Okay, might be time to put this one on the back burner- a $50 saw is a $50 saw for a reason right?
There is no such thing for a free lunch and if it seems too good to be true it usually is.... right?
Seems the further I dig, the more things I find need fixing- so it is going to be a total strip down and rebuild.
Has been butchered up before, severe rounding of things like the nut that holds the flywheel on, stripped threads in a lot of the bolts that fix things on to the cases, needs oil seals (although the bearings seem fine!).
Shows all the signs of being owned by someone that had some rough idea on how to maintain it, but tried to make do with limited tooling and brute strength dusted with a smattering of ignorance.
So it is not going to be any miracle quick fix. Compression is way down, failed vacuum test at most every spot that can leak, plug lead shows signs of having been squished between the crankcase top and bottom of the upper cover- which may or may not be effecting spark, carb internals are just ugly (and dirty)- but hey, that original kill switch still works- and we all know what temperamental little sods they can be!
Will suck up some funds, some time and a lot of waiting for ordered parts (local Husqvarna agent is a Suzuki motorcycle dealer that stocks saws- "you want a what- for a what?"), but we will get there- just won't be this week.
Will keep you all posted as to when it is alive and breathing again.