Used Dirty chainsaws

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If I happen to have the saw apart for something, such as pulling the chain off, I'll usually scrape off the worst of it.

If I've got the air nozzle handy I might blow it out. Other than that, I don't get any more fussy with them.
They stay pretty clean though. I suspect alot of the nasty **** that we see is from a mix of dull chain and engine oil for bar oil.

Worst one I had come in had been used to cut up a moose several months before and hasn't been cleaned out very well. Must have had it in a shed or something, cause it didn't stink till it sat in the shop a bit and started thawing out.
 
Geezus!! what are these people thinkin'?? what kind of conditions do people work in??
my saws get at least 'blown out' with air after a days work along with chain work so they are ready to work the next time. Every now and then I strip them down more and clean them out.

sheesh....there oughta be laws against this kind of abuse...
 
Having grown up in the bush, and spent time at the saw bench professionally, I find that saw cleanliness can usually tell you exactly who is using it. Average Joe homeowner backyard warrior will either have a spotless clean saw that wont run because it had bad gas in it, or it will be a dirty mess because "I didn't know I had to clean that," and the chain is usually a disaster.
Your average firewood burning guy will know to keep the air filter and under the cover clean, maybe knows to pull the bar and chain and clean everything, maybe doesn't. Saws are usually in decent shape, decals all there, not all scratched up, etc. Chains are usually decent, either machine sharpened at the saw shop, or usually half decently hand filed.
Typical production user(never dealt with big wood fallers, always pulp/studwood production) who has the dealer work on his stuff, either a disaster because they just don't deal with it, or clean, but didn't care if they scratched it up cleaning it. Chains, either machine sharpened or very well done by hand.

My dad for example, his saws would stay in the bush for months at a time, and the screwdriver end of the scrench was as good a cleaning tool as any. He seldom kept a saw past a full year until after he had a tree fall on him and he slowed down.
Keep it clean? Yes.
Change the air filter for the clean spare once a day? Yes.
New spark plug once a month and a spare in the lunch box? Yes
New fuel filter once a month, and a new one in the lunch box? Yes
Fix it if it dies in the bush? No, grab the spare and trade in the dead one on Saturday.
We are talking 40-50 hours of runtime per week here producing 8 foot pulpwood, and keeping the saw pretty was not as important as keeping it reliable.

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Thats the last three saws Dad bought new, 242xpg, 246xpg, and his 254xp, none are pretty, plastics are scratched up, some from use, lots from cleaning with not necessarily the right tool, but they all run damn good.
The guys who keep their stuff clean and shiny and wax their plastics, well, I tended to see those guys coming to buy parts, not bringing their saws to be worked on, definitely more typical of the enthusiast that has saws because they like saws(which is squarely where I fall into this,) and not the guys that use saws to put bread on the table.
Personally, the majority of my saws saw pro use previously to living on my shop shelves, and no amount of polish is going to make them shine like new, but the nice ones like my 262, they get the treatment.
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I blow my saws off after every use, remove the top cover, clutch cover and recoil if needs be. I also pull the bar and chain and blow out the oiler hole and the groove in the bar.

I like clean saws if I own them.

I agree with what others have said about buying dirty saws. I love finding super dirty saws cause they are always dirt cheap.

I picked up 2 super and I mean SUPER dirty saws last year. A 257 and a 562xp. I paid nothing for them.

The dirt and grime were a protective coating of sorts. Underneath all that crap were 2 very clean saws.

The 257 was so mint I didnt want to use it. Traded it to my buddy for a torn apart 365.
 
Care to sell that pretty looking tractor in the background?
I keep my personal saws and work saws pretty clean so I usually clean out the gas and oil tanks once per season. Regular maintenance like blowing the dirt and crud out along with cleaning the bar grooves I do once a week, or twice if i've done a heavy amount of cutting. However if i've used a saw on a fire then it gets cleaned that night after we get back to the station. I've gotten a few saws in from time to time that were used for cutting up deer or other animals. Talk about a disgusting mess, at first glance I want to say "Nope" and walk far away but I end up giving in and clean em'. Bonus points if the previous owner used vegetable oil in conjunction with cutting up said animal. My dad brought me an 026 to hop up a few years back and he had picked up it from a fella who had used it to process deer, I don't think it had ever been cleaned. My dad's helped me quite a bit over the years so I of course obliged but man, that's one of the few times i've wanted to soak a saw in kerosene and light it on fire!
 
Care to sell that pretty looking tractor in the background?
I keep my personal saws and work saws pretty clean so I usually clean out the gas and oil tanks once per season. Regular maintenance like blowing the dirt and crud out along with cleaning the bar grooves I do once a week, or twice if i've done a heavy amount of cutting. However if i've used a saw on a fire then it gets cleaned that night after we get back to the station. I've gotten a few saws in from time to time that were used for cutting up deer or other animals. Talk about a disgusting mess, at first glance I want to say "Nope" and walk far away but I end up giving in and clean em'. Bonus points if the previous owner used vegetable oil in conjunction with cutting up said animal. My dad brought me an 026 to hop up a few years back and he had picked up it from a fella who had used it to process deer, I don't think it had ever been cleaned. My dad's helped me quite a bit over the years so I of course obliged but man, that's one of the few times i've wanted to soak a saw in kerosene and light it on fire!

Think we will keep it, its the smallest tractor we have and it will go through very narrow laneways between trees just a touch wider than a foot path, 4 X 4 pulling power in such a small unit makes it very handy for selective cutting, the bigger tractors are clumsy and need much more open areas to work with.
 
I was just thinking there are a lot of cool things I could do around the property with a smaller 4x4 tractor like that. Or not, honestly I would also be content just driving it around the property with some coffee accomplishing nothing. Quite the beauty you have there, looks well taken care of.

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Just take off both side covers, and water hose, once a year.
I've thought of pressure washing, but never did it, except from a little distance, with side covers on.
 
Ever time the chain comes off I clean under the cover and clean the bar out. Also check the bar for burrs and file it if needed. I just bought and sold a broken ms441. It was filthy and unkept. Seller said it was his personal saw he did not need because he just uses work saws now. I would hate to see what the work saws look like if that is how he kept his personal saw. The bar had such a burr on it, it would have cut like crap even with a new chain on it.

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I was in the tree care industry for 10 years, still use one at work, and own over a dozen
I treat them all the same, like they are mine.

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Do you think there’s a difference between the way a homeowner treats his saws and the guy who makes a living with them?

I never threw a saw in the truck or abused them. I see so many cracked starter housings.


Having the opportunity to work on both types of saws there are differences but both heap neglect on their saws. Professional saws get really fugly/dirty inside and the exterior deeply scratched, parts cracked and broken from improper storage sliding / bouncing around in the backs of pickup trucks loaded with sharp heavy metal tools. The homeowner type saws get a bit dirty, usually less wear and tear on the exterior but common to have all the rubber bits n carb inners turned to goo from sitting for years with old stale fuel mix in them.
 
Do you think there’s a difference between the way a homeowner treats his saws and the guy who makes a living with them?

I never threw a saw in the truck or abused them. I see so many cracked starter housings.
Maybe one or two people brought saws here for repair that were clean. Most of the saws were super filthy which may be one reason some overheated...Concrete saws are the worst, I've had them completely full of concrete on the flywheel side..
 
About the only thing I can add here is that when using compressed air use caution. I used to blow everything willy nilly until one day when blowing off my 066 some air got under the paint and peeled off a big chunk. Never saw that coming. I’m a bit more careful these days.
 
I don't use compressed air to clean saws, I generally use Simple Green and then hose them off. If I'm doing an overhaul I disassemble the saw and dip the parts into it. I keep around 20 gallons of that stuff around here and it looks like it might be a lifetime supply. Sometimes I also use the Purple Power or the Oil Eater in the spray cans.
 
Here’s a 660 that came off hurricane work. Another month and it would have roasted the PTO bearing. Make sure you clean under those inboard clutches!
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The second I get home after a day of cutting the saws get sharpened, bar nose and clutch one shot of grease, clean the clutch area and clutch cover, clean the air filter and area out of chips. Then it’s shower, eat, sleep. I don’t rest till the saws are cleaned and ready to go.
 
oh really :laugh: welcome to my world.

Brake side is after some digging out to see what all was wrong in there. :p

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it kinda makes you wander when you see neglected/abused saws like that, if the culprits are as dirty domestically? you wouldn't want to see their bedding if the saws are anything to go by? be like the Turin Shroud, take more than a bit of vanish and febreze to sort the mess out ;o) CD
 

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