Jonsered Chainsaws

[mogulmasher]

Or....you can look for a used OE piston in decent shape. Some owners don't care with whatever aftermarket garbage they put in. And actually, it comes down to how much you will run your saw and how hard. Some owners never run a saw hard enough to tax the aftermarket stuff they put in. Then they go to the forums and say how great the stuff is and how much money they saved.

I've had people tell me running small engine repair shops that that they can't put $100+ parts in a saw for most people. That putting in aftermarket is their only choice for many customers. While I don't agree with that mentality, I can see what the small engine repair guys are up against.

Kevin

Right, I've experienced same thing. When rebuild cost starts approaching cost of new or a good used saw its tough for the owner to justify.

 

[Gamma Woods]

Or....you can look for a used OE piston in decent shape. Some owners don't care with whatever aftermarket garbage they put in. And actually, it comes down to how much you will run your saw and how hard. Some owners never run a saw hard enough to tax the aftermarket stuff they put in. Then they go to the forums and say how great the stuff is and how much money they saved.

I've had people tell me running small engine repair shops that that they can't put $100+ parts in a saw for most people. That putting in aftermarket is their only choice for many customers. While I don't agree with that mentality, I can see what the small engine repair guys are up against.

Kevin

Unfortunately, all the ones I have been able to track down are in worse shape than mine AND still need the rings that I can't seem to track down. Tried to research any other pistons that use the same size ring to experiment but I haven't yielded results. I'd love OEM, or even aftermarket rings to use on my cleaned up OEM piston, but it's not that easy to do for this family of saws. Unless I want to shell out $600 for an 830 that's supposedly in good shape. I'll still keep an ear to the ground, but at this point it's beggars vs choosers.

Plus my stable looks empty without her, and I need the bench space back.

 

[pbilly]

how big of piston is it? would one from another machine work maybe?

 

[Cantdog]

Unfortunately, all the ones I have been able to track down are in worse shape than mine AND still need the rings that I can't seem to track down. Tried to research any other pistons that use the same size ring to experiment but I haven't yielded results. I'd love OEM, or even aftermarket rings to use on my cleaned up OEM piston, but it's not that easy to do for this family of saws. Unless I want to shell out $600 for an 830 that's supposedly in good shape. I'll still keep an ear to the ground, but at this point it's beggars vs choosers.

Plus my stable looks empty without her, and I need the bench space back.

Yep....those thin ring pistons and or rings only haven't been available for years and years. They tried them on a lot of Jonsereds models for a couple years only. They were a massive failure in general but I submit that it was not so much the ring's fault just that they came about 20-30 years before their time. The design was to add a fairly decent increase in power by reducing the ring surface area to that similar to the later single ring set ups to decrease piston to cyl friction compared to the two heavy 1.5mm thick rings found on the earlier saws. But also keeping the compression up by having offset ring end gaps to reduce blow by as well. The problem was they had rather light tension and were very easy to carbon up and stick as the oils of the early 80's were nothing like what we have today....that and of course the operators of the day always thought more oil in the mix was better which was just the opposite of what these rings needed. Can you post up a couple pics of your piston??

 

[Real1shepherd]

Yeah....that was the story with the thin ring Husky 2100/2101....that the collectors covet so much today. We didn't like them in the woods because they didn't hold up well for most users. Like Robin said, the rings would carbon up and stick. But, back then lots of the older fallers were still using really thick oil mixes. I paid a lot more money for Powerpunch back in the day @40:1, while my brethren were using inferior oils.....my saws lasted longer too. Easy to justify the added expense.

I think in my yrs of woods service, I had a couple of thin ring 2100/2101's. I never had any problem with them, but I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think I traded one straight across for a 'regular' 2100 in about the same shape....just because of the thin ring reputation.

We were a conservative lot when it came to chainsaws......they had to be newer and potentially trouble free. The original Walker was still alive up in Canada and doing woods porting...'Walkerized'. I always wanted to send a couple of saws up there but never got to it. His son now is famous for his saw work. He has his own channel on YouTube......he had a great teacher.

FWIW, there is at least one machine service who makes custom rings for saws. I don't know how much they charge, but if you got two sets for a J'reds saw, that would last you your life, most probably.

Kevin

 

[Gamma Woods]

Can you post up a couple pics of your piston??

Certainly. Still needs work, but being put on the back burner for the time being as I hunt down rings or alternatives and wait for my gamble slug to arrive. My clips are in great shape and there's a chance the Cabers might fit the replacement. Already cleaned up the exhaust side of the jug for the most part, but the worst scoring was at the intake and transfers.

I've toyed with the idea of getting custom rings made if it really starts to bug me in the future, but I try not to use her too much out of fear of breaking something irreplaceable. Only sees occasional use, when the 80cc power is needed, but tried to run her rich and slow in the big stuff. Only put about 3 tanks through since I picked her up last spring, was sitting in a barn for a decade with fuel that got me drunk from a distance. Took out a few hundred pieces of fuel line remnants, tossed the felt from the filter (love that design) and scooped out a quart of tar. Carb went through the USC, a slight mistake hooking up the pump diaphragm (did not notice that fork the first time around), replaced the busted pulley and she was running. I noticed slight exhaust scoring but I didn't pull the jug, so the damage could've happened during my 3 tanks or it just slipped my amateur eye when I was fixing the rest.

 

[Cantdog]

That piston is not mint by any means and shows significant wear....but....if this saw is not destined for hard use making money It may well be runnable. Here's a novel thought......how about finding a good machinist and have him cut the ring grooves wider to accept regular 1.5MM rings?? My guess would be much cheaper than having custom rings made. You might have to enlarge the ring end pins too........or maybe not if the extra was taken from both sides of the groove.....guess that would be self evident once the grooves were enlarged. The only other thing I can think of is watch ebay like a hawk and be patient......really patient...

 

[Cantdog]

Yeah....that was the story with the thin ring Husky 2100/2101....that the collectors covet so much today. We didn't like them in the woods because they didn't hold up well for most users. Like Robin said, the rings would carbon up and stick. But, back then lots of the older fallers were still using really thick oil mixes. I paid a lot more money for Powerpunch back in the day @40:1, while my brethren were using inferior oils.....my saws lasted longer too. Easy to justify the added expense.

I think in my yrs of woods service, I had a couple of thin ring 2100/2101's. I never had any problem with them, but I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I think I traded one straight across for a 'regular' 2100 in about the same shape....just because of the thin ring reputation.

We were a conservative lot when it came to chainsaws......they had to be newer and potentially trouble free. The original Walker was still alive up in Canada and doing woods porting...'Walkerized'. I always wanted to send a couple of saws up there but never got to it. His son now is famous for his saw work. He has his own channel on YouTube......he had a great teacher.

FWIW, there is at least one machine service who makes custom rings for saws. I don't know how much they charge, but if you got two sets for a J'reds saw, that would last you your life, most probably.

Kevin

For sure.........I didn't grow up so much in the saw world though we had them but being from an island I've run and mixed fuel for outboards since I was like 7 years old. My old man was one of those "More oil is better" guys......but of course he was from the "use only 30wt non-detergent" generation....and in his favor that is exactly what the saws and outboards of the day, the old Evinrudes, Elgins, Macs, Homelights, Mono's, Lombards etc. instructed....and of course he always went extra...even then.......it's just the times. Today we have vastly superior oils and more is not better.....they've got it figured out! I broke my "more is better" habit not long after I stared working on saws!!!!!

 

[Real1shepherd]

Yeah, I echo Robin's idea to scour and wait on eBay. Or....join the Facebook Jonsered Group;put in a request for a piston/jug. Might be some guy with a broken crank, but a good piston.....or a parts saw only.....whatever.

I sure wouldn't want to baby an old Jonsered and don't...get 'er right again and run her hard!

Kevin

 

[Cantdog]

Yeah, I echo Robin's idea to scour and wait on eBay. Or....join the Facebook Jonsered Group;put in a request for a piston/jug. Might be some guy with a broken crank, but a good piston.....or a parts saw only.....whatever.

I sure wouldn't want to baby an old Jonsered and don't...get 'er right again and run her hard!

Kevin

It seems that the 8XX and 9XX saws were all of rather short production runs as compared to, say the 621, 80/90 etc. which used a lot of the same parts for differing models which was the hallmark of the true Jonsereds. This all adds up to it being difficult to find good used parts or parts saws......most all of the latter I've found to be really expensive. Much eaiser to find an NOS piston for an 80 than a 820/30. I have several 910s...one of which is real nice and have a lot of spares for this model but have never gotten into the 820/30 or 920/30 platforms, mainly because the prices they fetch. Like $7-800.00 for a decent used saw that you can't hardly find a part for (NOS or used) eliminates my interest pretty quick.

 

[Real1shepherd]

Shorter production run saws in any marque, create a parts nightmare today. A lot of times you wind up buying a donor saw just to get some parts. And that's always been a problem for me because I want to make the donor saw work too...lol.

Kevin

 

[Cantdog]

Shorter production run saws in any marque, create a parts nightmare today. A lot of times you wind up buying a donor saw just to get some parts. And that's always been a problem for me because I want to make the donor saw work too...lol.

Kevin

LOL.....that happens to me too and usually do end up with several of the same model all rebuilt.!!!

 

[ShermanC]

Right, I've experienced same thing. When rebuild cost starts approaching cost of new or a good used saw its tough for the owner to justify.

In 2015 I tried rebuilding carpet sweepers. Many people have no idea of how to maintain a vacuum. On a bench labor price of $45 an hour I could not cover that and parts costs so I failed. I have four vacs that need to be completed. it was fun to try.

 

[Real1shepherd]

In 2015 I tried rebuilding carpet sweepers. Many people have no idea of how to maintain a vacuum. On a bench labor price of $45 an hour I could not cover that and parts costs so I failed. I have four vacs that need to be completed. it was fun to try.

Funny you should mention vacs. I collect vacs....mostly old Electrolux from the late 60's to the middle 80's. I figured to restore them someday(other than the ones I use) and make a profit. But if I pencil out restoring and repainting to get top dollar, it just won't work out unless I sell to collectors. And I don't like having no control over complainers who would initially pay a lot, get buyers remorse and then try to ruin my reputation online.

These vacs would have to sell for $500+ to compensate for the time into them.....that leaves you with a small niche of collectors that will pay that. And within that niche are a fair amount of whiners and psychos. I have restored a half dozen of one particular model and gave them away to family and friends. That made a lot of folks very happy.....I guess that just has to be enough for now.

I have a couple dozen vacs to restore....all sitting in a row, in a shed. But then what.......lol. I belong to a vac site online.....the hoarding is incredible, especially because until the last ten yrs, you could pick up great vacs for $15 - $20. One guy has a Hoover collection that is undetermined in size....he has no idea. He has an old house....two story I think. He has them behind doors, lining walls, spectators in his kitchen and on each step going upstairs is an upright. I don't know how anyone could live like that. And a lot of them collect other stuff too like kitchen appliances or fans.

Kevin

 

[Cantdog]

Funny you should mention vacs. I collect vacs....mostly old Electrolux from the late 60's to the middle 80's. I figured to restore them someday(other than the ones I use) and make a profit. But if I pencil out restoring and repainting to get top dollar, it just won't work out unless I sell to collectors. And I don't like having no control over complainers who would initially pay a lot, get buyers remorse and then try to ruin my reputation online.

These vacs would have to sell for $500+ to compensate for the time into them.....that leaves you with a small niche of collectors that will pay that. And within that niche are a fair amount of whiners and psychos. I have restored a half dozen of one particular model and gave them away to family and friends. That made a lot of folks very happy.....I guess that just has to be enough for now.

I have a couple dozen vacs to restore....all sitting in a row, in a shed. But then what.......lol. I belong to a vac site online.....the hoarding is incredible, especially because until the last ten yrs, you could pick up great vacs for $15 - $20. One guy has a Hoover collection that is undetermined in size....he has no idea. He has an old house....two story I think. He has them behind doors, lining walls, spectators in his kitchen and on each step going upstairs is an upright. I don't know how anyone could live like that. And a lot of them collect other stuff too like kitchen appliances or fans.

Kevin

Sounds as far fetched as collecting chainsaws.......oops......did I say that out loud?

 

[Cantdog]

Sounds as far fetched as collecting specific brands/colors of chainsaws.......oops......did I say that out loud?

 

[Real1shepherd]

Sounds as far fetched as collecting chainsaws.......oops......did I say that out loud?

That's why I said anything at all about collecting vacs.....the parallels to saw collecting are remarkable!

Kevin

 

[chipper1]

That's why I said anything at all about collecting vacs.....the parallels to saw collecting are remarkable!

Kevin

Yeah, some saws suck, others not so much

 

[pbilly]

lol my dad was into toy trains and he had lots and lots of them now that he is gone it is so had to get them boxed up to sell them because they are so delicate and its hard not to get emotional because he had plans to build a bigger layout but got sick before he could. its just sad. we know there is a lot of money tied up down there but have no real idea what the individual pieces are actually worth. i suppose i should take a photo of all of my saws individually with a price that my wife should not take less than for each one so she doesnt have to deal with the same mess.

 

[chipper1]

lol my dad was into toy trains and he had lots and lots of them now that he is gone it is so had to get them boxed up to sell them because they are so delicate and its hard not to get emotional because he had plans to build a bigger layout but got sick before he could. its just sad. we know there is a lot of money tied up down there but have no real idea what the individual pieces are actually worth. i suppose i should take a photo of all of my saws individually with a price that my wife should not take less than for each one so she doesnt have to deal with the same mess.

Sorry to hear of his passing.
My dad has quite the gun collection, he has everything in files on his old desktop, if I can figure out how to get to them on there .
My wife knows to ask some of my forum buddies for help with mine if needed, did your dad have any train buddies that could help.
Since I am often selling she also knows to look at my PM's to see if there is anything outstanding that hasn't arrived or that I've sold. I always put a picture of each event in my pms and keep all my conversations about a saw in that particular pm, to the point if they are talked about elsewhere I copy and paste it into the PM. When I get a check or PayPal I put a screenshot of the payment(same when I pay for one) in the PM, and all the shipping info.
I don't want to get burnt on a saw because someone dies, I'd hate to burn someone else just the same, no need to take your name to the grave with you .