Stihl 07 (1961-1965) Rebuild Process.

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Looks good. Yes, I've seen some that bad. What are your plans for cleaning the cyl.? I usually bead blast the exterior and follow with a fine brass brush to bring back a little shine.

That would be nice but I don’t have a blasting cabinet or powerful enough compressor

Therefore I cleaned the inside with a scotchbrite cylindrical and circular ball thing on the end of a drill and the outside with degreaser and a brush. I’m not reluctant to maintain / keep the patina of the paint on the saw as I find it rather charming. I like both extremes though, the original paint work and patina that has formed through use and the perfect “as new” appearance.

However, the in between look of trying, but not having the skill, ability or tools for a proper job always results in a disappointment in my opinion. As I don’t have the above for a full refurb job I’m happy to settle with the original patina (so long as there isn’t any damage that will affect its function).

I’ve seen work from restorers on here who have the cases and parts stripped, damage filled, professionally painted / powder coated, parts sand blasted, welded and filed to bring the saw back to an OEM new appearance and it is awe inspiring.

One day I’ll get there, I know I will. For saws that I’ve painted or refurbished they’ve been saws I’m not overly connected with like the 034 or 180. I’m happy to learn on and improve the ones that are old but not classics. This one being so old and NLA I fear to mess with at my current experience level.

 

[buzz sawyer]

That would be nice but I don’t have a blasting cabinet or powerful enough compressor

instead I cleaned the inside with a scotchbrite cylindrical and circular ball thing on the end of a drill and the outside with degreaser and a brush. I’m not too concerned about maintaining the aged appearance of the saw as it’s quite charming. I like both extremes, original with patina and perfect as new appearance. However the in between look of trying, but not having the paint skill, ability or tools for a proper job always looks a disappointment in my opinion. As I don’t have the above for the “as new” look i have to settle for the patina appearance hehe. I have seen some work from the guys on here who have the cases and parts stripped, filled, professionally painted, sand blasted, welded and filled to bring the saw back to OEM new appearance is awe inspiring. One day I’ll get there, I know I will. For saws that I painted like the 034 I’m happy to learn on and improve, but this saw is old and NLA so I fear to mess with it at my current experience level.

Understood, and like your approach.

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

The adventure continues with the 07 rebuild in half way through.

waited 9 weeks for a case gasket to arrive from the USA only to find it doesn’t fit perfectly. Holes don’t align and the gasket is off from the case in areas.

After some advice from @trains and going through some options I made a new one. It wasn’t too difficult to cut out, just consuming.


I’ll pull the crank through In the morning.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Nice work! Yes, time consuming but you get one whenever you need it.

 

[cbfarmall]

When you do only vintage saws, making your own is the way to go. You should learn how to peen a gasket.

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

When you do only vintage saws, making your own is the way to go. You should learn how to peen a gasket.

I think that’s what I did, I cut it wider, used a bolt to find the exact hole location and gently press It to form a crease, punched the holes one by one And then finally with a pencil rubbed over the edges and cut off the excess? Or is what you mentioned something totally different?

 

[pioneerguy600]

I think that’s what I did, I cut it wider, used a bolt to find the exact hole location and gently press It to form a crease, punched the holes one by one And then finally with a pencil rubbed over the edges and cut off the excess? Or is what you mentioned something totally different?

Think ball pein hammer, rounded part lightly tapped on the gasket while the gasket material sits on the part , the outlines will telegraph through.

 

[cbfarmall]

Sort of. Using a small ball peen hammer to 'trace' the gasket and create an indented outline. With cast iron, it's easy to actually use the hammer and cut the gasket on the edges of the casting. With chainsaws, the castings are more fragile and you have to follow up with a sharp knifes, scissors and hole punches. Hardest part is holding the gasket steady and not letting it slide around.

There are plenty of videos for making a gasket with a hammer.

 

[buzz sawyer]

When you do only vintage saws, making your own is the way to go. You should learn how to peen a gasket.

Yes, haven't done that in a while. Used to do it for water pumps on cars when the new gasket didn't fit. I would just glue the material into the pump and peen around the edges.

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Ah thanks guys. Great advice. I only have one (standard claw) hammer, but I would like to invest in a brass, deadblow and ball peen too at some stage. Using the wrong hammer has gotten me into a lot of strife once or twice with saws, but the cost of them is very high here. A brass hammer is around 200 AUD

 

[pioneerguy600]

Ah thanks guys. Great advice. I only have one (standard claw) hammer, but I would like to invest in a brass, deadblow and ball peen too at some stage. Using the wrong hammer has gotten me into a lot of strife once or twice with saws, but the cost of them is very high here. A brass hammer is around 200 AUD

Seems a steep price for a hammer of any material. I made mine from a piece of free to me brass round stock, turned on the lathe and drilled out for a handle mount. I like to make tooling/tools.

 

[cbfarmall]

Try making one of these. Unfortunately, NOS gaskets don't always hold up and they have shrunk, so you have to make new ones from a pattern. Challenge with this one is, without, an original gasket, there are a few details you would never know needed to be cut out and the oiler would never work.

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Try making one of these. Unfortunately, NOS gaskets don't always hold up and they have shrunk, so you have to make new ones from a pattern. Challenge with this one is, without, an original gasket, there are a few details you would never know needed to be cut out and the oiler would never work.

...Kidding

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

The rebuilding stage has officially begun

Once again, @trains thank you so much for such great advice and guidance mate. Your generosity and kindness is so much appreciated.

The cases went together just fine and a little loctite on each bolt will ensure that they don’t loosen, firstly because they won’t torque fully and secondly because of vibrations.



Next a NOS gasket gets fitted, followed by original piston, bearings and c-clips



I couldn’t get a torque wrench on the cylinder bolts, so a tip from @trains to get a feel for 8nm (7nm with loctite) before hand was great. I was probably closer to 10nm than 7 because I wanted to err on the side of a little more firm than loose, but nothing was forced.



Cylinder went on uneventfully, then for the seals. As normal - a very thin film of dirko on the outside, grease on the Inside. They went on fine too.



andddddddd now back to work as I have customers waiting

Tomorrow will see me fitting the oil pump to be able to vac and pressure test. All being well I’ll get the wires back on before fitting the flywheel and clutch etc.

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

Holds air like a sieve

I have shared this video in another post, but just to keep continuity here...

A little stumped.

 

[Yukon Stihl]

Holds air like a sieve

I have shared this video in another post, but just to keep continuity here...

A little stumped.

dry gaskets

 

[Vintage Engine Repairs]

dry gaskets

Can you expand on your comment please?

 

[pioneerguy600]

Can you expand on your comment please?

Did you coat your base gasket on both sides with a sealer? Did you check the crankcase deck for true/flat surface?

 

[trains]

Can you expand on your comment please?

As the gasket ages, the gasket can dry out, shrink, and by the sounds of it in this case, begin to shrink away from the metal matrix that is sandwiched between them.
Older gaskes could often have such things as linseed oil in them to give them malleability, over time this dries out and or hardens.

Suggest a few heat cycles and a re torque, if that dosent help, get some permatex no3 non hardening aviation gasket, get it warm, ie crack the lid of it, put it in hot water to allow it to get nice and warm, mix well so its evenly mixed and runny, and whilst pulling vacum, apply it via a syringe to be taken up into the matrix of the gasket and fill the voids.

 

[cbfarmall]

As the gasket ages, the gasket can dry out, shrink, and by the sounds of it in this case, begin to shrink away from the metal matrix that is sandwiched between them.
Older gaskes could often have such things as linseed oil in them to give them malleability, over time this dries out and or hardens.

Suggest a few heat cycles and a re torque, if that dosent help, get some permatex no3 non hardening aviation gasket, get it warm, ie crack the lid of it, put it in hot water to allow it to get nice and warm, mix well so its evenly mixed and runny, and whilst pulling vacum, apply it via a syringe to be taken up into the matrix of the gasket and fill the voids.

Or, ditch the old, dried-out, junky gasket and make a new one. Cylinder gaskets are not hard to duplicate and these old saws are pretty generous with top end clearances.