I was offered a job where I would be clearing a dirt/gravel road for hunting club to access a property, and if the job went well I'd also be trimming out trees to create paths that a side by side or atv could use.
I was initially told the land had a road which was in use at most 10 years ago, so it would mostly be trimming work.
When I finally got to see the job site, the road had not been used since the mid to late 60's. It was barely a pig trail then, and now you could find where the road had been for the most part. I took the hunting club contact out and made him mark out his desired road path. He seemed surprised how grown up everything was, so I figure the previous owner blew some smoke with the rich club members.
I budgeted the work at 10 days work, and it would be done in no more than 10 days. He agreed on the price, paid insurance for me to do the job, and he got his attorney to work up a liability waiver and bond to clear me of any liability from the use of the road I would clear.
I had purchased a dodgy Stihl 034 from a dealer and it was what I decided to use as my primary saw for the time being. At the same time, I had a customer need a machining job done, but he had no cash. He had two Earthquake 45cc's that came from the internet and he wanted rid of them, so I did the turning job and threading on large piece of tool steel.
One of the Earthquakes had a bad Walbro carb, the pull cord and recoil unit was stripped, and it just didn't run right even when cranked over- the catalytic converter part of the muffler got extremely hot with very little use. The other Earthquake ran ok but it needed tuning.
On the bum Earthquake, I made some aluminum pieces and improvised a new recoil system, basically replacing the stripped plastic parts with aluminum versions. That solved the recoil and starter situation, and led me to find out the other problems. I decided to use a drill and then an end mill and I made the muffler a straight shot off the exhaust port, with the muffler cover plate slotted as well. I did not want to deal with the Walbro, so I dug through a local guy's box of carbs and found one newer Tillotson off an unidentified Husqvarna that would work with the throttle and the choke- all with minimal drama.
So the bum Earthquake ended up with a new carb, straight exhaust, and a fixed recoil system. The saw ran really well, so I decided to give the same treatment to the other EQ- specifically I did the muffler mod and retuned it.
So with the 034, two Earthquakes, and my pocket dozer- I ventured off to clear a road.
On the first day, the 034 developed a ticking and a bad vibration, so I stored it in my truck and my options were to either use the two Earthquakes or go home and get the Homelites. I decided to see how the Earthquakes would do.
The heavily modded EQ was a decent saw for the job, and I ran variously a 18", 22" and 24" bar on the saw. The 22" and 24" were not ideal but it worked for the few times I needed it.
I basically ended up using the two saws for the first 5 days- clearing dead loblolly and southern yellow pine(pine beetle devastated the forest) and clearing out some oak and hickory that had self seeded 40 years ago.
Neither saw quit, neither saw overheated. Both did ok on fuel consumption, but the ok is optimistic. They were thirsty. There was no appreciable wear to the saws, the plastics were not damaged or broken and the saws were dropped as well as bopped by trees and limbs. The decals came off, but that was it, really. Mechanically, the saws functioned perfectly- no chain throwing, no fouling, no more parts breakage.
I got through with the clearing and was able to bring in a pto/hydraulic driven stump grinder and wipe out the stumps in the road on day 5's afternoon and day 6's morning. I then got a couple loads of gravel on day 6's afternoon, and I worked into the evening spreading out the gravel. I got done the night of day 6.
I got paid the contracted price, and the hunting club guys were pleased. They had been waiting 7 months for another guy to do the job, but he just screwed around. I also was able to sell the hardwood I cut for $300 per thousand foot, so that made some extra change.
The guy who sold the 034 stood behind it and refunded my money. I am using some of the proceeds from this clearing job to purchase a newer saw. I plan on getting either an older(as in about 8 to 10 years) Jonsered 70cc or else a Stihl MS 391 I've found used or possibly a Dolmar or Husky if I can find one.
These Earthquakes aren't great saws, they aren't the best saws. They are usable, and they can be made into a decent homeowner to ranch grade saw. I like them, but if I had my druthers- I'd have done the job quicker and better with one of the Dolmars or Jonsereds or Huskies. That being in the case, if only because running anything bigger than a 20" bar is too much for the 45cc EQ under continuous use.
I was initially told the land had a road which was in use at most 10 years ago, so it would mostly be trimming work.
When I finally got to see the job site, the road had not been used since the mid to late 60's. It was barely a pig trail then, and now you could find where the road had been for the most part. I took the hunting club contact out and made him mark out his desired road path. He seemed surprised how grown up everything was, so I figure the previous owner blew some smoke with the rich club members.
I budgeted the work at 10 days work, and it would be done in no more than 10 days. He agreed on the price, paid insurance for me to do the job, and he got his attorney to work up a liability waiver and bond to clear me of any liability from the use of the road I would clear.
I had purchased a dodgy Stihl 034 from a dealer and it was what I decided to use as my primary saw for the time being. At the same time, I had a customer need a machining job done, but he had no cash. He had two Earthquake 45cc's that came from the internet and he wanted rid of them, so I did the turning job and threading on large piece of tool steel.
One of the Earthquakes had a bad Walbro carb, the pull cord and recoil unit was stripped, and it just didn't run right even when cranked over- the catalytic converter part of the muffler got extremely hot with very little use. The other Earthquake ran ok but it needed tuning.
On the bum Earthquake, I made some aluminum pieces and improvised a new recoil system, basically replacing the stripped plastic parts with aluminum versions. That solved the recoil and starter situation, and led me to find out the other problems. I decided to use a drill and then an end mill and I made the muffler a straight shot off the exhaust port, with the muffler cover plate slotted as well. I did not want to deal with the Walbro, so I dug through a local guy's box of carbs and found one newer Tillotson off an unidentified Husqvarna that would work with the throttle and the choke- all with minimal drama.
So the bum Earthquake ended up with a new carb, straight exhaust, and a fixed recoil system. The saw ran really well, so I decided to give the same treatment to the other EQ- specifically I did the muffler mod and retuned it.
So with the 034, two Earthquakes, and my pocket dozer- I ventured off to clear a road.
On the first day, the 034 developed a ticking and a bad vibration, so I stored it in my truck and my options were to either use the two Earthquakes or go home and get the Homelites. I decided to see how the Earthquakes would do.
The heavily modded EQ was a decent saw for the job, and I ran variously a 18", 22" and 24" bar on the saw. The 22" and 24" were not ideal but it worked for the few times I needed it.
I basically ended up using the two saws for the first 5 days- clearing dead loblolly and southern yellow pine(pine beetle devastated the forest) and clearing out some oak and hickory that had self seeded 40 years ago.
Neither saw quit, neither saw overheated. Both did ok on fuel consumption, but the ok is optimistic. They were thirsty. There was no appreciable wear to the saws, the plastics were not damaged or broken and the saws were dropped as well as bopped by trees and limbs. The decals came off, but that was it, really. Mechanically, the saws functioned perfectly- no chain throwing, no fouling, no more parts breakage.
I got through with the clearing and was able to bring in a pto/hydraulic driven stump grinder and wipe out the stumps in the road on day 5's afternoon and day 6's morning. I then got a couple loads of gravel on day 6's afternoon, and I worked into the evening spreading out the gravel. I got done the night of day 6.
I got paid the contracted price, and the hunting club guys were pleased. They had been waiting 7 months for another guy to do the job, but he just screwed around. I also was able to sell the hardwood I cut for $300 per thousand foot, so that made some extra change.
The guy who sold the 034 stood behind it and refunded my money. I am using some of the proceeds from this clearing job to purchase a newer saw. I plan on getting either an older(as in about 8 to 10 years) Jonsered 70cc or else a Stihl MS 391 I've found used or possibly a Dolmar or Husky if I can find one.
These Earthquakes aren't great saws, they aren't the best saws. They are usable, and they can be made into a decent homeowner to ranch grade saw. I like them, but if I had my druthers- I'd have done the job quicker and better with one of the Dolmars or Jonsereds or Huskies. That being in the case, if only because running anything bigger than a 20" bar is too much for the 45cc EQ under continuous use.
