where did you learn to work on saws?

[old-cat]

Well, I don't qualify as expert on saws.Extensive automotive engine repair is my background with plenty of experience running other people's saws. Then I got a little baby top handle just cause I had never seen one that small before. Now I've got 4 saws (max) and keep looking for more to PLAY with and sell or repair $$.
It was this AS that really lit my fire!!

 

[Arbonaut]

My cousin is an arborist and we are both motorhead. We used to rebuild our own Kawasaki and KTM motocross or not race. Didn't take us long. I only broke one set of rings in 25 years. (when I was 12.) This translates to chainsaws. I got an old Snapper push mower with polished head that sounds like an airplane. Haha. His Dad and mine were loggers we learned.

 

[NC Hillbilly]

I am a mechanic by trade for the Gates Corp and have always worked on everything I have ever owned. I have a co-worker that was a mechanic for the local Stihl dealer for 13 years. We got to talking saws and I was instantly hooked. I have since repaired several saws but am still looking forward to learning the craft. It helps to have these sites and a good friend with plenty of knowledge:msp_wink:

 

[dpavlock]

I've always been interested in engines, not sure why. I'm by no means an expert but I learned on go-cart engines. I remember bypassing the governer by using a piece of string to pull the governer shaft.. That helped me outrun my buddies go-karts. I eventually threw a rod because of it and couldn't afford a new engine. I had to learn how to repair it if I wanted to have a working engine. Dad always cut firewood and I thought those little engines were bad a$$. I bought a chainsaw when I had a reason to cut some wood myself. Found this site and felt like I was at home. Took me years to join AS but I had been reading the threads for years.:smile2:b

 

[origionalrebel]

i do work on my own saws but until recently (beforeCAD) i just did the maint. and kept em running. now i'm intrested in going a little farther. reading here about porting and raising compression etc. has my curiosity all in a tizzy.

 

[mattthompson]

When I was about ten I traded a model plane for a go kart and ever thing was wrong with it. I started out with a carb, then I went with rings then I went to a piston replacement. Eventually I bought a mini Mac 210 and that started CAD, then I just started working on them because as a 17 y/o kid you ain't got no money for the repair shop, now I've been trading a lot and getting more saws just so I can work on them. Also my grandpa taught me a lot about about all mechanical things, starting out at 5 sorting out piston rings with a little gauge he made from a board and spray paint, then he let me watch him tear down road tractors, that just peaked my interest in motors. I've always been a motor head at heart I guess.

 

[k5alive]

My family owns a tree service.... I grew up in a graveyard of saws

 

[Streblerm]

I'm a fixer. My investment strategy is usually sweat equity. I've always been one to take things apart to figure out how they work. Sometimes out of curiosity and sometimes necessity. I started out with two strokes in blowers and weed wackers. I got in to chainsaws when I started heating my house with wood. That's what led me to this site which really helped me build my small two stroke skills. At that time I thought saws were like leaf blowers and weed wackers...as in you only needed one. What did I know?:msp_smile:

 

[cmarti]

My brother and I started a "lawn service" before we could drive. I was the mechanic and scrounged equipment at from curbside trash days. I canabilized them and kept us a running fleet. He was the businessman and put index cards in mailboxes, painted the equipment the sam puke yellow color,charmed customers, even made us a logo stencil for the stuff. He turned it into a lifelong business, I liked working on the equipment more than cutting grass and dealing with customers. I went a different direction. He still can't turn a wrench, but is surrounded by beautiful equipment(he's got an awesome Lawnboy collection). Meanwhile.... I tinker on junk in the garage.....:msp_rolleyes:

 

[Scooterbum]

Broken 041FB and AS.
Damned AS....................

 

[roostersgt]

Bought a cabin a couple of years ago and needed wood for heat. Only had one Mac Cat chainsaw (too small) and needed a log splitter. Bought a Stihl 290 from a dealer buddy and a log splitter from Lowes. Found this site when doing research on chainsaws. Had one unused chainsaw for almost 20 years in garage, bought one new and now have somewhere around 16. Oh well, I needed another "mechanical" hobby and chainsaws are far cheaper than playing with jet boats and 'vettes.

 

[purdyite]

Grew up on a farm, but Dad never has been a mechanic. played with the old lawnboys and other mowers as a kid, learned to weld at 11, worked on all the farm equipment after that. But I guess I always had a soft spot for small gas engines, because we never pulled a vehicle engine, or had big enough hoists and stuff to handle major projects, but I could tear down a Briggs and Stratton with the best of them. Now, I am kind of fascinated with the intricacies of chainsaw engines, and really like for one to cut like a dream that I sharpened. I like blades, too--knives, axes, etc. I've read a lot of small engine repair stuff, that's as formal as I have gotten. Oh, and here on AS as well. Great place. I have CAD real bad.


"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that anyone can make them up." --Abraham Lincoln

 

[sachsmo]

i never had much interest in how a 2 stroke works till i stumbled across AS while researching splitter builds. i always just thought of a chainsaw as another tool in my box. i hung around the firewood section for months before i even joined. i was browsing around and ran across the chainsaw forum and i'll be damned if i didn't come down with CAD. i have a ms250 i was ready to pitch in the dumpster till i did a MM and tune with the info i got from here to make it a pretty damn good cutting little saw. that only addwd to the CAD! now i'd like to know what makes em tick and what makes em tick even better. my background is in auto/equipment mechanics, many years of stockcar racing but nothing involving 2 strokes. where did you experts learn what you know? is it written down somewhere? i'm sure most of you probably started out working in a saw shop or similar? i'd just like to know how someone that likes to be hands on would learn to build a saw.

Just hang around,\\learn the search function and go from there.

I work on multi million dollar machines daily.

Chainsaws are a good diversion.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Where I learned to work on saws

Like many have posted I've always been interested in mechanical things. I've rebuilt a few car engines, and lawnmower engines and what not. We burned wood as a kid and had a John Deere 55v that we bought new. I do 95% of my auto related and home repairs.

I really didn't get into chainsaws until we bought our place we own now that was heated with propane. We could go through 500 gallons/month. One winter of that and for the price of 1.5 tank of propane I picked up a wood heater off of CL. I started cutting wood with with my Jonsereds 49sp. The saw was missing all of it's decals so I had no clue to what model of Jonsereds I had. I joined AS in Dec of 2008 because my saw was cutting on a curve to the right. I had no clue as to how to sharpen a chain to make it cut, no clue how to tune a carb. These are things I've learned from you guys by reading and asking questions.

The rest is history.....

 

[xtremez]

Never heard of AS. Was on the search for a real saw, a stihl 070. I found an ad on craigslist close to home for a very clean one. Callled and went to go check the saw out. This guy ended up being Teddy Scout. I was amazed at the saws and shop set up he had. Started asking some questions about fixing saws and just got hooked. He took me under his wing. Still learning but that's how I got started.

 

[tbone75]

Always loved anything mechanical, only played with saws every now and then.Didn't know nothing ! LOL Got to where I couldn't work about 3 years ago,thought saws were a good way to spend my time.Picked up a couple to play around with,after getting no where with them I found AS !
Just started asking all them dumb questions that for some reason everyone on here won't bite yer head off for asking ? They may laugh,but won't put you down for it ! Then very happily answer any and all you ask ! If there very close they will even stop by to help ya out !
Only been on here 2 years , but the amount I have learned is just unbelievable ! I can even do a little porting now !
I am slow " SLUG " LOL But never failed on one yet ! And its all right here ! Just look,read,and ask ! Anything you could ever want to know about 2 strokes !


But be ware of CAD ! ! I went for 3 saws to over 200 in 2 years ! :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Fish]

I came to the sites a long time ago, just because it was fun to try and diagnose problems from the scant/sketchy info from the o.p.s..
I originally focused on the lawn mower forums, but joined up here too as there was a lot of bad advice being posted for two cycle as well.

After a while several of the other sites wanted to charge money for membership to keep the troublemakers out, but I refused, why would I want to pay to help folks out ? It is bad enough to do it for free and get a butt load of guff in trying to do it!!!!

Then I started selling odd junk laying about off of old saws I used to ignore, then I started to part out new ones..............

 

[tbone75]

I came to the sites a long time ago, just because it was fun to try and diagnose problems from the scant/sketchy info from the o.p.s..
I originally focused on the lawn mower forums, but joined up here too as there was a lot of bad advice being posted for two cycle as well.

After a while several of the other sites wanted to charge money for membership to keep the troublemakers out, but I refused, why would I want to pay to help folks out ? It is bad enough to do it for free and get a butt load of guff in trying to do it!!!!

Then I started selling odd junk laying about off of old saws I used to ignore, then I started to part out new ones..............

Lots of money in parts ! Parting out news ones ! Don't think I could do that ? LOL But I am very sure you can make money off them !

 

[Fish]

Yes in 2007 I added up all of the retail prices off of a new MS290, and it was well over $1600 , the saw costs @ $370

 

[poorboypaul]

Started in high school working on dirt bikes. Had one that was an absolute piece of junk. Tore the motor and transmission apart I don't know how many times. Started playing with chainsaws a few years ago. Don't remember how, why, or when I joined this site, but now I've got several junk saws lying around. Got laid off last June, so I've had some time to start fixing some this winter. Work in my dad's greenhouse. Mechanically inclined, but now I get to learn by troubleshooting problems if something's (carbureter) not working right after I get it assembled. Just took my first(064) out today and she worked great! Got a J-red 80 almost done. Rebuilt the carb in my 026 and she still wont run. Trying to route fuel lines on a cs-400 have been a pain, but the internet is a big help. Don't think I will work on one of those again because I still haven't figured out how to get the crank seals off the sprocket side.:bang: