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Cylinder Reconditioning Advice Needed

SteveSr

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Hello,

This cylinder came off of an 026 which seems to have very few hours... Look at the machining marks on the intake side of the piston. The piston is obviously toast. The wrist pin shows some blueing but feels smooth. Is this reusable? The cylinder appears to have a LOT of transfer... all the way to the top. Here are the "Before" photos...

IMG_4964.JPG IMG_4959.JPG IMG_4961.JPG IMG_4963.JPG

Hopefully these thumbnails will expand to full resolution when opened!
 

dall

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masterminds method of cylinder cleaning works good and a wrist pin will come with the new piston hows the bearings ?
 

SteveSr

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Hello,

With nothing to loose I decided to try my hand at reconditioning using Randy's method. BTW, this is only the second cylinder that I have tried this on. The first one was not nearly as bad and cleaned right up.

My setup is pretty crude. I don't have a Foredom so instead installed the mandrel in my drill press set at 3600 RPM and hand holding the cylinder. I used 4-5" long by 3/4" emery in the mandrel.

I started with 220 grit emery but was going nowhere fast. I then switched to 120 and the cylinder started to clean right up. Unfortunately as you can see in the photo I got into the plating on the bottom of the exhaust port. Does this make the cylinder junk or is it still usable as most of the work is done above the exhaust port?

I have questions about my technique. Given the tools at hand is there a way to prevent getting into the port edges? With the emery flapping around in the cylinder it is hard to keep it from migrating into the ports and causing the issue seen. Should I be letting the flapping of the emery do the work or should I put enough pressure on the mandrel/cylinder to fully wrap up the emery and lessen the flapping?

Now all we need to find is emery that will cut aluminum but not Nikasil!

Here is another stupid question... How good does the transfer cleanup have to be? Assuming that it is good enough to get enough compression for the saw to run and that the steel rings are much harder than the aluminum transfer... will the rings finish the job for you without any danger of getting too aggressive around the ports?

IMG_4974.JPG

Thanks,

Steve
 

dall

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that looks like a little too far on the bottom of the port you need to go slow and use some lube like wd40 as you go the rest of it looks good and go low speed
 

SteveSr

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masterminds method of cylinder cleaning works good and a wrist pin will come with the new piston hows the bearings ?
Dall, You post faster than I can write! See the next installment below.

The little end bearing looks good but dry. I am assuming that this is a case of straight gas. It doesn't appear that the saw ran long once it started to seize. The intake side of the piston The big end bearing also feels good with no vertical play so I am assuming that these are reusable.
 

dall

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bearings should be ok then but replace the piston for what little they cost id replace the wrist pin bearing also
 

Duce

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bearings should be ok then but replace the piston for what little they cost id replace the wrist pin bearing also
Do you think he had an air leak, I thought straight gassed pistons where usually scored on both sides?
 

dall

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its possible airleak id look over the hoses and replace the seals if needed once back together or change as a precaution
 

SteveSr

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Do you think he had an air leak, I thought straight gassed pistons where usually scored on both sides?
The seals tested good. I did this before removing the jug. The boot looked good. I didn't check the impulse line as I will be replacing it and didn't have the mity-vac handy. I also used a pair of pliers to pull it out of the tank housing (the correct way) so may have invalidated any test.
 

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Fairly sure the 026 is a Saw where the rings don't cross the exhaust floor, but please check that for yourself.

If they don't, use the jug.
 

SteveSr

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Fairly sure the 026 is a Saw where the rings don't cross the exhaust floor, but please check that for yourself.

If they don't, use the jug.
Well, I just took a look... in this saw the TOP of the piston clears the exhaust floor. Therefore BOTH rings will get into area without plating. So it looks like I need a new P&C.

Any recommendations for good AM cylinder kits and where to get the best price? I have used Meteor before but don't know about or have experience with any others.

Thanks,

Steve
 

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Hello

I have questions about my technique. Given the tools at hand is there a way to prevent getting into the port edges? With the emery flapping around in the cylinder it is hard to keep it from migrating into the ports and causing the issue seen. Should I be letting the flapping of the emery do the work or should I put enough pressure on the mandrel/cylinder to fully wrap up the emery and lessen the flapping?

Here is another stupid question... How good does the transfer cleanup have to be? Assuming that it is good enough to get enough compression for the saw to run and that the steel rings are much harder than the aluminum transfer... will the rings finish the job for you without any danger of getting too aggressive around the ports?

View attachment 47321
You do not have to use a power tool I have done several with just a wood dowel wrapped in in emery paper. It is not as fast but you can get pretty aggressive on the grit of emery and how much pressure you use. Use the tip of the blunt dowel and emery for detail work . You can also use a dremel or a drill, Most of it comes off pretty easy with a few stubborn spots. I do not have a foredom either.

You need good light and I use a dental pick and you can feel the transfer or if it is discoloration or if it is a hole in the plating. The general rule I have seen is scrape it with a finger nail and if it catches it needs more sanding. It takes a little practice and you will have it figured out. I don't think you have to remove all of it but I would get all I could. Use a nail or smaller dowel through the exhaust port to bevel around the exhaust port if needed. In general stay of the ports unless you are doing something with them.

If you go AM other than Meteor I would use a caber or OEM rings and either the old circlips or new OEM ones. Stihl OEM pistons run aroud $50 so that might be an option also.
Good luck
 

SteveSr

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You do not have to use a power tool I have done several with just a wood dowel wrapped in in emery paper. It is not as fast but you can get pretty aggressive on the grit of emery and how much pressure you use. Use the tip of the blunt dowel and emery for detail work . You can also use a dremel or a drill, Most of it comes off pretty easy with a few stubborn spots. I do not have a foredom either.

You need good light and I use a dental pick and you can feel the transfer or if it is discoloration or if it is a hole in the plating. The general rule I have seen is scrape it with a finger nail and if it catches it needs more sanding. It takes a little practice and you will have it figured out. I don't think you have to remove all of it but I would get all I could. Use a nail or smaller dowel through the exhaust port to bevel around the exhaust port if needed. In general stay of the ports unless you are doing something with them.

If you go AM other than Meteor I would use a caber or OEM rings and either the old circlips or new OEM ones. Stihl OEM pistons run aroud $50 so that might be an option also.
Good luck

Thanks for the tip. I might try the manual method next time. I'll let @Mastermind chime in but it looks like the flapping of the motorized emery tends to get sucked into the ports causing the issue seen. So do you concur that this cylinder is toast?
 

Dub11

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I did this using 4.5x5.5 sand paper taped to a 5.5" 1/4 20 bolt worked great. It was only on a 40cc Craftsman
 

SteveSr

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Use wider emery cloth......keep it pressed against the jug so it doesn't flap into the ports. The wider cloth covers the port also. See why that is a good idea?

I think that part of my issue is gravity... The emery tends to hang down due to the vertical shaft of the drill press. This is no problem above the ports but an obvious issue below when the cylinder is upside-down.

So how long is the slot in your home made mandrel? Does the emery extend beyond the end of the mandrel?

Also can you guess the approximate RPM that you use? I am assuming that you have a variable speed control on you Foredom. From your video I was trying to duplicate your setup with the Foredom which can go much faster than my drill press.
 

SteveSr

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SteveSr

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You do not have to use a power tool I have done several with just a wood dowel wrapped in in emery paper. It is not as fast but you can get pretty aggressive on the grit of emery and how much pressure you use. Use the tip of the blunt dowel and emery for detail work . You can also use a dremel or a drill, Most of it comes off pretty easy with a few stubborn spots. I do not have a foredom either.
What size dowel do you use? 1/4", 1/2", 3/4"? Do you use any kind of tape to hold the emery on the dowel?
 
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