Reviving Grampa's Sachs Dolmar 112

[MikeInMobile.AL]

Hello, Im new here.

I have managed to get my hands on my Grandpa's black and silver Sachs Dolmar 112 chainsaw that he bought new. He lived in south MS, where I am from, and passed away in '89 while I was living out of state in IA. I remember using that saw and working with my Grandpa to remove some trees in his yard, and liking how well it cut. Good memories of happy times back then.

I couldnt make it back in time for the funeral, but by the time I did make it back to MS I was told by my Grandma that his shop had been broken into and most of his tools and equipment were stolen. The police had no leads and no suspects, and there was no way to trace any of the stolen loot anyway as far as I knew, so that was that.

I ended up moving back to Mobile, AL shortly after that to be near my family just 20 miles across the state line in MS.

Fast forward 16 years later to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. My 2 uncles both live near the coast in MS and both had their houses flooded by the hurricane's storm surge.

I went over a couple days after the storm to help them gut their houses and clean up. One of my uncles asked me if I wanted an old chainsaw. He brought out this old crusty, muddy, dirty, nasty looking saw.

I asked him what was wrong with it, and he said it used to run good, but it went under the storm surge water when his shed got flooded, and was now locked up.

I told him it was probably scrap, and that he should junk it or use it for a boat anchor. It looked really bad and not worth saving.

Then he told me that he borrowed that saw from my Grandpa the week before he died. I wiped part of it off and saw Sachs Dolmar 112, and that it was black and silver. It was my Grandpa's saw!

I told him I would be proud to take it home.

When I got home, I cleaned it up, opened it up and filled the cylinder with oil, oiled down the rusted bits and let it sit in a plastic tub.

I tried to turn it over once in a while, and kept it oiled, but it wouldnt budge. It mostly just sat in that tub on the shelf. I never seemed to have the time to seriously mess with it, always too much going on, till last week when I decided it was time, and began to work on it.

I managed to free the piston with a lot of penetrating oil, cussing, scraped knuckles, and patiently working it back and forth for a couple of hours, and it turns over pretty easily now with no spark plug it it. The piston and ring looks good. Its got good compression, really hard to pull with a plug installed, but no spark. I cant locate a coil for it, so I asked for info here.

I found some great info from cuttinscott here,
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=68149&page=2

The electronic ign. coil from the PS6800 will fit and you wont need the points anymore
030143041 coil $63.32 msrp in stock if you need

Scott

Thanks Scott!

So Im planning to get the 030143041 coil and try to get it running.

I cant wait to hear Grandpa's saw roar to life again.

Mike

 

[mattinky]

It's always a good feeling to get a saw running that someone has discarded, good luck with your project!

 

[blsnelling]

I hope you plan on splitting the cases and going through it. There's bound to be rust in the crank bearings and won't last long if run that way. I'd love to see you get 'er going though.

 

[Taxmantoo]

This brings up nightmarish memories of how greedy some people get when a family member dies. Please tell me your grandmother knew that your uncle had that saw, and he didn't just say to himself "good thing dad's not around to ask for his saw back".

 

[MikeInMobile.AL]

I hope you plan on splitting the cases and going through it. There's bound to be rust in the crank bearings and won't last long if run that way. I'd love to see you get 'er going though.

Hmmm. I didnt think about that. A complete teardown may be a good idea.

I have worked on my own vehicles for years, and have a couple of International Harvester pickup trucks, '68 and '73 that I maintain and use, but I havent delved into chainsaw internals before.

I cant help but wonder if the bearings and any other needed parts for the saw would be as un-obtainable as the coil?

Not to mention that a shop manual for the saw would be invaluable, as I am mechanically savvy enough to follow instructions, but where to find one?

It just wouldnt do to finally get the saw back in working order, and then trash the bearings.

Points to ponder.

Mike

 

[MikeInMobile.AL]

This brings up nightmarish memories of how greedy some people get when a family member dies. Please tell me your grandmother knew that your uncle had that saw, and he didn't just say to himself "good thing dad's not around to ask for his saw back".

I know what you mean, Ive heard about stuff like that too.

Im sure my uncle didnt keep the saw with any malice. He is one of the most honest men I know.

I never asked around the family to see if anybody had any of Grandpa's stuff after he died. It never occurred to me. Just as Im sure it never occurred to my uncle to say to me, "by the way, I have your Grandpa's saw".

I havent asked my Grandma, and I dont plan to, but knowing my uncle, Im sure at some point he offered the saw back to my Grandma, and knowing her, she told him to keep it.

Mike