McCulloch 797 Super, chain reccommendation for milling beams 6ft bar + Manuals

[bingles]

I traded a Model A carb for this McCulloch 797 Super with a Alaska Saw mill and another alaska sawmill for my brand new ms391. Both mills are really old and the type with rollers and both bolt to the bars. The McCulloch has a bar that is 6ft pre-slotted and bolts right to the mill. I have a few questions about what chain would work best for milling some beams from fresh California dugfir with this 797. My local saw shop says full skip chain would work for my 28" sthil ms391. He wasnt sure what size or type chain would fit the McCulloch bar and said he would have to guess. The bar is 6ft and even thou it has surface rust the groove and everything looks great, its made to have 2 chain saws but it is currently setup for one saw.
Also I think this 797 Super needs a new muffler cause it sure was loud!!!! ha ha But hey its 125cc !!! LOL
It wouldn't start for the longest time, but after some cleaning and carb adjustments I got it to start and idle real well. Low adjustment seemed to work best around 1 turn from soft seat and little over 1.5 on High but I will adjust that after I get a chain on it I dont want damage the motor. But some tips on adjusting the carb would be great I have been searching and "7/8 low and 1.5 High" adjustments was what I found on here for a starting point. seems to be about right. Does anyone know what carb this is? says SDC and under it says 2... but it doesnt say anything else besides brand McCulloch and 21-34 down by the choke, its very clean so if there was any other numbers I would see them I think ha ha.

I really like that saw, bar and the mill, just hope someone can send me a pdf of service manual and parts ect. Also a tip on what mufflers work best of these badboys would be great.

Tomorrow I can post a pick of the mill and bar not sure if that will help, we couldnt find any numbers on the bar.

Thanks for you time, I might have a few more questions so bear with me, check out the pics
Brian

 

[leeha]

Not a bad looking 797. They're one of my favorites.
Not to sure on chain type but i'm sure someone will
chime in. I would guess 3/8 chisel full skip if the wood
is large. Some say they prefer milling chain but it
leaves a ruffer cut.
The carb is a Walbro SDC used on all the later Supers.
Your pretty close on carb adjustments. I would run that
saw a tad on the rich side, Pistons are not all that common.
The box mufflers can be found on ebay, There's one seller
that has a bunch of them. I think around 35 bucks each.
Good luck with it.




Lee

 

[Macman125]

That is too classic of a saw to be ruining on a mill. I would keep the 797 but use a different saw for the mill. Odds are it is set up for .058 or .063 .404 chain.

 

[nmurph]

Not a bad looking 797. They're one of my favorites.
Not to sure on chain type but i'm sure someone will
chime in. I would guess 3/8 chisel full skip if the wood
is large. Some say they prefer milling chain but it
leaves a ruffer cut.
The carb is a Walbro SDC used on all the later Supers.
Your pretty close on carb adjustments. I would run that
saw a tad on the rich side, Pistons are not all that common.
The box mufflers can be found on ebay, There's one seller
that has a bunch of them. I think around 35 bucks each.
Good luck with it.




Lee

Yes, it needs to be tuned where it needs to be tuned. As long as it isn't way off from the specs, I would let the motor tell me where it needs to be set. Factors like altitude, temp, fuel, and compression, as well as the condition of the carb diaphragms and how the metering arm is set, will all affect the correct final setting. And as Lee said, set it rich, especially for milling.

That is too classic of a saw to be ruining on a mill. I would keep the 797 but use a different saw for the mill. Odds are it is set up for .058 or .063 .404 chain.

YES!!!! I, personally, would find a 394/5, 3120, 880 or 660 to use for miling...and the dealer is way off the mark suggesting that a 391 will mill with a 28" bar. I wouldn't want to mill with more than an 18" on that saw for long. In general, you need to go a couple of cc classes up from what is customary for cross-cutting when you are milling. That is not to say you can't push a saw and get away with it, but doing so will almost certainly shorten the life of the saw significantly.

 

[bingles]

Thanks Lee, nmurph, maclovercp125, for the responses!

As for milling I am not doing much, maybe 9 good size trees into some big beams not lumber. Ya the saw shop said the MS391 was to small for milling alot and he suggested I get a pro saw but I couldn't afford one. When I told him I do way more falling then milling he said it should work for my 24" Alaska Mill since I am not using it much.
I really wanted the 660! but it was twice the price that wouldn't work out for me. Besides I get a lot of old saws from people that just have no time or desire to fix them.
Thanks for the tip on tuning it on the rich side, I will try to do that.

Maclovercp125 / nmurph - my mom doesn't know anything about saws but when I pulled that thing out of the back of my truck she said thats a McColloch, I Know those saws from anywhere... I was tripping my Mom knew what it was ha ha ha. The big mill is intended for only few tree's that are too big for the 24" mill and also I have a big walnut tree stump that was cut down I wanted to make some slabs out of. I have a question for you, is using a chainsaw as a mill that bad if it is only used maybe 12 times a year as like a hobby?

Lee is there a after market muffler that would yield a little more power for this saw? I have welded up a few tuned pipes for my friends kid go cart that made a pretty good difference in power. I am just wondering if I should stick another box muffler on or try something different. $35 seems kinda high for a muffler, but I guess its worth it.
Edit : I just found some muffler mods I will research this a little more this evening... thanks

When I saw this saw sitting way back in the barn I knew it was a power house, when I pulled the starter and it turned free and smooth I knew right then it was worth some kind of a trade deal.

Thanks again
Brian

 

[Macman125]

Thanks Lee, nmurph, maclovercp125, for the responses!

As for milling I am not doing much, maybe 9 good size trees into some big beams not lumber. Ya the saw shop said the MS391 was to small for milling alot and he suggested I get a pro saw but I couldn't afford one. When I told him I do way more falling then milling he said it should work for my 24" Alaska Mill since I am not using it much.
I really wanted the 660! but it was twice the price that wouldn't work out for me. Besides I get a lot of old saws from people that just have no time or desire to fix them.
Thanks for the tip on tuning it on the rich side, I will try to do that.

Maclovercp125 / nmurph - my mom doesn't know anything about saws but when I pulled that thing out of the back of my truck she said thats a McColloch, I Know those saws from anywhere... I was tripping my Mom knew what it was ha ha ha. The big mill is intended for only few tree's that are too big for the 24" mill and also I have a big walnut tree stump that was cut down I wanted to make some slabs out of. I have a question for you, is using a chainsaw as a mill that bad if it is only used maybe 12 times a year as like a hobby?

Lee is there a after market muffler that would yield a little more power for this saw? I have welded up a few tuned pipes for my friends kid go cart that made a pretty good difference in power. I am just wondering if I should stick another box muffler on or try something different. $35 seems kinda high for a muffler, but I guess its worth it.
Edit : I just found some muffler mods I will research this a little more this evening... thanks

When I saw this saw sitting way back in the barn I knew it was a power house, when I pulled the starter and it turned free and smooth I knew right then it was worth some kind of a trade deal.

Thanks again
Brian

As far as the muffler goes. 35 is worth it. By the time I get the muffler bolts for my sp125 I will have 65 bucks in it.

 

[bingles]

$35 doesnt sound to bad now ha ha .

I bought a brand new chain for the saw, it started on second pull, I thought that was nice seeing how I still havent fine tuned anything. After it warmed up it all of a sudden started dumping massive white smoke, I changed nothing, infact the only thing I was doing at the time was filling up the bar oil while it was warming up and adjusting the auto oiler plus pushing the manual oiler button.

I am thinking something is stuck inside the carb. I will be ording a rebuild kit once I find the right part number. But for now I would like to adjust it, I adjusted the L and H all over the place and white smoke never changed but the idle did change. The third adjustment up near top of the carb where is the best starting point for that?

Whats the best gas mix for this saw? I did stihl mix 2.6 per gallon like all my saws... same gas as last night when it ran great with no smoke, well maybe a tiny bit of burnt fuel, now its pure white clouds and oil dumping out of exhaust...

Need some suggestions LOL

 

[leeha]

If it started smoking right after you filled the
oil tank then i would say it's sucking the bar
oil into the crank case. You will need to remove
the oil tank and stuffer and replace both gaskets.





Lee

 

[bingles]

If it started smoking right after you filled the
oil tank then i would say it's sucking the bar
oil into the crank case. You will need to remove
the oil tank and stuffer and replace both gaskets.


Lee

Ya thats exactly when it happened... Do you have the part numbers for those gaskets? are they still around or do I have to make my own gasket? I still havent found a service manual or parts manual or even a owners manual I did find a parts list for sale but of all my equipement I have never seen a parts list nor availble for free.

Brian

 

[Macman125]

You could probably find them. But it would be just as easy to make your own. Use some matching thickness gasket material and a exacto knife possibly a hole punch to help out with the bolt holes. Also be sure to look for pinholes from the oil tank to the crankcase. Oxidation can cause them. I have seen it happen before. Good luck -Alex

 

[leeha]

You could probably find them. But it would be just as easy to make your own. Use some matching thickness gasket material and a exacto knife possibly a hole punch to help out with the bolt holes. Also be sure to look for pinholes from the oil tank to the crankcase. Oxidation can cause them. I have seen it happen before. Good luck -Alex

Thats very true. I have seen a couple that had corrosion in
the oil tank and once i bead blasted the stuffer there were
holes right through into the crank case.



Lee

 

[Macman125]

Thats very true. I have seen a couple that had corrosion in
the oil tank and once i bead blasted the stuffer there were
holes right through into the crank case.



Lee

Moisture/water can do some crazy things to magnesium/aluminum.