DOLMAR/MAKITA The Official Sachs Dolmar Dolmar Makita Dolmar Chainsaws Thread

[old_sir_henry]

What top end did you use?

I don't know. I bought the saw with the top end already installed but with the crank broken.
There are no markings on either piston or cylinder.

 

[whitesnake]

I don't know. I bought the saw with the top end already installed but with the crank broken.
There are no markings on either piston or cylinder.

Oh ok, I was just curious. I have a couple 84cc kits from a sale at hlsupply. I was going to throw one on my 6400 just for a cheap boost/experiment. I know the oem 79 top end is best but they got pricey over the years.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

Does anyone on here have experience with the PS/DCS 3410 Top Handle saws?? Are they any good? How would it compare to the MS200T?

Maybe I should ask which Stihl top handle it more closely, in your experience, compares to?

Thanks!

 

[old_sir_henry]

I have a PS-3410 back-handle. Very light-weight and pretty low-noise too.
But the saw body is a little broad so she appears more sluggish than she really is.

Mine wouldn't start very easy after I bought her new, always had to pull several times
to have her restart again when warm. I reported the problem to DOLMAR support
and they took her back to the factory to check her. Couple of days later I got her back
with a report stating everything were OK. This all was a service at DOLMAR's cost
but it didn't change anything.
Back then I was fairly new to chainsaws and hadn't messed around with them at all,
leave alone trying to repair them. So it took me some time until I finally removed the
limiter caps (which isn't very easy because the carb sits inside a closed cabin.
I found her being way too rich and tuning her more lean finally solved my starting
woes. She ran very and started very easy until last year when she began to sputter under
load, this phenomenon becoming wore very fast until finally she didn't ran at all under load.
Thought this might be due to a failing ignition module like a couple of other DOLMAR saws
I had ignition problems with.
Since ignition modules are pretty expensive and assuming mine to be faulty was just a
blind guess, I first replaced carb diaphragms. That helped a lot but didn't bring her back
to the level of performance I was used of her.
Haven't used her now for a while.
Another problem is: A couple of critical spare parts are NLA, this started only five years after
the model went out of production.

I can't compare her to any STIHL saw you mentioned because I don't have any.
My dad has a MS-192C which is comparable by means of weight and intended use. I think the DOLMAR has
more power and feels much tighter than the STIHL whose AV is very squashy IMHO.
But then then DOLMAR is kind of old-school: Oil pump running when idle, no single dial-operation.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

@old_sir_henry

Thank you for the detailed reply, I appreciate it. I will use the saw, but not a lot. I want it mainly for what it is.

Thanks again.

David

 

[old_sir_henry]

Here are some pics of a PS-390 I did recently. Once again a saw bought for a very reasonable
price and in very good shape with only minor faults.



This her on arrival. As you can see she came cleaned (a very rare event). One apparent fault was a missing blade on the flywheel, the other a cracked fuel line which I replaced with an aftermarket line I had in stock:


This spare is much more stiff than the original line, another DOLMAR collector later reported to me that the part of the line
inside the fuel tank tends to straighten itself towards the tank cap causing the saw to starve when used clutchside down.

What I probabaly didn't notice was small crack in that brand new fuel line in the barbed part of it. You don't expect this kind of fault with a new spare, do you? So the carb wouldn't pump fuel and the saw wouldn't run but rather leak fuel when laid down on the sprocket cover.
Had to replace the line with an genuine DOLMAR part.

Another problem was the operator-detect-key whose reset-spring was broken. Since the tank-handle-unit can't be opened and throttle-switch and detect-key can't be replaced I resorted to a metal spring as an inplace-fix:


I had the upper end of it straightened and after heating it with a gas lighter I pried it thru the plastic throttle-switch.
Did the same trick on my long-term workhorse PS-390 when I received her about 8 years ago. Works like a charm since then.

 

[old_sir_henry]

And this is her now:

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

Where do you get your decals?

Nice find!

 

[old_sir_henry]

Where do you get your decals?

They are NLA so I produce them myself.
I'm a little pedantic concerning decals. You could buy then on ebay but these things always look like
a low fidelity reprint. I often see saws offered on ebay or classifieds where at the first glance I can
tell "oh this saw has decals made by "werner*" or "sunartist*". These reprints are just too obviously
recognizable as such so I got myself into it to supply my own needs.

To get an idea of my madness: I even re-designed a digital font for the type designation on starter decals of SACHS-DOLMAR saws:



The original typeface was custom-made for SACHS-DOLMAR and none of the (semi-)professional decal-suppliers seem to be
able to produce stickers using a typeface only roughly matching the original. Mine do very much better.

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

They are NLA so I produce them myself.
I'm a little pedantic concerning decals. You could buy then on ebay but these things always look like
a low fidelity reprint. I often see saws offered on ebay or classifieds where at the first glance I can
tell "oh this saw has decals made by "werner*" or "sunartist*". These reprints are just too obviously
recognizable as such so I got myself into it to supply my own needs.

To get an idea of my madness: I even re-designed a digital font for the type designation on starter decals of SACHS-DOLMAR saws:

View attachment 372313 View attachment 372314

The original typeface was custom-made for SACHS-DOLMAR and none of the (semi-)professional decal-suppliers seem to be
able to produce stickers using a typeface only roughly matching the original. Mine do very much better.

So, if I were to rebuild a dolmar I could buy decals from you?

 

[old_sir_henry]

Yes, as long as orders remain small at a personal use scale. I don't do decals on a professional base
and it always takes some time since I don't have them in stock (with some exceptions). In case just ask!

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

Yes, as long as orders remain small at a personal use scale. I don't do decals on a professional base
and it always takes some time since I don't have them in stock (with some exceptions). In case just ask!

Sounds good, I will keep this in mind for future reference. Thank you!

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

@old_sir_henry , Do you have one of these in your collection? I saw this listing and thought of you. It's not too far from you either. He has more than just these for sale.

Dolmar CA 113 Motorsäge Oldtimer Baujahr 1966 - 1978 | eBay

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Dolmar CA 113 Motorsäge Oldtimer Sammler Baujahr 1966 - 1978 West Germany | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Dolmar CA 113 Motorsäge Oldtimer Sammler Baujahr 1966 - 1978 West Germany at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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[old_sir_henry]

@powerstroke cowboy :
I have a CA 113/3 (with AV rear handle, similar to the items you linked to)
and would perhaps look for the older models.

I'm watching the ads of this particular seller and probably wouldn't buy from hin since he
has IMHO some questionable habits:
First he claims to be a private seller and therefor dodges any customer rights a profesional
seller must obey: He refuses returns as well as any kind of warranties, but he permanently
has between 150 and 250 different ads online, which IMHO shows him to be a professional
seller.
Second he repeatedly inlcudes passages of this page in his ads https://wiki.motorsaegen-portal.de/wiki/Technische_Daten_Dolmar_Motorsägen
without even bothering to name the source but instead claims "I have found out...".
No he didn't find out anything by himself but rather copies other people's work (among others: mine).
These are practises I don't tolerate on a seller and that's why I wouldn't buy from him

 

[Powerstroke Cowboy]

@old_sir_henry .


Gotcha. I can't read German. Wish I could. I never bothered translating his adds so I could read them. But I did notice he cited some of your work. But did not know he did not give credit where credit was due.

I don't blame you for being leary. A guy's got to be careful. Sounds like you have quite the collection. Sounds like.the safest way would be to do the transaction in person.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I'm a total weirdo about logos, crests, and fonts. I used to doodle OPE and ag machinery as a kid and would spend much of the time making sure the name plates were drawn just right. I think Sachs-Dolmar had the best saw decal designs of all time. The size, placement, shape, and font was just perfect.

 

[av8or3]

If @old_sir_henry can’t recommend him I would not deal with him. I have seen one of those saws(maybe both) come up before. They may just be continuously running. I’m in search of a nice CA myself, but I will await a recommendation from a trusted friend on that little saw.

 

[old_sir_henry]

Well, to make it clear: I don not have any bad experiences with this particular seller since I never bought from
him before. Its just the way he acts that makes not wanting to by from him.

 

[av8or3]

Somebody else out there thinks a bunch of Dolmars.

Makita EA7900P Chainsaw | eBay

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[Powerstroke Cowboy]

Somebody else out there thinks a bunch of Dolmars.

Makita EA7900P Chainsaw | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Makita EA7900P Chainsaw at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Yup. I've been watching that one. A new Makita DCS7901 sold for 1325 on ebay.