New To Me 288XP

[Brmorgan]

Picked this one up today at the pawnshop for a couple hundred bucks:

Piston/cylinder are in excellent shape @ 160 PSI compression, just a bit of carbon buildup on the piston. The only cosmetic problem is the plastic "weld" patch on the rear of the top cover. Whoever did it knew what they were doing, it looks pretty good except for the blackened parts. I may try to find a better cover locally if the price is right though. Could I put this style of cover on my 181 and switch it to the same style of filter as the 288?

It came with a 20" .325 bar on it, which seemed more as an afterthought just to get it sold. I don't care, it might come in handy milling. It starts cold in 3-4 pulls and runs really strong. It feels like it has the same rev-limited carb as my 181 had, so I'm going to fix that first off and then muffler mod it. I don't think I'm going to bother porting it for now, but I will be keeping that in mind. I want to get some better tools for doing that first. At first I just bought this with the intention of flipping it to help pay the bills, but I think I might try to get rid of some of my other less-usable (to me) saws.

 

[SawTroll]

Bump!

How does the P&C look?

 

[FELLNORTH]

nice buy

 

[Zodiac45]

Nice buy if it runs good B,

Wonder why in the world it's runnning .325 chain though?

 

[Brmorgan]

Here's a shot of the piston:

Those aren't score marks, just marks in the black carbon streak on the piston. Flash photography and very close shooting don't do anything flattering for any piston, I've found. But at 160 PSI it's better than most of my saws. Is that black streak just from running too rich or with too much oil? Because the plug is jet-black and gunked up a bit, which would suggest the same. As I said the carb looks like a governed one so once I sort that out I can play with the mix a little bit.

As for the .325 chain, like I said I think that was just something spare that the previous owner or pawnshop owner had lying around, and threw it on to get it sold - they have a hard time selling saws without bars around here for some reason. I don't mind, I have a few to choose from at this point! The 9-Pin .325 sprocket on it is well-worn, though the chain has lots of life left in it. It'll make a nice bar/chain for taking boards off of cants.

The only thing that's missing on the saw is the little plastic "tube" thing that goes over the carb adjustment screws - right now it's damn near impossible to line up a screwdriver and adjust them with the top cover on. That shouldn't be hard to find, or expensive at that.

I just wish the friggin' snow would melt now! I picked up 3 saws and fixed one other over the winter, and am really itching to put them in some wood!

 

[rickyrooster]

288xp

You lucky guy. Some guys have all the luck. Nice find, all the pawn shops around me get very few saws and most of them are under 60ccs. good luck with the 288xp, Rick!!!!

 

[husky455rancher]

nice score Brad. i was looking into those before i got the 066 off you. which is running great btw

 

[Nailgunner]

Get in there! big saw, full wrap, big dogs, no shiny case to worry about. Shame about the .325 stuff, but you can sort that out. Good score!

 

[Brmorgan]

You lucky guy. Some guys have all the luck. Nice find, all the pawn shops around me get very few saws and most of them are under 60ccs. good luck with the 288xp, Rick!!!!

Well, one man's luck is another's misfortune. The cheap saws in the pawnshops around here are a net result of the complete collapse of the forest industry. A lot of the younger local loggers are getting rid of their saws for whatever few dollars they can get in order to pay the bills, as they (rightfully so) don't anticipate needing them professionally for quite some time to come. If it comes down to it, this one might end up in the trading post as I'm in the same boat but not quite as bad, and I don't really need another big saw. Guys who work for themselves aren't eligible for employment insurance benefits, whereas I can draw them for up to a year which will keep the mortgage paid if nothing else, and I can work cash jobs thru the summer to top that up.

 

[andrethegiant70]

Well, one man's luck is another's misfortune. The cheap saws in the pawnshops around here are a net result of the complete collapse of the forest industry. A lot of the younger local loggers are getting rid of their saws for whatever few dollars they can get in order to pay the bills, as they (rightfully so) don't anticipate needing them professionally for quite some time to come. If it comes down to it, this one might end up in the trading post as I'm in the same boat but not quite as bad, and I don't really need another big saw. Guys who work for themselves aren't eligible for employment insurance benefits, whereas I can draw them for up to a year which will keep the mortgage paid if nothing else, and I can work cash jobs thru the summer to top that up.

I sure feel lucky to have a job... hope it lasts!!

Nice find, you bought a real blockbuster. In my humble opinion, that saw represents one of Husqvarna's best. The .325 is wierd, but that's an easy one.

 

[clearance]

I sure feel lucky to have a job... hope it lasts!!

Nice find, you bought a real blockbuster. In my humble opinion, that saw represents one of Husqvarna's best. The .325 is wierd, but that's an easy one.

In my opinion as well, a killer saw.

 

[Modifiedmark]

Everyone has better pawn shops then around here.

Looks like a good deal for sure, and I kinda looking for one of those also.

Isn't there suppose to be a decomp on that thing?

 

[Brmorgan]

Dunno about the decomp... My 181SE lacks one too. No problem though, last night I got the 288 tuned to the point where it'll start in 2 pulls cold, every time so far. 181SE takes about 4-5 still. At any rate the only time I ever use a decomp is with the 395 when it's mounted on the mill, it just makes it a bit easier with the odd angles. I've never had a problem drop-starting any of my saws except the 090 yet though.

As for it being one of Husky's best, I can see why you might say that and I haven't even put it in wood yet. When I hold it at idle without a bar and chain on, every few seconds it'll hit a really good stroke and damn near spin right around in my hands. It sure has some snap to it! Almost feels stronger than my 395, and very well may be since I have never put the compression tester on that saw since getting it used (for $600, not such a deal), and haven't exactly babied it with its milling duty over the last two summers. The more I handle the 288 the more I want to keep it around. I'm thinking of trying to get rid of the Stihl 08S and Skil 1629 as I can't see ever actually using them much, and while I'd like to have them in the collection, it doesn't make sense for me to have saws I can't put to work when money's tight.

 

[funky sawman]

If I had to sell every saw except one in my collection, the one I would keep would be the 288.

 

[Brmorgan]

If I had to sell every saw except one in my collection, the one I would keep would be the 288.

Nice to know. I'd be interested in seeing pictures of the DP muffler on your 288 - PM me if you like - or any others anyone may know of here. I already port-matched the heat shield and muffler port. It was WAY out, like 1/16" narrow all the way around. I'm not sure I want to try welding a muffler again as I don't have MIG/TIG and it's tricky for me. I do have a good torch though so I'll probably braze it.

 

[Zodiac45]

Well, one man's luck is another's misfortune. The cheap saws in the pawnshops around here are a net result of the complete collapse of the forest industry. A lot of the younger local loggers are getting rid of their saws for whatever few dollars they can get in order to pay the bills, as they (rightfully so) don't anticipate needing them professionally for quite some time to come. If it comes down to it, this one might end up in the trading post as I'm in the same boat but not quite as bad, and I don't really need another big saw. Guys who work for themselves aren't eligible for employment insurance benefits, whereas I can draw them for up to a year which will keep the mortgage paid if nothing else, and I can work cash jobs thru the summer to top that up.

Yep hear that. We were just informed that the hardwood pulp mill is closing (idling) indeffinately begining May. The town that it's in will be a ghost town. The upside is that there will probably be some good deals around for truckload/tree length firewood. Shame though as we have fewer and fewer "markets" for the forest products.
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