Lightweight Sportster

[rmihalek]

Here's some pictures and video of a Craftsman Lightweight Sportster. My neighbor bought this for me somewhere in Central Pennsylvania. I cleaned it up a bit, and did some cutting.

 

[rmihalek]

video

Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXYul_CZjm0

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[stinkbait]

That saw cuts good. What is the displacement?

 

[Bounty Hunter]

Nice find!
Good Luck

 

[TreePointer]

I love the look of those older models, and you get the bonus of having a nice cutter. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Modifiedmark]

That saw cuts good. What is the displacement?

That saw is made by Roper and is 3.7 C.I.

Not bad saws.

 

[CHEVYTOWN13]

That bar looks cool on that old saw. It sounds sweet too.

 

[2000ssm6]

Nice ole growl to that booger! Cuts quick also.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[CHEVYTOWN13]

I thought the same thing bro. It cut quick

 

[infomet]

Looks like one of my old Homies??

 

[warjohn]

Sounds like you got a good neighbor. Enjoy your new saw she looks sweet.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Got to like the old magnesium saws running those roller nose bars they cut real good, nice steady growl from that saw, sounds a lot like my Pioneer 1450 which is a 65 cc. saw with the same bar chain setup.
Pioneerguy600

 

[leeha]

Nice saw, Congrats.
She seems to cut very well
for what looks like a small saw.
Love the old saws and the roller
nose bar is a big plus.


Lee

 

[rmihalek]

Long Trail Double Bag

Thanks for all the feedback. I mic'd the piston during disassembly and it was about 46mm. The exhaust port was already 29mm wide, so I didn't widen the port any, but I did raise it 0.040" to account for my removing of the base gasket. The squish is still 0.030" without the gasket, so it must've been 0.070" from the factory.

The cylinder has open transfers, so I "knife-edged" the bottom of the transfers (where the case feeds up into the cylinder) and also raised the transfers 0.040".

The muffler had some weird shape where there was extra metal blocking the exhaust port, so I took that off with a bench grinder.

This is a reed valve engine, and the reed set-up is the coolest I've ever seen. Imagine a pyramid (in Egypt) with the top cut-off. Now, on each side of the pyramid, hollow it out and put a reed on it. What you end up with is a four-sided reed valve. It looks great, but is probably no better than a conventional reed configuration.

There was a huge amount of play in both the con-rod bearings, so I was hesitant to try to raise the revs too much with porting, but it seems like she runs pretty happy right now. I cut a few cookies on the eastern white pine then had some knotty red oak firewood blocks to slice up, so I went to it on the blocks. After about 45 minutes of cutting without anti-vibe, I was wondering how I'd ever open a beer (long Trail Double Bag) with my hands so numb.

Needless to say, I figured that out, but running these old saws always gives me great respect for the guys who had to run these things day in, day out to make a living.

 

[CHEVYTOWN13]

I mic'd the piston during disassembly and it was about 46mm. The exhaust port was already 29mm wide, so I didn't widen the port any

Dang, they had a stock hot rod back in them days

 

[Moss Man]

The video shows that ones a winner, nice saw.

 

[PasoRoblesJimmy]

That saw is made by Roper and is 3.7 C.I.

Not bad saws.

I owned a Sears 3.7 C.I. with 18 inch bar that looked exactly like that from 1971 to 1993. However, it was colored light blue and white and had the word PowerSharp on its clutch cover. I ran it for over 20 years until gas sprayed from the crank seals. In the late 1980s, Sears sent me a retrofit kit that replaced the spur sprocket with a rim sprocket. At the time of its retirement, Roper was long out of business and Sears didn't carry parts for it. The muffler was loud and the vibration made my hands numb, but it sure cut well.

 

[Jaygettinstarted]

Here's some pictures and video of a Craftsman Lightweight Sportster. My neighbor bought this for me somewhere in Central Pennsylvania. I cleaned it up a bit, and did some cutting.

I have the same or very similar saw. And its also a fast cutter. But the person i bought it from had a bar and chain combo that wasnt working too well. And im struggling to find a bar that will work myself. Do i have to customize a bar or are there bars made now that will work? This saw came with a 21" bar was told.