Working on JUNK!

sawinredneck

Treehouser
Joined
Mar 24, 2006
Messages
8,527
Location
Kansas
It seems to be getting worse every year, people getting dumber, and tighter!
I had an old Husky show up last summer, wouldn't start, I played with this and that, then pulled the muffler, rings were melted into the piston! It's hard to do a compression test by feel on a 30ish cc saw!!
Two weeks ago a quasi regular showed up again, Craftsman 38cc, 14", fancy auto bar chain adjust, and strato charged. He couldn't get it to run, I spent 20min adjusting the carb, these cheap saws are uber finicky! It ran decent enough, and he went home happy. A week latter, it's back. I spent the better part of a day trying to adjust the damn carb, just chased my tail! I can get it to start, but it wont run! I spray carb cleaner anywhere near the damn thing it thinks it's a rocket! But the owner thinks I need to fix it? Yeah, he priced a new one at Sears for $179 for Christ sake! What are they thinking trying to rip him off like that?
He showed back up today, brought three saws, this was, well, I'm at a loss for words! I'll take pics tomorrow! One is a Homelite Super 2, that is probably about as old as I am (that's the good one, mind you!), a Poulan, green, 36cc, with the old school toggle switch, and most of the rear handle broken off! The final winner is another Polaun, yellow, seems to be a newer 38cc? with the fancy side chain adjustment that looks like it's been left at the bottom of a grease pit for a few months.
Is this what it's come to? I remember the old mantra that people that "didn't do tree work" would go to Walmart and buy a chainsaw, use it once or twice, then set it in the garage and let it rot. Then the next time they needed to use it, and it wouldn't run, from abuse, they would just go buy another one and move on! When did it come to people expecting these things to run forever? And how the Hell did I become the savior of this crap?
i don't mind helping someone out, and maybe I'm just too damn nice, but this is just getting stupid!
 
Lol its happening in just about every industry. Thats why i was an outboard mechanic for only 2 years right out of highschool. If you ever fix one pos and do a good job word gets out and its like zombies. They start coming out of everything. And they are usually the ones that think your hard work is free. Best one I ever got was around a 1960 model mercury. Was running two days ago.( looked like it was just dug out of a grave). Went down the list... No compression and a slight knock. Pulled the plugs out and no pistons or rods to be found!!! And then came the can you fix it for $50. I almost will not touch an outboard now.


Denver
 
Charge more and they will stop bringing crap to you. Or just flat out refuse to work on throw away saws.
 
Electric motors are the same, if I rewind and change bearings on a good frame people don't want to pay. Junk motor repairs don't last, something else goes on them.
 
My Stihl mechanic/dealer told me the consumer Stihls were designed with a 20 hour life expectancy. 20 hours is a lot of time for a homeowner to run a saw...2-3 hours per year might be average...some only cut a few limbs per year.
 
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  • #6
My Stihl mechanic/dealer told me the consumer Stihls were designed with a 20 hour life expectancy. 20 hours is a lot of time for a homeowner to run a saw...2-3 hours per year might be average...some only cut a few limbs per year.

That's some interesting information, Gary! I had no idea they were allotted that short of a life span!
I have the damn special screw drivers to adjust the newer carbs, had to buy them to help my dad out on his projects and I don't mind making $10 here and there to adjust a carb, but some of these people think a minor adjustment will fix a clapped out POS, it just don't work that way!
 
its the ethanol gas that sits off season, that kills homeowner saws and lawnmowers, and snowblowers, and weedwackers
 
Once you perform a miracle for people they expect it all the time, and to top it off they think you're their bitch from there on out. It's hard to determine who to do a favor for and who not. People have made me who I am.
 
Every so often I get customers going through the garage , pull out old saws and want me to look at. I'm polite because a couple of times they were good Stihl gimmees. Craftsman , Poulan , Ryobi , ancient Homelites I tell them the truth. NOT worth fixing or even trying.
 
I like working on junk. Kinda challenging.

Ooohhh, Denver. I got an old Merc 50..............Ran only a couple of day ago! Or maybe decades, not sure. 1950's model I think.


I have to admit the pre 1965 motors are beautiful engines when restored. The late 50s mark 55 is sharp. I guess they were styled similar to the cars of the times.

The older stuff is a lot easier to work on as long as the parts are there lol



Denver
 
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  • #12
its the ethanol gas that sits off season, that kills homeowner saws and lawnmowers, and snowblowers, and weedwackers

Even before ethanol, leaving a saw full of gas for a season or two would kill a saw. That's what I tried to tell this guy, people buy them, use them once or twice, then they sit in the corner of the garage. Then when needed they just don't understand why they wont start?

Once you perform a miracle for people they expect it all the time, and to top it off they think you're their bitch from there on out. It's hard to determine who to do a favor for and who not. People have made me who I am.

Or in my case of late, you do something nice, then it becomes expected, then people get pissed and call you an asshole because you don't drop everything and go help them for free right now!
 
A grape grower brings me his saws once a year to sharpen and check out. Nice guy, never forgets to bring me grapes as a bonus when they are harvested. The miracles stopped when he brought in a home center purchased Chinese model. i tried, but the carb was not solvable. He seemed to understand, but I sensed disappointment. The saw was almost new, what made me think that there had to be a way to get it running. Maybe a lesson for both of us, he won't be buying Chinese and i won't be trying to fix them.
 
If something is going to sit for six months or so. . . are we better off idling it dry or keeping it full of that Tru-Fuel stuff off the shelf? I wonder about this because my 390 sit's for most of the winter every year. I've been keeping it's tanks full. . . Maybe not long enough to even worry about it, but I do. :/:
 
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