Info on an Old John Deere Saw ?

[Vernon Tull]

In the photos below there is a small John Deere 30 saw from the 1980s that we recently found in storage. You'll see that the last person to use this saw twenty years ago didn't bother to clean it up after the last use. It says "Made in Japan" down under the sprocket cover. My father-in-law says it was running fine when they put it away, but now, as you see, the bar and chain are rusted over pretty badly.

Do any of you know anything about this older model?

 

[retoocs555]

A little echo.

Something like a 302

A good little limbing saw.

 

[Vernon Tull]

Yes, Retoocs555, it appears you are exactly right. Below are photos of the Echo CS-302 in much better shape than the saw in my pics.

I worked with this little John Deere 30 for about an hour today before giving up. I soaked the rusty chain in oil but couldn't get a few of the links to break free and loosen up; thus the chain is beyond function. Plus, when I added fuel, it poured out the bottom of the saw.

One interesting note is that this little model (both Echo and with JD badges) has an adjustable oiler. I haven't seen that feature on many small saws.

 

[THALL10326]

In the photos below there is a small John Deere 30 saw from the 1980s that we recently found in storage. You'll see that the last person to use this saw twenty years ago didn't bother to clean it up after the last use. It says "Made in Japan" down under the sprocket cover. My father-in-law says it was running fine when they put it away, but now, as you see, the bar and chain are rusted over pretty badly.

Do any of you know anything about this older model?

10 minutes in a Cuda and that saw would look greatttttttttttt. You should take that saw to some shop that has a cleaning machine and really give it a go over. Under all that crud is a nice saw........

 

[Old Mac Guy]

I agree with Thall, Vernon. You should take the time to clean this little Kioritzsu baby up, find the source of the fuel leak and repair it and get 'er back in her best Echo-mule shape. If you think it's too much time and effort, turn her over to one of us and let us tinker with her.... They are, after all, only about a $50-80 saw running good, but I like the "JD" 30, 40, 50, 60 saws. I have a 40V and a 50V and, although I got 'em cheap (less than $15) and not running, a little time on the bench and a few parts from some Echo's, and I have a couple of nice little yellar John Deere's that I'm gonna enjoy using once in a while and looking at all the time.

Recovering old rusted chain can be an onerous task. Sometimes it's not possible to totally reclaim them from the rust. But I've reclaimed two old 1/2"-pitch chains which were totally froze-to-the-bar by soaking them alternately in gas and oil and in between wire-brushing, gently hammering/tapping the rivet back and forth over the horn of an anvil, (watch out not to damage the cutters, rakers, drivers nor side-plates), working them by hand, re-soaking, re-cleaning, and doing it all again, until finally getting a limber, flexible, clean chain...... A lot of work.... but, to me, at least, worth it for a chain which fits an old saw and is a little hard-to-find NOS. Ya gotta remember that the chain is gonna be under high-speed stresses and is only as good as its weakest link, carefully inspect each link, and use some judgement about whether it can serve on a cutting saw again. If you can get a new chain fairly cheaply, do it, and use the old one for garden sculpture....

Ditto with an old rusty bar.

That little 30V is worth restoring. If you don't want to spend the time on it, send me a PM and we'll try to make a deal, and I'll do it. When the bee season ends in November and the winter snows are deep, the old caboose stove radiating good heat, the Springer Spaniels snoozin' under mah feet, all the Old Mac's sittin' ready on the shelves and Marty Robbins a-sangin' over tha workbench, get up that little geisha posin' as a Iowa corn-fed farm girl and fix 'er up again....)

 

[retoocs555]

The gas you say comes out bottom may just be from the saw flooding, it has a muffler that exits on the bottom. Either that or the tank's got a hole in it.

The fuel line runs along the top, behind the flywheel, and into the airbox.

I'll be working on the same saw, only in echo colors sometime next week. I think mine may be dirtier

That top mounted oiler adjustment, with a nice big knob on old echos is probably one my favorite features about the saws.

 

[Vernon Tull]

Old Mac Guy -- You're a poet! That's some fine writing: "That little 30V is worth restoring. If you don't want to spend the time on it, send me a PM and we'll try to make a deal, and I'll do it. When the bee season ends in November and the winter snows are deep, the old caboose stove radiating good heat, the Springer Spaniels snoozin' under mah feet, all the Old Mac's sittin' ready on the shelves and Marty Robbins a-sangin' over tha workbench, get up that little geisha posin' as a Iowa corn-fed farm girl and fix 'er up again....) "

You got me wishing for winter with that description. I suspect that in NM where you live it's hot as hell right now just as it is here in sweltering, humid Alabama, so we both are wishing for some cooler days.

I'll think on the JD 30 and decide what to do with her. I'm surprised to see such interest in an old, small cc saw.

 

[Sprig]

Nice little old saw and well worth a few hours work on it imo. forget the chain if you cant free it up with a good soaking its probably not worth the effort, leave it in a sealed tin in a nice gasoil mix and put it away for a while buy a new chain and bar, mindya the bar may be worth a bit more effort if its not severely worn, check the depth of the groove ect., the steel in those makes them recoverable and its always nice to have a beater bar if you have to do something dirty. Gut feeling on the leak is that previous advice is right on. If it wasn't run right dry upon storage there could be some small pluggage probs, diaphrams might be dried out or fouled with varnish and may require a pull apart and look-see, I've used Q-tips and acetone for the harder stuff but dont leave that on anything rubber for long as it may eat it up. Use some fine brass wire (soft) to do the pin holes ect. pull your jets and give em a cleanong too: and check the float bowl if it has one to make sure nothing is gummed up. Pull the plug and clean it, flush the tank with iso or straight gas and check the filter, clean if necessary. Before you try to start it make sure you have a spark first eh. If it has sat for a long time it is sometimes a good idea to clean the crap off the magnets, gap rule of thumb from what I understand from the wise ones here is around a matchbook cover thick, last homelite I worked on I used a cover as a spacer till everthing was tightened up, worked very well. Cleaning the magnetos (prob wrong terms there lol) I used 350-400 grit and a bit of acetone (not too much as it might aid delamination of the plates imo, dunno, not a pro). This is my .02$ worth for the afternoon, good luck and please keep us posted on your progress, show us the running beast lol.



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