Mr. Piste
ArboristSite Lurker
Hey, everyone!
I'm venturing, for the first time, into rebuilding vintage chainsaws. I've started with a good old McCulloch 380 that I picked up a while back and have mostly been working on refurbishing the outside (fixing broken pieces, new paint job, and the like), and only just recently got into the inner workings of it. Needless to say, I have a few questions.
First off, the carb is a stock Mac flatback and needs some work: the setting mechanism at the end of the throttle shaft is lose, and the whole carb most likely needs a rebuild. I expect to rebuild the carb on just about every saw I work on, but I can't for the life of me find a kit for this one. Would it be cheaper (and/or smarter) to replace it with a good Tillotson instead of attempting to mess with rebuilding the stock Mac one?
My next question is in regards to the lower rod roller pins and piston needle cages. The ones currently installed in the saw have a bit of vertical play. Just to confirm my thoughts (as my experience is solely with modern saws), this isn't good even with old saws, right?
Thirdly, the piston and cylinder needed some love. The cylinder had some scratch marks, and still has a few grayish lines and one scratch which I can clearly feel with my fingernail. I'm not necessarily wanting to replace the cylinder, as this saw will not be one of my daily runners, and it doesn't need tip-top performance; that being said, I might try to sand it out a bit more. It was cross-hatched when I first inspected it, and there's slight evidence that someone has torn this saw down before. Does anyone make an oversize piston/ring set for this saw or similar? What size should I put in this beast if I'm unsure of any previous honing or sanding?
Lastly, where should I go to find good and authentic parts for this old girl? I have most of what I need, but there are a few specifics that I've been unable to locate: rear handle grips (top and insert: seems like most old Macs have lost the top grip), carb grommet, all-together and functioning fuel tank cap, felling dog, and lower rod rollers. I think I can get replacement bearings and oil seals at a local bearing distributor.
This has been a pretty fun project thus far, and to get it running (however strongly) would just be the cherry on top of the cake. It was certainly far, far from being a runner when I got it at 75% complete and 0% working.
I'm venturing, for the first time, into rebuilding vintage chainsaws. I've started with a good old McCulloch 380 that I picked up a while back and have mostly been working on refurbishing the outside (fixing broken pieces, new paint job, and the like), and only just recently got into the inner workings of it. Needless to say, I have a few questions.
First off, the carb is a stock Mac flatback and needs some work: the setting mechanism at the end of the throttle shaft is lose, and the whole carb most likely needs a rebuild. I expect to rebuild the carb on just about every saw I work on, but I can't for the life of me find a kit for this one. Would it be cheaper (and/or smarter) to replace it with a good Tillotson instead of attempting to mess with rebuilding the stock Mac one?
My next question is in regards to the lower rod roller pins and piston needle cages. The ones currently installed in the saw have a bit of vertical play. Just to confirm my thoughts (as my experience is solely with modern saws), this isn't good even with old saws, right?
Thirdly, the piston and cylinder needed some love. The cylinder had some scratch marks, and still has a few grayish lines and one scratch which I can clearly feel with my fingernail. I'm not necessarily wanting to replace the cylinder, as this saw will not be one of my daily runners, and it doesn't need tip-top performance; that being said, I might try to sand it out a bit more. It was cross-hatched when I first inspected it, and there's slight evidence that someone has torn this saw down before. Does anyone make an oversize piston/ring set for this saw or similar? What size should I put in this beast if I'm unsure of any previous honing or sanding?
Lastly, where should I go to find good and authentic parts for this old girl? I have most of what I need, but there are a few specifics that I've been unable to locate: rear handle grips (top and insert: seems like most old Macs have lost the top grip), carb grommet, all-together and functioning fuel tank cap, felling dog, and lower rod rollers. I think I can get replacement bearings and oil seals at a local bearing distributor.
This has been a pretty fun project thus far, and to get it running (however strongly) would just be the cherry on top of the cake. It was certainly far, far from being a runner when I got it at 75% complete and 0% working.
