partying like it's 1979

[juanbenae]

My pops gave me his 79 Stihl 028 Wood-Boss chain saw like 7-8 years ago when he opted for a newer model. It needed vibration isolators which I replaced and used the heck out of it until it started getting hard to start and not running well about a year ago, so I bought a new big saw to go with my smaller 180 Stihl.

I decided last spring I was gunna dive in and bring it back to life by replacing the carb, fuel & impulse lines hoping that'd do it, but did not, still would not run. Pulled it back out a couple weeks ago deciding to take another go at it replacing the points powered ignition with a later model sparky box to lose the points, again replaced the vibration isolators, and cleaned it up some. Well, it ran a little but not like the scalded dog I was accustomed to even with the new ignition. Played around with the carb adjustment screws (remember those on saws and other small 2-strokes?) still no satisfaction. In research it further since this saw has prolly in excess of 1000 hours on it and is 40+ years old it became apparent it was the crank seals. Ordered a set up and got the larger of the two installed today by threading a sheet rock screw into the clutch side seal I was able to tug it out with a claw hammer. In looking over youtube it said the best route to reinstall was to cut a water bottle apart to sleeve the crank shaft so the seal would slide over the raised sealing surface as to not tear it or turn it out messing up the spring. It worked awesome and now halfway home. Will need a proper seal puller for the flywheel side as it is much smaller so I put the sheetrock screw down.

Best thing about these older saws? Not a lick of plastic! What is not aluminum is fiberglass!

Good times and hope to have it screaming once again in the next week ir so.

[wdfifteen]

Good luck. Looks like a fun project. Do you heat with wood?

[oldE]

I put a few hours on a Stihl 028 back in the day. Best thing from my memories of long ago? The Stihls had more torque and better mufflers than the Homelights we had been using. Yes, this was before anyone suggested ear protection ( or safety equipment of any kind, come to think of it).

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Good luck. Looks like a fun project. Do you heat with wood?

I heat the garage/shop with a woodstove, but the house has a propane fireplace. It's a split level house and most of the living space is upstairs so the lower area is not heated. Bought it this way, and putting a wood stove on a second floor of this old house is/was not likely a good option.

Originally Posted by oldE

I put a few hours on a Stihl 028 back in the day. Best thing from my memories of long ago? The Stihls had more torque and better mufflers than the Homelights we had been using. Yes, this was before anyone suggested ear protection ( or safety equipment of any kind, come to think of it).

Growing up my friend's pops was a Homelite sale rep, and even in the 80's those saw's quality took a strong turn down. He had a shed full of broken/disabled HL junk... I would not be putting this effort into a red saw........

[LWJ]

Nice. I did crank seals on a 2 stroke dirtbike this year. Essentially the same deal as you only larger.

I ended out my year cutting up some trees that fell all over the place at the family farm. My Husky saw just zipped those trees right up. Cousin Mark, who goes on and on about his battery saw mostly cut a few limbs. A good chainsaw is a thing of beauty.

[KFC911]

I grew up using 70's Homelites and a busy thumb... great back then .

One in particular ... cut more wood than my Stihls ever have ..

[unclebilly]

028 was a good saw but when I was tree topping I liked the 026 or 023 better.

I still have my climbing gear but my fallers pants are long gone.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by juanbenae

Growing up my friend's pops was a Homelite sale rep, and even in the 80's those saw's quality took a strong turn down. He had a shed full of broken/disabled HL junk... I would not be putting this effort into a red saw........

In the early 70’s during the energy crisis I worked for a hardware store that sold Homelites. They were good saws, but going downhill even then. They had a model 360 that had an early implementation of vibration isolation that did not work out real well, but one of their older models, the XL was a workhorse. It had nothing fancy on it, even manual oiling. There was nothing to break, except the crankcase side cover had a way of coming loose now and then. Homelite really went downhill when Techron bought them.

Due to the energy crisis, a lot of newbies started heating with wood. A lot of them injured themselves, I still see guys standing over the saw, with the bar aimed right at their foreheads. Some people never learn. And they were hard on chains. I don’t know how many times I had to remind them to keep the damn chain out of the dirt.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by LWJ

I ended out my year cutting up some trees that fell all over the place at the family farm. My Husky saw just zipped those trees right up. Cousin Mark, who goes on and on about his battery saw mostly cut a few limbs. A good chainsaw is a thing of beauty.

When I bought the new Stihl last year (forget the model number) I looked hard at the Husky's. The only place that carried them up here was a saw shop that I'm not fond of and my preferred shop that only carries the Stihls so I went with another one of them.

A number of guys in my off-roading club use smallish battery operated saws and I have been quite impressed with some of them. They are nice in that they do not need to carry gas powered units onboard during downed tree season in the spring and winter when out. I carry my 180 in an exterior wood carrier I made some years ago so the fuel is not inside the cabin. One tank of bar oil and fuel is all I take, if I need more to remove a tree on trail I'm turning around...

Originally Posted by unclebilly

028 was a good saw but when I was tree topping I liked the 026 or 023 better.
I still have my climbing gear but my fallers pants are long gone.

Ya, the 028 is an awful big saw to climb with, heavy! I have both 22" and 16" bars for the 028 and rarely use the larger bar on it. I last used the big bar when I took down the tree house....





Just missed a live water line when the house came down... Skill or luck? Your call...

[rwest]

Skill based luck!

You looked it over, figured out it should clear but would be close.

Nice work.

[LWJ]

My dad still has his quiver of old school homelites. We heated a house and a cabin with 100% wood when I was a kid. I expect I will have lung issues soon...

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by rwest

Skill based luck!

You looked it over, figured out it should clear but would be close.

Nice work.

I prolly wouldn't have even noticed that water line!

Yeah ... I'm good

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by rwest

Skill based luck!

You looked it over, figured out it should clear but would be close.

Nice work.

Thank you sir!


Kinda like when Dorthy got the Ruby Red Slippers from the crushed witch that the house fell on???

[juanbenae]

Sticking with the firewood/saw theme, it was today I learned this.

Pretty cool.

[juanbenae]

opps, this

[juanbenae]

think i got it this time....

[Zeke]

That tree house was built hell for stout. I might have kept it for a shed.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by Zeke

That tree house was built hell for stout. I might have kept it for a shed.

It sure was. Thing is the OSB floor was rotted out, as was the 3 pronged tree it was in, so I had to take it down. The other thing was whenever friends visited with kids of course they wanted to go up in it. As dangerous as it was it would always be a scene with pissed off, throwing a fit, and/or crying kids. You know how kids are these days..

My neighbor took the corrugated fiberglass & roof structure which survives the fall nicely for his chicken coop. Had I wanted to repurpose it I have no idea how I would have gotten it down intact, unlaced from the tree it was built around, and I was not going to dis & reassemble it.

When I 1st bought the house, I took my girl, a bankie up there and gave her the ol in & out....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqzMb673gv4