Make me a baby saw...

[buttercup]

...but don't make it for baby hands.

 

[AuerX]

Dramatic.

 

[buttercup]

If I win the lottery I'll buy me a t540xo, but since I don't bet I guess I'll just have to live with this one
I will make a new chain brake handle/guard with some epoxy/fiberglass - if I still have both my hands when I get to it

 

[oldfortyfive]

Cute little thing. No Husky's here, but do have an Echo 271 and Stihl MS150TCE. They are handy and will get the job done in pinch. Because they are small you will probably actually have them with you ;-)

 

[buttercup]

Cute little thing. No Husky's here, but do have an Echo 271 and Stihl MS150TCE. They are handy and will get the job done in pinch. Because they are small you will probably actually have them with you ;-)

Thanks for the tip sir

 

[farmguywithasaw]

Sooooo you cut the chainbrake handle off.... you have hands like shreck?

 

[buttercup]

Sooooo you cut the chainbrake handle off.... you have hands like shreck?

They are Norwegian hands !

 

[farmguywithasaw]

So this must be you then lol

 

[buttercup]

I'm not a big guy, but I have crafter hands...

 

[jltrent]

 

[buttercup]

Hehe... that's some comparison.

 

[buttercup]

Well I'm not sure this saw is going to last long, the treads in the oil/gas tank for the fill caps has started to give in and I'm not sure I will be able to get replacement parts for it.
But it has been a useful tool indeed so I thought I'd try to modify that chain brake guard so that it's possible to use the horizontal part of the front grip without engaging the chain brake constantly.

I have mounted some high density foam with 5-minute epoxy to the edge of the... thing, and it wont be strong at all but hopefully it will stay put while I carefully carve the foam to shape.
When I'm done - if I get that far with it, I will cover it with fiberglass and laminating epoxy.

 

[buttercup]

And so I have carved the inside of the guard approximately like it was originally to get an idea of how it needs to be.

 

[buttercup]

The clearing between my hand and the guard should be the same with my hand at different angels, not entirely perfect yet but I'm getting close.
When I'm happy with the inside of the guard I will apply the fiberglass at this surface first, then I will adjust the perimeter of the guard to how big (or small) I want it to be, and then at last shape the front side surface.

 

[buttercup]

Now I have removed foam until my hand can move at any angle and slide out towards the side part of the grip as well at any angle with about the same clearance to the guard.



And I have adjusted the perimeter and smoothed the edges and transition between the plastic and foam, it is now ready for the inside layer of fiberglass.

 

[buttercup]

I have roughened the surface of the plastic with coarse sandpaper and used masking tape where I want the fiberglass to end, I have used two layers of 280g fiberglass (rough and strong) and a layer of some finer 80g fiberglass on top of that to make a smoother surface.

 

[buttercup]

The inside layer of fiberglass is now solid and I have shaped the front side of the... thing.
The grooves I've made in the foam serves two ways; when shaping it makes it possible to view and create an even thickness all over, and when I apply the fiberglass skin these grooves are filled with milled fiberglass and epoxy to make structural reinforcement walls inside of it, basically the result is a stiffer (as in "not flexible") structure.



I am now about ready to apply the outside layer of fiberglass and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[fulladirt]

Hell yeah man make it your own, hope it works good for ya and interested to see the final results or better yet a video in action.

 

[buttercup]

Hell yeah man make it your own, hope it works good for ya and interested to see the final results or better yet a video in action.

I'm not making it my own - it already is, I'm making it usable
No video from me but you know what they say... a picture says more than a thousand words

 

[buttercup]

The cavities in the plastic part is filled with a mix of epoxy and a substance called "micro balloons", it is exactly what the name suggests and makes a lightweight filler.
The groves in the foam and the surrounding edge is filled with a mix of epoxy and milled fiberglass.



Tomorrow I should have the ready made part with only some sanding and painting left before it is finished.