Tools

I killed my first small Husky chainsaw by cutting down too many trees that were too big for it. Now I have a professional grande machine that does very nicely. Nothing on my property is too big for it.

STEVENRANKIN said:

I am not a fan of chain saws, or at least the gas powered ones. I have such little use, it would sit around for long periods without use. Well according to many of my friends who have done just that, it is the most frustrating thing trying to get one of them to start and run properly after sitting for more than a few months.

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The trick to storing a chainsaw (or any small two-stroke) is to run it dry. Empty the tank, start it, when it goes lean (idle goes up) kill the motor. Then just make sure everything on it is clean and dry, and lubricated if necessary. I inherited my dad's Homelite XL when I was in my 30's, he'd had it as long as I could remember. It got used yearly for a while, then every few years, then it sat for more than 10 or 15. And I was able to start it right up. Ended up selling it when moving out of a house with a yard and not enough room to keep it, and the buyer had 2 or 3 additional ones.

tongue in cheek

LOL, I know the drill for long term storage, most of the people I know also know. I have a few far flung family member who don't and pay the price.

I may have exaggerated a bit in my tale and to be fair, the people I know who had problems with starting their saws hadn't done what you have kindly reminded me of.

Just like proper winter storage of our bikes, for those of us who have to, proper pre storage efforts make for easy out of storage start up.

Nah the real reason I don't have a gas chain saw personally is it would be over kill for what I use the electric one for.

Now gas powered weed whacker, that I am familiar with and use a lot. There, I won't bother with electric as my dad found out for our yard, an electric unit just won't hold up to the use. (I bought the house from my dad when my mom died). I have a Sthil unit, not the biggest but at least the one capable of taking the abuse I subject it to.

The right tool for the job, and take care of our tools two things to live by. Cheers, St.

I never store any of my machines that have motors properly. My saw, my weed whacker, or my bikes. Yes occasionally I pay the price for my negligence.

four guys

I have only four guys I would loan power tools to, I can count on my two hands the number I "might" loan hand tools to. I can't count the number of people I won't loan either to, LOL. St.

Omega Man said:

The second thing is the borrower thinks they can “estimate” the gas/oil mix ratios
OM

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I saw a co worker put half the amount of required oil in our chainsaw gas can. I told him he needed more oil and he surprised you had to use a certain mix.
He thought some oil was good enough.

r0ckrat said:

The trick to storing a chainsaw (or any small two-stroke) is to run it dry. Empty the tank, start it, when it goes lean (idle goes up) kill the motor. .

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That's what I did with our work saw because sometimes it was not used for long periods.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-Tough-4V-Max-Lithium-ion-Cordless-Power-Screwdriver-1-4-inch-with-Charger-Rotating-Handle-LED-Light-Magnetic-Bit-Holder-Bits/45466955

Best tool I ever bought! If you have fillister screws to deal with, this is the one. Even has a variable ratcheting function.

Cheers,
Mark

chainsaw oil

I knew someone who used bar oil in his gas instead of the two stroke oil, Hey, it was marked chainsaw oil? St.

Good one! I recently bought left handed shears for my sewing room.

r0ckrat said:

The trick to storing a chainsaw (or any small two-stroke) is to run it dry.

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I do that with my four-stroke lawnmower - I just run it dry at the end of the season. It's a Honda and has a petcock so during the season when I'm done mowing I shut off the petcock and run the mower until it stops. My chainsaw is electric - I have a small yard.

Harry

The Left- Handed Monkey Wrench

If you've ever seen "The Sand Pebbles" with Steve McQueen, it's based on a book by Richard McKenna. McKenna was a sailor for 20 years and died young, but in addition to The Sand Pebbles he published a book called The Left Handed Monkey Wrench and Other Short Stories. In the title story, a sailor who's a wizard of a machinist decides to make a monkey wrench with left handed threads for interesting reasons...a great story, a great book and a great writer who died far too young.

I just looked for that book on amazon and it's listed for $137 for hardcover.