Karma - Pro Mac 60 find

[Griffdog1]

My old mate next door Jack, is 90. He has an old plum tree in the backyard that had dropped a big branch and had a split right down the guts of the trunk. It was going to go – just a matter of when.

Last weekend I went in and cut up the branch that had fallen and I offered to come back this weekend and cut the rest of the tree down. It was a mangled up old thing so there was a bit of work to do. It was also on a bit of an odd lean so getting it to fall straight was going to be a bit of a challenge but when there was a gap in the weather today I nicked in and started sawing. Took me a couple of hours of going hard but have all the wood cut up (it was hard –reckon it will burn well), and I will take the rest to my mates bonfire tomorrow.

Jack helped out like a champ and at the end he started telling me that he had a chainsaw in the shed but that he had not used it for 25 years. Of course this pricked the old ears up and I asked if I could have a look. He had it sitting in a box with a towel over it and when he took that off I was a little disappointed as it looked like some sort of 90’s cheapie initially with its shiny yellow and black paint. It wasn’t until I had a good look that I realised that it was much older and that it was just that it was in such good condition that it looked so new.

It was a Mcculloch Pro Mac 60. I told Jack that I would be pretty keen on that saw! We finished up for the day and Jack grabs me by the arm and says “I would like you to have that saw for all the help you have given me”. And I tell you what – that’s going to be a good memento of old Jack. He said it had only ever had one chain and that he had not used it since he had been in the new house which was built in the early 80’s.

I took it home and poured out the old fuel and then swished some new fuel around and dumped that. Cleaned the plug and the air filter and then after 5 pulls she was away. It is at least twice as loud as my other saws – it’s a beast.
Cheers Jack.

 

[LonestarStihl]

That's beautiful. The story and the saw. Doesn't get much better than that

 

[FamilyTradition]

Excellent story and saw. Lot's of character with it as well with the ID number jack etched into the handle and the dealers sticker on the recoil housing. Enjoy, Max.

 

[astnmacgto]

That's the most important part about saw collecting, the back story, I love getting the saws history all the way back until it was new, It makes me always wanna keep the saw because of the story. And by the way stellar pro mac 60, I have one which I totally love, but mines not in as good of condition, but it's still got plenty of squeeze and it runs hard.
ADLM

 

[thefarmboy21]

Awesome find! Take any chance you get to chat it up with the old fella....I love picking the brains of the old timers and hearing all their stories. I try to talk with all the old fellas that I can....their years and wisdom are priceless and there stories are usually entertaining none the less.

 

[svk]

Excellent!

 

[Griffdog1]

That's the most important part about saw collecting, the back story, I love getting the saws history all the way back until it was new, It makes me always wanna keep the saw because of the story. And by the way stellar pro mac 60, I have one which I totally love, but mines not in as good of condition, but it's still got plenty of squeeze and it runs hard.
ADLM

That's what I love about saws. They are perhaps the most honest of tool. You didn't buy a say in the 70's to show off, you got it to work or you got it to cut wood to heat your house for your family. It means that the story of a saw is almost always a story of an ordinary person just getting on with their life. You got the saw and it was up to you to look after it and if you did it was an investment. This would have been an expensive purchase for Jack at the time but he would have seen it as in investment so it made sense.
We live in a little country town and Jack grew up here, delivered the mail, drove the school bus, supplied vegetables for the township and volunteered with the fire brigade for over 40 years. I am really proud to have this saw, you are not a collector of it as much as a custodian. You have some responsibilities.
As one poster has said, things like the serial number being engraved in the handle enhance the sense of real history of the saw even if from a "collectable" point of view it might be seen to devalue it - that is missing the point of a saw. I like a similar thing on my Dolmar 120si where the previous owner has engraved his name in the handle roughly - its a tool of the trade. Just happens to be a much better than average tool. Mcculloch better than average as well!

 

[astnmacgto]

That's what I love about saws. They are perhaps the most honest of tool. You didn't buy a say in the 70's to show off, you got it to work or you got it to cut wood to heat your house for your family. It means that the story of a saw is almost always a story of an ordinary person just getting on with their life. You got the saw and it was up to you to look after it and if you did it was an investment. This would have been an expensive purchase for Jack at the time but he would have seen it as in investment so it made sense.
We live in a little country town and Jack grew up here, delivered the mail, drove the school bus, supplied vegetables for the township and volunteered with the fire brigade for over 40 years. I am really proud to have this saw, you are not a collector of it as much as a custodian. You have some responsibilities.
As one poster has said, things like the serial number being engraved in the handle enhance the sense of real history of the saw even if from a "collectable" point of view it might be seen to devalue it - that is missing the point of a saw. I like a similar thing on my Dolmar 120si where the previous owner has engraved his name in the handle roughly - its a tool of the trade. Just happens to be a much better than average tool. Mcculloch better than average as well!

Yeah I have a mcculloch D44 that I got from my neighbor, he told me the story of it and that will stick with me forever, his dad bought it new in 1957 while Jim was in the army, to my understanding it was their first 1 man operation gas powered saw, he said he came home from the army in 1959 to find it there at the house and he said he remembered using it for the first time and just being blown away at how powerful and light it was ( and it's a heavy saw) and just couldn't believe how cool it was to have it. I'll never sell that saw.
ADLM