The techs. point of view

[Fish]

I don't think the question really was whether or not the saw can be fixed,
but whether the customer wants to pay for the costs, or if the shop/tech
wants to invest a lot of time that he will not get paid for.
Anything can be fixed, if you through enogh money at it, but pride, and
altruism, I can fix anything attitudes, do not make house payments.

If a customer brings me two different tractors, wanting me to swap decks, engines, etc, and make it work, I will not let him get them off the truck.

Sure I could swap that engine and deck, but the pullies and belts won't interchange, electrical won't swap easily. I won't do it, because he won't
pay me for the long hours of redesigning and experimenting.

Anyway, that is my take on it. Also, selling saw parts on e-bay is what I
do, but I suppose I am supposed to give those away too?

 

[ChuckinOhio]

I actually sympathize with you repair guys, it amazes me that someone with a 20 year old saw could bring it to a shop and think that a simple plug and carb tune will make it brand new again.

Sometimes that very well may be the case, but there is also 20 years of wear on the whole saw if it was used even moderately. lack of maintenance is lack of maintenance no matter where you find it, and most think that because it is handheld there is no way that it can cost $250.00 to fix it.

If it was as simple as a carb tune and plug, fuel line etcetera, I would do it myself. If I took it to a shop I would be ready to foot the bill for a COMPLETE overhaul if I just had to have the saw and couldn't bear to part with it.

There again, it is also a matter of knowing the fellas at the shop, and knowing that when Andy, Fish, Tom, or Scott says "Dude, this thing needs the full meal deal" it needs to be torn down to nubbins and gone through!



Chuck

 

[manual]

I don't think the question really was whether or not the saw can be fixed,
but whether the customer wants to pay for the costs, or if the shop/tech
wants to invest a lot of time that he will not get paid for.
Anything can be fixed, if you through enogh money at it, but pride, and
altruism, I can fix anything attitudes, do not make house payments.

If a customer brings me two different tractors, wanting me to swap decks, engines, etc, and make it work, I will not let him get them off the truck.

Sure I could swap that engine and deck, but the pullies and belts won't interchange, electrical won't swap easily. I won't do it, because he won't
pay me for the long hours of redesigning and experimenting.

Anyway, that is my take on it. Also, selling saw parts on e-bay is what I
do, but I suppose I am supposed to give those away too?

You are on target.
The I can fix anything attitude needs to be left at home.
My guess is you can make more money selling parts on E-bay then selling them in House.
There is a dealer around my area that does the same thing, some saws he won't sell in house because he does better on E-Bay. Highest bidder.

 

[Lakeside53]

If we have used parts, we sell them for 50-60% of new. The problem is the most common parts get used quick...

and I should clarify.. my post above about "hours to 10's of hours" is strictly "home/hobby", not "work"

 

[manual]

We understand Lake, It's your destiny.

 

[beelsr]

We understand Lake, It's your destiny.

Feeeeeeel the force.

 

[Wood Hick]

Great answers! Thats what I was looking for, the point of view from the other side of the counter. I have the drive to make it work no matter the cost, I just don't have the skills or tools to do the tough stuff! It looks like there are two schools of thought, those who will take on the old stuff and those who will not. I am just glad the guy I use doesn't mind making old ones new again!

 

[romeo]

Even though people fail to realize it, techs are skilled workers and their time is not cheap.

Bench time cost's. Shops charge rates for their time and they wont cut you a deal because its an old piece of junk, its taking up time on the bench with a new 660 (or whatever) waiting in line. Be glad that your dealer warns you that the repair/parts cost will exceed the value of the saw, he is doing you a favor. My brothers shop will repair anything you bring in the front door (if they can get the parts) but they will have the courtesy to warn you of a bad decision.


Honestly, if you want to rebuild your weird old saws, you are better off doing it yourself.:deadhorse:

 

[XJWoody]

A labor of love (or just being frugal?)

This afternoon's 'project' is making a pair of "set-up" bearings to help me re-gear a Jeep axle. The carrier side bearings are a tight press-fit, and it's a RPITA to remove/replace them to reset the shim stacks... A re-gear usually needs at least a couple tries to get a happy mesh pattern. Also the 'guillotine' remover/puller is rough on the good bearings and the shims.

The 'set up' bearings are some NOS I had laying around, so it seemed like a simple matter to chuck the brake cylinder hone in the drill and loosen the ID up a few thou.. just enough so they slide freely on & off the gear carrier. Yeah right!

I could wuss out and just order a set of pre-honed bearings (at like $60 for the pair) or drop these spares off at the local machine shop. But what fun would that be?

:jester: Partly tempted to speed things up a bit by chucking the hone in the die-grinder, but I have a sneaky feeling that plan would go real bad, real fast, and probably be real painful when parts launch into a low orbit @ 25k...

Slow 'n' easy.... and keep telling self it's a labor of love.

 

[vapnut257]

I work odd jobs for a contractor, clean up, do small jobs and simple stuff. I get $13 per hour for doing that and I consider that unskilled labor. Not full time mind you, just when there's something that needs to be done. I also work on computers. I charge $50 a hour for that if it's brought to me. It's almost the same as with saws, most are not worth fixing, or just borderline. $8 to $10 per hour for a trained tech at a saw shop seems like small potatoes to me. If you are a skilled technician and considering all the work the dealers don't want to be bothered with, seems like you could hang your shingle outside your garage door and make money more in line with your skills. Can't be that big of an investment in tools and equipment, and you can pick and choose the work you want to do. Shoot, I might even get myself trained and do it myself come to think about it.

Just realized I am now a senior member with over 100 post. That's a milestone I'm very proud of.

 

[Fish]

Vapnut, I think I will commute to over there for work.

 

[BIG JAKE]

So Repairing chainsaws sometimes is not cost-efficient.
Unless it's a hobby.

Depends on how one views their spare time. Some guys figure any time they put in on something is worth so much an hour. Me, anytime I'm sitting idle I'm making zero. My spare time is free. That's just the way it is for me. It's the end result of fixing something right I get satisfaction from. Then I can feel smug about not having to go buy a new one. Like that sweet running little 028 I got for a song....

 

[Crofter]

The old or oddball stuff is much, much harder to get parts for. More time thumbing thru a mish mash of old parts books or time on the phone trying to explain what the part is if it is off brand to your current catalogues. Too often you get the wrong parts. If you have to order from another dealer you likely wont have the same markup either. I guess if you have time on your hands and would be doing nothing otherwise, go for it, but if you can be as busy as you want with current stuff it should be an easy decision. The only ones that will likely be happy working on the wierd stuff is a learner or an old timer who is not trying to keep up with the times but is just happy to be coasting down with stuff that is familiar to him.

 

[romeo]

You wouldn't take an old flathead to you ford dealer to get it worked on. You would go to that old fart that has the little shop on 9th street. Saws are the same.

 

[Lakeside53]

hey.. who are you calling an old fart????:chainsawguy: :chainsawguy: :chainsawguy:

 

[Crofter]

Lake, that almost sounds a bit along the vein of a few grunts short of a shyt, doesnt it?

Romeo, my first car was a 1950 flat head ford. It would be hard to pay for a valve job at todays labour rates when you have to grind fit stem length for valve lash. They needed it fairly often too.

 

[Grande Dog]

If it's a working saw, (no sentimental value) and considering prices,innovations, and performance, we discourage people from putting more than 50% of the replacement cost into a repair.
Gregg