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Posted by David Sherman on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 13:51:28 :
In Reply to: Re: OT Chain saws posted by Jerry in Idaho on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 12:40:32 :
I wasn't talking about cutting ability at all; just the reliability of the power unit. One of my best tool investments was a decent-quality "Oregon" chain saw sharpener. I rarely took the time to do a good job with a file, and the saw shop charges a lot to sharpen them, so they'd usually get pretty out of whack before I'd have them professionally sharpened. Now I just use the file if I need to touch it up out in the woods during the day, but otherwise they get sharpened right. Plus, with a good chain grinder, it's easy to keep a couple sharp spare chains on hand so I can save up all the sharpening for one evening and do all the chains of one size at once with one setup on the grinder.
Another important thing is to learn how to adjust the carburetor. They need to be tweaked just right to get full power out of them. Usually that means removing the California smog plugs to get sufficient adjustment range.
In the days of hand tools, people always made sure to keep saws, chisels, and drill bit razor sharp, because it was your own muscle power you were saving. But now that we have power tools, it's too easy to just let the motor force a dull tool to burn its way through the wood.
I always remember an old ship-yard rigger who moved a 6000 lb planer for me using nothing but rollers, ramps, and a small winch. He said you have to outsmart the load. Anybody with enough money and room to maneuver can throw diesel-hydraulic power at anything and move it by brute force, but it's amazing what the application of a little intelligence can do in the way of moving heavy things if you don't have a big crane or the room to use it. Look at the huge pieces of machinery -- 10' dia cast-iron bull wheels, steam engines and boilers, mile-long tramway cables, etc. -- that the old-time miners carried up onto mountainsides by packing them on mules and moving them into place using simple wood cribbing and a chain fall, and it's clear that they knew how to "outsmart" the load.