The Beginning of My 028 Collection: Birth of the ArboristSite 028 Museum . . .

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Vernon Tull

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The abundance of 028 threads lately inspired me to share a couple of pics of the beginning of my 028 collection. With so many users and admirers of the 028 around here, maybe this will be the start of the world's greatest and most concentrated cache of 028 pics.

Thanks to this addictive site, I decided a couple of years ago that my 021 and 025 saws just weren't powerful or professional enough for the very little bit of cutting that I do. Folks around here kept pointing out the good qualities of the 028, so I began looking for one.

Add to this the good memory that my grandfather bought a new 028 in 1981 as his firewood saw when he wore out an old Homelite XL-12 that had served him well for 15 years. I was just a kid in 1981, but I loved the look and sound of that 028. I now see that on paper, the 028 was not as powerful as his XL-12, but he didn't seem to mind. He thought that 028 was just about all the saw a man needed to keep his family warm during the winter. In those days, I didn't even know there WAS any other Stihl than the 028. The handsome, rounded shape of the 028 was the whole essence of Stihl to my 4th grade mind.

The early 80s were some fine days in so many ways. Life was a lot less confusing back then for a lot of people, so in honor of my grandfather and the 1980s, here's the beginning of what I hope to be a growing collection of 028s . . .

MVC-007S.jpg


MVC-004S.jpg
 
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Nice pics, Vernon! I'll bet that super would give an XL-12 a run for the money.

Ok, boys, pack 'em up and send 'em to Vern!

:clap: :clap:
 
I'll see if I can get some pics of my buddy's 028 collection this week to share. Nice lookin saws vern and thanks for sharing.
 
Nice saws, and God do I miss the 80s.....the parties.....the music.....the chicks.....the freedom we no longer have.... 'kinda sad in a way......



here's to saws, the 80s and grandparents:rockn: :rock:
 
Nice looking saws!!!! MY first Stihl, an 028S I won't ever give up, a little heavy but starts first pull no matter how cold. I put a new NOS P/C on mine as previous owner had whipped it too hard. Has been running like new for another 20+ years, pulls with my 036 until you get over 12".

Concerning the other post about XLs, you can't stop'em. Not fun to work on but out pulls my 028S and close to an equal to my 036. They had a LOT of torque, hard to bog. I ran, 24" bars at times, and have dropped/bucked a 54" tree with one. Sure my 066 would have made it "soft meat" of it, but it did the job when I couldn't even afford gas for my car let alone a bigger saw.....

Anyway. thanks for the pics. The 028 is a piece of history, maybe people here can document it? Things I've learned about 028s are the early saws with no anti-vibe, metal gas tanks, and the last ones with side chain adjusters.

Maybe a new forum with "vintage saws/resources here?
 
Great Post Mad Professor. Yeah I believe some of the 028 supers had side tensioners and some did not. None of the non supers had side tensioners to my knowledge.
 
Nice looking saws!!!! MY first Stihl, an 028S I won't ever give up, a little heavy but starts first pull no matter how cold. I put a new NOS P/C on mine as previous owner had whipped it too hard. Has been running like new for another 20+ years, pulls with my 036 until you get over 12".

Concerning the other post about XLs, you can't stop'em. Not fun to work on but out pulls my 028S and close to an equal to my 036. They had a LOT of torque, hard to bog. I ran, 24" bars at times, and have dropped/bucked a 54" tree with one. Sure my 066 would have made it "soft meat" of it, but it did the job when I couldn't even afford gas for my car let alone a bigger saw.....

Anyway. thanks for the pics. The 028 is a piece of history, maybe people here can document it? Things I've learned about 028s are the early saws with no anti-vibe, metal gas tanks, and the last ones with side chain adjusters.

Maybe a new forum with "vintage saws/resources here?

Good info. The 028 Super in my picture is one of the last ones produced, I think, because it has the rare side tensioner, a see-through fuel tank, and the word "Super" printed in orange -- all signs of the last few made according to some sources. The side tensioners and see-through fuel tanks seem to mark the transition from 028 to 026 in Stihl's 50cc pro saw line several years ago.
 
Good thread Vernon!! 028 fans unite, let's see the collections. It will be nice to the the differences we've been discussing in some recent threads.

I promise to post a pic of three of mine tomorrow (the fourth is at camp and unavailable).
 
I've only got 1 028super, not as niece looking as those but for from a pos. It gets the call for most of my cutting jobs. I did one job where the land owner won'ted to help buck the tree, he picked up the 028 an ran it about 2 hours. I thought I would have to fight him to get it back. I'm glad I didn't he's a big fellow.
 
I've only got 1 028super, not as niece looking as those but for from a pos. It gets the call for most of my cutting jobs. I did one job where the land owner won'ted to help buck the tree, he picked up the 028 an ran it about 2 hours. I thought I would have to fight him to get it back. I'm glad I didn't he's a big fellow.

Good to hear a voice from the land of Faulkner, Larry Brown, Shelby Foote, Square Books, and the Ole Miss Rebels. We're here in Hamilton, just about 70 miles away from Oxford. I've always enjoyed our visits to Oxford.

Your story about the man running your 028 for a couple of hours says a lot about the appeal of this saw. It's neither the lightest nor the most powerful saw around, but so many people enjoy the experience of using the 028. My first impression of the 028 was how much less vibration it delivered to the user than the 021 and 025 I had previously used.
 
Tzed250 that's a sweet lookin' 028, I'd definitely eat off that thing. Like the muffler mod too. How much difference did it make? Change the sound much?
 
My contribution......

OK, here's three of my 028s. There not as pretty as the others posted here and my pics are definitely not the best quality either, but they're here for your amusement anyways.

The one on the left is the latest addition, 028 Super Wood Boss same tag as Vernon's but no translucent tank nor side tensioner. I haven't done anything with it other than to run it a couple times, runs fantastic. I picked it up from a guy locally(advertised in a local rag) for $100. It needed a hand guard/brake handle (got one for $5 locally) and I have to tweak the top handle a bit(should be easy as it's only a single bend not one of those darn compound ones). The seller was the original owner and I scored the original case and tools too.

The middle is one I bought in like new condition at an estate auction 15+ years ago have never had to do anything but routine maintenance. I have put more hours on this saw than any other as it IS my go to saw for 80% of what I cut.

The one on the right is one I picked up on Ebay recently and runs excellent. I picked it up from the seller, a Stihl dealer. Turns out it was a saw they had just kept around the shop and to use on the owners property. The only issue is small crack in the clutch cover, easily repairable.

I have one more that is not present, also an 028 Super but old school with mag tank and few other oddities. This one is a West Germany model with chain brake. It's 200 miles away at camp slumbering the winter away.
 
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Tzed250 that's a sweet lookin' 028, I'd definitely eat off that thing. Like the muffler mod too. How much difference did it make? Change the sound much?

The muffler mod made a considerable difference. The sound is much better and the saw is stronger in the cut. I am not a fan of just poking tubes in the front of the cover. The stack gets the exhaust out and away.

A link to the mod thread:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=61304
 
The muffler mod made a considerable difference. The sound is much better and the saw is stronger in the cut. I am not a fan of just poking tubes in the front of the cover. The stack gets the exhaust out and away.

A link to the mod thread:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=61304

Thanks for the link, somehow I missed that the first time around........:dizzy:

That is sweet. Where on earth did you find that 028? Or did you do resto?
 
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