044 Age?

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NoCoFire

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Greetings,

I found this saw at work the other day sitting in a puddle of b&c oil on a concrete floor. I had not noticed the saw before and inquired as to whos it was and when did we get it. It turns out that it was a donation and not much else was known about it. I told them that I would take it home and clean it up a bit to see if we could get to the bottom of the leak. I would also put in some fresh gas and sharpen it up. I am not sure if on this model it was common for oil to leak after sitting for long periods of time. The marks on the bar tell me that this has seen some work in its life but it did fire right up after two pulls. I dont have a way to test but the compression seems strong. Clearly this saw was around before the tool less oil and fuel caps were standard. What do you think is the age of this saw? It is a smooth runner and with the exception of the very liberal bar oil situation this is a nice saw. Once I took off the bar cover it looks as if the nylon bumper strips on the sprocket cover have barely seen much life and the chain catcher looks like it has minimal wear, the jug cooling fins look pristine. This saw was clearly taken care of by its last owners. So a couple of questions. Does anyone have any ideas on the age of this saw and the bar is clearly marked 3/8 but any idea on the gauge and length? Bar does not have the markings like the Stihl bars that I am used to. Based on the numbers (that I dont understand with the exception of the 3/8 part) I am leaning towards 22 inches but measuring with a tape shows 23 inches from tip to tail. The numbers on the bar are 38822 and 800XD (pictures included) and the serial number on this saw looks like 137297488 (picture included). So I am looking for your thoughts on the age of the saw, bar gauge, and length. Thank you. IMG_20171011_193754115_HDR.jpg IMG_20171011_193805668_HDR.jpg IMG_20171011_194040551.jpg IMG_20171011_194214159_HDR.jpg IMG_20171011_194344538_HDR.jpg IMG_20171011_194403454.jpg IMG_20171011_194436744.jpg IMG_20171011_195112610.jpg
 
Nice looking saw, looks all OEM in the pics that i see and matches with late 90s with the plastic 044 badge, non-flip caps, larger muffler outlet, and carb adjustment is one turn out, prob a 20" bar, if you put the bar on and measure from the front of the saw case to the tip i'd think it 20", probably 19" if you measure form the front of the bucking spikes. Wonder what the piston and cylinder look like
 
Date Purchased : 06/23/1998

It was sold to a logging company in NC.


blsnelling, thank you for your reply. I really enjoy your Youtube channel. Kind of weird that it ended up on the Canadian border in Northern New York but I guess a lot can happen in almost 20 years.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I finally had the time to take the saw out today and give it a try. I currently own a MS290 and a MS261 and have never used a saw (with the exception of extensive use of a MS461R in fire/rescue situations and training) as big as a 044. Because of the two saws that I currently own and use are small in comparison to the 044, I was really surprised with the torque, it was really nice. I guess for lack of a better term you could call me a weekend warrior in the sense that I do not make my living in or from the woods but have used saws for better than 25 years - however I am not an expert. Because both of my saws are .325 that is the only kind of file that I have for sharpening. I was not sure how sharp the chain was and was unable to touch it up before using it today. I started at the top of what I believe is a well seasoned fallen oak and the saw pulled right in and cut fast and clean. The branches that I stared with were only 2-3" max and it made quick work of them, saw dust was large chips so it seemed sharp to me. When I started working into some bigger pieces it felt like the saw was staring to bind up - like it was being pinched (but it wasn't) and it was difficult to pull out. Eventually, I moved to the base of the stem and it was not even able to cut deeper then the depth of the bar. It seemed that once the bar sunk into the wood it would bind up and start to smoke and ended up burning the wood and the bar was staring to overheat. I know that some of these are classic signs of a dull chain but why would it work so smoothly on the small pieces and even on the larger pieces when first cutting (sinking) into the wood? It is it possible that somewhere along the way this saw was matched up with a bar that is wider than, or very close to, the kerf of the chain and once deep in the wood the cut is not wide enough for the thickness of the bar - or am I totally over-analyzing this and I simply have a dull chain? Maybe this is why the bar has basically no paint on it because it was mis matched with the chain and has heated up over the years? The wood that I was working with did not have any stresses on it to cause the saw to bind.

What one piece looked like after the cut where it binded up (you can see the scorch marks from the friction), went in from the top until it binded and then came from the bottom to complete the cut:

IMG_20171013_180355190.jpg

Here is some really poor video of my experiences this afternoon.

at about 9 seconds when I wave my hand it was as far as the saw could go - but you can see how easily it pulls into the log.
rocking the saw back and forth got me a little deeper but clearly heated up the bar (too much) then the next cut is not nearly as deep but I did not rock it. There was in all the time I used it some really big chunks of wood in the sawdust. I see in this video that it looks like some fine dust (dull chain) blowing around in the breeze but I was getting a good amount at my feet of much bigger stuff.

I know it really looks, at times, like a dull chain but, to me, it makes no sense why it cut the smaller diameter stuff effortlessly and cuts into the bigger logs with no effort and only gets bound up when the bar is all the way sunk in.

Thank you all very much for your help so far. This was my first post here and I really appreciate the help. I will pick up a 3/8 file tomorrow just to redress and see how it goes. Honestly, if this is just a dull chain then i'm looking rather foolish...

-Ted
 
Nice looking saw, looks all OEM in the pics that i see and matches with late 90s with the plastic 044 badge, non-flip caps, larger muffler outlet, and carb adjustment is one turn out, prob a 20" bar, if you put the bar on and measure from the front of the saw case to the tip i'd think it 20", probably 19" if you measure form the front of the bucking spikes. Wonder what the piston and cylinder look like
I tried to get the muffler off but my set of tools does not include the right size tool. I will look into it. great suggestion thank you
 
Did you check the bar for burring along the upper rail? Would be my first guess as it stopped cutting around that area.
Another possibility might be a deformed bar...

A chain problem usually shows a little earlier, before the bar is halfway in.
 
Put up some picts of the chain and the bar, the chain experts on here will let you know what is going on with them. Clear picts of the cutters and any markings on the chain and good picts of the bar rails needed. Oh, and for Harley a good pict of the drive sprocket on the inboard clutch.
 
Cant see too well but looks like a fog of sawdust when you are cutting and not chips, so chain needs some work (sharpening, racker depth), also did you top off the bar oil? ARe you getting good lines of oil when you hold it over a log and rev for a couple seconds?
 
Thank you all again... just got back from the the dealer. He tells me that the bar is toast and then showed me that the bar was toast, really an excellent dealer - all around fair guy. I am all set up with a new bar and chain and we will see. Unfortunately I cannot get out to the woods in the next few hours but will hopefully later this afternoon (sorry bow hunters...)
 
Did you check the bar for burring along the upper rail? Would be my first guess as it stopped cutting around that area.
Another possibility might be a deformed bar...

A chain problem usually shows a little earlier, before the bar is halfway in.
that is exactly what it was. Will try again with a new bar/chain setup. I am trying a 25" bar, 3/8, at .50. thanks for your help
 
Cant see too well but looks like a fog of sawdust when you are cutting and not chips, so chain needs some work (sharpening, racker depth), also did you top off the bar oil? ARe you getting good lines of oil when you hold it over a log and rev for a couple seconds?
yes I did fill up the reservoir, It looks like the bar was deformed so I will be trying a new one. it was oiling but I did not check it with the line method to see how well it was oiling, I will do that. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.
 
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