TB, sounds like an 87cc McCulloch, some of the best saws Mac built.
The truck was a KW, the loader a 988 and yes, Redwood bark is full of chain eating grit, the dust is asbestos like. Redwood logging could be slow and tedious, nothing moved very fast, even the damned trees took their time falling to the ground. I bucked for hours on end, I worked from the topside, the Master at ground level. First, you have to get up there, dragging the chainsaw with you, then drop a plumbline over the side where Ray (the Master) would line up the cut. I would drop the saw over the side, line up and retrieve the cord, set the spikes and commence. I used to crouch along the left side of the saw, left thumb on the throttle, right hand pushing the end of the pistol grip, right foot on the front bar, the big geardrives loved the pressure. Sure as shootin', there was buckin' in a bind, which I learned to do without wedges, as sometimes the big ones would just squeeze them into the wood. Geardrives were tricky in a bound cut, they would keep on sawing long after a direct drive would stall, and yes Virginia an 090 will stall long before a geardrive would. If you missed the change in engine tone, the thing would come flying out of the cut with the speed and force of a torpedo.
I ran the Master's big upright cylinder Homelites a fair amount, he had a dozen or so at any time, 9-whatevers, 900 series geardrives, the shortest bar he had was 60", standard, for him was 72". I am a McCulloch fan, and I will give those old Homelites their due, in some minor ways, they were better than the same class (dreadnaught) McCullochs, but all chainsaws have their weak points, starters were Homelite's.
I have rambled on enough.......
