About time I had good news

[oldsaw]

So, I've been fixing up my old 066 bit by bit. Nothing really unexpected has popped up really good or bad until now. Replaced the well grooved clutch, fixed the chainbrake a couple of months ago, got a new rim sprocket today, and decided since I had it fairly torn apart, it was time to pop the muffler off and see what it and the cylinder looked like. I'd been satisfied with the compression and so had never peeked inside. All I've got to say is WOW, it looks like new. The inside of the muffler was a nice brown color, and no sign of scraping, scuffing, or other bad behavior in the cylinder itself. The dang thing looked new....real nice shine. Considering that 80% of the time I've used it has been real heavy milling....yep, I needed some good news.

Mark

 

[SandMan]

Oldsaw-

Sounds like the 066 is pretty bulletproof. I picked up a pawn shop ebay special 066 a couple months ago for a price that was low enough to part out if it was a junker. Pawn shop was close enough for a 'friendly' visit if there was a problem. I spent a couple bucks to fix the inop chainbrake and opened up the muffler. After pulling the muffler, I noticed that the bore looked fresh and the piston looked like it was barely broken in. Compression is great. Judging by looks of the saw on the outside it had seen its share of work. Sounds a lot like your post.

For about $260 (including parts) plus a little elbow grease, I have a saw that will more than meet my needs. It will basically be used for stumps, blow-downs/ 'ice'-downs, and bucking firewood that is much larger in diameter than anyone with brains would want to split. An 044 would have probably been ideal, but I couldn't pass on what ended up being a sweet deal and the weight difference is not such a big deal for me. Folks on this site were the motivation to fix up a better quality saw rather than go with a occasional-use quality new saw. Opening up the muffler was a fun project.

How does yours work in the mill, and what chain are you using? What type of wood are you milling?

 

[oldsaw]

WOW!!!! $260!!!! Come to think about it, I think you outbid me on that one... seriously. I bid on a few a couple of months ago doing some bottom trolling. I'm cheaper than you.

Anyway, nice to hear it was a good one. I'm happy with mine. Never owned one this big, but after 2 years with it, it's hard to go back to the smaller saws anymore, since this thing spends 1/2 to 1/3 of the time in the cut than they do on a log with any size. I can go through a 36" oak log like butter on a crosscut, easier than a 12" log with my old Homelite Super XL. I love it.

Milling has been primarily big stuff. 30-46" Oak and Walnut. When I first got it I was doing 18-24" logs, and it was much happier. For the big stuff, I would really like an 088 or 3120, but don't do enough to justify the money. These days I usually make logs smaller to fit on a Norwood with a 20" throat. I've used Bailey's ripping chain and have been happy with it, and have a couple of "homebrews" that work well too. One is a chunk of Stihl full skip that I started at 10 degrees, but am now closer to 5. Experimenting, the other is a full comp I've still got at 10 degrees.

Congrats

 

[SandMan]

Thanks-
I won't be doing any milling for now but it's good to know what I can do- thanks. My 066 popped up as a 'buy it now' for a low price. I just happened to see it right after it listed and thought it was worth the risk as the seller was a pawnshop in relatively close proximity. Ebay risks as a topic have been well covered, but the general consensus was that pawn shops were a safer bet.