McCulloch Chain Saws

[edju1958]

Sorry gentlemen for my ignorance of the wehole Mac brand.Up till '95 I'd never owned a Mac,then I bought a Timberbear,& that was my only Mac till last yr.when I bought a baby Mac - the Eager Beaver 2.1.Now I have several Macs,some baby Macs,middle of the road Macs & some big boy Macs too.I'm getting there.I find the Macs easy to work on,easier than some other saws anyway.I was just talking with a seller on Ebay yesterday & he said that Mac saws were the best power to weight ratio saw out there.I thought I knew the history of the Mac saw,but I didn't find out till yesterday that Mac sold out to Black & Decker in 1984.I knew that Mac filed for bankruptcy in 1999 & that Jenn Feng from Taiwan bought Mac shortly thereafter.When Jenn Feng sold Mac (what was left of Mac) to Husqvarna,that was throwing dirt on the coffin.Jenn Feng made some good little saws,but that was just it - they were little.I think the biggest saw was 48 cc.The big boys were gone.The last big saw that Mac had made for them by another fledgling company was the PM 1000.Sorry guys,I didn't mean to dig open old wounds.
Ed

 

[vinnywv]

Mcculloch did have a 100cc saw about the time frame of the others mentioned. It was not nor did it share any 10 series parts though. It was the pm1000. Made by Partner. That may have been the 100cc gap fill, so to speak. Mid 1970 era.

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

It's all good Ed I'm green as when it comes to these old relics but just soak it all up man gotta kinda immerse yourself into it a bit. As far as I know it and mite be off it's off my head not google old uncle Robert sold it for a pretty penny in 73 and retired then in 77 passed. Black n decker never really seemed to keep on the development of much and really needed a new design that stuck it to the competition. There answer was the homeowner aimed 600 series and good saws they are they weren't going to save the brand. The goose got shot sadly.

In a way you cant blame them to much for chasing James Johnson homeowner man because out of 10 saws 8 will be homeowner saws but... the people bought them because of the pro saw name if the price was right. My mate with the ms311 classic example "stihl make the best saws in the world"

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

Mcculloch did have a 100cc saw about the time frame of the others mentioned. It was not nor did it share any 10 series parts though. It was the pm1000. Made by Partner. That may have been the 100cc gap fill, so to speak. Mid 1970 era.

I always forget about that saw. Are they any good?

 

[edju1958]

I heard Partner was a good saw.I got a little one,a 330,it's about 34 cc.Never ran the saw.The guy I bought it from on Ebay lied to me about it (imagine that!).
Ed

 

[rwoods]

Ed, my experience is rather limited but I find the old large frames to be easy to work on as well. The ten series also seem to me to be a well thought out design. I have several 60cc Stihls - I wouldn’t tear into one of them without someone holding my hand. Ron

 

[edju1958]

Same here with a Stihl.Although I did a carb replacement on a MS250 a while ago.I ended up taking the saw to a saw shop for help cause it'd only run on a prime.Come to find out the fuel line was pinched ya can't connect the fuel line to the carb & then tighten the carb down,ya gotta tighten down the carb,then put the fuel line on.Fussy,fussy.
Ed

 

[Brian Thacker]

Well I am the saw shop for Ron. The Stihl is not as bad as you think once you learn a couple tricke. The large frame McCulloch's are kind of a very basic simple design that was made to be worked on in the field where the 10's are not as easy to work on in the field.

Brian

 

[edju1958]

If I ever get into a complete tear down on a saw,then you'd be one of the guys to help walk me through it.I did have a 610 that I tore down almost completely because one of the bearings went bad.I didn't tear it apart completely because I found another engine to take it's place.But I found the 610 very easy to tear down & work on.
Ed

 

[edju1958]

Hi fellas,I've got something that I've been wondering about for quite some time now.I've heard of a McCulloch carb referred to as a "flatback",why are they called this?Another question I have is how difficult are they to rebuild?(I have 2 sources to get the rebuild kits)Final question,is it possible to change out the "flatback"with another moremodern carb? I have a Mac 380 (87 cc) that I believe has the "flatback"in itThanks
Ed

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

Google and the site search function are your friend when it comes to many of these questions. 'Flatback' yields 10 pages using the search function here. And I'm hardly an authority on the subject, but there is quite a bit of info readily available on these things. Hopefully others with more working knowledge and experience will hop in where any elaboration or greater attention to detail will be helpful. In the meantime....

The flatback typically has a flat top (back) running the length of the carb as shown below on the right. Left pic is a Tillotson and right pic is a McCulloch/Walbro 58856 'flatback', one of which will be on your 380..., probably the flatback. (Pic courtesy of Al Smith from a quick Google search.) Rebuilding either one should be fairly straightforward if you pay attention to details during disassembly. All rebuild kits are not created equally, btw, so do your research there. The bookmarked link below may be helpful in understanding those considerations along with other details.

And as is obvious below, a flatback can be replaced by a different style carb, though there are also several considerations there as one would expect.

​

There is also more than one version of a flatback for the large frame Macs (not to be confused with the bullfrog for the 10 series Macs). Here is a great tutorial from Mark on the old Mac carb(s). Must reading when considering rebuilding one or when encountering difficulty with one. Good luck with yours. McCulloch Carburetors

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[PogoInTheWoods]

Here is a Master IPL for the 200/300 saws. Should pretty much have you covered for your 380.

 

[edju1958]

Thanks Pogo!After I asked this question I did a Yahoo search & found one of the many pages here on AS from 2009.The two sources I have (Bob Johnson & Sugar Creek Supply) were mentioned in that post,so I'm assuming that both of these sources are good.Both sources are about the same dollar - wise.I surely wouldn't go on Ebay just to save a few bucks.I probably won't be getting at the 380 anytime in the near future just because I have too many other projects lined up right now,but that doesdn't mean that I can't swap projects around The 380 doesn't have spark right now,but that could be simple as cleaning & gapping the points.I don't remember if the primer was in working condition,but I'm thinking it was.The saw is in remarkable condition.I don't think it had much use.I'll have to dig it up & get some pics here of it.
Ed

 

[Aaron Rybicki]

Purchased this PM60 off of eBay, needed a carb kit.. Threw one in it and it runs quite well now.



And this Super Pro 81, I bought from someone here! I gifted it to my future brother in law. Came with a 32" bar. Runs nice.

 

[fossil]

Something from Sants to gaze at when I'm having a coffee

 

[edju1958]

Hey Tim,you must've been a good boy! You got what you wanted for Christmas!
Ed

 

[fossil]

Hey Tim,you must've been a good boy! You got what you wanted for Christmas!
Ed

I try hard to be. I thought it would be nice to have one. The wife went through hell with some dummies (read that as poorly trained) at the Walmart to get it.

Bought my wife an Ipad mini 4 so I get her old one to play with.

 

[edju1958]

So,in other words,you bought yourself an old Ipad.Lol

 

[fossil]

So,in other words,you bought yourself an old Ipad.Lol

You forgot the good will part. She's happy and that matters A LOT!

 

[edju1958]

Yes,as the saying goes...Happy wife is a happy life.
Ed