MCCULLOCH My favorite McCulloch story

[Al Smith]

This was 12-15 years ago .My wife RIP had two nephews up near Detroit,Flat Rock Mich as a matter of fact .About 100 north of here .They got on a fire wood cutting kick,fire places,outdoor fire rings etc .Needed some cheap saws .Never fear when uncle Al is here .
Their buddies had wild things ,Stihl 029's 025's etc .I landed them a Mac 610 and a 7-10 on the cheap from Flea bay .Hung chisel chains on them and tuned them to a fair -thee -well and sent them north .Talk about a bunch of surprised suburbanites when those 30 year old McCullochs walked circle around those new saws . Tickled me pink

 

[67L36Driver]

You did good uncle Al. [emoji106]

 

[Gizzard]

There is always someone in the family tree that needs an Uncle Al to set them straight.

 

[Altamaha]

Urban Cowboys have no clue to the effectiveness of a properly sharpened chain.

 

[Al Smith]

I got both of them back after a few years ,minor stuff .The 610 developed a faulty oil pump which is typical of that model with that diaphragm pump .Allows lube oil to get sucked into the crankcase which plugs the muffler screens .I had a few new pumps I found on flea bay from a guy that had over 1000 for 10 bucks a pop .Should have bought 20 . Pulled the muffler screen and sent it back .
I can't remember what was wrong with the 7-10.Probably the carb needed rebuilt .What ever it was I fixed that one too .It's been a few years and as far as I know they are still running .I was up near Detroit last fall for a wedding of one of their daughters I first saw within hours of her being born and nothing was mentioned of them .Time certainly does fly by .From a little 4 pound premie to an attractive young woman all in the blink of the eye .

 

[raumati01]

Great stories.

 

[67L36Driver]

I don’t know if is the port timing vrs muffler configuration but, a McCulloch running in the woods sounds so right.

 

[Al Smith]

I won't delve into the porting because that's a study all of it's own ,only to say the porting design on a 10 series is the most unique I've ever seen .It was well thought out I'll say that .
One has to wonder how things would have turned out if the company wouldn't still be in business if they modified the design to use a better system of anti vibration and other innovations .
We'll really never know .
The older reed valve design is what it is .Big,heavy and powerful .Made for big wood .They will still hold their own today but just how much actual big wood is cut --not too much .If it were not for a hand full of collectors and restores you would never even see one today .

 

[FergusonTO35]

One has to wonder how things would have turned out if the company wouldn't still be in business if they modified the design to use a better system of anti vibration and other innovations .
We'll really never know .
The older reed valve design is what it is .Big,heavy and powerful .Made for big wood .They will still hold their own today but just how much actual big wood is cut --not too much .If it were not for a hand full of collectors and restores you would never even see one today .

The former big 3 American saw makers (Homie, Mac, Poulan) got complacent and were still trying to sell 1960's and 70's designs well into the 90's. This made it easy for Stihl, Husky, and even Echo to pass them like they were standing still. At the same time, they were eagerly pursuing the fickle and not brand loyal homeowner market. Henceforth, people saw these formerly respected marques as cheap and outdated, to put it succinctly.

 

[edju1958]

I'd like to chime in here about my favorite Mac(s),if y'all don't mind.I bought my 1st 10-10 just about a yr.ago.From what I can figure it's an early 10-10A,circa 1967.Anyway,I'd check the saw one time for spark & it was there,the next time I checked it wasn't there.Along about Nov.I started to take it apart to see what was causing the intermittent spark.I found that someone had put a really old chip in it & the wiring was loose.The reason that someone had put the chip in it in the first place was because the condenser went bad.I figured I could put a different condenser in it & that'd solve the problem.I did that & still had the intermittent spark thing going on.One day I pulled the recoil & I could hear the sparking going on somewhere,just not at the plug.I went to bed that night & as I lay there I had one of those Ah Ha moments.The plug wire was run in between the fins on the cylinder & after yrs.of vibration it wore through the insulation.The next day I couldn't wait to test my theory.I pulled the coil off & put a different coil on,but rerouted the plug wire on the outside of the saw.I had consistent blue spark.I put some fuel down the carb & it fired for the first time in many yrs.I rebuilt the carb,put a 16 in.B&C on it,got a new baffle for the muffler & a new muffler cap & I've been using that saw for the last 4 months now.
My other favorite Mac is a Super 10-10 that I bought on Ebay.I asked the seller if the saw had spark & he said yes.Of course he lied through his teeth.I pulled the FW to check the points & they were so dirty that they couldn't produce spark in a 100 yrs.I confronted the seller about this & of course he swore up & down that the saw had spark when he checked it.I cleaned the points & gapped them & voila,I had spark! I put some fuel in the carb & it fired.I didn't even have to rebuild that carb.The next thing I knew was when I tried to start it the recoil locked up.I pulled the recoil off & had a broken pawl.I ended up replacing the clutch too.That saw will fire on one pull

 

[Mastermind]

I'd like to chime in here about my favorite Mac(s),if y'all don't mind.I bought my 1st 10-10 just about a yr.ago.From what I can figure it's an early 10-10A,circa 1967.Anyway,I'd check the saw one time for spark & it was there,the next time I checked it wasn't there.Along about Nov.I started to take it apart to see what was causing the intermittent spark.I found that someone had put a really old chip in it & the wiring was loose.The reason that someone had put the chip in it in the first place was because the condenser went bad.I figured I could put a different condenser in it & that'd solve the problem.I did that & still had the intermittent spark thing going on.One day I pulled the recoil & I could hear the sparking going on somewhere,just not at the plug.I went to bed that night & as I lay there I had one of those Ah Ha moments.The plug wire was run in between the fins on the cylinder & after yrs.of vibration it wore through the insulation.The next day I couldn't wait to test my theory.I pulled the coil off & put a different coil on,but rerouted the plug wire on the outside of the saw.I had consistent blue spark.I put some fuel down the carb & it fired for the first time in many yrs.I rebuilt the carb,put a 16 in.B&C on it,got a new baffle for the muffler & a new muffler cap & I've been using that saw for the last 4 months now.
My other favorite Mac is a Super 10-10 that I bought on Ebay.I asked the seller if the saw had spark & he said yes.Of course he lied through his teeth.I pulled the FW to check the points & they were so dirty that they couldn't produce spark in a 100 yrs.I confronted the seller about this & of course he swore up & down that the saw had spark when he checked it.I cleaned the points & gapped them & voila,I had spark! I put some fuel in the carb & it fired.I didn't even have to rebuild that carb.The next thing I knew was when I tried to start it the recoil locked up.I pulled the recoil off & had a broken pawl.I ended up replacing the clutch too.That saw will fire on one pull

Good stuff sir.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Al Smith]

One of my Mac 125's came from northern California and had an "atom arc" trigger device which eventually failed as they all do .Much to my delight the points and condenser were still intact .All I did was dress the points and set the gap,slightly advanced and it ran better than it ever did with the trigger device .I've never had a complete failure on any McCulloch ignition system,points or solid state .I've had several on Stihls .

 

[MACHINE]

This was 12-15 years ago .My wife RIP had two nephews up near Detroit,Flat Rock Mich as a matter of fact .About 100 north of here .They got on a fire wood cutting kick,fire places,outdoor fire rings etc .Needed some cheap saws .Never fear when uncle Al is here .
Their buddies had wild things ,Stihl 029's 025's etc .I landed them a Mac 610 and a 7-10 on the cheap from Flea bay .Hung chisel chains on them and tuned them to a fair -thee -well and sent them north .Talk about a bunch of surprised suburbanites when those 30 year old McCullochs walked circle around those new saws . Tickled me pink

Mine you have to wear foam plugs and muffs on your ears

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[MACHINE]

The greatest McCulloch chain saw story ever told.

If I'm lying I'm dying

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Al Smith]

On the subject of the Mac 10-10 ,one of the longest production runs of any chainsaw I have about the last of that series ever made .It had been purchased by a tree trimmer and had seen very little use because he became in bad health .Had the original Mac branded chain which was in fact round chisel .Very odd it had one of only two or three bad seals I had ever seen on any 10 series saws because they usually last forever .
That saw is a runner and a good one .However it's a shelf queen for two reasons . It's pristine and I want to preserve it .Two I have much better saws to use in it's stead .

 

[5155]

Unc Al said "If it were not for a hand full of collectors and restores you would never even see one today ."

I have two 610s here. Pap bought the one used and it was the go to big saw for years. When it started being not so co-operative, I found another parts saw for a skinny trade. We used parts from his to fix the "parts" saw and drove on.
Then later I discovered the 51, and Pap got a little older I found him a mint little homelite, then the heavier Mac took a break.
I remember doing demo work and cabin work with the Mac, at the end of the day my arms felt like Popeye the sailor man lol.

There is a saw miller over here that runs a 710. After watching him trim some butt flares I asked if he was ever going to update. His answer, "nope, got a new in the box one in case this one gets smashed".
I like those old school guys. I like lighter saws too haha.

 

[Al Smith]

A 610 is rather heavy for 60 cc .