would also save costs on fuel, oil, PPE etc. If access requires a fair trek then it's a lot less to carry too. Plenty of recommendations (and opinions ) on here as to which one is best for a particular job. Just a thought. Alec

Yes, it's fake. The bar will almost certainly be genuine, hence the close-up of the sticker. The clutch cover is how they come from Stihl currently (logo cast in but no black paint). Earlier ones had black paint on the cast lettering, very early ones had no lettering. The giveaway is that the genuine ones have the 'R' registered trademark symbol after the word Stihl (I have one right next to me which arrived direct from Germany yesterday). The starter cover should also have the registered trademark symbol after the word Stihl, and I think the raised line on the casting is too long. The genuine badges are also still rivetted on - the only Stihl badge which hasn't gone over to push-in plastic. Again, I have one in front of me. To be honest, the basic castings on the pattern ones are perfectly serviceable. The problem appears to be the quality of the moving parts. There has been some discussion over them on an Australian forum, where someone bought one (knowingly, and cheaply) to try for milling. The verdict was not favourable. I haven't seen a fake 090 yet - and I do check regularly (Simon, do you have any reference info?). I've seen saws which claim to be an 090 but are actually an 070, but that's a different thing. Why bother? - well the price tag should answer that question. Not personally, but the Dolmar 166 has a good reputation. Again, I would check parts availability. Alec

Not sure which day we'll go yet - depends a lot on the weather forecast as it's much better in the dry. If both days are good then I'll go on the Saturday, as it's much quieter and goes on almost indefinitely, as many of the stallholders camp there. Alec

This weekend, near Bury St. Edmunds. If it's as good as previous years then well worthwhile. I can easily lose a day there and the children never seem to get bored of rolling down the hill (and the various activities laid on for them....) - anyone else going? Alec

Agreed - hence the first halving cut. Alec

Brilliant film. Made in Canada, narrated by Christopher Plummer and won the oscar for best animated film when it came out. I gave it to my wife for her birthday a few years back, along with various others from the same series. Alec

If there's stress, it's going to move. From personal experience I would say that splitting the log clean up the pith with the first cut takes the most stress out in a single cut. If both sides come out true then you can carry on as you wish. If both sides resemble a banana they can either be trued up and milled, or stood on edge and milled that way. If you do the latter, boards are only half the width but I've found far less movement. Alec

Not sure if it's near enough, but Big J has mentioned Helmdon sawmills as processing a lot of poplar into stickers etc. Should be low value logs so may be less concerned about 'lending' them and possible damage etc. May also be a decent size. Steve at Helmdon sawmills (01295 760305) Alec

Ah, I'm the opposite end of Essex to you. The prices I quoted are all from Ebay, within the past year (I split powerhead and bar prices out to get sensible ranges). There have been higher prices than these but it wouldn't be necessary to pay them. For example, I've seen an 070 up at £500 but there was one last week at £259, buy it now or best offer. It needed new rings, but that's straightforward and would probably have been a good bet. You can find them anywhere that people sell things, but they're pretty uncommon so the odds are very low. On the plus side, a farm auction or similar may turn up a real bargain (I have recently got really, really lucky, but it was a one-off and I wouldn't expect to repeat it). Ebay realistically is the only predictable source with enough turnover to produce a benchmark on price. Try searching completed auctions to get a sense of price range. Dolmar should be OK, but I would try checking L&S Engineers, Garden Hire Spares and Mister Solutions (along with general Ebay search) to check for parts availability. You will also need to consider whether you want to (or can/learn to) do the maintenance and servicing. There are a couple of people on here who will happily do it (well, Spud will grudgingly do it if it's not a Husqvarna ) so you aren't dependent on your local dealer unless you want to be. They can, in my experience, look at you in a slightly strange way if you mention 1970s saws and rapidly try to sell you a brand new 880.... Alec

Thought some pics might help, although they barely do the quality of the timber justice. It's survived through children, grandchildren and now my own children. It lived in a very damp room for 50+yrs and I carefully cleaned it and touched in the few small bits of damage to the finish in about 1996. Otherwise, apart from renewing the plywood back, which didn't cope with the damp and the woodworm, the whole thing is as it was originally made. Certainly shows glass tops can survive:001_smile:

This is true enough, but the other practical point is that for milling you want larger diameter butts, which are more of a pain for firewood processing. For the supplier it depends on how much wood they have to work with - if they have no shortage then selling the larger diameter stuff for milling works as your overall productivity goes up. If you're short on material then you will make more overall from firewood (but don't forget that selling firewood you need to include your processing labour, whereas selling a butt whole you are then free to go off and do something else. Steve - don't forget you also need to factor in milling costs when considering if it's viable. The options are to see if you can convince a larger mill to take them which will be quick and may allow you to do it in a single day's transport hire (hi-ab with driver is about £65/hr) but they are often reluctant due to the risk of metal, or to get a portable mill in. If using a portable mill, for your use I would look for someone with a swing mill and do it where they lie as although they're smaller than this would normally be used for it would be the quickest way to break them down accurately. Have you got log handling equipment available where they're being milled? If so, easy and you might just get through them all in two days. Otherwise you will probably need an extra day to get them milled - reckon on about £350/day. Alec

I have a 1930s dressing table, given to my grandparents as a wedding present. It's highly figured oak, with a glass top directly over the wood - sensible move on dressing tables as originally used with a washbasin on them. The glass is loose, resting on the top, and it does slide a bit, but the wood is still perfect underneath and the glass is perfect on top with no scratches or chips. Probably not toughened either. Alec

Hello, and welcome! Realistically, any of the larger saws will do what you want. I'm impressed if you have managed to find an 090 for less than an 076 (and many people would probably want to know where to look ) The main thing to consider on older saws is parts availability. You will be working it quite hard, and parts will wear out. That includes both the obvious consumables (spark plug, sprocket etc) and also some of the longer life service items such as pot and piston. Other parts may just give up through old age or accidents. I don't know parts availability on the McCulloch. The 075, 076, 070 and 090 all have excellent parts availability, both genuine and pattern. The 084 has issues with availability of pot and piston (available but only genuine at around £300) and the coil which is nla. I use an 076, 070 or 090, as the mood takes me. The 076 is a nice, solid workhorse. The 070 is just as good and the 090 is quicker but thirstier. I stick the 090 on for speed or for pulling a really long bar (for freehanding stuff if I just want to split it in half for moving). They are all about equally heavy. You do have to take this into account when running a cut, but the saw is up against the butt so there isn't much leverage and it's easy enough (doesn't tend to lift up). Not sure where you are in the world, given the Ebay locations you have been viewing, but in the UK, if you're prepared to keep a look-out the non-stupidly priced 075/076s have made £117-£300, 070 £180-250, 090 £272-450, depending on condition. These prices all assume no bar/chain, which may not be a bad thing as you rarely find a suitably long bar attached, and the bars are often the hard nosed Duromatics which aren't ideal. Reckon on adding about £50 to the above if it comes with a 28-36" bar, £100 for a 38-47" bar and £150 for a 52-60" bar. Obviously you can find saws for a lot more than this, but these figures are about right from the past year or so. Re. the Contra - haven't tried using one but it should be pretty much the same as an 070 - slightly harder to get parts but mostly OK. Hope this helps. Alec

We went; so did Ed (Wolfman) who was arriving as we were leaving. Didn't stop as he was on the phone and I was lugging a screaming 2yr old under my arm. That would have been around 3pm. About 10mins later the rain tipped down and we got soaked walking across the Gogs to the carpark (it's free in that one and a pleasant walk across the down, when it's not raining horizontally). The event was small, but kept the children amused for as long as they would have been interested in anything. There were plaster of paris green men to paint, badges to colour in, May crowns to make etc, all indoors, and the local wood turners were doing a demo, making spinning tops and giving them away to the children. Outside there was maypole dancing (No.1 daughter was impressed) and juggling/diablo/plate spinning etc. to do. There was a green woodworking demo, which was quiet - a bit of besom making and someone trying to use a pole lathe which didn't seem to be going too well when I was there. Also some heavy horses. There was an old timber tractor, and a modern MEWP next to an arb stand. Also guided woodland walks. The site itself has the iron age ditch to walk round and some pleasant woodland - if you have more time you can go out onto the roman road which is in good condition over the back of it. Oh, and the wood fired pizza oven was doing some of the best outside catering I've had in a long time. All in all, for a local, free event it was pretty good. Wierd and Wonderful Wood next weekend will be much more comprehensive, and will provide a lot more entertainment (definitely going if the weather isn't tipping it down) but of course it's not free. Alec

Helps if I add the picture:

OK, I've tried to draw up something to give the general idea of what I'm talking about. Red lines show areas to be taking things out - this is based on there either being an obvious very vigorous upright growing shoot, or the general area being too congested in which case lose the most vigorous, most upright shoot(s). You don't need to make that many cuts - 10-20 on the whole tree this year, similar numbers next winter. Green lines show the sort of thing you want to encourage. These bits want leaving alone Orange lines show branches which can be brought down, and how far I would bring them. Note, these are possible framework branches. There are more shoots that furnish the branches and would benefit from similar treatment - use the smaller, weaker ones for this and treat them the same way. You are likely to need to use the cutting technique shown on the link to get them to come down neatly. You don't need to do the whole lot at once - if you run half a dozen strings down to the trunk and do a batch, then once they've set to a lower position (Mark reckons six weeks in the growing season) then you can move the strings on to the next batch. Another link that might be interesting is here: http://frontpage.woodland-trust.org.uk/ancient-tree-forum/atfscapes/images/RestoringFruitTrees.pdf The pictures give a good sense of what you can aim for - in your case the previous hard pruning means you're going through a different set of steps but the shape in the last two pictures is about where you should end up, without the tree taking over the whole garden! Alec

If you rotate the saw past tdc, then put the plug in and pull the starter, does it turn over until it gets near to tdc and then stop? Or is there no movement at all? If it turns over back to tdc it suggests the piston is hitting the plug. If it isn't moving at all then it's not the plug. I suspect it's not hitting the plug, as if it looks used then it has to have worked at some point, and they don't usually grow in use! If you spin it over with the plug out, holding the plug against the case, do you get a spark? Alec