Darkslider

It runs spot on it's not that old, it's actually a chain oil leak I'm struggling to seal due to a distorted chain plate I think.

I'll persevere and I'll get there in the end When it's all sorted if I've got some spare cash at some point I might send it your way for a bit more power if you think there's anything you could do with it!

Though what I think is an unrelated problem I now have is it leaks a fair bit of chain oil out from behind the stainless chain plate, even with the bar on and tightened up properly. Tried a thin bead of sealant around the channel and all sorts but I'm still ending up with oil weeping into the clutch drum area which can't be good! Has anyone else experienced oil leaking from the channel and coming out of the gap between the saw body and this plate? I've had a good look at everything and can't see anything obviously wrong, the bar hole is clear and a good amount of oil is making it to the chain and off the end so the saw is useable I'd just like to keep the oil where it's supposed to be! I'm debating super glueing the plate down with araldite or similar to create a permanent seal, as it's so thin it just flexes whenever the bar is taken off and disturbs the silicone. It never leaked before I had the hole in the tank, and looking at it the bar nuts should clamp the stainless plate 100% flush against the channel sealing it up but it just doesn't seem to be happening. Frustrating!

To be fair with the stress I've had getting my saw back together and running with no leaks it's taken all my self control not to fling it into a ditch as well, so I can see how it's done!

What's the verdict then, was it chucked because it has a terminal problem or could it be saved?

Just going through my phone and realised I never put up the photos of the repair. Plastic padding epoxy weld and a bit of ally chequer plate cut, notched and bent to fit the shape of the oil tank and it's been good as new, with the reassurance that's it's stronger now than it was before!

Had a quick look at the Mitox website, although the saws are undoubtably cheap and the after service and parts backup looks better than you'd get with any other unknown brand, they use a heavier, larger displacement engine to make the same power as a smaller stihl, husky, echo, solo/whatever. For instance their 3hp 18in bar saw has a 50cc motor and weighs 6.5kg, any other manufacturer would have made the same power from a 40-45cc motor and got it weighing under 4.5 kg. PLus the 40:1 oil mixture would put me off slightly, I would want the same fuel to run in every 2 stroke machine I had, definitely couldn't be arsed with one can for the Mitox saws and one for everything else! However if none of the above put you off the dealers and backup look pretty good and it seems like you get a fair bit for your money.

Well I thought I'd update this thread as I've had a bit of bad luck. One year on and only a few weeks out of warranty (if I had any) I managed to drag a small log back into the dog teeth while cross cutting on a pile of timber. Was only a small knock so I was surprised that it smashed a hole in the front of the (plastic!) oil tank. If I'd realised the oil tank was only a single skin of brittle plastic I would've reinforced it with a metal plate. Disappointing from what is a £400 saw at RRP, a Stihl or Husky at that money would have an alloy/magnesium casing which would have stood up to an impact a bit better. Though I've had it for a year I've only used it for maybe 6-8 firewood sessions so I'm gutted So does anyone have any suggestions as to how I go about sorting this? Finding Solo parts online is near impossible, translating the Solo by Alko german page just directs me to my local dealer but as I got the saw off Ebay I doubt many would be that keen on helping me, plus it looks like the tank is part of the entire underneath casing so it might not even be replaceable, or it could end up being a huge job. Any Solo dealers feel like commenting as to parts availability? If it looks like I have to try and repair it how would I do best going about it? Any repair I do would have to incorporate an alloy bashguard to stop it happening again, I know there's a few wizards on here that have brought smashed up saws back from the dead, do I need chemical metal/jb weld or something else?

Wot, no nose sprocket at all? Can't be good for the life of the chain surely? Less maintenance otherwise though I suppose.

Whoops, disregard my advice then, that info I've regurgitated came out of the user manual for my saw so I'd assumed it was correct. Should've mentioned aspen is the best solution in all cases, and if you're using the saw that little the cost isn't such a big deal.

We've got heavy duty fencing mauls at work which are made of a softer metal, some kind of alloy I'm guessing. Still got the weight of a Sledge but bulkier and less chance of fragments, the head deforms slightly on impact. Might be worth you getting one. Think yourself lucky it was just your leg, think I'll be keeping a closer eye on the condition of my splitting gear and wearing safety specs when the going gets tough after reading this!

The ethanol in supermarket fuel degrades rubber fuel lines and seals slightly quicker, however if you're only using the saw infrequently it'll take years to have any negative effects and even then it will only be the cost of a new fuel line or carb kit you might need. If you're not going to use the saw for more than a month or two you should drain the tank and run it dry as pump petrol doesn't last much longer than that without additives.

It runs fine and isn't down on power from standard, I'm just comparing it to the saw I use most at work which is an MS 261 with 4hp and a full chisel 18" chain. Can't expect it to compare really for the price difference but if I could release a bit of extra oomph without too much time and effort it'd be welcome! It's also a 46cc engine compared to the 261s 50cc I should add.

Yep it does the job, but the 3 hp motor isn't quite powerful enough to cope with the 18" bar when it's buried in a hardwood log. Have you any experience of tuning this particular model of saw, is it worth looking into porting or muffler mods for it? Think my problem might be getting replacement gaskets and things for any strip downs.

Good days work for the bargain bucket Solo 646. This will be it's fourth or fifth full day session ringing up firewood, plus a bit of felling and brash bashing here and there and it still hasn't missed a beat, very pleased with it!

Being a newbie to serious strimming, what's the best way of collecting all the cuttings after a lawn has been cut? Do you pros rake it up or run a mower over it all again perhaps?

Had Terrafirma +2" springs and shocks fitted to my 90 for best part of four years with no problems. Much beefier with bigger chunkier stanchions than standard equipment. Pro Comp shocks are also popular as a budget alternative.

Good point, but does the average freelancer climb by himself as he's confident in his ability and doesn't want to pay a groundie for a day's work that isn't needed? We always say we just want the tree dismantled, any timber and brash can just be left where it lands and we'll sort it out ourselves to keep the bill down. The more I think about it the more it seems that we either need to fork out for two people to go through the training or carry on paying someone else to carry out the work indefinitely. No arborist who has got to the stage of completing their rescue training is going to want to come and sit in a camping chair and read a book for a few quid while any climbing is going on, and if we're having to pay someone full whack to act as a full on groundie (carrying out work one of the guys could do already just for more money) we're not likely to save much anyway.

Might have been a bit misleading with my last post, I didn't mean I'd be happy using a saw up a tree by myself with nobody else around, working at height on your own regardless of what machinery you're using doesn't seem like a bright idea. I'm part of a small maintenance team for a family forest park, with 22 acres of woodland that needs to be kept safe for visitors, along with various other landscaping, groundworks, fencing, gardening and mechanical jobs. We seem to be needing to fell more and more trees these days either due to expansion or them having been identified as unstable, a few have been near buildings or structures so have needed to be dismantled, and there's a good few more in the pipeline which I estimate will cost us around £2k to get an arborist in to take care of. There's half a dozen of us with CS30/31 so I'd always have someone on the ground helping which as an individual I'd be quite happy with, however my employers wouldn't be. My boss is super keen on doing everything properly and complying with any relevant legislation, so it looks like the only way I'm going to get climbing is by either paying for it myself or convincing them to send someone else on a 38 as well, which along with the extra kit needed, might sway the balance towards carrying on as we are and paying someone to do the trees we can't manage

As a matter of fact this is the way I was thinking of going should I get my 38/39. I would be happy volunteering the odd day for free in return for a bit of experience and advice. I'll put forward everything I've been told on this thread and see what my employer says, however I think the rescue trained groundie on hand at all times might put the kibosh on any plans. Shame really as I'd love to get climbing and being on my own wouldn't bother me in the slightest, I'm not one for taking risks or cutting corners and wouldn't tackle anything I felt was dodgy but I can see why the legislation exists.

Disappointing to hear how hard it was to get the bits you needed, I'll have to take extra special care of my 646 now I know it could take 6 weeks to get replacement parts should I break anything! On balance I think it's still worth it, I would've had to buy a stihl ms241 if I wanted a comparable saw which would have meant spending another 500 quid or so, I can live with slow parts availability for that saving!

Thanks for the helpful comments and the 'lively' debate, has given me much food for thought! Interesting to see that a £750 kit budget is considered both a bit over the top and hopelessly optimistic by different people. I'd just want a simple and safe setup, it wouldn't be worth spending hundreds extra for kit to make jobs and moving about in the tree quicker as it won't be all that regular. Having a look at how much some of the shiny toys like mechanical prussiks go for it's easy to see how you could blow that budget out of the water though, at up to two hundred notes each.

You're right it was a bit of a stab in the dark, I had in mind a rope at perhaps 45m, boots, trousers and helmet suitable for climbing as we've only got basic ground stuff, harness, karabiners and any other descenders/trick bits of kit we might need and a top handled saw, MS 150 T or similar. Easy to see how £750 might be achievable Though for how infrequently we're likely to be climbing perhaps a pro saw would be a bit OTT, we could probably make do with a Mitox or a second hand stihl/husky or similar for a good chunk less.

If we can deviate from badger fur for a minute, I found this thread in a search and it's related to my question so thought I'd ask instead of starting a new one as I'm after some advice about a basic start up arb set up. My employer is thinking about putting a couple of us through the CS 38/39 as in our 22 acre forest park there's normally one or two trees identified every windy period that need to be topped, pruned or dismantled. Though we fell and cross cut everything ourselves getting someone in at anywhere between £200 - £400 per tree is quick becoming an expensive way of operating it and we've both realised that the training would pay for itself quite quickly. For someone with 30/31 already, the 38/39 seems to cost in the region of £1k or just over with the vat at most places, but I was wondering if anyone could give an approximate cost of all the climbing gear and PPE required as well, including a top handled saw if we decided to get one I'm guessing £750 wouldn't go too far? Is there any hidden costs or other snags I might not have thought of? I've barely looked into the whole procedure this site is my first port of call really.

So basically, £90 for the strimmer and a fiver on some orange paint and you're on to a winner!