Potential Project Saw

[BC WetCoast]

We have a number of "parts saws" lying around the shop. Thing is nobody here does any saw fixing work, the boss just sends everything out, so most of the saws have very little stripped off them. Most of them were taken out of service because the dealer said it will cost $500 to fix but I can sell you a new one for $700 (we get a huge discount), so we end up with a new saw. My question is, I'm going to talk to the boss about taking one of these saws and rebuilding it for my personal use, what should I look for in terms of deal breaker problems? BTW they are all mid range Stihls. 290-440 range.

I'm not a great mechanic. I'm not good at diagnosing problems, but can usually do the work if told/shown what to do.

 

[CapitaineHaddoc]

At first, you should remove the muffler to see if there's some scoring. New cylinder could be the most expensive part if you have to buy a new one. Then, i'll check if there's some play on each side of the crankshaft.

 

[cgraham1]

We have a number of "parts saws" lying around the shop...My question is, I'm going to talk to the boss about taking one of these saws and rebuilding it for my personal use...they are all mid range Stihls. 290-440 range.

Do the MS440. Might as well fix the best saw you got.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[cgraham1]

Hey man, if you've got an extra 440 floating around, feel free to send it my way. I've been looking for a MS440/044 project myself.

 

[sld961]

90% of cylinder scoring can be cleaned up with a Dremel. I'd go for the 440 as well. If they aren't going to use or fix the saws, see if you can buy all the good models, you can sell them on here. Lots of people looking for project saws.

 

[Coldfront]

The easiest thing you can do is check compression, try and find one that at least has half way decent compression.