Lookie What I Found!

[ProfessorGT]

Well, somewhere around 15 or so years ago I bought a BIG 'Ole saw from a friend of mine who really didn't know what he had (nor did I). I thought that for the price it would be nice to have it, just to tinker with. He said it would fire up but not stay running, most probably due to the need of a carb rebuild because of stale fuel deposits. I bought it, squirreled it away and never gave it a second thought.

Fast forward till now .....

Seeing as though my love of the outdoors, the desire to get the woodstove going, and that being a good excuse to build my own log splitter all got me back into using my McCulloch 610 to buck some trees I removed to create and access path. This reminded me of that old beast I had acquired years back, so I dug it out this past weekend. Although I didn't have time to really get into it, at this point all I did was drool over it. I have to really check it out to see how good a shape it's in. What is it you ask?

Turns out it's a McCulloch 895 Gear Drive Saw, :ahhh: with a 36" bar, if I remember correctly. I took the bar off it whan I packed it away, and have not dug that out yet, but I'll be doing so soon, and will verify if it's only a 36 incher, or it's actually longer! This monster has a 103cc engine, and supposedly handled bars up to 60 freakin inches! I can't wait to get into it and pretty it up! Probably gonna be a while yet before I can do it justice though - too many other projects ahead of it.

Here's a good You Tube link with some info on these saws: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oli1H1bSo5E There's some other vids listed there of the 895 in action as well.

Thing is, I don't know if I should restore it to pristine condition, just to keep around as a collector's item, or I should actually attempt to use the darn thing. That's probably not a good idea, because I would imagine that parts are hard to come by, but it sure would be nice to let 'er rip at least once or twice, just to see what she's like!

Wadda Ya think? Anyone out there have any experience with one of these babies? :-/

 

[flyingcow]

It's a beast. Heavy, hands will fall a sleep from the vibration, no chain break, it wouldn't be something i'd want to run more than a few minutes. 103cc's? When that tip catches a piece of wood just right, it'll do damage you might not walk away from.

Good Luck

 

[Battenkiller]

Pretty cool!

I am just getting into these old saws thanks to all those YouTube vids. If nothing else, ya just gotta love that sound, kinda like comparing the sound of the old Harleys to the new ones. I recently was about to drop an old Sears saw into the recyclers scrap metal bin. I paused with it on the precipice, then changed my mind. It's a 4.4 cu.in. (72cc) gear drive saw that was apparently made by David Bradley. It's the biggest saw I have, just have to get it up and running and then I plan to make a small mill to cut some planks for the fun of it. I figure it will be slow as hell, but with a torquey old 70cc motor and that gear drive, it will be pretty hard to stop. We'll see.

Anyway, get that baby running and then think about restoring it. Personally, I happen to love leaving old tools exactly how I found them, with all their handling patina intact. Tells a story, kinda like an old person's face or a well played guitar... fascinating to look at. Plus, they are often more valuable if you don't paint them, just replace broken parts and clean 'em up. JMHO

I'd try to run it if it was mine. Not like you're gonna be the guy who killed the thing after all that hard use. I think there are plenty of spare parts available for classic saws online, you might need to be patient is all. But in the off season, sure, clean and prep it for storage and put it on a shelf someplace to show it off.

 

[ProfessorGT]

Battenkiller,

Great idea to run it in a mill. It would most likely be perfect for that, because yea, just the power head weighs 27 lbs! I'm going to carefully inspect it to make sure I won't do any damage before attempting to fire it up, and then I'll give it a whirl.

Hmmm, now I'll have to look into various mills to see what would suit my needs and desires! %-P

 

[Battenkiller]

It's a beast. Heavy, hands will fall a sleep from the vibration, no chain break, it wouldn't be something i'd want to run more than a few minutes.

I don't think 99 out of 100 guys could handle that saw for more than a few minutes anyway. Almost 30 pounds just in the head. Even the guy in the video only made a single cut. Still, get a tool working or donate it to a museum is my thinking. You may only need/use it once or twice a year (carefully, and with fear and trepidation), but nice to know you can go pull that rope and she'll start and stay running.

 

[Jags]

As a collectors saw - 100 dollars

Dropping a 50" white oak just to listen to the thunder - priceless.

I would have that in my arsenal as a "runner". I have turned down dropping trees because I didn't have the saw to do it with. And I don't like to "whittle" on big trees. Drop it like ya mean it.

 

[Danno77]

that's awesome. I'm totally jealous.

 

[cygnus]

That thing could run a nice go-kart.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I hate to admit it, but it was either this saw or the next one down that was the saw I learned with. I knew without a doubt on that first day why most all of the guys who ran chain saws were the big guys on the job. Many, that would tire you out fast just moving from one tree to the next! It did cut through the trees rather nice though.

 

[ProfessorGT]

That thing could run a nice go-kart.

Cygnus,

I think many of these saws did actually "donate" their engines to the Karting world in their hey day. At 50 years old now (actually the first of next month to be exact) I was just a kid when guys were hi-jacking these engines for their karts. I have an old hard cover book on Karting, and now that you mention it, I'm gonna look and see if there are any pics in that book of karts with one, or two if I remember correctly, of these engines on them. :snake: Betcha I find a bunch. It'll be a nice nostalgic look at things. :coolsmile:

The best part of it is for once in my life I actually got a good deal: I only paid $50.00 for it, and all it needs is a basic freshening! ;-P

I'm really thinking that a good practical use for it would be in a mill. I've got to check into that!

I do have to plow through at least one tree with it though after I get it running, just for the experience of it all. :zip:

Dennis, that is very cool to hear that you actually ran one of these monsters (or one just like it) back in the day! It must re-kindle some wild memories for you.

I'll get some pics of it posted soon.

Thanks for the input guys!

Anyone else have any nostalgic experiences of the past with one of these beasts? :-/

 

[Beowulf]

Lots of Mac info an the AS site sticky thread...

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=71126

 

[Danno77]

BTW, in case it hasn't been said yet... "Pics or it never happened"

 

[smokinj]

That thing could run a nice go-kart.

Cygnus,

I think many of these saws did actually "donate" their engines to the Karting world in their hey day. At 50 years old now (actually the first of next month to be exact) I was just a kid when guys were hi-jacking these engines for their karts. I have an old hard cover book on Karting, and now that you mention it, I'm gonna look and see if there are any pics in that book of karts with one, or two if I remember correctly, of these engines on them. :snake: Betcha I find a bunch. It'll be a nice nostalgic look at things. :coolsmile:

The best part of it is for once in my life I actually got a good deal: I only paid $50.00 for it, and all it needs is a basic freshening! ;-P

I'm really thinking that a good practical use for it would be in a mill. I've got to check into that!

I do have to plow through at least one tree with it though after I get it running, just for the experience of it all. :zip:

Dennis, that is very cool to hear that you actually ran one of these monsters (or one just like it) back in the day! It must re-kindle some wild memories for you.

I'll get some pics of it posted soon.

Thanks for the input guys!

Anyone else have any nostalgic experiences of the past with one of these beasts? :-/

The cart motor is the 125cc

 

[ProfessorGT]

Lots of Mac info an the AS site sticky thread...

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=71126

Beowulf,

WOW, 288 pages in that thread, and ALL on Macs! I'm only through page 4 and I just can't believe it!

THANKS!
:snake:

 

[fyrwoodguy]

i say keep the ole girl, fire her up once in a while. maybe make a cut or two. be carefull of today's ethanol fuel mixed with yesterday's rubber componets.
100LL av fuel from a local airport is what i would run (and do run) in a saw like yours.
here i am havin' fun, back in the younger years.

i'm one of the moderator's over at : www.ChainsawCollectors.se come on over and see what's there !

 

[ProfessorGT]

BTW, in case it hasn't been said yet... "Pics or it never happened"

OK!

It took me a while, but after I found the bar and chain which was tucked away deep down under lots of "stuff", I put 'er all together, and snapped some pics with my 20" Mac just for comparison purposes. Yep, she's a MONSTER! I got a service manual/IPL so next comes an air filter and a carb rebuild kit, a close inspection, and then we'll give 'er a whirl! :coolgrin:

 

[Danno77]

that's flipping awesome.

 

[ProfessorGT]

Here's a few more pics:

 

[nojo]

I predict a "Thats what she said." comment or two popping up here.

 

[Danno77]

if anybody around buffalo wants one, too (I know I do). then check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Giant-Mcculloch...510538952?pt=US_Chainsaws&hash=item255f2c74c8

 

[Jags]

Don't be surprised if you need somebody to lean on the grab bar when you try to start that thing. They should have come with a kick start. :lol:

 

[ProfessorGT]

The compression on it is killer. Ironically, there is a compression release, but I guess it's not working properly as when pulling the cord it packs quite a punch. I figure that once I'm ready to order the carb rebuild kit I'll look into whatever else it might need a bit more closely. I am itching to get it fired up, but other priorities at the moment have moved this to the back burner. Ugh! :shut: