Motivation to work on your own ....

[Viper21]

If you need anything else to keep that bad boy running. Post in the swap meet thread as to what you might need. Lots of us have parts and are willing to help.

Thank you..! I will definitely keep that in mind.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I'm the total opposite, I need a boss and time clock!

 

[lehman live edge slab]

One friend of mine runs a tree service company and usually pays me to upgrade his Stihl MS290's to 390's whenever he finds one. I asked him why and he says, "Well, Edwin, your Husky 353 outcuts my 290's and weighs less. But, if I push the 290 up to a 390, it evens out the score." So, I have to agree with Viper's Post #12.

I just still don’t get all the tree services running heavy and underpowered 290’s ect. Pro saw will take another few jobs to pay for but they will hold up longer, get the job done faster and less tiresome to the operators.

 

[Viper21]

I'm the total opposite, I need a boss and time clock!

Absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. There have been many times in my career, I wished I was that way, or had chosen that path. There are pros, & cons to both approaches.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

I have a boss and a time clock at work but unfortunately I choose to fill my afternoons with sae repairs and have gotten more and more people asking for repairs. They all keep saying it’s real hard to find a good saw guy, local guy I have known for years does a lot of mowers and golf carts. He ends up with a saw now and then only because nobody else does them and it runs when done. Fixed a 032 yesterday for a guy that had it to another shop twice snd ran for crap when it came back. I pulled carb down and cleaned it set the metering lever at proper hight vacuum tested the fuel line. Put back together and runs like a champ the other place looked at it twice. No wonder the shops complain they can’t make any money on repairs. Fix it once charge the person then work on it for free 1 to 2 more times before it’s fixed or customer is sick of talking to them and it gos to the next place or gets put in the corner as they buy new.

 

[Catbuster]

I'm the total opposite, I need a boss and time clock!

The worst thing I ever did was take a salary job. The time clock disappeared and all of a sudden I was working nights, weekends and still had a boss. The evil bastard even had the gall to walk up to me at 9:00 AM after I’d been on site for 26 hours and tell me “you’re not paid for the time you work, you’re paid for the work you do.” The worst part was that I was working in Texas when everything I had but my truck, the tools on it and the clothes in the hotel was 1000 miles away.

Hourly is the most fair way to pay employees, and I maintain this to this day.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I just still don’t get all the tree services running heavy and underpowered 290’s ect. Pro saw will take another few jobs to pay for but they will hold up longer, get the job done faster and less tiresome to the operators.

True, but the MS261 M-tronic costs them twice as much as a Farm Boss these days and they tend to be loyal to Stihl around here, regardless. BTW, I sold an 026 PRO to a guy here for $260, and he thought that was a steal. Perhaps it was. I loved that saw and cut cords of firewood with it.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

I’d almost bet a ms261 will outlast 3 ms271’s and around here it’s about 250$ different. Not to mention I bet there’s actually a ton of saws that are saved by the mtronic because of new employees not knowing what they should or that famous not mine so why do I care.

 

[FergusonTO35]

True, but the MS261 M-tronic costs them twice as much as a Farm Boss these days and they tend to be loyal to Stihl around here, regardless. BTW, I sold an 026 PRO to a guy here for $260, and he thought that was a steal. Perhaps it was. I loved that saw and cut cords of firewood with it.

Hmm, at my shop a 261 costs about 100-150 more than a 271/291/whatever and would probably outcut the latter by a wide margin. The 250 is now close to 400, and people keep buying them.

 

[FergusonTO35]

The worst thing I ever did was take a salary job. The time clock disappeared and all of a sudden I was working nights, weekends and still had a boss. The evil bastard even had the gall to walk up to me at 9:00 AM after I’d been on site for 26 hours and tell me “you’re not paid for the time you work, you’re paid for the work you do.” The worst part was that I was working in Texas when everything I had but my truck, the tools on it and the clothes in the hotel was 1000 miles away.

Hourly is the most fair way to pay employees, and I maintain this to this day.

Thats why I quit fixing cars for a living. Too many sub-20 hour checks from an endless stream of squeak/rattle/check engine light/no problem found BS. My life is worth more than that.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Hmm, at my shop a 261 costs about 100-150 more than a 271/291/whatever and would probably outcut the latter by a wide margin. The 250 is now close to 400, and people keep buying them.

Correct I hit the wrong button meant 150$ and worth every penny of it

 

[pwheel]

A digital shop manual is useful for DIY repairs.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Reading your thread I've just realized that every repair for the last near three decades, upgrades, redos or new construction was done by me. Not even an appliance repair man. I have sent out aluminum to be welded a few times.
When a brake was needed I bought one new or used and sold it when done.
Concrete check
Home repairs check
Any repairs check

Pieces of mind
Priceless

We both eat because we both have always done our own thing. We don't eat *s-word or put up with it at work. She has her buss and I have my stuffs that changes... hers does not.
Being able to walk away or refuse to do something keeps me sane... somewhat. Switching gears and changing your hat is a welcome thing also.

 

[Viper21]

Well, parts showed up today. Got er put back together, & she was oiling properly..!

Figured I'd go do some real world testing, rather than that whole, controlled environment stuff..lol. Went out to the woods & cut a small load. While I did have another saw with me (just in case), the only saw I used was my trusty 353. Worked like a champ.

While, I didn't like having to wait for parts, I'm pretty satisfied that I can do this type of repair in the future. Not letting someone who dgaf, near my saw is a huge plus moving forward. Oh, & I got an extra one of them little screws just in case too.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Don't forget to split most of that wood before trying to burn it. The chain saw can only do so much. BTW, I've lost four chain saws from men who I loaned them to. They either ruined them or kept them for themselves with hard case stories. Let's both move forward.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Those 350 series Huskies seem to be legendary saws, right up there with the Mac 10-10 and Homie SXL. They just keep cutting! Is your truck a T-100?

 

[Viper21]

Those 350 series Huskies seem to be legendary saws, right up there with the Mac 10-10 and Homie SXL. They just keep cutting! Is your truck a T-100?

Nah, it just looks big in this picture cause I'm close to it. It's a '94 single cab with the 22re.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Awesome, one of the best trucks and engines ever made!

 

[Wood Doctor]

The economic motive is certainly there. Local dealers here charge an average of $80 per hour for any chainsaw service work that they do. And, complete restorations are often turned down. They often also charge a markup on the OEM parts required to repair the saw. Occasionally they have used parts for half that amount, but it's rather rare. A cash deposit is usually required on a major repair and with no guarantee that the saw will be fixed. Often the repairs cost more than the saw is worth. When that occurs, most dealers will tell you that in advance.

So, this all motivated me years ago to start fixing almost any saw that I own, and if I fail, I offer it to someone else who might want to try. The more saws I worked on, the more I learned how to fix them and thus the more saws that I could fix. I must say that word got around rather fast that I was in town.

 

[Viper21]

Awesome, one of the best trucks and engines ever made!

You know, I never thought much of em until I bought this one. I had never owned one, & my prejudice against em was unwarranted. I just was always a full size truck guy. I bought this thing 8 yrs ago (spring 2013). Wow. I'll probably never be without one now. Cut & hauled home, two loads of firewood with it today in fact.

This has become my "farm truck", my woods beater, whatever name you prefer. It's my go to firewood hauler, & hunting truck. I've been super impressed with where this little beast will go, & what it'll haul. I can get to places my full size Ford can't. It's been a great little truck, & a huge surprise to me. It had 130,000 on it when I got it, & has about 180,000 now. The only real issue it has, is cosmetically, it's falling apart. It's got cancer pretty good. While, the frame is good, the fenders are rusting out . I'll need to put another bed on it, at some point. I might even put a little flat bed on it when this one completely falls apart. We'll see what happens.