McCulloch Chain Saws

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The old McCulloch large frame saws used 3/8" bar studs. There are a few modern saw bars with 10 mm bar studs that will fit, you might even get the adjuster holes to line up, but will probably have to do something different with the oiler. I ended up drilling 3 or 4 small holes through the bottom of the bar groove to get one to put oil on the chain but that was the easiest way for me to fit a saw with a 3/8 chain and 18" sprocket nose bar.

Bars that fit the old McCullochs come up frequently on e-bay and most will be hard nose bars so you can run any pitch chain you want. Most will be .058 gauge, some will be .063, and a very few will be .050". Shorter bars (18-20") usually don't demand a big price.

You won't find much NOS .404 pin tail chain around, probably not worth looking for anyway unless you really want the make the saw very original again. Any .404 chain will work, and if you have a solid nose bar any 3/8" chain will work as well provided you use the right sprocket. Most of the clutch drums for the old McCullochs had a 7 tooth .404 spur type sprocket but you can find drums with rim sprocket splines as well. cheapchainsaw parts often has good used ones, and I have purchased new ones from Little Red Barn in VA, check to make sure they are in stock though as one order took around 9 months to be filled when they were waiting on the boat to arrive, must have really been the slow boat from China.

.404 chain cuts a bigger kerf so will likely be a bit slower in the cut than 3/8 on a saw like yours. On the other hand, that saw is a torque monster compared to modern 80 cc saws so you might have better life from the chain using .404. 3/8 will stretch more due to more rivets and the lighter tie straps may not hold up as well, but you would have to do a lot of very heavy cutting to ever appreciate much difference.

I have a few big old saws set up with 3/8 chain just because I could, the saws that I use regularly however are all equipped with .404 because I am pretty hard on chains and the .404 seem to hold up better. Most of the gear drives have 1/2", and a couple even have 9/16" since that's what they came with.

A couple more points, McCulloch bars from just about every saw from the 3-25 through the SP125's will interchange. Now, sometimes the older direct drive saws had a special adjuster screw with an oversize head that fit a slot/scallop milled into the bar and you must use that type bar on those saws. In general though, the bars would also have the holes for the more conventional tensioner located in the clutch cover so they would work on most any saw.

Same goes for the clutch drums, drums are the same for the 200/300/400/500/700 and the large frame CP and SP models. It seems to me that while scrounging around lately I did notice some of the older saws like the 1-40's and 1-50, perhaps the 44 Series and 1-70's as well had a larger diameter crank shaft at the clutch. I don't have any records on the computer on which is which though, and won't be home again until next week to look into it any further.

Mark
 
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tahnks again mark,
i thought you were out of town!!!!!!!!!!
i will probably try and use 3/8 chain on it, as its cheaper, and will be easy to come by,, so, i guess i'll need an original hard nose bar, and a 3/8 sprocket... my saw has a spur drum on it, so i guess i'll need a rim drum, and tehn can swap between 3/8 & 404 if i want to... i just found a clutch cover from a member here, so when that comes, and i find a b/c,, it should be time to see how this thing will cut...

i see, in the last post, baileys recommends using a husky bar,,, did you ever try to use one of them? whats the mac bar pattern number?
 
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I sent a couple of emails off about my Mac15 to baileysonline and the conclusion appeared to be that .404 .063 chain will work and the bar would be very similar to a husky bar, but would require minor modification of (memory failing here) either the mounting holes or the adjustment holes or something of that nature.
Interested to see what you go with, as I'd like to get a bigger b/c combo.

i'd like to try and use 3/8 b/c on my saw,,, don't know how it will work out yet, because i'll need to change teh clutch drum... if i find a rim sprocket set up, then i can use either size chain...
what b/c do you have on your saw?
 
i'd like to try and use 3/8 b/c on my saw,,, don't know how it will work out yet, because i'll need to change teh clutch drum... if i find a rim sprocket set up, then i can use either size chain...
what b/c do you have on your saw?

I have a Super 250 and it has an old rusty B/C on it, and the Mac 15 has a 18" B/C on it. I haven't paid much attention to what came with the Super, but I think it's a 20" bar on it. I can't tell you a thing about its chain, either.

I'd like to shock and awe with the Super 250 because it sounds so cool, so I was hoping to dig up a 36" bar and chain combo, maybe running a full chisel skip in the .404

Like Mark said, I do see bars every once in a while online, but never anything longer than 20" it seems.
 
I have a Super 250 and it has an old rusty B/C on it, and the Mac 15 has a 18" B/C on it. I haven't paid much attention to what came with the Super, but I think it's a 20" bar on it. I can't tell you a thing about its chain, either.

I'd like to shock and awe with the Super 250 because it sounds so cool, so I was hoping to dig up a 36" bar and chain combo, maybe running a full chisel skip in the .404

Like Mark said, I do see bars every once in a while online, but never anything longer than 20" it seems.

i was looking on ebay, just to see what bars fit 250's , but haven't found any yet,,, do you know other saws taht use teh same bar as the 250? may be easier to find a bar taht way..........
 
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Actually I am in Argentina this week. The two customers were were supposed to visit today found other things more important to do, so I am working from our agents office all day.

I honestly have no idea what the McCulloch bar mount pattern is, not sure that I have ever seen anything written down to describe those saws. When I went looking for a shorter sprocket nose bar to put on a saw I just took another bar along to use as a pattern to check it against. I find I did have the information recorded so here it is: 18" Bar - Oregon - 180SLHD025. The slot is a bit sloppy on the 3/8" studs so I am trying to come up with some simple spacers/adapters to make it fit a little better. I think JoeDA... had a thread where he made a figure 8 spacer for a situation like this.

Mark
 
ID this Mac

Hey Guys. Fairly new here, and looking for a little help. Does anyone have an idea what model this Mac is? Or just a general guess at the class size? I understand the fact there is little to go by, but it is the best pic that I can get right now. I have been unable to talk to the owner. It does have the full wrap handles, and appears to be all yellow...no black. I don't know if someone painted it or if it came that way. I hope to get a closer look soon. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Actually I am in Argentina this week. The two customers were were supposed to visit today found other things more important to do, so I am working from our agents office all day.

I honestly have no idea what the McCulloch bar mount pattern is, not sure that I have ever seen anything written down to describe those saws. When I went looking for a shorter sprocket nose bar to put on a saw I just took another bar along to use as a pattern to check it against. I find I did have the information recorded so here it is: 18" Bar - Oregon - 180SLHD025. The slot is a bit sloppy on the 3/8" studs so I am trying to come up with some simple spacers/adapters to make it fit a little better. I think JoeDA... had a thread where he made a figure 8 spacer for a situation like this.

Mark

i guess the bar pattern could be DO25... seems thats how its listed on other bars... i've drille dand made spacers on some homelite saws, to get modern bars to fit,,, not a big deal,,,
well, seeing you got stood up by your clients... i'm sure i acn keep you occupied with questions!!!!!!!! i just went down and tried to start the 250 again, after about an hour of sitting, and it fired right up..if i find a b/c for it, i may have to take my offer of swapping it for a poulan or homie off the table!!!!! it does make a "beautiful noise",, as teh song goes.............
 
mac 250

i just checked acres site,, a DO25 is a 12.3 stihl mount,,, probably why your bar is sloppy,,, i think 10mm is closer to 3/8".....maybe a 10mm stihl mount, if such a thing exists will be as close as it gets....
 
i guess the bar pattern could be DO25... seems thats how its listed on other bars... i've drille dand made spacers on some homelite saws, to get modern bars to fit,,, not a big deal,,,
well, seeing you got stood up by your clients... i'm sure i acn keep you occupied with questions!!!!!!!! i just went down and tried to start the 250 again, after about an hour of sitting, and it fired right up..if i find a b/c for it, i may have to take my offer of swapping it for a poulan or homie off the table!!!!! it does make a "beautiful noise",, as teh song goes.............

That would be the pattern for Pro Stihl Bars! Hmmm, that would make it easier. I think I can get one with the .404/.063... Did the oil channels seem to line up in your saw alright, Mark?
 
I finely have the finishing touches on my Super 250! Everything seems to be running right now and with the spikes Randy Mac gave me it looks just like it is supposed to.:clap:

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I also got the bar for my 797 in today, all I can say is its impressive. The slot for the bar studs is kind of chewed up but for as little use as it will get I think it will be fine.

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That would be the pattern for Pro Stihl Bars! Hmmm, that would make it easier. I think I can get one with the .404/.063... Did the oil channels seem to line up in your saw alright, Mark?

I have heard that the Stihl bars will work but when I tried mine the mount was too large for the studs. A spacer of some sort would have to be made.
 
D024 is a 10mm mount...I think that's what husky uses, which would make sense as to why baileysonline is suggesting it----no take that back, Husky uses D009 which is a 9.5mm.... Do24 seems to be Jonsered....
 
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Nice work on the Super 250 Brian, aren't you glad now that you stayed with it?

The bar on the S 250 looks like it was welded just in front of the clutch cover, or is that just an optical illusion?

Mark

It was welded there. When I took the picture it was running so you are seeing some smoke that makes it look like an illusion. And yes I am happy I stayed with it. Every time I run it, it is working a little bit better.:)
 
It was welded there. When I took the picture it was running so you are seeing some smoke that makes it look like an illusion. And yes I am happy I stayed with it. Every time I run it, it is working a little bit better.:)

brian,
does taht long bar have the same bar mount pattern as the 250? if so can you take a close up pic of it? maybe a pic next to a stihl bar, if you have one ...
tahnks
john
 
Hey Guys. Fairly new here, and looking for a little help. Does anyone have an idea what model this Mac is? Or just a general guess at the class size? I understand the fact there is little to go by, but it is the best pic that I can get right now. I have been unable to talk to the owner. It does have the full wrap handles, and appears to be all yellow...no black. I don't know if someone painted it or if it came that way. I hope to get a closer look soon. Any help would be appreciated.

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I am guessing a 1-70 series model, 1-71 or bigger? It could also be one of the 700 Series saws like a 740 or 790 since there is no compression release but I have never seen any of them with the all yellow top.

There should be some numbers stamped on the bottom of the crank case to identify the model. Please let us know what it is, and if you decide not to take it. I am still looking for several of the 1-70 series saws and for a 790.

Mark
 
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Thanks Mark. I'll keep you updated. If it turns out to be something different than what I am looking for I might be up for a trade.

Josh
 
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