Chainsaw help please

I have just been lent a McCullock 14" Mac 335 chainsaw by a friend, who has now gone away. He bought it 12 years ago and has never used it. He had all the bits except for the instruction manual. It has the correct petrol oil mix, and the chain lubricant resevoir has been filled with the right oil. I am going to use it to remove parts of a large tree stump, having removed all the stones from the relavent places.

I have never used a chainsaw before, but am reasonably responsible with power tools, and understand the safety aspects. I have two questions. It has a prime button. Do you need to use this every time you start it, and if so how many times would you press it? We got it going this afternoon by pressing the prime button three times and using the choke.

The saw ran fine for 5 minutes then the chain fell off! The two nuts holding the chain tensioning device were clearly loose, and just came off. No problem, it gave me an oportunity to see how it went together, and now works fine having reassembled it. However in the process I had to alter the chain tension. I have reset it with just a small amount of slack, but is there any guideline as to how much slack there should be?

 

I should think Pro will come in on this one Peter.
I'm only any good with chain morticers:D

 

That was quick Pete. Again you learn from this forum. I had never heard of a chain morticer, I had visions of you and Morticia, from the Adams family, dressed up in black leather weilding chains. I thought fair enough - some like Nazis in jackboots with whips.

Then I had a Google and found there was such a thing as a chain morticer. :D

 

:D:D:D

Its basically a chainsaw, but you only use the tip to do the cutting.
Its not as long either, but comes in varying widths.

I guess some of the same rules apply, but I wouldn't like to guarantee it.

 

Hi, the primer bulb is desighned to prime the engine after its been sitting, pump the bulb until it fills with fuel (around three or four times)

Re tension, the chain should be tensioned so it is reasnably tight against the base of the bar but lose enough that it can be rotated around easily by hand. The chain will expand slightly after five mins or so of use and will need ree tensioning. With big bars the chain is tensioned a bit loser.

Keep the saws dog spikes pressed in and stand to the side of the saw in case of kick back. dont force the saw but let it do the work.

Both bar nuts should be hand tight only whilst you tension the chain, upon tensioning the chain lift the bar nose whilst you tighten the bar nuts properly.

 

Paul many thanks. I wasn't sure if you primed it only once a day or what? It seems slightly hit and miss, as on this there is just a red button and no sign of a bulb. You have no idea if the engine is empty or flooded.

The fact that the chain came off, was really a blessing in disguise. It made me look closer and appreciate better how it works. If it hadn't come off, I probably wouldn't have even thought about the chain tension, which is clearly important. Thanks also for the tip about retensioning it. I assumed that it was like a belt on a car - only retensioned every five years or more.

I was warned about standing to the side - I am wary of the energy stored in anything under tension.

 

No problem.

Also remember a sharp chain is key, sharpen before it gets blunt not once its hardly cutting! 2 or so strokes of the file every other tankfull.

 

Again thanks Paul. I guess only a real Pro is aware of that. I'll bet there are a lot of individuals out there with blunt chain saws.

 

As you are cutting nto a root it will blunt the chain much quicker.

I trust you friend left you all of his safety gear. Normally:
Ear Defenders
Face shield
Chainsaw gloves
Safety boots.

Dangerous things chainsaws.

How old and big is the stump?.

Might be cheaper(less than £20)and safer to use a mattock

 

.... Not if its a big stump!!!!

 

I would recommend:

Helmet with grid-style face-guard and ear defenders.

Leggings that prevent cutting yourself (made from lots of stringy stuff that gums up the chain and stops it dead)

Boots with steel toecaps and ankle / lower leg protection

Heavy duty gloves

 

Thanks for all your help and concern. First, its a very big stump, only part of which is in my garden. I don't have to remove the whole thing, just a good portion. The tree was only recently cut down so there is no rot and the wood is hard. Its made more complicated by the fact that there are a lot of big stones embedded/caught between the roots. Obviously I don't want to hit those with the saw. I have a variety of tools, pickaxe, crowbar, sledge hammer etc; but, before my friend found the chainsaw, I managed to cut through some quite large pieces with just a chisel and mallett - but thats very slow, inspite of also drilling many holes in the appropriate place. Its going to take a lot of patience, using more than just one tool.

And yes I do have safety equiptment, face protector and gloves. Not perhaps everything, but I am a reasonably cautious and careful person.

 

"I am a reasonably cautious and careful person"

I recommend borrowing some leggings. The saw slipping, or the chain coming off, would be a bit of a bother otherwise!

How about hiring a stump-grinder instead?

I don't know if this is any good, but its an example of what I am thinking of

http://www.hss.com/g/62836/Tree-Stump-Chipper-Petrol.html

 

Just came across this thread too:

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=224397