550 Muffler Mod

[nmurph]

I had a few extra minutes this morning and have been wanting to play with mm a 550 for a couple of 550's I got a few weeks ago.


I looked around the shop for some sheetmetal, but all I had was galvanized and it doesn't braze too well, and it puts off some nasty fumes. I spied a box of CAT 346 mufflers sitting on a shelf in the corner. I've been hanging on to them in hopes of finding out one day that the CATs do indeed have platinum for the catalyzing metal. I decided to hack a corner off one and see what I could do.

The third pic shows the stock spark screen. You can see what a small hole it was breathing through. The forth shows it's new aperture.

Here are a few pics. Unfortunately, the saws all need new pistons (at a minimal) so I won't get to run it until Friday.

 

[benmyers]

Knew those felines would come in handy sometime....

 

[nmurph]

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

 

[pro94lt]

How loud is it going to be?

 

[nmurph]

Huh??? It's a chainsaw....seriously, with it pointing down, I hope some of the sound is directed away.

I forgot to mention that it retains the OEM spark screen.

 

[lwhaples]

Came out nice!

 

[pro94lt]

Huh??? It's a chainsaw....seriously, with it pointing down, I hope some of the sound is directed away.

I forgot to mention that it retains the OEM spark screen.

Yes sir I'm concerned with loudness. .. I run them for a living for long periods and the 550 and 562 seem a bit louder than the 3 series to me. Preserving my hearing so I can hear my grandkids.

 

[nmurph]

I agree. I don't cut without ear plugs, and usually muffs as well.

 

[sunfish]

Yes sir I'm concerned with loudness. .. I run them for a living for long periods and the 550 and 562 seem a bit louder than the 3 series to me. Preserving my hearing so I can hear my grandkids.

I wear ear plugs, or muffs when running saws. All mine are loud as hell! My old man never wore hearing protection and can't hear now, he's 74.

Good work, Neal!

 

[pro94lt]

Fine looking work by the way

 

[nmurph]

...My old man never wore hearing protection and can't hear now, he's 74.

Good work, Neal!

That's funny- my Dad was a WWII artillery man and then farmed and hunted...he could still hear a pin drop on a down pillow at 86.

 

[old-cat]

LOUD ain't until you run the saw WITHOUT a muffler. Then you KNOW it's LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sunfish]

That's funny- my Dad was a WWII artillery man and then farmed and hunted...he could still hear a pin drop on a down pillow at 86.

When my Dad was in the army he and a buddy used to shoot up all the old ammo that had to be disposed of, tens of thousands of rounds! He also bird hunted more than any man I know, and ran chain saws a lot! No hearing protection ever. His hearing started getting bad in his 50s'. He wont wear hearing aids either...

 

[Ironworker]

I'm an ironworker and I always wear hearing protection and can hear a mouse pissing on cotton.

 

[redfin]

Looks very good Neal.

 

[MustangMike]

Your Dad is the exception nmurph, my Dad was in Artillery in the reserves, then was in Tank Destroyers during WWII (Reconnaissance for Patton), very few of them came home, and he had hearing trouble and back problems (from sleeping in wet fox holes) for the rest of his life. Was involved in both the Battle of the Hedgerows and Battle of the Bulge. For those who don't know, it was one of the coldest winters on record in Germany, and they were out in the elements. They often dug a trench and slept under the Tank for safety.

My Uncle who taught me to hunt also had hearing problems from all the shooting, and regretted not wearing hearing protection earlier in life.

 

[redoakneck]

Huh??? It's a chainsaw....seriously, with it pointing down, I hope some of the sound is directed away.

I forgot to mention that it retains the OEM spark screen.

I get worried that one of them stink bugs is going to crawl into my cylinder for a little warm-up one fall night, and I bet a stink bug would mess stuff up first pull, is that why they call it the squish band????

Like to keep the screens in place !!!

 

[redoakneck]

Don't want a pick of a stinkbug squished to .020". Another reason for the screens, sometimes when when Jolly Joe wood cutter gets my saw stuck, I need to cut it free with another saw. Sometimes this includes showering said stuck saw with massive quantities of chips that may shoot right into the exhaust opening.....am I over thinking this????

 

[Termite]

My Dad was a Chief electrician in a B-17 squadron stationed in the Aleutain islands for four years, WW2. He said it was very boring. They would fly along the coast and machine gun the seals. The Peta people would love that.

 

[SAWMIKAZE]

Machine gun seals eh'...whoa !