Al might it be possible that you are mistaking the procedure for setting timing without a light?
That is what the cigarette cellophane was used for that I recall.
Setting point gap at .001 to .002 won't get you too far.
I never have seen anybody set a saw timing with a light,other than maybe an ohm meter to determine when the points open.
The standard proceedure on most Macs is to set the points at 18 thou which will give you 26 degrees advance.
The 44 series is unique in the fact the adjustment can be done without removing the flywheel,kind of handy.Perhaps other older Macs had the same type thing but I don't know.
Also one must remember that setting the points heavy will cause the timing to advance slightly.I would assume that because of the push rod gizmo that the air gap is not exactly in direct ratio with the actual gap if it where measured at the crankshaft.
As I said before that procceedure may sound bogus but it did in fact come from a McCulloch publication,page 18,publication #55044 dated Sept 1957 covering the super 44.The Super 44A is similar .
You could try 18 thou at the cam adjustment but likey it would be too much advance.That being the case that 87 cc engine will attempt to seperate your arm from your shoulder because they can kick back like a mule.
