Neal Murphy nmurph Saw Review

[Mastermind]

Threads like this are why I'm glad my county doesn't do "public" divorce court anymore. They did away with divorce court in the literal sense back in the early 80's.

Back in the olden days here, a couple would have to go before a justice of the peace, and there would be a comment period from family and friends.
That way people could say "Yes your honor, I did see so-and-so beating his wife" or "Yes your honor, I did see Miss ***** at the tavern in the company
of another gentleman." Most of those proceedings would turn into a train wreck, like this thread is going to be.

LMAO. :cool2:

 

[Nardoo]

You were just unlucky there and I cannot see how it is Neal's fault. And as for the loose bar nuts - if Neal had to replace a case sounds like you stripped the thread in the case with your AF nut (and strong arm).
And my experience of Neal is somewhat different. He purchased a piston and posted it 12,000 miles to me because it is not available in my country. And posted a bunch of other stuff that he really didn't have to. He is a reliable, honest fellow in my view. Perhaps you need to take a look in the mirror, sir.

Al.

 

[Tzed250]

The fact that the first saw was buggered by the operator brings doubt over the whole thing. If the clip were improperly installed the whole clip would have ejected.

Randy? Top Shelf stuff from you.

 

[justtools]

This thread has a lot of users watching. 20 plus, seems to be the hot topic of the day. I agree that the OP likely put the bar and chain on and if so and the cover and chain comes off it is his fault, The Op never said how the saw was bought, Was it rebuilt etc. Did nmurph offer a warranty, Did nmurph put the piston in? As such This is a good question. The Op never caused the clip to break. What expectation should the buyer have on this saw? Not trying to torch nmurph.

 

[dl5205]

I told the guy to send me the saw and I'll fix it. 100.00 problem solved......this bull#### goes away. I hate threads like this......I'd rather fight with Bradly.

One of the most stand-up offers I've seen here in a long while.

You realize that, for nmurph to wash his hands of someone, something "Odd" is going on, right?

This person has no problem publicly bashing anyone.

 

[dl5205]

Is it just me or does that piston and clip look chinese to me?

?

 

[Mastermind]

One of the most stand-up offers I've seen here in a long while.

You realize that, for nmurph to wash his hands of someone, something "Odd" is going on, right?

This person has no problem publicly bashing anyone.

We gotta weed em out somehow.

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

Aftermarket cir-clips? You can see 2 tails on this side.

Only 1 tail left on other side and other broken off and did damage. Aftermarket cir clips installed?

 

[Muffler Bearing]

So other than that little problem, how do like the saw?


:msp_biggrin:

 

[7sleeper]

opcorn:

This is going to be interesting. Blaiming someone who repaired your used saw for free! This is just fantastic! This thread is going to be pretty single sided as far as I see nmurph's reputation sofar.

7

 

[Jacob J.]

We gotta weed em out somehow.

I think highly enough of Neal that if he needs something, I just send it to him because I know he's going to be willing
to help me or others here out of the same spirit of wanting to give to the community.

2 + 2 ain't adding up here.

 

[bryanr2]

One of the most stand-up offers I've seen here in a long while.

You realize that, for nmurph to wash his hands of someone, something "Odd" is going on, right?

This person has no problem publicly bashing anyone.

+1. Randy's the most "top shelf" guy I personally know. Don't know that I would get involved with someone who would try to damage the reputation of someone as respected as Neal (see that Neal- I spelled it correctly this time).

 

[1Alpha1]

Once again, just for the record, I had nothing to do with all of this. opcorn:

 

[Gologit]

nmurph....

I'm going to close this thread...for now. We've heard one side of the problem, now we need to hear the other.

Nmurph...PM me when you're ready and I'll open this up again. If I'm not available any mod can re-open the thread.

 

[nmurph]

OK, it's time for my side.

I sold Brian ( an self-admitted chainsaw newb) a saw several, several months ago. All was well when he received it as he reported in emails. Later, he emails me telling me that the bar nuts and clutch cover would not stay on, the bar would come off, and that the chain had "whipped back toward" him. He said he had lost the nuts and had gotten some more and now the bar wouldn't stay tight. Brian said he had taken the saw to his local saw shop who told him the saw was shot and he needed to buy a new one. I could not understand what might be going on with the saw, but I wanted to make sure that there wasn't some issue with something I missed on the saw when I was readying it to sell. Brian's emails included not so veiled plans to post on AS about this problem, damage my reputation, and cost me "thousands" in sales. I decided that it was easier to repair the saw regardless of whether or not the issue was of my doing or not. Had I been able to determine from a distance the true nature of the damage to the saw, I would not have agreed to repair the saw for no charge.

Brian paid to ship the saw back to me, and when I received the saw it was immediately obvious that the damage to the saw was more serious than I could have imagined. The front bar stud was loose and I could not get the nut off from where it was seized on about half way down the threads. I tried to pull the stud up and into the tank so that I could see if the nut could be backed off the stud. I quickly found out that the inside of the case was so stripped that the the stud just spun. When I got the case split apart I found that the inside of the case where the stud fits in a press-fit arrangement was totally stripped. I used the Foredom with a cut-off disc to split the bar nut and remove it. Upon inspection, it was not a matter of cross-threading, but that the wrong thread pitch nut was installed. The bar stud threads were in fine shape, but the nut threads had "shrapnel" inside from the nut being forced on. At this point I realized that I was not given the full picture of the cause of the damage, but I'm was also not sure if the responsibility for the case damage lay with the shop or with Brian. Regardless, I had the saw and proceeded to repair it. I found a case half and split the saw apart, installed new bearings, and reassembled it. The saw was run on a couple of outings to make sure everything was fine and was returned to Brian. All of this was on my time and on my dime.

Fast-forward two months-

I get an email stating that Brian has used the saw 6-7 times and it has worked fine. But now it won't run. He says he has taken it to a shop who tells him the piston is scored and the clutch is shot. At this point I have a whole series of questions that raise a red flag: is this the same place that sold him the wrong nuts; did this shop strip the case when the wrong bar nuts were installed; what is the diagnostic skill level of the technician and are they spinning the trouble in an effort to sell a repair or a saw; how do you diagnose a shot clutch on a saw that won't run; a chainsaw newb with a clutch that is shot?? When you hear scored piston, toasted clutch, and combine that with chainsaw-newb and the history of the first problem, what would you do?

Now, to answer a few questions about the parts-

I use only Meteor pistons and the circlips that are included with the kit on 346's. I have used VEC pistons on a couple of other saws I have repaired for local customer when there was not a Meteor piston available. I do not reuse circlips. It simply doesn't make sense to risk a failure over a 90 cent item. The clips are clearly visible on both sides of the pin in Brian's saw. I do not use OEM clips on the 346 kits bc they do not fit the groove, and bc I feel that Meteor is a high quality supplier of pistons kits. I have no reason to change what I am doing regarding the clips. I do not use any aftermarket kits on these saws. I did sell one to Brad and it spit a clip. I replaced the kit and as far as I know the saw is still running.

Now this brings me back to the resolution of this problem-

Besides the issues I outlined in the first two paragraphs, larger questions need to be answered- what is the seller's responsibility for a used saw in lieu of a warranty, and what reasonable expectation does a buyer have and what are their responsibilities? A saw that is dead out of the box is clearly the seller's responsibility. But that is not the case here. Here we have a used saw that was checked and run in a firewood sitution bf it was returned. It was used (by the buyer's admission) 6-7 times without a problem, and when it failed, it was taken to shop, without prior notification to the seller, whose technical skills may be suspect, and who may or may not have a secondary agenda. My question is, at what point does the seller's responsibility end?


To the fix-

I enjoy a strong reputation on this site. I did not get that reputation by doing shoddy work or shirking responsibility. I have strived to sell a saw that I can be proud of and that I don't have to lose sleep over worrying about whether or not I am going to get that email at 3:15am saying the saw is not working. It takes lots of work. Anyone that thinks I spend thirty minutes getting a saw ready needs to spend a day with me. I work slowly, methodically, and don't take short-cuts. If it needs repair, it is repaired correctly. If there is an issue I cannot correct, I simply do not let the saw out the door. I spend hours on a refurb that is straight forward. There have been many days when I struggled to get one saw ready in the entire day. I take pride in everything from the clean up, to the repairs, to boxing it up and shipping. When that saw leaves me, it is the best I know how to make it.

If Brian wants to return the saw to me, shipping both ways paid by him, I will replace the piston (new Meteor) and clutch (used) at no charge. If he wants to send it to someone else on AS, I have someone that has agreed to do the repair, I supply the piston and clutch, and he can be responsible for the shipping. He has me email address if he wishes to contact me.

 

[Gologit]

We opened this thread briefly to allow nmurph to tell his side of things.

After nmurph makes his statement the thread will be closed again and nmurph and tsmbrian can seek a resolution to this between themselves.