Hi Vigilant: How big was that paddle? There's more to getting an education than just the 3 R's. LOL
I owned a Homelight saw when logging in Ontario for Weldwood. Couldn't wear it out but it sure wore me out. When I got logging on the West Coast here I was handed a McCulloch gear drive with a 44" blade. It had a very slow kick back. In fact everything about it was slow. I don't call a bar a bar unless I'm in a bar. I was trying not to think of those honky tonk women while at work. Got a nasty cut one day thinking about my English gal just at the end of the day on a Friday. 051 Stihl, kick back, no chain stop then and nearly lost two fingers. Rosie was so good looking I had to stop taking her out during daylight hours as guys were crashing into the car ahead due to her being 5' 10" tall, long legs, micro mini skirt and natural long white blonde hair. She moved back to England. I should have followed her. Never met a Limey I didn't like. Why is there no script? Can I get a re-run?
Back to Chainsaws. I still have a 2100 Husky I bought in 1985. Got it souped up. Bit of a jack hammer but man it could cut. Melted it twice on back cuts in big sitka spruce but only had to change the piston. The chromed cyl. was not scratched. Used acid to remove the aluminum. It was hard to keep it from pulling me forward if I didn't dog it when bucking a small, say 18" log. I had the rakers down a bit more as it had the juice. I always ran 404 skip tooth, chisel bit chain. The 3/8 would break but never broke the 404. I felled a lot of wood with that brute. Never missed a beat. Two or three pulls cold and one pull hot and it was barkin for more wood. I see it sitting in the corner of the shop. Hasn't run for 20 years or more. But it would after 3 pulls if I was up to it. Had a few 051's before that Husky and one 075 Stihl. The 075 was a great saw. Got a photo of me dropping a 7' spruce with the 075 in 1974. I heard some of them had soft cranks but not that one. After 3 years of steady use I took it in to the saw shop for a complete overhaul. I get attached to stuff that treats me well. After a month, just before I was to head out to camp again I dropped by to pick it up. The cranky old cuss who owned the shop, who will remain anonymous, showed me a box full of 075 parts and said it wasn't worth fixing. I told him I didn't care about the cost. We exchanged a few opinions. He picked up a new 2100 Husky all rigged up with wrap around handle and 36' blade. "Here, he barked take this and get back to work. Its a Husky, .....you'll like it!." He was right about that. He was a character, I was falling for him one time and my pocket watch quit 'cause I forgot to take it out of the little pocket it lived in and it got laundered like many others before it. He had entered my quarter to check on me and my work, I asked him what time it was. "I'll tell you when to quit" he barked. Ohh, I loved that guy. He was good to work for. LOL
Worked a short time , thank goodness, with an 090 Lightning. 14 horsepower! It was like a feller buncher without tracks and no bunching. Once it was dogged into a tree it got right serious about making sawdust. Packing it was the down side. I almost get teary thinking about those old days. Almost! It was great having a pain free body that went where it was pointed. I'm still mostly pain free but the final drives are getting a bit sketchy. I'm sure a lot of other guys got chainsaw stories as well. I would love to hear them.
Final word. I saw the pictures of the haul trucks in the mud at camp after Mt. St. Helen blew. Wow. I heard the explosion while having a coffee in the backyard about 10:30 ( I believe ) when logging way north of Whistler. We wondered who was building road that Sunday as it sounded like a distant powder blast. Later we figured out it was Mt. St. Helen. Bad news
