When to Mod?

[MAWoodsman]

I just got a new Echo CS-4910. This saw will be used to cut oak in 20in lengths and split to make 5-7 cords of firewood. As well as any cleanup around my property. The oak can range from 6-20in in diameter. Im not looking to port it, but the muffler mod and base gasket delete seems easy enough for a moderate performance gain.

My question to you all is, when to do the mods? Do i do it now, before the saw has even seen a piece of wood? Or do i run a few tanks of gas through it first?

 

[Sepia]

Always nice to work on a nice clean saw. I would do the mods right away. Check the squish before pulling the cylinder. If it is .030" or less I wouldn't bother with a base gasket delete. A small timing advance might be worthwhile - say 1/4 of the key.

 

[MAWoodsman]

I checked the squish with .05 solder and it wasnt thick enough for the piston to make contact. Even if the gasket is .02 I should have plenty of clearance.

 

[isaaccarlson]

A new clean saw is way easier to work on. Do it before it ever gets dirty. Even one cut will put crud in places you wouldn't expect. Washing an entire saw piece by piece, drying, and then working on it is a pain to be avoided if possible. I would double the price of porting a dirty saw if people would pay it, just because of all the cleanup with soapy water, toothbrushes, toothpicks, etc... I have seen videos of people working on dirty saws and it makes me cringe, because you can't possibly keep the inside clean. I know someone will try to argue that point, but it's true.

If you want it ported, do that now as well. A lot of people say "I'll do a muff mod and gasket delete and see if I want to port it later" don't be that guy. You or the guy you pay to port it will be cussing, because it is now very dirty and very difficult to get clean enough to open without contamination.

I just finished another saw and it was DIRTY. Crud everywhere. I washed every single piece of it with a toothbrush, picks, and concentrated soap/degreaser. I have yet to port a brand new saw. It would be much more enjoyable for sure, but people somehow get caught up on the warranty thing and want to wait until it is over. My humble (but loud) opinion is to make any mods right away before the saw ever sees wood.