Restoring an 041 Farm Boss

[jlangton]

Well,it won't be an original condition 041FB,but it'll look alot better. I've been on the lookout for an 041FB like my Dad has had for years, and finally found one for sale for a reasonable price recently. Brushwacker (Thanks John!) on here had a pair of saws for sale,so I snapped them up for a fair deal and they were of course,in excellent operating condition. Anyway, I knew this 041FB needed a bit of TLC-it is around 30 years old, but is surprisingly strong for it's age-runs good and has excellent compression,and a clean cylinder. John sent me pics of a bit of case damage that the saw had before I purchased it, so I knew I would need to do a good teardown/cleaning of the saw and also do a long-term repair before new paint. Enough blabbing,here's some pics:
Cylinder:

Break in the case-it's on the rear of the chain housing:

I'm going to reinforce the area with some stainless screen and fill it with JB Weld. Here's a couple of shots of the screening:

And one of the saw in the vise prepped and ready for the first filling:

Also did a bit of painting of the old covers,etc,and "amused" my wife by baking the paint in the oven for about 30 minutes....:biggrinbounce2:

I'll get some more pics as I work on reassembly, now I've gotta go find a few odd-and end pieces for the old saw.
JL

 

[andrethegiant70]

If you put a hunk of industrial carnage into my wife's oven you'd better be wearing sneakers!

 

[jlangton]

If you put a hunk of industrial carnage into my wife's oven you'd better be wearing sneakers!

She's a good sport-she once came home to find a complete intake manifold in the oven cooling after about an hour of baking on the paint....that one left a pretty strong stench in the kitchen for awhile, and I had to hear about it for some time. She just laughs at me and shakes her head when I do something like this,but she also knows I'm not gonna do anything that'll harm the oven,etc..
JL

 

[Jeff_Rich]

Thats Awesome!
I have 3 041's I love, although I have to wrench on them from time to time.
I am going to tear them down one by one and rebuild and clean up.

 

[oscar4883]

19 posts and already a saw in the wifes oven! Gots to rep ya for that.

 

[SpaayDawg]

Great idea for the repair of that clutch-side case. I had a few bolt-thru tabs that were missing on the last 041 I put together that needed fixing with good 'ol JB.

Keep the pics coming!!

 

[jlangton]

Thats Awesome!
I have 3 041's I love, although I have to wrench on them from time to time.
I am going to tear them down one by one and rebuild and clean up.

I've got to agree, I love using the 041's..there's nothing like that sound. I can identify an 041 in a heartbeat when your fire it up, and nothing sounds as good loaded up in some wood. That, and the fact that they are built with a no-frills, all business approach to doing a job, and doing it well.....for a very long time.
JL

 

[blakey]

I have my dad's old 041 and it runs like a beast but the vibrations make it virtually unusable for more than 10 minutes. I don't remember it being that bad when I was a kid but I didn't use it much back then. Do the vibes get worse as the saws age or is it my imagination? My 290 feels like a cadillac after running the 041.

 

[Brushwacker]

I had an 041 several years ago, then my brother bought it from me, then I bought it back, then I sold it . I think it was 3 or 4 when I first bought it and I remember well it vibrated terribly the whole time. I really didn't like using it much more then 10-15 minutes. This 1 JL is restoring doesn't feel that bad for what ever reason. I run it on several occasions , 1 day I must of put a few tanks through it and it never bothered me like the 1st 1 I owned or the last PM 700 McCulloch I used. In about 2 minutes I was ready to put it down.
JL, when you put it together I'd make sure to use the removable loctite on just about all the screws. Its a good idea to keep an eye on the muffler screws. That 1 never came loose while I had it, but I had a couple others that did.

 

[Rookie1]

If you put a hunk of industrial carnage into my wife's oven you'd better be wearing sneakers!

Haha,Thats funny. Ive never baked paint. Does it really make it stronger? Oh nice pics,keep up the thread.

 

[jlangton]

Dad's 041 is much like this one-it doesn't vibrate much at all. It's not nearly as bd as my 45cc Poulan-that thing will numb your hand after about 20 minutes. Seems that some do vibrate like crazy,some don't.

JL, when you put it together I'd make sure to use the removable loctite on just about all the screws. Its a good idea to keep an eye on the muffler screws. That 1 never came loose while I had it, but I had a couple others that did.

You bet-Loctite blue it is-already have a tube of it here.

Haha,Thats funny. Ive never baked paint. Does it really make it stronger? Oh nice pics,keep up the thread.

In my past experience it doesn't make it stronger,but it cures completely much faster.
JL

 

[jlangton]

Here are a few pics of it before I started:

JL

 

[CbaileyBG]

If I can help with some parts, let me know.

 

[jlangton]

If I can help with some parts, let me know.

I actually ordered a few things from you on eBay a few days ago. An 028 Manual, a couple of tensioners and an 041 air filter. I could use an impulse line, a set of bar studs and nuts.
JL

 

[jlangton]

Update.....
Came home from work this evening, and the JB is cured,so time to grind/touchup before the other layer.

Inside of the clutch cover area:

Outside of the case after a bit of shaping and prep for the next layer:

The outside layer applied to flush up the case edges:

I'm still gonna do one more layer on the inside to even it up and smooth out the screening-hopefully when I'm done it will be difficult to see any repair at all-that's the goal anyway.
JL

 

[jockeydeuce]

Nice project!

I want to do up an 041 soon too......I've got enough parts to easily build one!

 

[CHEVYTOWN13]

Good work with the jb

I particularly like the idea of the wire mesh for added strength. Cool frijoles.

 

[joe25DA]

Good work with the jb

I particularly like the idea of the wire mesh for added strength. Cool frijoles.

:agree2:
where did you get the ss screen?

 

[jlangton]

:agree2:
where did you get the ss screen?

It's from an old storm door screen that the frame was broken on. I've held onto it for awhile now for some reason-just kept thinking I'd need it for something.....Now we know why
I had to clean up my little shop a few weeks ago,and it was an almost painful process-tossing things in the bed of the truck to go to the metal recycling scrapyard. I got good money for all of the "scrap" metal,but I just kept thinking about all of the good parts that I was getting rid of. It needed to happen,and I now have loads more room with all of the engine blocks, transmission cases, trans internals, rods, pistons, etc, etc......being gone. I can actually move around in there now.
JL

 

[jlangton]

Today's progress:
I've decided not to fill anymore on the inside of the clutch cover-the repair is plenty solid, and it's simply not needed.
Here's the pics:

And with the clutch cover "fitted" to check the lines of the repair:

As soon as some more of my parts show up,and the paint I just sprayed on the case dries, I'll be putting it back together and I'll get some overall pics of the completed job..
JL