Historic chainsaws

Tom Dunlap

Tom Dunlap

Here from the beginning
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Retired in Minneapolis
A couple of weeks ago I visited with Don Blair. He showed me some of the old saws that he has in his collection.

What do you notice about this one?
 

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A better view of the Mac 99.

The little Mac in the background is a Mac 6. The Mac 6 was the first chainsaw I ever used. They were little powerhouses. Quarter inch chain so they cut smooth. Pounds per cubic inch, not engine displacement, I don't think that there is another saw that could ever beat the little buggers.

One time my Dad was working with Marv on a job along the bank of the Mississippi River. Marv was in the tree and had Dad tie on the saw to start the job. dad had laready warmed the saw up on the ground like a good groundie. The same rules applied 35 years ago as now. After Marv hauled the saw up he set the chke and ripped on the cord. Brrrp...brrrppp...nothing after several pulls. Marv sends the saw down to Dad who started it on the first rip. Dad sends it back up. Same thing...rip...no start. Marv is ticked off...and that's the word I have to use in polite company. He was steaming! He down climbs, grabs a screwdriver and tunes the little Mac. Warms it up nicely on the ground and reclimbs the tree. Dad ties on the saw and sends it back up. Rip...rip...rip...nothing. Remember where the job was? The next thing that Dad sees is Marv giving that Mac 6 grenade lob into the river...splash!!! "If the saw don't run it goes swimming!", Marv says.
 

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Can we play hot and cold??? /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

The saw Don Blair is holding looks to be just the opposite of most saws. The drive side is on the left, the starter is on the right. Maybe a special type saw for lefties. Just a guess.

As for the old brute on the floor, three filler caps. You didn't premix the gas with oil. The saw had some kind of injection system to mix the oil with the gas as it running.

Again just a guess on this too.

Those saws are probaly older than I am.

Some of those old saws are fun to try and get running again, but they are a PITA and sometimes just plain complicated. I got a Mac 35 someone gave me, talk about complicated you have to tear half the saw apart to get at the carb.

They are fun to keep around for a nostalgic look back into those good old days. The old saws were heavy, slow and loud , but it still beat using a cross cut saw. /forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Larry
 
That old 99 is a beastly thing,I've only ever seen about 4 or 5 of them in running order.The little mini Mac and it s succesers were the Climbers disposable saw.They sold for about 100 bucks and would last a season or 2.When they failed they were just replaced.I have a 120,which is about the same saw.The danged thing has devolped a habit of ingesting it s bar oil for some reason or another.It was a hot little runner but has become more of a mosquito fogger lately,hmm.
 
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If I am reading my microfiche correctly,it appears the one cap is an access to the fuel filer assembley.

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If that's so then the fuel must have been considerd pretty bad in those days. To design such a large, and seperate, access says something.
 
From the drawling it looks like a pre filter and a secondary filter but I've never really seen one up close and personal,so to speak.
My dad tells of keeping a piece of chamos in the bottom of a funnel to filter out the water in the fuel which was a common problem,way back when.I would also speculate the filter system had a lot to do with keeping the sawdust out of the carb.
I wish I had a way to copy and post the drawlings of that saw,you would be awe struck at the carb design.
 
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