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Aaron Rybicki

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What draws people to McCulloch saws?

I've ran Homelite, Poulan, Stihl, Lombard (Knock Off), etc, and so on, but nothing matches the experience that McCulloch gives.

For me, especially, it's the 10-10 series. With the double louvered muffler.... It is louder than all hell. I love it. I can wear ear muffs and wake up everyone from the next county over. (I have bigger McCulloch saws (like the SP81E with the reed muffler that is quieter)..... However my SP125 with the CP125 muffler is Louder than a bundle of dynamite! Screwed up my right ear for a day after a few revs. They all cut with ferocity. I don't own a McCulloch saw that feels like a back up saw or a "casual cut" saw. They are all Rippers.

For me personally - it is the SOUND and the ART that McCulloch came out with in the 70s with regard to their design. (Including AF cover and Clutch Cover). What is it for you?
 
What draws people to McCulloch saws?

I've ran Homelite, Poulan, Stihl, Lombard (Knock Off), etc, and so on, but nothing matches the experience that McCulloch gives.

For me, especially, it's the 10-10 series. With the double louvered muffler.... It is louder than all hell. I love it. I can wear ear muffs and wake up everyone from the next county over. (I have bigger McCulloch saws (like the SP81E with the reed muffler that is quieter)..... However my SP125 with the CP125 muffler is Louder than a bundle of dynamite! Screwed up my right ear for a day after a few revs. They all cut with ferocity. I don't own a McCulloch saw that feels like a back up saw or a "casual cut" saw. They are all Rippers.

For me personally - it is the SOUND and the ART that McCulloch came out with in the 70s with regard to their design. (Including AF cover and Clutch Cover). What is it for you?
I was going to respond with my thoughts on the Mcculloch chainsaws but you have covered everything,
I did however become a fan of McCulloch chainsaws after reading the history and the innovations Mcculloch introduced, it's such a shame the American made saws died out.
Oh and yes when they fire up man it almost makes your eyelids dance.

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My Dad was a cutter and used McCullock saws he claims McCullock made to good of a saw.... they never broke and ran forever. He thought that was the reason, McCullock sold out and end to the quality of the saws when the drifted away from the professional saws. The superpro 125 was best saw they ever made.
 
I had a big 100cc or so McCulloch when I did tree work. It had a longbar on it and I just used it to cut the bases of big mullberry trees.
It took 30 minutes to start was the issue. If it died for any reason I’d just put it up and use the 036 to finish the cut assuming I’d done enough it could do it.
That thing was the kinda machine that people would start driving by when you were running it. Sounded like a cross between a Briggs and Stratton with no muffler and a crotch rocket. I wish I could remember the model. I also wish I wouldn’t have sold it, but the first MS440 I bought did everything it would do and ran on command and weighed half as much.
I saw a pretty nice 10-10 at a pawn shop the other day for $100 I kinda regret not snagging it.
 
I grew up around them. Dad had a 10-10 and my grandfather had a 1-52 and they logged the family's 1000 acres to pay the taxes. They did most of the falling with the 1-52 and limbing and bucking with the 10-10. The sound of a Mac echoing through the trees is synonymous with wood cutting to me.
I still have that exact 10-10 that dad bought brand new in 1971 and I have since acquired an exact duplicate of grandpa's 1-52.
669fc30e6872ee9c9351b47b9a5ac50d.jpg
 
Mini macs make great wheel chalks for my trailer!
Door stop for the garage Have to place it just right so my Three legger dog has a clear path. I have others I may need parts for someday But you have to break something first 'cuz it is too much work trying to wear one out.
 
First post pretty much nailed it, the sound and style is just awesome....and they cut pretty darn good too! I just love anything old, and it's even cooler when Macs were ahead of their time with engine technology, makes it still a useful tool out at the wood pile.

I like to compare the 10-10 to the small block 350. Sure they aren't as efficient or as clean running, but a real good running one can hold it's own even today and put a big smile on your face while doing it!
 
I just think they look cool. Plus my dad had one that I wish he still had. No idea what it was, but it looks cool in the old photo's. It was just for property use so it probably would have been fairly fresh.
edit: My dad says it was a '74 or '76 10-10. He also said my uncle has it. I'll have to see if he has it and how long he plans to have it. Hopefully my brother will forget about it before we see him again. All but 3 or 4 of the saws in my avatar are his so I figure I've got some catching up to do.
 
Every old Mac we got from the dump will run. My uncles old uprite skinny Mac is a bear to start from sitting buy she will run

I have a collection of the eager beavers with the 9” bars for the quad.
 
For me it was seeing a very nice old 200 at an older mates place his father bought it new so it had a story but yeah it was the 1st old all metal saw I ever knew and from then I just had to have a Mac.

Studied up on the company and the man (I call him uncle Rob lol) and just like that I had yellow fever before even owning 1 haha. Learning all the other interesting things he did too just made it worse. buckin Billy showed up on you tube randomly and that was me the search began I asked everyone I new I put adds in the paper I stopped at all the saw/small engine shops they never had any but had stories and knowledge though and eventually I found a little running 310 (they still have a good little Mac snarl compared to an off brand saw of the same caliber) then a dead 10-10 then my 1st proper running mac was a pm800 after some advice from the AS mac family.

The saws have soul to them it's like there alive (i still apologize to my parts macs) ive got other old saws but the Mac's just have something about them. Its really nice to have a place like this and being able to read all the old stories of a much more awesome era like Randy's tales its just a cool company and has a huge part in industrial history that should never be forgotten.

Its great to hang out here and learn from you older guys that know it all and have seen it all it's you guys who keep them alive for us younger fella's and in 30 years when we are old farts they will still be running thanks to the knowledge that you passed down. Long live those old yella beasts:)

Ps two blokes with little ms251s were laughing at me with these funny old saws a couple days ago when we went cutting with a new crowd. Well any way I started up my latest 7-10 (1 pull) and they were running for there air muffs hahaha I said she's 45 years old boys and they were just gob smacked as it was ripping through this big juicy macrocarpa.

I warned them it was loud 20190307_151503.jpg
 
The older macs and homelites May have done most of the logging in the early 1900’s. Have you noticed these old saws reek of 30wt oil? Do you think the saws of today will last as long as these old macs?
 
My Dad was a cutter and used McCullock saws he claims McCullock made to good of a saw.... they never broke and ran forever. He thought that was the reason, McCullock sold out and end to the quality of the saws when the drifted away from the professional saws. The superpro 125 was best saw they ever made.

The Super Pro 125 was not the best saw Mcculloch ever made. Prior to the buy out Mcculloch made many great saws.
All the super series engine saws were great saws. 797's, Super 797's, 890's, 895's, Then the 10 series saws like the
SP80, SP81, PM850's, etc. The smaller 10-10's were great performers. The legendary BP1 was a very high reving saw
and way ahead of it's time. Just because everyone wants an SP125 doesn't make it the best Mcculloch ever made.
 
Well I'm going off what I just discuss with my dad he was timber cutter. There was a SP125 that was posted on this site for sell and he and I where playing cards the other day. He fell with his SP125 for 4 years, then gave the saw to his to friend who cut with it another 2 more years. Dad usually keep a saw 2 years then bought new saw. I'd say the SP125 was a pretty good saw if it run that long for my dad he's darn hard on stuff. I remember that saw as kid and he had it a long time. I remember we where logging and dad had one more tree to fall on the strip. It was a big cottonwood and dad cut some dutchmans as to not screw up the lay. The tree started to go and the clutch bell broke and he couldn't cut off the hold wood. The tree started barber chairing. I'm yelling at him and he trying to get that dam saw out so it wouldn't smash. Like everything people have different thoughts on thing for my dad that SP125 was very good saw in its day and I have to agree.
 

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I get a kick when I watch buckin billy Ray on you tube with his souped up old macs cutting trees for a living.
Yup, I love him. A lot of guys laugh at my "old" saws around here. I always seem to get the last laugh though when I take a 40 year old saw and out cut their brand new 350 husky that they think is so badass lol
 
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