MCCULLOCH The official McCulloch thread

[Rallyeguy]

I've been researching ebay for selling some of the diaphragm and gasket kits, and found out that there is a method of reducing your fee's overall by having a high ticket item posted as a placeholder. Perhaps these are placeholders for such fee discounts.....Pricing on that 650 is hilarious. I've been watching the general pricing on McCulloch's drop over the last several months. Of course the rarities will hold their worth, but the run of the mill stuff is much lower over the last few months.

 

[Al Smith]

It takes a lot no matter what brand of saw or model it may be to get me excited .McCulloch for example sold them by the millions and very few are considered rare .Besides that it's very seldom I don't have to work on them and I figure my labor and knowledge is worth something so I refuse to pay those rates .Very few of them do not run but they could if I took an interest .Those few I just label as a works in progress . It's one thing to make them run but a task keeping them running when they might sit a couple of years .I did battle yesterday with an Echo hedge trimmer I only use one day a year .--I won BTW ,hedge looks nice .

 

[Steve]

It takes a lot no matter what brand of saw or model it may be to get me excited .McCulloch for example sold them by the millions and very few are considered rare .Besides that it's very seldom I don't have to work on them and I figure my labor and knowledge is worth something so I refuse to pay those rates .Very few of them do not run but they could if I took an interest .Those few I just label as a works in progress . It's one thing to make them run but a task keeping them running when they might sit a couple of years .I did battle yesterday with an Echo hedge trimmer I only use one day a year .--I won BTW ,hedge looks nice .

I need your address Al. I'm coming to your estate sale! LoL!

 

[heimannm]

Wrong location Tim, you are showing the intake/reed plate and the gasket I'm asking about is on the crankcase bottom/oil tank.

Mark

 

[Maintenance Chief]

Wrong location Tim, you are showing the intake/reed plate and the gasket I'm asking about is on the crankcase bottom/oil tank.

Mark

I have no clue what the specific application is for that gasket is ,but the old school theory was that you didn't want big sections of gasket where sealant was used. Its better to have voids for gasket relief and sealant displacement.

 

[edju1958]

Funny thing the 650 comes up here for discussion.I just got a 650 for $160 on feebay about 2 weeks ago.The seller said he couldn't get it started,obviously he didn't know about the primer on the carb & thank goodness he didn't.The first thing I did was pull the fuel line out to check the filter & there was no filter.I put a filter in & some fuel,gave it a prime because the primer didn't work & it fired right up & ran great after the 2nd prime.I also had to re-adjust the needles as they were way off.It ran so great that it wouldn't shut off.I knocked ther idle screw down to kill it & after pulling the recoil I found it had no wire from the switch to the coil.I installed a wire & the switch works now.It had a 1/2 in.sprocket on it which I took off & put a .404 on it.The muffler had only the spark arrestor screen on it with no cap.I got the latter 2 parts from Mark & put a 32 in.bar & chain on it.The saw is a beast.
The sellers on feebay who have the 650s for sale must be on drugs to ask such a ludicrous amount for them & the one doesn't even have spark or run! Here's a couple pics of my 650 gear drive (my 1st gear drive saw).

 

[Al Smith]

I had to dig out the 20 pound book on the 650 .What I didn't know evidently that saw used three carbs .Two variations of the infernal flat back and one Tilley HL What I did know was it could have two to one or three to one reduction .Mine is two to one and with an HL .With a two to one reduction plus an 8 tooth 1/2" sprocket from a Homelite it's a tad faster than most gear drives .Wound tight that thing is so loud it will make dogs howl .From circa 1966 I think it was one of the last gear reduction chainsaws .

 

[cinci5]

Funny thing the 650 comes up here for discussion.I just got a 650 for $160 on feebay about 2 weeks ago.The seller said he couldn't get it started,obviously he didn't know about the primer on the carb & thank goodness he didn't.The first thing I did was pull the fuel line out to check the filter & there was no filter.I put a filter in & some fuel,gave it a prime because the primer didn't work & it fired right up & ran great after the 2nd prime.I also had to re-adjust the needles as they were way off.It ran so great that it wouldn't shut off.I knocked ther idle screw down to kill it & after pulling the recoil I found it had no wire from the switch to the coil.I installed a wire & the switch works now.It had a 1/2 in.sprocket on it which I took off & put a .404 on it.The muffler had only the spark arrestor screen on it with no cap.I got the latter 2 parts from Mark & put a 32 in.bar & chain on it.The saw is a beast.
The sellers on feebay who have the 650s for sale must be on drugs to ask such a ludicrous amount for them & the one doesn't even have spark or run! Here's a couple pics of my 650 gear drive (my 1st gear drive saw).

I think they are talking about the Pro McBrick 650. Which I own and is very reliable. (heavy as F*%k)

 

[Al Smith]

I've got three of them or rather three 610's which is the same saw .I really think that guy was on a fishing expidition because in reality that's a $75 saw . There once was a seller on flea bay hype them up and put a $400 price on them .Towards the end K-Mart was selling them for $169 with a 16" bar .The early ones with a 20" bar and a few tools were a tad over $200 .Sears and Monkey Wards sold them also . I sold 4 or 5 one year for around 75-85 bucks .Made about 20 a pop off them.

 

[cinci5]

I've got three of them or rather three 610's which is the same saw .I really think that guy was on a fishing expidition because in reality that's a $75 saw . There once was a seller on flea bay hype them up and put a $400 price on them .Towards the end K-Mart was selling them for $169 with a 16" bar .The early ones with a 20" bar and a few tools were a tad over $200 .Sears and Monkey Wards sold them also . I sold 4 or 5 one year for around 75-85 bucks .Made about 20 a pop off them.

Almost the same but not quite. 650 is more compression and mild factory porting with compression release. At least that's what I've been told.

 

[heimannm]

I believe the 650, 655, 690 (cut off saw), and the mythical 645 all shared the modified cylinder with the better porting and compression release. They were all thin ring models as opposed to the early PM600 Series saws with thick rings. There is a distinct performance advantage to the thin ring models.

Mark

 

[Al Smith]

The so called Mc Brick had a bad rep for no reason . The only thing really bad about them was for a 60 cc saw they are a tad heavy but really not all that bad .Unless you straight gas one they're pretty hard to kill .I might add if you own one it's a good idea to check the bolts because they can rattle loose over time .
Of the three I have one I used for about 9 years as a younger man selling firewood .It will still light off after sitting for a year .I'll say in that time I went through at least four bars and a 5 gallon bucket full of chains .It's a shelf queen now in semi retirement but will still get-er-done if called on .

 

[cinci5]

The so called Mc Brick had a bad rep for no reason . The only thing really bad about them was for a 60 cc saw they are a tad heavy but really not all that bad .Unless you straight gas one they're pretty hard to kill .I might add if you own one it's a good idea to check the bolts because they can rattle loose over time .
Of the three I have one I used for about 9 years as a younger man selling firewood .It will still light off after sitting for a year .I'll say in that time I went through at least four bars and a 5 gallon bucket full of chains .It's a shelf queen now in semi retirement but will still get-er-done if called on .

Yep my 650 is a tank but always starts. I've had it for over 40yrs cuts with plenty of torque not much on RPM but is steady!! I asked my dad who was a McCulloch distributer what saw is reliable and he said the 610-650 series. So got the 650 yeah its heavy but great saw.

 

[Al Smith]

FWIW I inherited my dads 610 which he tweaked a bit .Back in the day it would out cut an 042 Stihl .I also have an 042 but I've never ran them both to actually see .Both reside on the shelf these days .

 

[Dream]

So I got home a little early today.
Plan on going down to the in-laws tomorrow to do a little yard work.
Sharpenned up an orange saw, then thought I might tinker with the 1010 lightweight that @timg sent me for a parts saw.
Turns out the "parts saw" has good spark and 145 psi, so now I think I'll get it running.
Borrowing a muffler and fuel line from my 1-10.

The 1-10 seems to have a good piston and cylinder as well, so that will probably get fixed at some point as well.

 

[Dream]

Got it ready to try out.
Bet it will run, if not badly.
Havent touched the carb yet.
Got Motoseal curing on the tank gasket, and Dirko on the oil tank gasket.
Cleaned up pretty nice, even though a lot of the paint came off. It doesnt seem heavily used. Exhaust ports were almost completely clogged with carbon. Cleaned that out. Thankfully, it hadnt scarred the piston.

 

[Dream]

Little 1-10 is a clean little unit.
Will probably swap some parts back over to it and see how it sounds. I like the fact that it has external tuning screws, whereas the 1010 only has the idle that can be accessed from outside.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

They both look like runners to me! @Dream .
The carburetors are so easy to work on ,it won't be anything to straighten them out.
The 1-10 , for it's age sure does look clean.

 

[Dream]

They both look like runners to me! @Dream .
The carburetors are so easy to work on ,it won't be anything to straighten them out.
The 1-10 , for it's age sure does look clean.

Got it from the same guy you got the PP470 from.
It has a number dymotape tag on it.
He thought it was originally owned by Athens Clarke county maintenance.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

Got it from the same guy you got the PP470 from.
It has a number dymotape tag on it.
He thought it was originally owned by Athens Clarke county maintenance.

County guys??? Probably spent alot of time cruising/ on patrol.