Oleo-Mac 970

[Joery]

I bought an Oleo-Mac 970 for cheap, because why not? Other than the paint chipping of, never been cleaned, it looks neat and has good compression.

Before buying I had never heard of the brand. Build quality looks good to me. Are they decent saws?

I am planning to make it look good again by repainting all the metal bits.

 

[heimannm]

Generally good quality, parts can be difficult to source. Sometimes the materials they used were not the most durable, magnesium seems to be prone to corrosion.

Mark

 

[Joery]

Generally good quality, parts can be difficult to source. Sometimes the materials they used were not the most durable, magnesium seems to be prone to corrosion.

Mark

Thanks! I'll completely take it apart first to see if anything is worn badly.

What is the best way of painting magnesium? I was thinking of getting it sandblasted and powder coated.

I read before about the spare parts being difficult to find. But I found most of them to be available on Italian websites, such as bearings, crankshafts, etc. with shipping within the EU (where I live).

 

[heimannm]

I haven't had anything powder coated so I am not a good resource there. I do know that magnesium castings tend to be porous and getting them thoroughly cleaned of all the oil, etc. can be very difficult. I know some guy will bake the parts a time or two combined with blasting, solvent, and hot soapy water.

Mark

 

[Alfa_Sam]

Good saws, I have two Olympyk 970, one with a 20" bar and one with a 24" bar. M&D is a good source for parts, if they have to gets parts from Italy, it can take a few weeks, but have a fair amount in inventory.

 

[JoeMay]

I’ve had three Olympyk/Oleo-Mac saws. Couple of 261 models and a 480 Super. All from the 1980s. They were well built and performed well. The oil pumps were elaborate and a challenge to work on. Hopefully the one on your more modern saw is simplified.

 

[Pudsy]

Howdy, I should have about 20-30 Oleo-Mac saws, mostly older 50-60cc models. The older ones are well built, durable and (for the time) very well performing saws (Italians were generally good with 2-stroke engine design). Your 970 is about the last generation of properly built saws. After that, the quality went south quickly in my opinion, with mostly "plastic fantastic" models. Yes, those had less weight and were cheaper to produce, I'm sure, but really feel "flimsy" compared to the older models with magnesium clutch and starter housings and I've also had my share of grieve running the plastic ones.

 

[Joery]

Howdy, I should have about 20-30 Oleo-Mac saws, mostly older 50-60cc models. The older ones are well built, durable and (for the time) very well performing saws (Italians were generally good with 2-stroke engine design). Your 970 is about the last generation of properly built saws. After that, the quality went south quickly in my opinion, with mostly "plastic fantastic" models. Yes, those had less weight and were cheaper to produce, I'm sure, but really feel "flimsy" compared to the older models with magnesium clutch and starter housings and I've also had my share of grieve running the plastic ones.

Good to hear that I bought a properly built saw, I bought it only based on it looking well built on the outside . I see you are from The Netherlands as well, any good suggestions on where to buy parts?

 

[Joery]

Made a janky crankcase splitter, but it worked perfectly, also as bearing puller.



Thankfully the piston and cylinder look in pristine condition.

Now to find someone that wants to sandblast and paint it

Does anyone know what color the paint should be? RAL 2004 looks close but is not an exact match.

 

[sawfun]

My 999f cuts as well as a 120cc saw and weighs like it. It is easy to pull over and very smooth. As Mark said, parts are an issue.