Pros/Cons of just sending a cylinder to be ported

[Loony661]

Let me first say that I understand that most Woods Porting includes a Muffler Mod, Ignition/Timing advance or correction, and possibly even carb work depending on the builder, all above and beyond the actual machine work and hand massaging of the ports by the skilled hands..

It seems that I’ve read more than a few times of an individual just sending a cylinder to be ported, or rather buying/swapping a ported cylinder onto a saw. Is this worth it? Are the gains just as good?

I’ll use my own saw as an example: My 661C is currently torn ALL the way down to have the broken case welded and repaired (some of you may remember that thread). My curiosity naturally wonders if it’s already this far apart, is it worth just sending the cylinder to be played with?

The saw already wears a MaxFlow, and has a muffler mod, and could very well wear a bark box soon.. So potential is there for gains.

Tell me, is it worth sending out just the cylinder, or should I wait and put it all back together before sending it out?

 

[Loony661]

I’d like to hear opinions from anyone “in the know” and especially the builders..
@Mastermind @Stump Shot @Canadian farm boy @huskihl @drf256 @tree monkey etc.. Thanks guys!

 

[Mastermind]

I rarely do this. I like to port match the jug and muffler for one thing. I also would like to test run it.

 

[Czed]

@ayoungtexan

 

[huskihl]

I do it once in a while, just depends on the situation. Many times I have sent ported cylinders halfway around the world because it doesn’t make sense to ship the whole saw twice. On a 661, I would rather have the whole saw since the cylinder is only about half the package

 

[FederalQ]

I’d like to hear opinions from anyone “in the know” and especially the builders..
@Mastermind @Stump Shot @Canadian farm boy @huskihl @drf256 @tree monkey etc.. Thanks guys!

You have to be awfully close to Tree Monkey, distance wise.

 

[Stump Shot]

I've also done so on a rare occasion. One thing that I do require is I happen to have a builder crankcase here to work from. Also need a good repertoire with the owner that he/she can finish the rest of the job to be complete and build a good saw with good parts.
I've also have built a few(what I call) short blocks, crankcase, P&C, muffler carb and boot along with any necessary hardware. This is for guys that want to rebuild their own saw and do their own mechanic work. Which is better than doing just the cylinder, but, there again, you are trusting the person to finish the final assembly correctly.
I prefer to have the whole saw so as to inspect the parts going back into it and have the saw go through a test/tune session which lets me know if the saw is sound and running proper as well as giving me feedback on the performance aspect of my work.

 

[huskihl]

Scott is only an hour and a half away. I’d run it up there someday and have him work his magic on it when you’re all done assembling it

 

[Kiwioilboiler]

I rarely do this. I like to port match the jug and muffler for one thing. I also would like to test run it.

I do it once in a while, just depends on the situation. Many times I have sent ported cylinders halfway around the world because it doesn’t make sense to ship the whole saw twice. On a 661, I would rather have the whole saw since the cylinder is only about half the package

I am one of the distant customers these two 'fine' gentlemen are referring to and it went flawlessly each time.
But if I lived closer I'd be delivering entire saws for sure.
I also have a TreeMonkey saw, you're in a no loss situation IMHO with any of these three.

 

[drf256]

The problem is more when things go wrong than when they go right. That can happen on a full saw job as well.

Checking final fit and function is a big part of the job. I’ve done many less saws than the pro’s here have, but a significant portion of the time I’ve spent on saws occurred after the jug was mounted.

 

[srcarr52]

I’ll do this occasionally. I usually have the muffler sent with the cylinder.

 

[Red97]

I like to set everthing up on the case that will be used.

Now, I don't have a problem cutting squish and base to provided measurements for people who want to port themselves.

 

[Loony661]

I respect all of your answers here. I completely understand why all of you would rather have the whole saw, especially to stand behind your work and ensure peace of mind that it will be trouble free going forward. As the saying goes, “You won’t know until you ask”. Thank you for taking the time to educate me.

 

[Loony661]

If spending the money, and having it done, I certainly would like it done right, and not half-ass’d.

 

[Canadian farm boy]

I don’t have much to add. I’d just be echoing what the other guys have said.

 

[davidwyby]

Do it ;-)

 

[ZERO]

... and then comes a customer like me, 30 thou oem gasket or 16 thou aftermarket gasket...

These very fine builders are telling you, they all have a very high threshold for quality excellence.

That threshold can only be reached by doing all work inhouse.

Only then, once that threshold is met, will they release their creation into the wild.

 

[Wolverine]

As an end user, I've done this twice. First time was almost a disaster as Terry Landrum sat on my top end for a LONG time and I almost lost touch with him. So work out any trust issues before shipping it! Gladly, I got it back unharmed, and it was in fact my OE parts.
Next time was my 394. Shaun worked over every aspect of the top end. Cyl/piston/muffin and intake block. I advanced timing and made sure everything was right and tight upon assembly. Saw runs exactly as expected, I couldn't be any happier. That was '18 and it's still insano. Lol.

 

[farminkarman]

I have had a few jugs ported by another builder, but they had a saw onsite to mock the cylinder up on. As a builder, I echo comments by others... mainly the point of having the whole saw to enable confirmation of final fit & finish of the saw and doing some test cuts to set an initial tune.

 

[Loony661]

Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it, as I was genuinely curious of the possibilities, being fully aware of the trade-off’s and consequences.

I should update you all that I am on the books with Scott and look forward to having my 661 ported by him soon. And being unusually fortunate, and winning the Mastermind porting will also be happening sooner than later and I look forward to that very much as well.

The plan is to have a daily felling saw done by Randy. Probably 70cc class. Something light yet powerful. I’ll be deciding in the coming weeks..