In article , "Toller" wrote:
I have never had much luck with chainsaws, but then I have always bought
junk.

Gee, do you think there might be a connection there?

Currently I have a Craftsman 16" 36cc.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...l=Sears&BV_Use
BVCookie=Yes

Although I haven't used it much, it barely cuts and when I push it the blade
just stops.

I bet you put the chain on backwards when you assembled it.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:47:49 +0000, Doug Miller wrote:

In article , "Toller" wrote:
I have never had much luck with chainsaws, but then I have always bought
junk.
Gee, do you think there might be a connection there?
Currently I have a Craftsman 16" 36cc.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...l=Sears&BV_Use
BVCookie=Yes

Although I haven't used it much, it barely cuts and when I push it the blade
just stops.
I bet you put the chain on backwards when you assembled it.

Will the chain still drive correctly backwards? I don't have any
experience with putting one on that way And I don't want to go down to
the shed to look at mine (95 degrees here at 2 pm)

"Correctly?" No. Will it stay on and go around for at least a little
while? Yeah...DAMHIKT!!! (Not paying attention one day...

--

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:15:52 -0500, dpb wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:47:49 +0000, Doug Miller wrote:

In article , "Toller" wrote:
I have never had much luck with chainsaws, but then I have always bought
junk.
Gee, do you think there might be a connection there?
Currently I have a Craftsman 16" 36cc.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...l=Sears&BV_Use
BVCookie=Yes

Although I haven't used it much, it barely cuts and when I push it the blade
just stops.
I bet you put the chain on backwards when you assembled it.
Will the chain still drive correctly backwards? I don't have any
experience with putting one on that way And I don't want to go down to
the shed to look at mine (95 degrees here at 2 pm)
"Correctly?" No. Will it stay on and go around for at least a little
while? Yeah...DAMHIKT!!! (Not paying attention one day...

I didn't think so. Certainly not well enough to get as far as starting to
cut something and wondering why it won't. ...

Well, actually, it did stay on and I actually did put it to the limb
when it became patently clear I had screwed up...iirc, it didn't jump,
just smoked really nicely...

--

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:43:44 -0500, dpb wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:15:52 -0500, dpb wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:47:49 +0000, Doug Miller wrote:

In article , "Toller" wrote:
I have never had much luck with chainsaws, but then I have always bought
junk.
Gee, do you think there might be a connection there?
Currently I have a Craftsman 16" 36cc.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...l=Sears&BV_Use
BVCookie=Yes

Although I haven't used it much, it barely cuts and when I push it the blade
just stops.
I bet you put the chain on backwards when you assembled it.
Will the chain still drive correctly backwards? I don't have any
experience with putting one on that way And I don't want to go down to
the shed to look at mine (95 degrees here at 2 pm)
"Correctly?" No. Will it stay on and go around for at least a little
while? Yeah...DAMHIKT!!! (Not paying attention one day...
I didn't think so. Certainly not well enough to get as far as starting to
cut something and wondering why it won't. ...
Well, actually, it did stay on and I actually did put it to the limb
when it became patently clear I had screwed up...iirc, it didn't jump,
just smoked really nicely...

I thought the drive teeth were hooked slightly? Now you're going to make
me go have a look. Wait I may have one hanging in the garage.....yup,
chain off my old Poulan. Drive teeth shaped like a curved dolphin fin with
a notch in it. Man I just don't see how that would mesh with the drive
sprocket but I'll take your word for it.

Well, thankfully that only happened once and it has been a few years now
(and I'm getting older ) but best I can recall it did hang on. It's
a small Echo (JD-yellow but Echo-made w/ an Oregon bar). How much
difference there is between various vendors' designs and for differing
chain sizes I don't have a clue. Being where trees don't grow wild,
need for a chainsaw is pretty minimal and this is the only one I've ever
had any dealings/experience with.

I can readily believe others might well not behave the same...

--

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:17:41 -0500, dpb wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:43:44 -0500, dpb wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:15:52 -0500, dpb wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:47:49 +0000, Doug Miller wrote:

In article , "Toller" wrote:
I have never had much luck with chainsaws, but then I have always bought
junk.
Gee, do you think there might be a connection there?
Currently I have a Craftsman 16" 36cc.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...l=Sears&BV_Use
BVCookie=Yes

Although I haven't used it much, it barely cuts and when I push it the blade
just stops.
I bet you put the chain on backwards when you assembled it.
Will the chain still drive correctly backwards? I don't have any
experience with putting one on that way And I don't want to go down to
the shed to look at mine (95 degrees here at 2 pm)
"Correctly?" No. Will it stay on and go around for at least a little
while? Yeah...DAMHIKT!!! (Not paying attention one day...
I didn't think so. Certainly not well enough to get as far as starting to
cut something and wondering why it won't. ...
Well, actually, it did stay on and I actually did put it to the limb
when it became patently clear I had screwed up...iirc, it didn't jump,
just smoked really nicely...
I thought the drive teeth were hooked slightly? Now you're going to make
me go have a look. Wait I may have one hanging in the garage.....yup,
chain off my old Poulan. Drive teeth shaped like a curved dolphin fin with
a notch in it. Man I just don't see how that would mesh with the drive
sprocket but I'll take your word for it.
Well, thankfully that only happened once and it has been a few years now
(and I'm getting older ) but best I can recall it did hang on. It's
a small Echo (JD-yellow but Echo-made w/ an Oregon bar). How much
difference there is between various vendors' designs and for differing
chain sizes I don't have a clue. Being where trees don't grow wild,
need for a chainsaw is pretty minimal and this is the only one I've ever
had any dealings/experience with.

I can readily believe others might well not behave the same...

My back yard is wooded bliss. Well blissful until it storms and branches
and limbs come down So I needed a decent saw that stayed in shape. I've
seen many tree companies use Stihl so that was my choice and I'm glad I
bought one. I also have a Craftsman vac/mulcher/chipper that gets used a
lot.

We have quite a number of trees in the yard (mostly 'Chinese elm' by the
locals, but I have since learned they're actually Siberian) which are
hardy enough for the heat and dry weather with a little help and ash
(which are terribly susceptible to borers, unfortunately). The elms in
particular are very weak-limbed and we lose twigs/branches regularly
every blow, which is quite often here. We've also had two major ice
events the last three years that took out a bunch of stuff so the saw
has had a workout recently.

The ash isn't too bad when it's green, but trying to trim out the dead
after it's been a couple of years is like trying to cut ironwood...

When in VA had a large yard full of huge (red, mostly) oak and the
leaves and acorns drove me nuts (so to speak, pun intended...)

--


--

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:40:37 -0500, dpb wrote:
....
When in VA had a large yard full of huge (red, mostly) oak and the
leaves and acorns drove me nuts (so to speak, pun intended...)


I have maples, oaks, shaggy bark chestnuts and some dogwoods. The
squirrels take care of the acorns and nuts pretty well ...

They can manage to keep a few dogwoods hanging on in town where they're
more protected, but no dice on the farm. Do have one old redbud that
Mom planted when she first married Dad in early 40s. It's about 18" in
diameter of the main trunk and managed to get to _maybe_ 18-20 ft max
tall before the borers killed the main trunk. I cut it back thinking it
was dead when we moved back but never got around to pulling the trunk
and to my surprise it came out w/ renewed vigor the following spring.
I've now let it spring up more bush-like w/ a half-dozen suckers and in
the last several years they've reached 80% of the old crown height...

Folks tried a few maples and oaks but the soil isn't acidic like they
like here so they didn't make it. Hackberry and cottonwood both do
reasonably well. No that there are the "cottonless" varieties, I'll
probably put some out as they fluttery leaf like the aspen is really
nice in the wind.

We have one really nice American elm specimen that story goes came up
after the "Dirty 30s" from the roots when all the rest were killed by
the dirt/drought. I keep intending every spring to save some seed pods
but forgot again this year to collect. That's busy farming time so
little stuff like that gets set aside for more pressing things...

Anyway, in VA I would haul away one or two full longbed pickup loads of
nothing but acorns almost every year. They would be inches deep over
the entire lot -- pick 'em up w/ scoop shovel w/o any gathering together
required. Eventually, wised up and thinned the oaks considerably...

--

On Jul 10, 12:04 pm, Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:43:44 -0500, dpb wrote:
Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:15:52 -0500, dpb wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:47:49 +0000, Doug Miller wrote:

In article , "Toller" wrote:
I have never had much luck with chainsaws, but then I have always bought
junk.
Gee, do you think there might be a connection there?
Currently I have a Craftsman 16" 36cc.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...00&vertical=Se...
BVCookie=Yes

Although I haven't used it much, it barely cuts and when I push it the blade
just stops.
I bet you put the chain on backwards when you assembled it.
Will the chain still drive correctly backwards? I don't have any
experience with putting one on that way And I don't want to go down to
the shed to look at mine (95 degrees here at 2 pm)
"Correctly?" No. Will it stay on and go around for at least a little
while? Yeah...DAMHIKT!!! (Not paying attention one day...

I didn't think so. Certainly not well enough to get as far as starting to
cut something and wondering why it won't. ...

Well, actually, it did stay on and I actually did put it to the limb
when it became patently clear I had screwed up...iirc, it didn't jump,
just smoked really nicely...

I thought the drive teeth were hooked slightly? Now you're going to make
me go have a look. Wait I may have one hanging in the garage.....yup,
chain off my old Poulan. Drive teeth shaped like a curved dolphin fin with
a notch in it. Man I just don't see how that would mesh with the drive
sprocket but I'll take your word for it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes, it will drive quite well backwards...at least enough to smoke the
chain when trying to cut that way. BTDT.

Harry K

On Jul 10, 12:17 pm, dpb wrote:
Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:43:44 -0500, dpb wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:15:52 -0500, dpb wrote:

Meat Plow wrote:
On Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:47:49 +0000, Doug Miller wrote:

In article , "Toller" wrote:
I have never had much luck with chainsaws, but then I have always bought
junk.
Gee, do you think there might be a connection there?
Currently I have a Craftsman 16" 36cc.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...00&vertical=Se...
BVCookie=Yes

Although I haven't used it much, it barely cuts and when I push it the blade
just stops.
I bet you put the chain on backwards when you assembled it.
Will the chain still drive correctly backwards? I don't have any
experience with putting one on that way And I don't want to go down to
the shed to look at mine (95 degrees here at 2 pm)
"Correctly?" No. Will it stay on and go around for at least a little
while? Yeah...DAMHIKT!!! (Not paying attention one day...
I didn't think so. Certainly not well enough to get as far as starting to
cut something and wondering why it won't. ...
Well, actually, it did stay on and I actually did put it to the limb
when it became patently clear I had screwed up...iirc, it didn't jump,
just smoked really nicely...

I thought the drive teeth were hooked slightly? Now you're going to make
me go have a look. Wait I may have one hanging in the garage.....yup,
chain off my old Poulan. Drive teeth shaped like a curved dolphin fin with
a notch in it. Man I just don't see how that would mesh with the drive
sprocket but I'll take your word for it.

Well, thankfully that only happened once and it has been a few years now
(and I'm getting older ) but best I can recall it did hang on. It's
a small Echo (JD-yellow but Echo-made w/ an Oregon bar). How much
difference there is between various vendors' designs and for differing
chain sizes I don't have a clue. Being where trees don't grow wild,
need for a chainsaw is pretty minimal and this is the only one I've ever
had any dealings/experience with.

I can readily believe others might well not behave the same...

--- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

A Stihl 041 did it (not me). A Homelight XL12 did it (me). Brand has
not effect on it, all chains and drive sprockets are designed to the
same specs.

Harry K