I took an older Jonsered switch apart and put it back together somehow. They are flimsy affairs for such nice quality saws. I think I just got lucky with that one.
Kevin
Kevin
Jonsered Chainsaws
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The 521E was very expensive for the day and considered the “Cadillac” of the 50cc Jonsereds line up. You’ll note the pto case half, P&C, top covers, front and rear handles etc are identical to the 52E. The flywheel side case half, recoil cover, flywheel and ign are pure 521. The pecking order, bottom to top of this family was 49sp, 52, 52E and 521EV. The 521 retailed for more than the 621 in 1977. It was the first Jonsereds to come stock with that goofy brake.
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The early two speed heater switches were more like the kill switches with a metal toggle but the later ones featured a plastic toggle. They all seemed pretty light duty. The plastic ones didn’t last well in real world useI took an older Jonsered switch apart and put it back together somehow. They are flimsy affairs for such nice quality saws. I think I just got lucky with that one.
Kevin
The two speed heater switch on this one is the metal type as you have seen, but the internals are all gone. I will try to remember and get a photo when I am on that saw again.
It is intriguing that Jonsereds went to such great lengths to design and build the best chainsaws possible, then cheaped out on items like the switches and wiring, and later on such chincy choke rods (920/930 and 625) and plastics. I should try to remember that there is always a contest between engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, and then the poor old sales & applications group.
Mark
It is intriguing that Jonsereds went to such great lengths to design and build the best chainsaws possible, then cheaped out on items like the switches and wiring, and later on such chincy choke rods (920/930 and 625) and plastics. I should try to remember that there is always a contest between engineering, manufacturing, purchasing, and then the poor old sales & applications group.
Mark
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Yes it is........they had some serious bean counters!! The creation of the 49SP is a great case study of this process. They took the 52 series case, handles, covers crankshaft, oiler etc. and added a diferent flywheel/ign, P&C etc, They focused on the most obscure things to cheap out on....a couple things come to mind quickly. One is the fuel and ..oil caps......all the pro saws had chains to keep track of the caps....the 49 had the same caps and gaskets but did not have the chains. If you look at the inside of the clutch cover near the bottom on the back edge there is a small rectangular pocket with a rubber bumper glued in it to stop the cover vibration from wearing the case......the 49 had the same cover and pocket minus the little rubber bumper. All repacement covers had the bumper just not the ones that came on the 49sp from the factory.
Often the reason for 'cheaping out' where features are concerned isn't so much cost driven as it is to differentiate and justify the added retail expense of the 'pro model' vs 'farm model' or whatever.
So it can be a marketing driven thing more so than a bean counting thing, I've been involved in many battles of engineering vs marketing vs manufacturing vs corporate with everyone having very different goals...
So it can be a marketing driven thing more so than a bean counting thing, I've been involved in many battles of engineering vs marketing vs manufacturing vs corporate with everyone having very different goals...
There's always been a push/pull between marketing accountants and engineers. Save $5 here, $15 there per unit on features and quality. Sometimes the cost-cutting is only a minor inconvenience, sometimes a major one.
There's never been an industry standard for 'pro saws'; each manufacturer views the term differently. Echo, for example, released the 7310 as its' first' purely professional saw. And yet they use the term loosely for their other, smaller models.
And the Swedes viewed this differently than North Americans. Actual sales will always dictate what saws have what features. And then there are always some anomalies....like the 521 retailing for more than the 621 back in the day.
Husky struggled as well between the 'farm saws' and 'pro saws' designation. Some of their tough farm saws early on were pro saws in sheep's clothing.
The Internet makes fast work of actual working/service differences....where it used to take actual use, friends, and acquaintances to clue you in.
Kevin
There's never been an industry standard for 'pro saws'; each manufacturer views the term differently. Echo, for example, released the 7310 as its' first' purely professional saw. And yet they use the term loosely for their other, smaller models.
And the Swedes viewed this differently than North Americans. Actual sales will always dictate what saws have what features. And then there are always some anomalies....like the 521 retailing for more than the 621 back in the day.
Husky struggled as well between the 'farm saws' and 'pro saws' designation. Some of their tough farm saws early on were pro saws in sheep's clothing.
The Internet makes fast work of actual working/service differences....where it used to take actual use, friends, and acquaintances to clue you in.
Kevin
