ag Ed

3 hours ago, Gary Prentice said:

I realised I was one of those years ago, and get reminded frequently, that I haven't changed.

 

Don't worry about it 

haha thanks, i don't ever give a toss what other people think of me, i know i'm a silly twat and i'm happy with that! ? 
it just can be a bit embarrassing when it's a subject you're experienced and even qualified in, i blame the years stacking up! 

2 minutes ago, Stubby said:

If I'm not mistaken ( can't be arsed to go back ) but I think the saw is quite an old one . Pre retarding coils for start up . So you are more likely to have it bight you if you are not positive with it . Get it a BDC before you pull it and mean it when you do !

Sorry I've just realised I'm a twat and wasn't thinking straight, I blame the heat 

You are absolutely correct, yes on an older saw with pre retarding coils I can now see it could be a very real risk 

Still nothing conpared to the standard fordson, I saw a lad  break his arm in 2 places and shatter his wrist starting one of them!

you silly puff!
something like a bloody 3120xp or 880 couldn't backfire and hurt you, basically not possible as far as i can see with a recoil starter! 
you try kick starting motorbikes that are far too big and far too heavy for you when you're far too young, or hand starting old tractors
then you'll know what a back fire is! a few bruised shins, forearms and broken wrists and arms later! ?

so what's the biggest bar you run on a 560xp reasonably?
got my 560xpg on a 16 inch atm and it pulls like a train and cuts like a pissed off wasp on steroids! but the 16 is just a bit small for some of the bigger stuff. i just can't justify a bigger saw for the time being so i'm thinking just get a bigger bar to slip on when and as i need it

recently started using a brand new stihl fs91, an absolute beast, stacks of power and lovely to use with relatively low vibrations for a machine that size on line or 2 edge blade (just make sure you're not a knob and accidentally mount the blade pissed not on the bush... from what i hear that makes it vibrate like hell?!
just a bit more power than the fs94 which i've also used, fs94 is more of a garden machine for grass, nettles thistles and capable of a bit of brambles with a blade. fs91 is a truly straight professional machine that flies through gorse, the thickest of grass and undergrowth, brambles etc and even saplings no trouble with a blade
fs94 is a good machine but just a more professional build quality in the 91, the 91 has the squarer engine casing which is their professional line 

i was in my local dealer the other day and got chatting, got onto the new husqy fuel as they'd just got the first batch in, the claimed the 2 stroke stuff was just aspen rebadged. anyone else heard this?
same sort of price as aspen and red can for 2 stroke and blue can for 4 stroke so it would make sense. my local husqy dealer is far closer and i much prefer them to my local aspen stockist so will happily move to them for fuel is it's the same juice at the end of the day

As said highly likely clutch but it could just be that the tick over is set too high 

But yes back to the dealer and they should sort for free as it was sold as fully working 

A 560

Seriously though a love my 560 and tempted by a 550 when money permits just as a lighter and less thirsty saw 

Having the electronic carb on my 560 I would whinge if I had to have a manual adjustment carb as my daily saw

8 hours ago, bmp01 said:

Length of bar might be an issue but only if your using the full length of bar.  If it's a 10" diameter log, I can't see the bar length makes any difference.

Assuming the engine speed is not being dragged down near to stalling, then I'd guess the clutch needs a good clean out. Some of these saws can get a bit oily or maybe the clutch bearing has had a dob too much grease in the past.

The 181 uses the same clutch as the bigger 211 - assuming genuine parts.

 

BMP01

That's the thing, it won't hold on to dragthe engine down to it's knees, the chain stalls and the engine spins freely, slipping the clutch 

I think that could be a good shout though to pull the clutch out and clean it all up. Not sure if it's ever been done as I haven't been solely responsible for the maintenance of this saw from new 

And yeah being a fixed rate oiler this one does seem to be rather oily 

Yeah that would be my thinking that even if the clutch isn't knackered yet a 16 is just too heavy on that engine and clutch 

Just a shame he's currently got a good 16 bar and about 4 chains

My old man has an identical 181 c-be which suits him perfectly, he does a bit of firewood, clears the odd bit of brush etc and takes a few branches off etc and it's only used half a dozen times a year if that but he's got his on a 14 inch and it does definitely pull it better. Then again he hasn't used it enough to touch the clutch!

Customers saw is going back tomorrow morning but next time I've got it I'll stick my old man's 14 inch bar and chain on it and do a few cuts to see if it is a bad clutch or if it's just too big a bar 

I did take a video to show you but it's 70mb and the site only allows 7mb and photobucket no longer supports videos, any suggestions?

I've got a stihl ms181 c-be in from a customer to sharpen and thought I'd try to diagnose an ongoing nagging issue on it

It starts cuts and runs fine but with any pressure put into the cut (such as using the dog) and it just stalls the chain, slipping the clutch I assume 

It's only a couple of years old or so and not in daily use but imo it's underspecced for his level of usage (a very large garden/small estate and doing a lot of firewood as the primary heatsource of a large 15th century house)

I reckon the clunch I'd knackered, thoughts?  

Oh and it's on a 16 inch bar which I feel is a bit big on a 30cc saw    

right i'd best get on google, still over a month to learn it so even i stand half a chance!

22 hours ago, stihlmadasever said:

Never walk under a hung up tree or walk in front of the tree when the fellers doin the back cut. 

These are the only instances where ive heard people fail a felling course.

Learn 5 steps to risk assesment aswell.

As stubby says relax enjoy it and hope the tutors not an arsehole...

Assesors are usually great but you do get the odd tutor who's a total bellend

Good luck mate

that's some great pointers thanks pal, i'll keep them in mind and have a read up on the 5 steps to a risk assesment, on farms which is where i'm currently working we did all the risk assesments 20 years ago and then hid them away on that shelf over there and forgot all about how to do  them! 

going to have to get my self back into the routine of them if i'm to have any chance in the tree game!

20 hours ago, Canal Navvy said:

If you're using a saw at the moment concentrate on using the chainbrake before you move and keep the saw out of your bodyline. Don't forget to put down the visor & muffs.

Enjoy it and it'll be fine, they all do want you to pass.

thanks, fortunately i only did my cs 30 in about october or so so i'm still fairly fresh from it and i tend to like keeping in good habits anyway so i'm pretty diligent
but yeah i am on the saw regularly so i obviously don't always run by the book but i'll keep it in mind

so i've booked my CS31 for the beginning of april, do i need to bring anything like wedges or a felling bar/cant hook? or just saw, sharpening kit and PPE? 
also anything to watch out for when i come to do my test?

7 minutes ago, wjotner said:

When is this bloody winter gonna end?! I've never lost so many work days due to weather before this winter. Well and truly had enough of this shite. Bring on spring, I'm skint.

doesn't spring start like tomorrow? at least in my mind 1st of march should be the start of spring
but not when it is a bloody tundra here!

buy a small plot of land and get PP to build a 1 bed bungalow and cast a big concrete slab to start a yard

On 1/19/2018 at 19:02, Mark Bolam said:

It would certainly be the best week of mine!

 

Only joking.

 

I’d buy 12 Bitcoins.

i wouldn't be too sure, they've halved in value since the summer according to R4 the other morning
a very volatile and potentially risky investment

I am still here, just been far too busy with both arb and other work. Real life and actually doing what this forum is about got in the way of the internet!  
I do still lurk and browse in the background mainly but i'm just not a very active poster, just my style rather than that i've dropped off

even easier than draining the tank out and mucking about... remember the rule of thumb, listen carefully to everything the customer said and then forget all that and make your own findings! always experience the issue yourself
i went and started the saw on about second or third pull and it starts and runs fine, a touch smokey but nothing silly on a 17 year old saw that may be running a tad rich on oil

i can be almost certain he had knocked the kill switch up accidentally whilst cutting and couldn't understand why it wouldn't restart! i've done it my self a few times whilst running a stihl but i know about it and just knock the switch back and restart, personally prefer the husky kill switch where you knock it down and it springs back automatically 

28 minutes ago, spudulike said:

It isn't what the machine is rated at, it is what the oil manufacturer recommends so if you have a vintage machine, the oils of the day were 25:1 but if you use modern synthetic Stihl in it you would mix it at 50:1

Some no brand oils may state 40:1 but most decent modern oils are 50:1.

Oh right, interesting. i'll confess i didn't know that! i always run aspen personally and anyone i know tends to use stihl 2 stroke oil if they are self mixing

41 minutes ago, Clark282 said:

quite easily 'Sir, run your saw at 50:1 or you'll fuck it up'

haha brilliant!
simple to the point explanation covering blueing, overheating, bore scoring and crank shaft grinding without going too technical!

thanks, that's what i suspected
i've got a bit of home mixed 50:1 my old man uses in his ms181 so i'l drain the tank and carb and stick half a tank of that in

then comes the hard part, how do you tell the customer politely that he needs to be more careful mixing his fuel and to mix it at 50:1?!

I've got an old 017 in from a customer, he's just filled it up with a can of fresh 2 stroke, it ran for a very short while and then cut out, was running fine before
considering i've had his strimmer in before for the exactly the same thing, filled up from a can of freshly mixed 2 stroke and it was well too rich oil to fuel ratio i'm pretty confident i know what this one is!
anyway he reckons he runs it on 25:1, personally i run on aspen but all modern saws are 50:1 as far as i know, what would an older saw like this be? 50:1, 40:1 or 25:1?

Thanks, i tend to stick to my new saws and aspen personally!