PNW SawGuy
New Member
I've been a lurker here on Arboristsite for some time now, and you all have answered all of my questions from the archive along the way. A few years ago I was a Class B faller and spent a few years on fire crews, including two seasons on a Hotshot crew. Quite a lot of saw time from those experiences, but I never owned my own saw. About 8 years ago I bought my first personal saw, Husq 455 Rancher, and modded a bit thanks to Arboristsite. Then, I had the bright idea to pick up a HD tool rental Makita 6421, and modded it with a NWP BB kit, mild porting, adjusted squish and a muffler mod all mostly inspired by AS. My latest project was a Craigslist purchase of a used and abused 2009 NE Husq 346xp for $75, and subsequent rebuild. Here's the rebuild thread:
I don't think the previous owner ever cleaned it and it showed. It also had a hole in the bottom of the crankcase into the oil reservoir thanks to overly long handle screws. Quite the project.
Makita in the background.
Dirt, sawdust, oil and serious fading. I think it spent its life riding unsecured and exposed on a flatbed truck...
In total, the recoil starter was damaged, the tank was leaking, and the cylinder cover had a chunk missing out of it. So, after some online auction searching and purchases I picked up all new plastics. In addition, I stripped the crankcase all the way down, repaired the holes, fixed the dents, cleaned up the cylinder and farmer ported/polished/honed, eliminated the decomp valve and primer system, installed a new ring, rebuilt carb, and cleaned all parts.
Here's the hole(s) and dent repair just prior to painting. Drilled and tapped the hole, and made a plug using a 5/16 allen head cap screw. Then, loctite epoxied the plug, and the other deep rub caused by the second handle screw.
It was sort of a labor of love, and it satisfied my closet gearhead side. All in all, I'd do it again and I'm looking forward to having a saw that will last a lifetime. Ran and tested it the other day. Compression feels great with the base gasket delete (0.021-.025 squish), and it instantly racks up against the rev limiter. I have a non-limited coil on order to really wake it up. I have a total of $234 in it before the non-limited coil. Pretty good deal I think!
I'm a believer that saws should be named and talked nice to. So, I've decided its gender to be female and have named her Patches. (I also contemplated Lucky, but that could bring on bad luck just as well.)
Finished product.
I don't think the previous owner ever cleaned it and it showed. It also had a hole in the bottom of the crankcase into the oil reservoir thanks to overly long handle screws. Quite the project.
Makita in the background.
Dirt, sawdust, oil and serious fading. I think it spent its life riding unsecured and exposed on a flatbed truck...
In total, the recoil starter was damaged, the tank was leaking, and the cylinder cover had a chunk missing out of it. So, after some online auction searching and purchases I picked up all new plastics. In addition, I stripped the crankcase all the way down, repaired the holes, fixed the dents, cleaned up the cylinder and farmer ported/polished/honed, eliminated the decomp valve and primer system, installed a new ring, rebuilt carb, and cleaned all parts.
Here's the hole(s) and dent repair just prior to painting. Drilled and tapped the hole, and made a plug using a 5/16 allen head cap screw. Then, loctite epoxied the plug, and the other deep rub caused by the second handle screw.
It was sort of a labor of love, and it satisfied my closet gearhead side. All in all, I'd do it again and I'm looking forward to having a saw that will last a lifetime. Ran and tested it the other day. Compression feels great with the base gasket delete (0.021-.025 squish), and it instantly racks up against the rev limiter. I have a non-limited coil on order to really wake it up. I have a total of $234 in it before the non-limited coil. Pretty good deal I think!
I'm a believer that saws should be named and talked nice to. So, I've decided its gender to be female and have named her Patches. (I also contemplated Lucky, but that could bring on bad luck just as well.)
Finished product.