Why does he do this

[Simonizer]

Don't believe everything you read. That's over 27 per day, every day, weekend, and holiday, for 20 years. He's fos.

I was thinking he started when he was 1, now he is 51. Just under 11 saws a day, every day, weekend and holiday, for 50 years. Must have made for some long days in elementary school, but hey, sounds reasonable. Cheers.

 

[Tzed250]

Here is the thread from way back that started a near war on AS...

A number of years ago, probably over 30, I can remember my Great Uncle, who was a General Mechanic, and could fix just about anything built, tell my Dad to pull out the starter rope out about 6", and hold it lightly between two fingers before turning off his saw. So my Dad tried it. He couldn't believe how much recoil, and torque there was, when he turned off his saw.
My Great Uncle said to my Dad after he shut off his saw, "Now you know how much force is put on your starter, with the handle not being pulled out, and how much extra ware and tear your starter has to go through when shutting off your Chain Saw".
Ever since then, when my Dad shut off his saw, He'd pull out the starter rope, held it lightly between two fingers, and turned off his saw. When my Dad taught me how to use a chain saw at the age of 15, he instructed me to do the same.
7 years ago I worked part time in a dealership for Stihl, and a customer came in with a chain saw, with his plastic starter mechanism in pieces. It was an old Pioneer Partner. My boss was able to find another starter for his saw, and I told him to pull out his starter rope, before he shut off his saw.
There was another customer there getting his chain sharpened, and I was almost finished with his chain saw, ask me what was the difference. I told nicely, to wait until I Finnish his saw, I'd show him. When I was finished, I started up his chain saw and had him shut off his saw, like I instructed him to. When he shut off his saw he he was impressed, and was going to shut it off this way from now on, because his starter was made of plastic as well.
So I thought I'd share this with all you guys and gals out there. If you already do, that good, and if you don't, give it a try. How knows. Maybe you will like to try and save your starter. After all, it's a cheap repair. Bruce.

 

[Tzed250]

Stop by zweitakt250, on Flickr


Stop pic by zweitakt250, on Flickr

 

[Simonizer]

Well kick me and drag me through a bucket o' lard,....I learned something. Of course this would only apply to certain recoil systems but I do appreciate this tidbit of info. Wouldn't hurt to put this on my Achilles heal thread. (spelled "heal" like that on purpose). Thanks and cheers.

 

[heimannm]

Bruce was pretty sorely abused for noting that at the time.

I do it as often as I can remember. Sometimes when you don't and when the starter handle gets wedged in tight you wish you had.

Only applies to saws with the starter pawls on the flywheel...

Mark

 

[Eccentric]

On the old saws that have the pawls mounted on the flywheel this is indeed the smart thing to do. It's a good practice for the overrunning bearing and ratchet type starters found on some Homelites and possibly others.

On starter mechanisms with extending or pivoting pawls, fingers, or dogs within the recoil mechanism (not on the flywheel) it's not a good idea. That includes most 'modern' saws, as well as the old Homelite, Remington, Poulan, Pioneer, and other saws that have the Fairbanks/Morse pivoting dog and cup type starter mechanism.

On these saws, when the recoil system is at rest, the dogs are in their retracted possition. They absolutely won't grab or contact the starter cup at all, no matter which dirrection the engine is rotating in (unlike the flywheel mounted pawl systems that have been discussed already).

When you pull the rope, the dogs pivot and extend. They'll drag on the starter cup if the engine's running. Not good. The modern saws can beat the pawls or fingers to death when they extend and contact the toothed cup within the flywheel. Different practices for different starter types. You've gotta know what you're running if you run the old saws...

 

[cpr]

On the old saws that have the pawls mounted on the flywheel this is indeed the smart thing to do. It's a good practice for the overrunning bearing and ratchet type starters found on some Homelites and possibly others.

On starter mechanisms with extending or pivoting pawls, fingers, or dogs within the recoil mechanism (not on the flywheel) it's not a good idea. That includes most 'modern' saws, as well as the old Homelite, Remington, Poulan, Pioneer, and other saws that have the Fairbanks/Morse pivoting dog and cup type starter mechanism.

On these saws, when the recoil system is at rest, the dogs are in their retracted possition. They absolutely won't grab or contact the starter cup at all, no matter which dirrection the engine is rotating in (unlike the flywheel mounted pawl systems that have been discussed already).

When you pull the rope, the dogs pivot and extend. They'll drag on the starter cup if the engine's running. Not good. The modern saws can beat the pawls or fingers to death when they extend and contact the toothed cup within the flywheel. Different practices for different starter types. You've gotta know what you're running if you run the old saws...

The corollary (at least on the Macs) to the pull out to kill, is the grip it and rip it start. If you sissy start and the pawls don't flywheel off and the saw catches at a very slow rpm and pops in reverse, you will say bad words and try to determine if your fingers are still attached. I've done this exactly once and said a whole bunch of them.

 

[Eccentric]

The corollary (at least on the Macs) to the pull out to kill, is the grip it and rip it start. If you sissy start and the pawls don't flywheel off and the saw catches at a very slow rpm and pops in reverse, you will say bad words and try to determine if your fingers are still attached. I've done this exactly once and said a whole bunch of them.

Yep.

I was starting Randy's extremely healthy McCulloch 790 (103cc, with no comp release for those that don't know) a number of months ago. I wasn't used to the RH starter setup yet, and 'sissy pulled' it without meaning to.............once. I think my RH fingers are about .125" longer than those on my left hand now. Ouch!

 

[Tzed250]

Bruce was pretty sorely abused for noting that at the time.

I do it as often as I can remember. Sometimes when you don't and when the starter handle gets wedged in tight you wish you had.

Only applies to saws with the starter pawls on the flywheel...

Mark

The Bruce Hopf thread is a prime example of why anyone on AS should scrutinize EVERYTHING posted by EVERYBODY. Some well respected members threw Bruce under the bus for this thread and were wrong to do it. Go read the thread and see that many tunes have changed.

 

[pioneerguy600]

The Bruce Hopf thread is a prime example of why anyone on AS should scrutinize EVERYTHING posted by EVERYBODY. Some well respected members threw Bruce under the bus for this thread and were wrong to do it. Go read the thread and see that many tunes have changed.

Exactly, he stated his uncle stopped his McCullochs that way and everyone blasted him.

 

[blackoak]

Exactly, he stated his uncle stopped his McCullochs that way and everyone blasted him.

Yep, at the time he was like a black wolf in an all white pack. I know I made a post or two that I was sorry I made. I thought Bruce was a pretty good old boy myself. I felt he was just a good old country boy that lived in the bush and just discovered the internet and was very excited about being able to talk "chainsaws" with the world. I kept in touch with him for a while after he was banned from here. I haven't heard from him for in a long time.

 

[pioneerguy600]

I have kept in contact with Bruce, I always regretted the way he got railroaded on this site. I didn`t always agree with him or what he did on here and that was fine between us. We are all free to post our thoughts and beliefs within parameters and Bruce was a lot like Blackoak stated, just a good hearted ole country boy that found the internet and could not contain his enthusiasm at being able to converse with others about chainsaws. I have swapped parts, saws and did mods for him to get him away from production cutting with his favorite old McCullochs. He fell for modded Stihls and uses them for his wood duties.

 

[Boskaerm]

I´ve always pull the rope a bit on all my saws (pawls on the flywheel), and even on the small saws, the drag is quite big I think.