Muddy42

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).

Unscrew the muffler and take a look in the exhaust port with a headtorch whilst pulling the starter cord. Clamping the saw to a workbench helps. You'll easily be able to see what the piston and rings look like. Post a photo or video here if you want?

It probably feels a bit more 'natural' when cutting high up like this, especially as a right hander and you can use both hands on the saw. Granted I have only cut smaller wood where hitting the ground would quickly be an issue. I try and keep the whole rig set up the same always so I get used to the feel and balance of it. Did you have an auxiliary oiler?

It depends how handy you are but if it were me I'd try and remove the stove and backing boards myself and then sweep the chimney. Maybe you can borrow rods and brushes, but even if you buy then it'll be cheaper than a sweep. I'd maybe wait until warmer weather in case you let in a draft. Watch out for new ecodesign stoves. They are designed to be very fuel efficient to burn and re-burn the smoke so what exits the chimney is very clean. However they achieve this by having a small exit that is close to the door. In the real world this leads to lighting difficulties and smoking into the room. They need to have the perfect flue and conditions with a very high draft, I suspect an unlined flue won't cut it. I have had mine for a few months and it takes all my boyscout skills to get it lit - open the window a crack, small hot fire at first etc. Whereas I have an older non-ecodesign stove (identical flue, same stack) that you can light with your eyes closed.

Everyone I know who has one says they are excellent - light but with heaps of power and crucially they start very easily every time. I have put a tank of fuel through one and certainly that was my experience. I am a little bit skeptical about not being able to adjust the carb and all the electronics, but maybe that's just me being stubborn.

Are you sure the 'aftermarket' piston and cylinder are exactly the same as the original (many aren't built with the same tolerances)? Do you get the same abrupt halt with the old p&c re-installed, its all about eliminating variables? You say the cylinder was lightly scored, it might be repairable? Could there be an issue with the decompression value - making it turn off too quickly.? Have you been checking compression, pressure and vacuum before and after?

I’d say that most chainsaws users could do with a small stihl 181 or Husqvarna 135. Even if you have/eventually buy a bigger saw, these lighter saws are great as a spare, cutting the bigger saw out when you get it stuck (!) or brashing/tidying up smaller branches.

I was indeed! God knows how many hours I spent fiddling with it. If I priced those hours the same as my desk job, I could have bought several new saws. i will. Its a nice weight for small jobs.

Yes swapping the carb and re-tuning was a distraction, it was the intake boot that had perished and had a leak. It was very hard to diagnose, I only really found the issue when this was removed. A spray of carb cleaner just ends up in the air filter.

Right so the problem is now fixed and the saw is running. Sometimes its the silly things right? But I would’ve helped if I had more pleasure and electrical testing kit (like my friend does). so the new replacement carb that I had bought turned out to be leaky from the start - cr@ppy knock off ebay rubbish! so in order what I think happened was. 1. I replaced the carb, no noticeable difference in the air leak. I assumed it would be best to continue using the new carb, as it should be fault free. 2. I replaced intake boot. I think this was where the leak was all along, but I couldn’t tell because the carb was bad. 3. my friend pressure tested both carbs, put the old one back and checked the quality of the spark. The saw ran fine so he re-tuned. I used a tank of fuel to cut some logs. All good. Thanks again for the help.

Apologies, thanks to ALL who have posted on this thread over the past few months.

Thanks both

Thanks. My friend suspected an ignition unit aswell and I've given him the OK to take everything apart. Let’s see if he can fix it.🤞

Yes I think it is an air leak somewhere that I just havn’t found yet.

1. difficult to tune - i think ive got everything set and then something changes, the saw stops idling or bogs. 2. cuts out when cutting wood at high rev. 3. idles rough, it sort of chugs, see video. true, but if I had L or idle set much lower it dies. so far I have replaced fuel filter, carb and input hose. Ive checked all hoses for leaks. The piston and rings look fine from both sides. ive given it to a friend for a second opinion who services saws as a hobby and is very good with them. Lets see.

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Right. Ive replaced the input boot and the airleak problem is still there. I dont have a pressure tester, but I guess the next thing to check would be crankcase pressure and see if the seals are leaking.

Thanks. Any tips on refitting these induction tubes / boots to ensure everything is airtight? I now have everything spotlessly cleaned with cotton buds. Should I use any lubrication on the contact surfaces with the cylinder, carb or on the hex screws ?

Thanks. Gosh I find those Husqvarna diagrams hard to follow. Ive ordered the part and will keep going.

Ive spent a few more hours on the saw with no luck, all the pipes and the purge bulb are fine. I still think there is an issue with the various rubber/plastic tubes between the carb and the cylinder (the rubber part is not on @adw ‘s diagram above. I dissassembled these with extreme difficulty and think Ive found the leak, but I cant see myself being able to put these back together properly. i think I’ll call it quits and toss the saw - its a cheap rubbish one that isnt well designed for tinkering with. Oh well at least it was free! Thanks for everyone’s advice, I have learned a lot.

Thanks. The pipe seems fine. I took it off the saw completely and when I connect it to the old carb and blow through it, all I can hear is a diaphram in the carb moving, no noticeable air leaks. Mysterious