McCulloch Super 44A

[Art Szabo]

Slow runner

I have seen this said before here on this site. I don't understand why anyone would say that I have very distinct memories of this saw and it was NOT slow. I think you are either running too much oil in the fuel, the wrong oil or you don't have it peaked right. To properly peak this saw get it warmed up good and hold the throttle wide open, lean the high speed jet out till it screams and then back it off till you get a deep throaty ripping sound. If you get it right it will accelerate quickly from an idle to full throttle without hesitation. If it is hard to start richen the high speed jet just a touch. This saw is very powerful and will cut like a rabid beast. I used to cut my rakers way down and file the teeth deep almost hooking them. When you started this saw in a cut it would almost drag you over the log it would bite so hard. I remember cutting logs with it and the sawdust would hit my leg so hard it would go numb on me. I could dip the tip of the blade low on the other side of the log and throw sawdust at least eight feet behind me. I always used the big bucking spikes and pull up on the saw in a cut burying a 32 inch blade into the wood with no shortage of power or speed. We also had a 440 and a 740 needless to say they would cut better.
Art

 

[Al Smith]

Mine originally had a 36" bar on it .It pulled it buried,no problem at all.

I may be mistaken but I believe that 5.3 cubic inch engine was rated at 6.5 HP.I suspect that with the gov bypassed it would hit close to 10 thou,maybe more.

For those who have never ran them,these old reed valves don't drop a bunch of rpm's like a piston port in a tough cut.They may be a little slower and definatly more heavy but this old gal is pushing 50 years old.

On the other hand,they don't show their true power until you get in bigger wood.

 

[DaddyRabbit]

Heres a pic of my D-44 which runs excellent. Its hard to believe this ole gal still runs after all these yrs and those before I was even a thought. :greenchainsaw:

 

[Art Szabo]

Al

You are exactly right. Maybe that's what they mean about slow. The saw does run at slower rpm than the newer smaller saws. But it is definitely not slow cutting. Even under a heavy load the rpms drop only a little less than peak freewheeling and the sawdust just flies like a volcano erupting. But, again, as you said you need a real log to put this real saw to the test. I remember dropping an elm tree that was on average seven feet accross the stump with this saw. The sap ran out of that tree so much I had to stop twice and loosen the chain from the cooling. After it fell orange water fountained up out of the stump in a five inch diameter flow about seven inches high for more than an hour. Those were the days when a tree hit the ground it literally shook the earth. Those trees were so big you had to pierce the notch to get the middle because a 32" bar wouldn't reach accross from both sides. We always left the piece uncut at the back of the tree and this was cut with the top of the bar pulling the saw out of the cut so when she let go your momentum was in the right direction.
Yeah, the good old days.
Art

 

[Art Szabo]

DaddyRabbit

Alright man! That's a cool old saw. Time wise where does that fit into the picture with the Super 44A? It looks older. Do you want to sell it?
Art

 

[Art Szabo]

Scott

I see that you are here. The check is in the mail my friend. I am really anxiuos to get my hands on that saw and show it to my dad.
Art

 

[Al Smith]

Yeah, the good old days.
Art

You are telling your age.Not too many of us can remember the big elms.

An elm,3 to 4 foot across was a normal size .By late 60 to early 70 they were just a memory.I took a 2 footer down a few years ago,standing dead.That is the largest one I had seen in years.I wish I would have had it milled because American elm is relatively light weight compared to oak.It also bends to the point of not breaking and makes excellent planks for loading machinery etc.

When those magestic trees died off by the thousands that old McCulloch saw was still in relatively common usage.

 

[Art Szabo]

Al

I remember what I think is important. I know I went to school because I remember riding the bus.
Elm is/was a very tough wood. Really good for shed flooring, truck beds etc. Not very good for ground contact though, rotted pretty quick. Harder than hell to drive nails through. Took three nalis to fasten 2 by material. Drive the first nail a third of the way through bend it, pull it out, drive another in the same hole, bend it, pull it out you get the picture. I remember as a kid when I bent a nail I would take a second hammer and straighten the nail out and start over, but not in elm. My dad is from Kentucky, down there elm has two sylables; pronounced 'ellum'.
There is also a technical name for the scourge that killed off those old elms, it was called 'elm disease'.
Hope y'all enjoy my memories as much as I do.
Art

 

[Al Smith]

I have a few elms in my woods that are maybe 6 to 8 inchs in diameter.I also have many of that size that dead standing.They don't need split at that size nor do they need the aid of a big Mac to drop them.

It has been suggested that perhaps over many years of time that perhaps a few will be able to build immunities to the Dutch elm blight that originally was traced to a load of lumber logs in the hold of a frieghter in NY harbor .I want to say in 1918 but I'm not sure about that.I also believe it was found in metro Cleveland around the 30's and by the 70's the damage had been done.

Now it looks like another imported pestulance is going to do the number on one more of our native species.The emerald ash borer is killing our ash trees in record number.Enough of my little rant about the "free trade" policy,back to the subject.

 

[DaddyRabbit]

You must be trying to corner the market on the old Macs . If there weren't so much sentimental value w/the old girl I might consider but as it were I just can't. I imagine you're going to be very happy w/this Super 44. Let me know how it turns out. Thanx DR

Alright man! That's a cool old saw. Time wise where does that fit into the picture with the Super 44A? It looks older. Do you want to sell it?
Art

 

[Art Szabo]

cuttinscott

The check was in the mail Monday early a.m. Just curious if you got it yet, haven't heard anything from you.
Art

 

[cuttinscott]

Got the chack Today Art, The saw will be packed and shipped out tomorrow (Friday) i will forward you the UPS track number then..

Scott

 

[Art Szabo]

is it here yet - is it here yet -

Just checked my front porch - it ain't here yet.
kidding
Thanks Scott

 

[Art Szabo]

It arrived!!!

Well everybody, I got my saw today. I am pasting my response to Scott;

Scott,
Thank you and yes I got it and all is fine. I have unpacked it so far. It is better than I expected. I haven't attempted to start it yet, I'll do that tomorrow.
As soon as I looked at it a flood of forgotten memories came back to me. I could see my Dad squatted by a stump filling it with gas and capping off the oil tank. I could hear his voice and the howling sound of the sawmill running in the distance. I could smell the freshness of the woods and fresh cut sawdust and the mules that pulled the skid cart.
I was seven years old when I first started working with my Dad, 1958, that saw was brand new that year and I worked with him until 1968. Aldrich Lumber went out of business in 68.
You see Scott, I don't care if the saw runs or not, it has a value to me far beyond cutting wood. I am sure when I do start it that another flood of memories will come back to me. It isn't just an old saw to me, it is a recovered treasure. I thank you sir from the bottom of my heart for helping me find this again. I can't wait to share this with my Dad, he doesn't even know about it yet.
Thanks alot my Buddy,
Art

 

[cuttinscott]

Art, I'm glad that I was able to help you bring back some fond memories and that you and your dad will be able to have some fun with it..

Thank You again
Scott