Help Frank

[mdavlee]

Carb is out of whack and probably not pumping good if it's that hard to start. Ron woods has 4 or 5 of them and none are that hard to start.

 

[Brush Ape]

My Dad logged full time with one and used to rebuild it in the basement at night, Mike. He used to fire it up and I thought there was a monster under my bed when I was around three or four......it wasn't hard to start, but he did rebuild it every couple months.

 

[Moparmyway]

I aint sure if it was tried, but when a saw cuts out like that, I try a squirt of mix down the throat.
If it kicks, its carb related.
If it dont, its ignition related and I'd be looking at the points/condenser

 

[mdavlee]

My Dad logged full time with one and used to rebuild it in the basement at night, Mike. He used to fire it up and I thought there was a monster under my bed when I was around three or four......it wasn't hard to start, but he did rebuild it every couple months.

I bet that was a scary sound to a small kid. My girls run from saws now.

 

[cobey]

Thanks, Al.

Just a couple little observations, Gentlemen: one, 'he should get a new saw'. OK how about you should get *b-word slapped into reason. He inherited it from his Uncle. Two, this guy from Oregon, Frank makes excellent videos. I expect some of this crap on Stack Overflow from computer whiz when some body will post and hasn't done any of their own homework. There, it is a rule to state everything you know about the problem and everything you've tried to fix it. Here the discussion and resolution of problems follows a looser path. My first instinct tells me to message Frank and have him join this community, but I'm not going to embarass somebody with his level of initiative by subjecting him to it. What I like about Frank's channel is that he gets professional results by sticking with a project and he's not shy about admitting his shortcomings and showing the obstacles and mistakes that come along with an audacious approach to life; something which America has sadly lost. Keep in mind he is using his chainsaw even though it's forty-four years old are you using yours?

That being said, it's not even my problem to start with. I mill with a Baker Bandsaw and could have easily riftsawn or quarter sawed Frank's Maple log five times in the time it took him to load his truck and drive to Washington State..

See below the overlay Frank edited into his video. He built his own CNC machine from scratch, I have no question he'll solve the minor McCulloch issues without any help from the community here. Besides, he's in the Pacific NW. Some old timer locally with the knowledge of Al Smith will be willing to help. So for any one gunning at status with your peers, try status amongst experts, it is more rewarding. (But it takes work.)

View attachment 18633

I hope the big Mac works
Out well good old saws when
Running good.
I didn't meen to pick
On him or his saw.
I like the big Mac saws but
Haven't had any experience
Milling with them.
Later cobey

 

[cobey]

I bet that was a scary sound to a small kid. My girls run from saws now.

when I was a kid
I always ran when my dad started his
Saws too ....

 

[junkman]

Great thread sir ,i would have just bolted that 2100 to the mill and saved some time ,with a good chain a stock stihl ms460 would have milled that maple so the 125 was not really needed ,hope he gets his saw figured out ,one of my customers used to run one of those ,then stihl gave his crew the new stihl 090 to test out to find the weak spots ,he broke it the first week ...........

 

[Chainsaw Jim]

I live about an hour away from him. He's more than welcome to stop it by my shop if he's ever down in the Eugene/Springfield area.

 

[Magic_Man]

Thanks, Al.

Just a couple little observations, Gentlemen: one, 'he should get a new saw'. OK how about you should get *b-word slapped into reason. He inherited it from his Uncle. Two, this guy from Oregon, Frank makes excellent videos. I expect some of this crap on Stack Overflow from computer whiz when some body will post and hasn't done any of their own homework. There, it is a rule to state everything you know about the problem and everything you've tried to fix it. Here the discussion and resolution of problems follows a looser path. My first instinct tells me to message Frank and have him join this community, but I'm not going to embarass somebody with his level of initiative by subjecting him to it. What I like about Frank's channel is that he gets professional results by sticking with a project and he's not shy about admitting his shortcomings and showing the obstacles and mistakes that come along with an audacious approach to life; something which America has sadly lost. Keep in mind he is using his chainsaw even though it's forty-four years old are you using yours?

That being said, it's not even my problem to start with. I mill with a Baker Bandsaw and could have easily riftsawn or quarter sawed Frank's Maple log five times in the time it took him to load his truck and drive to Washington State..

See below the overlay Frank edited into his video. He built his own CNC machine from scratch, I have no question he'll solve the minor McCulloch issues without any help from the community here. Besides, he's in the Pacific NW. Some old timer locally with the knowledge of Al Smith will be willing to help. So for any one gunning at status with your peers, try status amongst experts, it is more rewarding. (But it takes work.)

View attachment 18633

Welcome back BA, good to see ya hanging around again.
As for the saw, yea, I'm no help other than the obvious. Carb kit, make sure the tank is venting, condenser getting hot, etc.

 

[Brush Ape]

I hope the big Mac works
Out well good old saws when
Running good.
I didn't meen to pick
On him or his saw.
I like the big Mac saws but
Haven't had any experience
Milling with them.
Later cobey

What the hell was that a haiku....??

I live about an hour away from him. He's more than welcome to stop it by my shop if he's ever down in the Eugene/Springfield area.

Thanks, Jim. It's odd but I was thinking about you the whole time and hoped you'd turn up.

Welcome back BA, good to see ya hanging around again.

Thanks #9. BA is always around.

 

[exSW]

Thanks #9. BA is always around.

Well that's ominous

 

[Brush Ape]

That's what she said.

 

[heimannm]

From the description, I would start with a carburetor kit and make sure the choke is actually closing for the cold start issues.

I would guess that an ignition tune up (clean or replace the points, make sure the point gap/timing is correct, clean and tighten all of the electrical connections) would help as well. The only "no start" 125 I have encountered had no spark at all.

Hot starting issues are most likely due to fuel delivery, in which case a good carburetor kit will be the best fix since the valves will seal and the diaphragm will pump more effectively. Many of the SP125's came with a fixed jet carburetor so you can't adjust the H setting but I have found no issues with mine other than you need to lean on it a bit to clean up in the cut.

Don't overlook the fuel line and impulse line, that is not a new saw and it is possible one line or the other (maybe both) are compromised.

I find my SP125's and SP105's to be very reliable starters, some don't get used for months at a time and all will be running with 10 pulls or so, whatever it takes to get some fuel pumping through the system. If one has been setting empty for a while, I will give it a prime right down the throat of the carburetor to help speed things along with the cold start sequence.

What is the compression like? Both of my 125's are around 145-155 PSI and will still pull very hard in the cut. I have run one or two that did not need the compression release for starting and they lacked some oomph when making a big cut.

On a recent project I was using one of the SP105 models and was really disappointed in the performance when making the felling cuts as the saw seemed to lack power. When I went to restart the saw to buck up the trunk I noticed the compression release valve was missing, apparently it blew out sometime during the first cut.

Soft maple, maybe 30" diameter at the cut.

 

[heimannm]

To Ozarker - you need some exposure to some old McCulloch saws that are properly adjusted and maintained. They are no more difficult to start than any other and you can certainly hear the first pop. On many of the old front tank saws the choke linkage would wear a little so the choke did not close completely, I had the same issue with my 036 so it is not limited to one type of saw.

Mark

 

[beaglebriar]

Gee guys it seems like the tenor has changed a little around here.

Honestly I thought it was a joke. Never know if you're serious or just screwing around. Lol

That feller needs to drop his old Mac off somewhere for a tune up. Simple as that.

 

[Brush Ape]

i would have just bolted that 2100 to the mill and saved some time

Geez..brilliant. And true. Thanks for the input, guys. I sent Frank Howarth a message. I hope he joins in soon!! I'd like for both his SP 125 to run and for him to see the light and hitch up the big Husky instead. I hadn't realized his other saw was such a Clydesdale 'til Junkman mentioned it.

 

[Brush Ape]

FTR I'd not used the forums much over the years to troubleshoot. I think I asked one question five or six years ago. I was working on a tree crew and we had a MS 270 that was puking out modules. Scott Kunz aka Tree Monkey solved that one instantly, shave a couple cylinder fins and install a 361 coil.

 

[junkman]

I missed that thread ,was it "My ms270 wont start "

 

[KenJax Tree]

I missed that thread ,was it "My ms270 wont start "

170. That was good stuff

 

[Lee H]

Tune that damn thing up and be done with it. Simple.

I have no issues what so ever with all my running Mac's
including 125's, 797's, 795's, 250's, etc.


Lee