Muddy42

Let us know if straightening the kink and cleaning everything fixes it. As I said the new one might also be defective. I assume you’ve tried sucking carb cleaner or petrol through the tank breather with your pump? Or poking it with a pin?

It will be possible to dissasemble the saw in two. Look at youtube videos for help. Have you connected the primer back up the wrong way? We’ve all done it. Presuming you have tested everything and cleaned the breather, maybe the new breather is just defective and needs returning to the seller and replacing?

Try this. Disconnect the whole fuel tank section of the saw. Clean, empty and dry out the fuel tank and fuel line. Clean breather valve with toothbrush and/or a pin. Connect mityvac to the fuel line, which in turn is linked up to the fuel tank in the normal way. Try pumping small vacuum and pressure. It should hold very little vacuum the vacuum will vanish immediately and you should hear the breather hissing/sucking in air. The tank should hold more pressure and for longer - to be honest you're looking for leaks rather than an exact number.

Sprockets tend to have the pitch written on them - 3/8ths etc.. Sprockets should last 2 or 3 chains, but when the sprocket is getting worn, replace both sprocket and pitch at the same time, so they wear together.

Have you checked the other elements of fuel delivery? I've found before that another issue could be compounding the problem, that is just marginal enough to be fixable by opening the fuel cap. clogged fuel filter? Old soggy fuel line or even leaking. Is the fuel line routed smoothly not kinked? Have you sprayed out the sawdust from the fuel pump end of the carb, removed and cleaned out the jets?

An 880 would feel totally lost on Uist anyway, not enough trees and everyone burning peat.

Sorry Andy , I misunderstood thinking the OP meant a handheld circular saw not a Lucas. Some of these handheld saws struggle to get through 2 inches of oak so would be pretty ineffective on greenheart. I mill with two big saws, an alaskan mill and a full sized Manitou to lift wood, but even then the thought of milling enough structural wood for a house is pretty daunting.

- the idea you could make beams with a circular saw - the idea you could chainsaw mill enough wood of the right length and quality to build a house - compounded by the fact that the intention is to reuse greenheart.

This whole thread is a wind up, right?

Thank you, this is very useful. I need to go in there again (and best to do it when everything is clean) so I might as well test for leaks again more thoroughly.

How was I to know the cheap ones only pumped vacuum?!

Thanks, yes it definitely held a vacuum with the Mityvac. For pressure, I epoxy-ed up the holes in my cr@ppy ebay pressure tester (lesson learned, refund requested, negative feedback pending) well enough for it to hold 7psi for a few minutes. Fingers crossed.

Thanks, that's reassuring. Yes it has seen a lot of use, but everything seems sound enough.

So I have just got hold of and fixed up a 2011 Stihl MS460 with a badly scored piston. I disassembled the saw and pressure/vac checked the crankcase. I gave it a pass eventually, after a few dramas with a serious leak in the decompression value (hissing air so I replaced it) and then realizing my pressure tester had a leak. So I removed the cylinder and piston and cleaned everything up. This saw has been well used. The cylinder might have been salvageable, but it was already not genuine so I opted for a replacement Meteor cylinder and piston. The fuel and impulse lines are a bit hard but hold pressure fine, the intake boot doesn't have any signs of holes or cracks. The spark seems OK, I only did a basic carb clean (metering side). The carb holds pressure through the fuel line I got the saw reassembled and it started up fine last night, idles and revs OK, although I was pretty gentle on it and it needs tuning. So for £140 and my time, I'll hopefully have a working saw. But I still have this niggling feeling that I might have missed the cause of the piston scoring? Why is the saw now on its third cylinder? Could it simply be the decomp value? Before I go spending more money on sprocket, bar and chain and using the saw properly, is there anywhere else I should check? Its the first time I have replaced a cylinder, hence the question. Thanks in advance.

the problem looks very localised for a cols spot on a ceiling? I would have expected it to fan out more

I have a husky 135, its great, light and low vibes but after 9 years of quite heavy use it is showing its age, I suspect piston issues. I have used a stihl MS 170. as above, no complaints. Both are light disposable saws around 35cc, but with sharp chains you don't need anything else. Of find an older 45cc or 50cc saw and stick a short light bar on, go for low profile chain and get some decent anti vibe gloves - the experience wouldn't be that different from the saws above.

I think its always worth having spare saws, particularly at the smaller end. Its really handy if one is put out of action during the day (you hit something really bad, need to cut out a stuck bar, damage a bar, lose a nut, needs retuning - anything can happen). Or simply you get tired or need to cut in an awkward spot. But if I was given a boxfresh saw, I would probably sell it and buy second hand!

Yes safety first and bar off. But I always wonder....normally the reason I look at the piston is because I have just yanked the starter cord 40 times and turned the air blue with obscenities. If a two stroke won't start with full yanks, would it really start with the weak tickle required to inspect the piston??

Or run 1/2 a tank of alkylate through before long term storage? I am also a big fan of carb disassembly, cleaning and carb kits.

Its a tricky one. Modern living (e.g. running water, showers and frequent washing clothes) makes more airborne moisture than old houses were ever designed for. These houses have often then been insulated badly, I hate cavity wall insulation. Then modern houses are basically sealed tin cans which don't let water out. Powerful extractor fans help (often an upgrade as the standard ones are less powerful and wear out) but a big hot wood stove run on free dry wood every night irons out a lot of water issues.

I thought the above video explained the issue quite well. Clearly having good extraction will help where you have sources of moisture (showering, washing machine and cooking). Otherwise if you have an old home, a good blast of heat in the evenings helps, easier if you have a stove and free wood.

Yes ideal. If you can get a manitou or tractor in there is makes a huge difference to how much fun you'll have. A quad and trailer is OK, but I quickly reach capacity on the trailer. With a loader you can move round sections of trunk into the best position and basically tip the finished slabs straight onto a pallet

I'm guessing you held up the tape measure and eye-balled the diameter as 2 foot? I really like that type of 'pippy' oak, the grain is really attractive, plus the trunk looks relatively straight. In my experience that is an ideal diameter to mill as a beginner. With the odd lump and some of the bar getting used up by the mill, you'll probably be OK with a 3 foot bar which is a common and handy size. A vertical mill might help too. Have a think about what you want to use the wood for and don't be too ambitious. 10x2footx3 inches of oak is too heavy to manhandle, 4 or 5 ft is plenty ! Do you have mechanical help? There is a lot of wood there. Good luck.

From recent experience, for about £1500 you could buy a big second hand chainsaw (90-125cc) and a cheap eco mill and have a crack at it yourself. Because the chainsaw is contained/protected in the mill, you don't strictly need a saw with a chainbrake (which the older saws don't have making them less desirable).