Macpherson

Worth check out the expiry date before buying, some of the 15g packs that I`ve looked at that are being sold cheaper, say on ebay or amazon have less than 2 years to go and some sellers aren`t even quoting dates at all. I believe the max shelf life you can buy is 5 years but that`s not to say that it wouldn`t work after longer. There`s a guy on you tube testing stuff well past it`s sell by, but I don`t expect your`e meant to have ancient stuff in the first aid kit. As you buy this stuff hoping that you`ll never have to use it, a long shelf life is obviously important. Cheers.

Hi again, it might not be as quick in the cut as a modern saw mainly because it doesn`t rev so high, but it`s a real solid machine that could last you a lifetime if you take care of it, I`ve got a couple of saws about the same age that I use all the time, just use Stihl oil and get the mix right, enjoy it and it`ll still be going fine long after some of the new stuff`s in the bin, cheers.

Hi, as far as I can see the earliest 028`s were 1977, but yours being 028avs wood boss probably makes it later, 1983- 1990 or maybe a few years newer only, there was three different sizes, 43,47 and 51 cc, you should be able to trace the age with the serial number, must have been lying about for years. cheers.

Bite his hand off !!

Hi, 028, a good solid mid sized saw imo, new in the box, would like it myself ! but then I like older saws. I would think that a more modern Stihl comparison might be an MS 260 perhaps, if you get it for a good price and don`t like it I`m sure you`d get your money back selling it on. Cheers

That`s good to know, I normally just carry a file with me for touch ups but when it comes to the longer ripping chains having more battery life would be useful in a cordless, specially if it`s a bit of a hike from wherever I`m parked, thanks.

Yes they do, and I find the Granberg stones pretty good compared to some others I`ve used. I`ve also got a cordless for my pocket [ not a dremel ] but the battery life is really short, about one sharpen of a saw with an 18" bar, out of interest how long do you get out of the rechargeable dremel ? cheers.

hi, until I got the mill I had no experience of running a 36" bar and was quite surprised how much the chain expanded when hot and just how slack it can get. I would guess you probably downloaded and read the book by Will Malloff "Chainsaw lumbering" that was recently discussed on here, anyway if not, he`s got a lot to say on the subject of bars chains and also mounting the saw differently in the Alaskan to make maintenance and adjustments easier, although I`ve not tried any of his tips yet it makes interesting reading. cheers

Yep, I`m glad you found it works, I spent weeks trying to research this subject and came up with cs4pi as one of a few best bets, although pulse induction models are apparently normally sold for detecting in water or wet sand, I spoke to the tech department at the factory who thought it might be a good candidate for finding metal in lumber. If your managing to detect at 12" that`s great, it`s a good deal more than the general expectations that many folks had in this debate and as you say ,it`s a bit of a dark art to learn to use and understand the results. Found any gold yet ?? Cheers.

And a mask.

Hi, yeah, stainless screws may be better than the originals and although obviously rust proof are still quite soft and would be even more awkward to remove for various reasons if there was a problem. `Unbrako` are a recommendation for top quality high tensile Allen screws and Allen keys,very unlikely to round off, a proper engineering product, I`m assuming it`s an ordinary Allen screw, if so should be easily available. Sorry to butt in, cheers

Hi Mick, as you can`t find anything obvious I think your flooding Scenario is a good candidate, another similar thing to consider, which I get from time to time, is that when conditions are very wet the floss on the air filter can get a bit sodden just due to dampness or condensaton so the moisture being drawn in with the mixture on the first few pulls can make it feel like the piston`s hitting a brick wall, it can get very wet up here and I`ve got a couple of older 80`s Stihls which have pretty basic filters which can get very damp, just a thought, cheers.

yep I know that, but what I`m getting at is that once it`s seasoned it`s bloody hard and durable, and trying to hammer a normal nail through a decent thickness of board can result in a lot of bent nails. I really like Larch and if I`m using well seasoned stuff for joinery I`ll usually drill it to avoid problems, it likes to be engineered, to me it`s far better timber than anything you can get in most timber merchants and has superior structural qualities than most of the ` C whatever crap`, lowest common denominator certified rubbish that`s about and is normal these days. cheers.

1" board 3" nail and I use stainless, or other non-ferrous to avoid the ugly black staining in otherwise lovely timber, can end up a right a mess, and I wouldn`t class seasoned Larch as a soft wood, cheers, off for a pint.

just a thought, might be worth checking that the flywheel isn`t making contact with the pickup, that the gap`s correct and not closed up, cheers

Fiskars for me but get the geared ones, so much better, cheers.

Yeah, Granberg do a similar device, great tool, much overlooked imo, As for hedge cutters, I prefer the double sided, I find them more versatile as they let you cut on both strokes and both directions so you have less trouble positioning yourself when working and I find it also helps with back strain as you`re far more mobile and not stuck in the same position all day, although for different jobs having both is great. cheers.

Looks great, nice bit of wood, you`ll have the bug now, cheers.

Thanks Eddie for your pm, don`t know if you got my reply as it didn`t seem to work, anyway, I`m planning to use Aspen in the hedge cutters this year as that`s when I experience the biggest prob with fumes. But from the practical point of view,to run a thirsty outboard or motorcycle [ not to mention a car ] on Aspen would cripple my bank account. Technically these engines are more complicated, with much more to go wrong and much more expensive to repair than any chainsaw, but the principal is the same, so the whole debate has left me feeling a bit paranoid. But there`s no doubt in my mind that after having investigated the ethanol in fuel issue in a bit more detail it would seem that the problem`s not going to go away, the list of materials that ethanol degrades is extensive and surprising, and the whole thing is seemingly all down to some misguided points scoring green policy........but of course I could be wrong, cheers

Hi, yeah, luckily it`s about 70 miles to my nearest Tesco. Up here there`s lots of small outlets and frankly if I didn`t read this forum it`s unlikely that I would have heard of the problem or Aspen. Tbh from all that`s being said I`m more concerned about some of my other petrol powered machines, for which it would be totally impractical to consider running them on anything but pump fuel, cheers

Hi, as has already been said, petrol starts to decay from the moment it`s refined so how is it possible to tell the condition of the stuff at the pump as you have no way of knowing how long it`s been lying in the tank at the filling station, specially in rural locations where the turnover may be less predictable. Does anyone have any thoughts on this ? Cheers

Yep, I agree, I`ve got a lovely big slab of Caithness slate for a hearth which I leave naturally matt and simply clean it occasionally with hot soapy water, it looks great........but you did ask, cheers.

Hi, tung oil has many uses other than wood related stuff, I don`t know if it would give the finish you desire but you`ve probably got some. It was once the `varnish ` type finish seen as a protective coating on tools in the old days, used to prevent rust in storage , or putting a wet look on geological specimens or fossils and just generally sealing most surfaces from the atmosphere, just use it very thin as already said and rub off all excess vigorously and let dry as I`m sure you know, cheers.

Thought that too, might just be dry.

yep, sorry, I see that now you`ve pointed it out, it seems that there was a few variations of the item from what I can see, I mistakenly thought the saw was earlier but the composite part seems available, cheers