McCulloch Chain Saws

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

Curious as to what the engineers were thinking , when they designed the exhaust muffler in the Pro Mac 800 .

My newb opinion to it is the 800 (and other Qs) was a band-aid saw. The fire hazard thing had horizontal saws on the ropes. There must have been noise level issues also. The ship had sailed and they got the last they could out of it.

They actually did reasonably well I mean the 800 definitely was quieter and that chimney stack outlet wasnt going to light the bush on fire like the older ones can.

The casting material annoys me. The early to mid 70s 10s were all alot lighter. 77ish they switched to (a guess) cheaper material not sure what brew it is but it's definitely heavier. Every single chassis casting has extra weight.

Put that with the 800 design also and yeah a saw with a lower power to weight ratio than they did with the 80/81

Meanwhile husqvarna had the 181 and compared to a SP81 there's not much in it at all but.... you couldn't buy a new SP81 by then. The also heavy 850 gone too.

So what's a professional meant to do??

Mean saw that 181

In the mid 70s if the company was being steered right it should of been designing a new professional saw platform. Thing's would of been different.

Instead they chased what presumably seemed like money in the bank the... homeowner crowd
So we got the 600 series

Still love my 800 it's an absolute beast

 

[Squareground3691]

My newb opinion to it is the 800 (and other Qs) was a band-aid saw. The fire hazard thing had horizontal saws on the ropes. There must have been noise level issues also. The ship had sailed and they got the last they could out of it.

They actually did reasonably well I mean the 800 definitely was quieter and that chimney stack outlet wasnt going to light the bush on fire like the older ones can.

The casting material annoys me. The early to mid 70s 10s were all alot lighter. 77ish they switched to (a guess) cheaper material not sure what brew it is but it's definitely heavier. Every single chassis casting has extra weight.

Put that with the 800 design also and yeah a saw with a lower power to weight ratio than they did with the 80/81

Meanwhile husqvarna had the 181 and compared to a SP81 there's not much in it at all but.... you couldn't buy a new SP81 by then. The also heavy 850 gone too.

So what's a professional meant to do??

Mean saw that 181

In the mid 70s if the company was being steered right it should of been designing a new professional saw platform. Thing's would of been different.

Instead they chased what presumably seemed like money in the bank the... homeowner crowd
So we got the 600 series

Still love my 800 it's an absolute beast View attachment 1017501View attachment 1017502View attachment 1017503View attachment 1017504View attachment 1017505View attachment 1017506View attachment 1017507

Some big wood for sure.

 

[vinnywv]

Hahaaa...thats what she said....never

 

[Woodslasher]

A sharp chain and a quality bar are the best upgrades for a vintage saw ( in my opinion) .
Some of the ten series saws had a smaller venturi carb , moving to the larger carb may help?
The 10 series are a clamshell design so dropping the cylinder for higher compression really isn't an option without a quality machinist doing the work. Which also changes the timing of the ports obviously.
A few porters will work them over , but I've never seen one afterwards that really made me think it was worth the cost.
I personally like an upgrade to the electric ignition chip , seems like I get alittle more snap of throttle.

Switching from a small-bore SDC to a SDC37 made my 5-10 (70cc) go from sluggish to a ripper, but I can't say what it would do for a 10-10.

 

[knightmax]

So the journey and legacy of Bob Johnson continues…

The trailer with the bulk of Bob’s McCulloch parts arrived yesterday on schedule. I had a crew setup to off load it into the shop. After a long day, its complete. Lots of Yellow goodness in there! I will be organizing, inventorying, getting systems in place over the next couple months. Stay yellow my friends!
PS… lots of things in there NOS that this ole boy never thought I would get to lay hands on in its “new” state.

 

[Squareground3691]

Hahaaa...thats what she said....never

So the journey and legacy of Bob Johnson continues…

The trailer with the bulk of Bob’s McCulloch parts arrived yesterday on schedule. I had a crew setup to off load it into the shop. After a long day, its complete. Lots of Yellow goodness in there! I will be organizing, inventorying, getting systems in place over the next couple months. Stay yellow my friends!
PS… lots of things in there NOS that this ole boy never thought I would get to lay hands on in its “new” state.View attachment 1017609View attachment 1017610View attachment 1017611View attachment 1017612View attachment 1017615View attachment 1017616

Dreaming of Yellow . Lol

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

Amazing, I have the same suspenders in black!

 

[knightmax]

Amazing, I have the same suspenders in black!

Thats Donnie, He is 74 and can outwork most 35 year olds I know. A great guy, and small engine tinker. He came to help because he wanted to see the goods lol

 

[Syncop8r]

View attachment 1017616

Looks like you guys are drinking the two-stroke mix.

 

[knightmax]

Looks like you guys are drinking the two-stroke mix.

End of Job celebration!

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

Some guys just get tougher with age, they may not be fit for fancy dinners but I'd rather they have my back!

 

[rwoods]

Curious as to what the engineers were thinking , when they designed the exhaust muffler in the Pro Mac 800 .

I think Jethro hit the nail on the head - noise reduction and USFS fire hazard rules. Funny the engineers didn't clearly express that in the service bulletin introducing the 800, see below. Ron

I had a little time one day this week and was looking through some McCulloch Service Bulletins and came across the following quote:

"The Pro Mac 800 is an improved version of the Pro Mac 850 model. The Pro Mac 800 has increase horsepower and cutting speed. Along with these improvements, the Pro Mac 800 incorporates a new exhaust "Q" port. This new exhaust port lowers the compression at starting speeds (RPM's), thus eliminating the necessity of a D.S.P. valve. The "Q" port also smoothes out the idle and aids in reducing engine exhaust noise." McCulloch Service Bulletin 1707, December 1, 1980

I have a couple of PM 700 saws (one complete and running, one mostly complete) but now I suppose I am going to have to find a PM 800 as well.

Mark

 

[knightmax]

I think Jethro hit the nail on the head - noise reduction and USFS fire hazard rules. Funny the engineers didn't clearly express that in the service bulletin introducing the 800, see below. Ron

Interesting to read the McCulloch published marketing for the PM800. Like many here, I can't say any one 10 series 82cc model shines above the others. Each 82cc saw I have is different to degrees. An 81, 850, and 805 are my best runners, but i have others of the same models that do not shine above the pack.

As an added observation on the Marketing write up. I have 800's with decomps. Also every 805 and DE80 I have, or have seen have decomps. The 8200s I have, or I have seen (like the 800) some with decomps some plugged.

On a side note:
Aesthetics wise I have always been fond of the paint schemes on the PM805 and the DE80. I believe that B&D mastered the let's change the paint, and slap some different model decals on it for marketing and prolonged sales of the basic same saw. To bad they messed with the intake on the DE80s. Sexy saw, but never great in the wood.

 

[knightmax]

Some guys just get tougher with age, they may not be fit for fancy dinners but I'd rather they have my back!

lol... Donnie is the kind of neighbor, everyone hopes for. He calls himself an old dinosaur. I call him an example of the type of men I refer to as "giants" in my younger life. America, the world, needs more Donnies.

Max

 

[Squareground3691]

Some big wood for sure.

lol... Donnie is the kind of neighbor, everyone hopes for. He calls himself an old dinosaur. I call him an example of the type of men I refer to as "giants" in my younger life. America, the world, needs more Donnies.

Max

We certainly do Max .

 

[flatsfisher]

almost done. there's actually no carb under the hood yet as I'm waiting on the correct diaphragm.

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

almost done. there's actually no carb under the hood yet as I'm waiting on the correct diaphragm.
View attachment 1017777View attachment 1017778View attachment 1017779

That's a stunner

 

[knightmax]

almost done. there's actually no carb under the hood yet as I'm waiting on the correct diaphragm.
View attachment 1017777

View attachment 1017778View attachment 1017779

Pretty!

 

[vinnywv]

Boy that does shine. As stated they are great runners. Mine isnt as perty but has a nos engine in it. It runs very well.

 

[flatsfisher]

Boy that does shine. As stated they are great runners. Mine isnt as perty but has a nos engine in it. It runs very well.

it's a little too shiny but it is what it is. 2 coats of single stage 2-part urethane automotive paint with 2 coats of 2-part epoxy primer underneath. I would rather have original finishes if it had been in good condition but this one had a lot of magnesium dust under the original paint. I treated the bare magnesium with chromic acid before shooting the epoxy primer. there won't be a corrosion problem anymore. at least another old MAC is saved. the guy I bought it from told me no one else even called and he was getting ready to toss it.