Finally complete & running well!
Today I found the time to do the few last-minute things to get this saw done for now, minus paint. I was having trouble getting it to pull gas at low RPMs so I searched all the usual suspects. I replaced the fuel line again with proper stuff as I had just used some scrap PVC tubing I had lying around, and in the process snapped the plastic barb fitting on the bottom of the carb off. So it's krazy-glued on for now and seems to be holding up just fine, but I will be getting a replacement as soon as I get up to see the old guy I get parts from. I also cut a new rubber gasket for the glass sediment bowl out of an old skidder/loader tire tube (ask your local tire shop for a flat one, one big tube is a lifetime's worth). I think it was here somebody suggested 3/4T L and 1-1/2T H on the carb but those don't quite work. It needs about a full turn open on the Low and about 1-1/4 on the high at most and still sounds a might rich at that, but I don't have any bigger wood to test 'er out in right now, neither have I run something this old so I'm not sure how it should sound exactly. It starts in just a couple choked pulls now, and I think I have the idle figured out, but it's hard due to the problem below.
One thing I might have to look at is the clutch. When it engages it really "snaps" and and engages HARD, such that at idle every once in a while the clutch will engage just for a split second, making a loud snapping noise. Also I made a few cuts in a ~7" pine firewood piece, but if I really pushed down and made the chain bite in hard, it would stall the saw in an instant, such that I thought it had seized the first time. Scared the crap out of me. Perhaps, though, these are problems endemic to old clutches like this? I was surprised to see such a small clutch (about 2.5" diameter) on a 100-cc saw. I haven't looked at it to check for loose springs yet though, and that would more than likely explain these problems too. Either way something doesn't seem right.
Check out the ORIGINAL dogs I picked up from my older friend. He pulled them right off an RA that he had for $2. And they even have about 75% of their paint! I stripped the old rope that was wound around the handle. It was half coming undone anyway and these came with a bare handle stock. I will try to replace the starter handle as soon as I can see what an original looked like and try to match it.
That's even original Pioneer chain! Though I'm pretty sure it's post-IEL Pioneer. I had a 36" loop of .404 with a section where the drivers had been all chewed up from a skipped sprocket or something, so I just cut that out and made it to fit this bar. Every drive link has "Pioneer" stamped into it. The bar is not a Pioneer but I might be able to convince my friend to sell me one. This one even looks like it's been drilled for milling, which might explain why the oiler holes have also been drilled out. I actually will have to infill them with a small weld because they are drilled past the oiler channel on the saw, though I guess the bar shim plates should mitigate oil leaking. The outer one of them has one "wing" broken off so I will have to either find one or make one out of some sheet steel, which is the more likely option. I've made some pretty decent copies before with a Dremel, a few cutting wheels, and some patience. I think I'm going to build a small sheet cutter out of a chipper blade from the mill though. Give it some extra weight and it should do a fine job. That steel's as hard as a rock.
All in all, this thing wasn't nearly the job I was anticipating when I received it all ugly and dirty. Interesting, to say the least. Once I have the time and experience to give it new paint it'll look really nice up on my shelf. I have respect for someone who used one of these all day. This includes my older friend, who said he used these from when they were introduced until he switched over to Contras/090s a few years later. He loves them, which explains the whole shelf of yellow in his shop. Says they were damn near indestructible, that they would keep chugging along even with less than 100lb compression. He said they never used very big bars on them though because they aren't incredibly powerful for their size.
Has anyone else noticed that Contras are nearly a copy of this saw, with the exception of the oiler differences and the Contra's lack of the glass fuel bowl? I don't mean to blaspheme Stihl, but this saw is the elder and the similarities are many.
Hopefully the old gas and oil sterilized anything, er, detrimental to my health. In truth, I don't really know what the material is. The inner layer almost looks like old medical gauze or something. I'm not old enough to know what they used for filters 50 years ago, maybe it's original and just looks half-baked.
