One time i found a chainsaw in a pile of trash. It had no compression. After removing the cylinder i was in your situation: the aluminium from the piston transfered onto the chrome/nikasil plating. I asked my dad for help and he removed the aluminium with a special sharpening stone that he uses for sharpening carving gouges and buffed out the area where the aluminium was with a dremel and buffing compound. After cleaning the piston with sandpaper (800/1000) for removing the scratches and installing a new piston ring, the chainsaw has very good compression and starts very easy. Sorry if my english is bad. Greetings from Italy!
Holly cow I just drug home a 394 that’s blown up I took the cyl off and was wondering if it could be saves I literally was taking it apart while you were filming Off I went to you tube for information and there’s the new tin man video working the transfer of a 394 cyl I swear you did this for my benifit Thanks so much I’m gona try and save mine the damage looks exactly like yours
When it comes to little scratches and low compression a well experienced saw man asked " How much blowby do you have with the end gap on the rings compared to that micro scratch". Point learned. Great video Tinman!
Like the real time. First thing I bought with my own $ as a kid was "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" read it cover to cover multiple times. First car I worked on was an golf then an e30 bmw via Haynes manual. Always followed the protocol of keeping things clean via a minimal invasive process and all engines I have ever worked on have thanked me by being strong and outstanding performers. Wish my 11 year old self could have watched these videos as I have been mostly self taught through instruction manuals.
read it cover to cover mulitple times too. it was my introduction to things mechanical. until right now i had never considered just how much (positive) influence that book has had on my life. thank you for prompting me to think about that.
I think you learned the proper way. Many of these videos go into short-term memory for the project at hand. You tucked your knowledge into the brain’s accessible file cabinet. RU-vid is a fantastic “university,” but I wish I could remember half of the wealth of information I’ve watched here over the years: woodworking, shop-tool tuning, automotive repair, languages, bicycle rebuilding, vehicle body work, paintless dent removal, fixing sewing machines, safely felling trees, rebuilding a pushmower, flying IFR, Blender, … I’d be a genius if all this was long-term memory.😁
Thank you for sharing your knowlegde with us. I normally use caustic soda or drain cleaner. The sodium hydroxide dissolves the aluminium but does not touch the plating. This takes a while but in my opinion it is the "safer" way because you won´t run into the problem that sand paper or scotch brite changes the diameter of the bore. When the aluminium is totaly dissolved you can see possible scoring. But hey: Many ways lead to Rome :-) Cheers from Germany!
Maybe mention that the saw compression is only above the exhaust port, for those that don't know. So, scoring below the exhaust port doesn't matter too much. Just clean off any aluminum transfer. I too have had better luck with sanding like you do, than muriatic acid, which I'm super careful with, if I use. And, even scored above the exhaust, cleaned up best I could, and had good running saws. Thanks for making this video!
Thanks for all the great info Tinman! I hope this is leading to a 394 build because I’ve got a 395 I want to port soon. Inspired by you and others I just ported my 461, and I’m about to go after my 375. After that the 395 is next.
I have a low hour older 044 I got for free that the cylinder looks almost identical to yours. I was going to buy a cylinder but upon research it seems better to use the original Stihl cylinder. This is my first chainsaw rebuild. I'm confident I can do it now thanks to your and a few other good guys willing to share their experience. Thank you
30mins is a good length video. Appreciate the compound lesson. Your a great teacher and I truly appreciate the effort you put into each of your videos. Thanks Tinman and more please 💩
Great video, Tinman. I've done several this way with excellent results. I've recently started using a fine or worn scotch Brite buff on a dremel tool with light pressure. It works great. I love that little snap on screw driver, I have the same one in my road box.
Hi Tinman. Glad the emery cloth did the job along with some elbow grease. Have used that same process to fix several cylinders carefully myself. Can even restore the cross hatch lines good enough to hold oil by hand with the correct grit and the scotch brite makes it look close to new. Good to go as we say. Have a good one and thanks for the video.
I have done this same thing on a few saws lately. I usually use 320 grit and put some 2cycle oil on it before I start. It has worked each time exactly like he explains in the video. I had never heard of anyone else doing it till now. Happy to see I did have a great idea
I should have used a drill press but I used an impact , deep socket wrapped 3k sandpaper & buttered her up with 3k diamond pasted then finished with 350 grit for cross hatch . Next time I’ll do 350grit first then knock it down with 3k for the plateau hone effect ?
Tinman, you are a blessing. You are a great teacher and you inspire me to put some of what I have learned from you to use. You know, I think that there is something about working on chainsaws that brings out the best in people.
I am so glad i saw your video. I thought I was the only person who used sand paper on cylinders. A stihl mechanic told me it was a waste of time but it worked for me. I even had success removing some glazing with a dermal silicone buffing wheel . good video.. thanks
Nice salvage .. I saved my 55 the first time I rebuilt the top end. Got two more years out of it, about 60 cords dropped and buck up to stove length. Bad gas did her in, after a complete rebuild she is still doing what she was designed to do, make firewood. That's for the great content once again, priceless info Tinman..Mahalo🤙🤙🤙from Tdawg.
Dang you keep coming up with outstanding content for us chainsaw nuts that is why you're subs keep growing so fast really happy for you keep making them and we will keep watching!!!
I am a little behind in your videos Tinman due to life but thank you so much for this one. As a mechanic by trade you want all the tools and the best tools but it is nice to see a little elbow grease and patience will get you a long way. Great as always!
Great video Tinman - so inspirational for a DIYer like me - a confidence builder for sure. Just stripped down Husky 141 passed down to me by my brother in law. This clearly revealed piston scoring visible thru the exhaust port and a siezed piston ring on the exhaust side which became manifest on strip down. No scoring on the inlet port side of the piston. Suprisingly the cylinder had minimal signs of scoring and no feel of scoring to the touch. I will however use 600+ grade carbide paper on the bore and replace the piston and ring only - which are in the post. Will post the results following re-assembly and test. Thanks again Tinman. Would not have attempted this without your video,
Awesome information! Saved a couple cylinders I've tried from the info you share with everyone, thank you again 👊🤟 for cleaning the exterior I have a stainless container kicking around and use about .5 to .75 ounce of simple green HD with hot tap water holds about 2L soak for 5 or 10 minutes and go with with a medium to stiff nylon brush, some need the medium stiffness ish steel one but the nylon usually works good and hands stay warm and seems to lift the grim pretty good 👍
The maroon scotchbrite is a 360 grit. They make two different thicknesses. The thinner one is nice and flexible for curves. I use it a lot in my wood finishing with lacquer.
Hey there new to your channel. I’ve got an old 026 that was my dads that I’d like to bring back to life. These videos are very helpful and you put them in great perspective. Thanks for putting these on here and I hope to have good luck using the old cylinder learning from you.
Nice. For what it's worth, this chimes with my experience. I have done exactly this with a model 61, an 026/MS261 hybrid and a 266, all of which are still running after 10 years in moderate use. The 61 also used the original piston with new rings. The original rings were lightly scored and the ring grooves undamaged and showed little wear. The area of scoring was similar to that on the piston shown in your vid. I used a dead fine file to dress off the high spots on the piston (basically the alloy on the surface 'smears' as it picks up) and then checked fit in the cleaned-up bore, just as you showed. Work a little at a time, 'rocking' the file over the face of the piston on and around the area where you have damage and keep the file flat. When you have finished, you will have 'low spots' in the vertical grooves but the high spots will be gone. You will also have very fine horizontal striations on the piston face in the damaged area, a little like the original machining marks. The 'low spots' in the scored area won't matter as long as you don't reduce the scored area to below level of the original surface in an effort to 'remove' all the scoring. You should remove the high spots as they tend to break through the oil film (from the 2-stroke mix). Run it in on 25:1 for a couple of tanks, building up revs and load gradually. When dressing pistons, you should not use emery cloth, sandpaper or wet and dry as you run the risk of embedding grit in the (soft) alloy of the piston face. This will accellerate wear. You can 'load' your file with chalk to stop buildup of alloy in the teeth of the file. Buildup of alloy on the file face causes new scoring and the file cuts unevenly on the face of the piston. As you said, Tinman, I wouldn't do this on a commercial basis. The 266 is mine, the 260/261 was for a very good friend (a coppice worker) who was skint at the time and had blown up two 266es and an MS261in a year. The 61 went to another good mate who used it for over a decade cutting logs for his own family's wood burners. Thanks for the vid.
Did the same on a straight gassed Jonsereds model 50. Even reused the rings with the piston because parts are hard to find. Runs fine at full throttle but the idle is all over the place so I'm letting it sit until I have time to go over it more thoroughly.
Hey Tinman new subscriber here, just wanted to say I like the content it's very informative and helpful. I have been watching some of your older videos and am curious about the cs590 as I have one and had been considering getting some work done to it.
Tinman is a man of the people. An Everyman, except he knows what he’s talking about and he’s willing to help armchair chainsaw rehab guys like me out when he doesn’t have to bother. That’s the definition of a good man!
I've had bad experiences with acid as well!😵💫🤯😂 Thanks Tinman for another great video. Have just bought a 380cd with a knackered piston but the cylinder seems like it only has bit of transfer - without your help I would have thought they were both knackered and I can only find a replacement piston. Think I should be able to get it running again now. Thanks so much
My 257 is exactly what you just did. Thought I was being cheap. It runs well. 1st tank of gas on caber ring. Big what you call a turd saw. Love it thanks man this is what makes me tick. By the way it's pulling a 24 easy.
GREAT JOB TINMAN ,,MY BUDDYS HUSQVARNA 61 WAS STRAIGHT GASSED ,I WAS ABLE TO SAVE IT CYLINDER ,IT WAS PRETTY ROUGH,,I GOT IT GOOD ENOUGH TO REUSE ORDERED A CHEAP FARMERTECH PISTON FOR IT ,,WAS 12 BUCKS ,,SAW STILL WORKS PRETTY GOOD ,,COMPRESSION IS LOWER THEN A NEW SAW BUT IT STILL CUTS FIREWOOD TILL THIS DAY,,HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT CHRISTMAS BUDDY
Using sandpaper by hand is probably the safest way to remove aluminum transfer. Muriatic acid works but you have to be really careful. Even the most minute flaw in the plating will allow the acid to attack the aluminum underneath. Ask me how I know that.
Great save👍 before this video, both muriatic acid and hand sanding made me nervous. I honestly WOULD'VE gone for the acid😵 not now! Thanks for the uncut, real time vid to eliminate my fears of sanding and steer me away from acid!! I tend to be the guy to spend an hour to save a buck🤪
Here in 2024, since many are struggling to merely buy groceries, “Depression Era” living is becoming the new savvy. Fixing things and cannabalizing other things are becoming the norm. I think it’s a silver lining. I purchased a Husq 440 for $7: No compression, but it appears to be almost new. I’ll be checking the cylinder and piston. Thanks for this video.
Tinman thanks for the video. I’ve got a cylinder that is ver similar to this as far as aluminum transfer goes. However, there is a nick about 2 cm above the exhaust port. Looks like the top of the piston dinged it pretty good. Is that catastrophic to a cylinder? I can email pictures if that would help. Thanks!
Top secret pro tip for removing smeared aluminum from cylinder walls. Muratic acid and a Q-Tip. Dab the acid on straight out of the bottle. The acid eats the aluminum and does not leave any marks on the cylinder. Usual PPE warnings apply.
Got my oem 44 cylinder with transfer..sanded n been running couple years on kit saw....didnt port it as I wasn't sure if it would b ok at the time..but now it's time for an inspection n modification!!
That's impressive, my friend. I would have bet that cylinder was smoked, based on what I saw. This make me glad I saved the cylinder I pulled off my '84 266SE. She just might be savable!
Well done on this one. So many cylinders are dumped for no reason with transfer, even an oem cylinder with a fine scratch or two is better than a non genuine cylinder. Yeh 394 cylinders are as rare as rocking horse shit. I looked for two years all over Australia and the internet with no luck for a friend and eventually had to do a 395 blend. I was given an 024 that was blown up by a local dealer when I removed the pot and saw the piston it was destroyed from the bottom of the rings to the bottom of the skirt on the exhaust side. The cylinder had a lot of transfer on it but cleaned up perfect. I think it was just over $200 Australian for a piston rings bearing and a few other things. The last saw I did for my self was a 372 I think I got it for $30 blown up of course it looked that bad I didn’t think it was salvageable but after a great time of sanding and with the ball hone all that was left was a fine scratch when I tested a new ring in the cylinder it was still very tight. So a new piston ring a new muffler and a new dog that’s all it needed even the diaphragms in the carby were still good amazing. So please don’t bin your cylinders with out checking them out first.
Good video. Especially for an amatuer such as myself. I've seen other videos of you pros doing it with a drill or dremel and sandpaper and I'm like I ain't tryin that. By hand, maybe. Thanks guy.
You`re keen and earned a sub from me for your dedication - I`ve just been driven out of my shed because of the bloody heat (Australia can get to 40 c) I must say you have a great way of explaining things, unlike myself.. Anyway - I use a fine emery strip like you to clean up light scoring, only difference is I had a machinist-mate trim a long thin bolt and take the end off so I could put the emery strip through, halfway each side and then using my drill I an able to lightly hone the spots off, I`m working on a #2 version which will allow me to lower and raise the drill so I can do deeper bores - I know they make stuff you can buy to do all this stuff but where is the reward in that ? 🙃
Tinmans saws. I’ve been watching you for a wile. Simple and to the point just like it should be. Thanks for what you do. The energy field is getting BIg. Kindness and love 🦾🎯☀️🌙
Tinman, thanks for the info on save a cylinder, I've work on 350sbc, when I was younger, could bored it like 0.10 inch and put a big piston in? Maybe I have save 590 echo power saw
I picked up a Stihl 193t for $65 to use a project saw to learn how to do a top end and maybe try and port/polish it. It still runs and seems strong, but I did notice some light scoring on the exhaust side of the piston. I want to try salvage the cylinder using your technique, but does the same type of sanding on the piston work? If you don't typically try and salvage the piston do you only use a particular mfg's. pistons when you are trying to salvage a cylinder?
Does the metal composition become altered on a barrel that has been that hot? Or does most of the 'over-heating' come from heat transfer to the piston/ring? Ie; Does a siezed engine from straight fuel or lean fuel mix / over-revving, that has a barrel which has been honed and reused wear faster than an the new OEM one?
Thanks tim Love the vídeos! I have light porting a 61 praktica.KS cilinder what a quality.Now Will do two ms440 and a stihl 044 and a Husq 350 with 44 stamped👌🤩and a new 2100 xp 85 year👌🤩 Teasure for us what you are giving us Care and apreciation for your time Brother André campos Oporto Portugal
New guy here thanks for the info, old wrench just not on saws. I have a little 171 that I am going to trear down as I was tould it has scoring and bad compression. Sad because it was only used twice on small yard trees. Anyways is it safe to use the old three stone auto hones on these little cylinders with a really light spring tension? After cleaning the transfer.
Dear Tinman: Would a little German-made Simichrome work insofar as polishing cylinder and piston without removing metal? I’ve used it before and it seems to work well. Verified my diameters with Mitutoyo digital calipers and lost no metal but the interior and piston looked brand new. Of course, carefully removing the paste is essential. Thoughts?
I honed a p41 cylinder a bunch idk if it was a chrome cylinder or not but she runs now! Down on power? Maybe I don’t know what they run like new but she’ll cut and it’s in mint condition. Thanks tinman
How long will a cylinder last with plating worn through in a couple of spots? (mine is right on top, engine runs fine, has power, piston a little loose) Wasn't able to find an answer to this question, I know some engines don't have any plating and they work.
When I do things like that I use some CLP to wet sand very lightly. I do the same thing for other parts like yoke oil seal surfaces. CLP and fine paper or emery cloth.
Hey have a husqvarna 61 for early 80s the gas tank is Cracked on the bottom seam.tryed jb worked for year then tried shaffers it only lasted a few months. Also need top cover a carb for a 44
Why were you concerned about the exhaust port? I ask because I have a jet ski (zxi 750 two stroke) and long story short, someone before me messed up. One cylinder low compression.. still ran very well strangely...I took motor apart.and one cylinder is scuffed with aluminum transfer but the piston is actually very slightly chipped on exhaust port side. I'm going to hone/bore out 0.25mm over and replace piston and rings to match.. what would've made the piston chip in that side? What is bizarre is how well the ski ran. I think this was an old issue from years ago and something made the piston chip ever so slightly. When that happened it slightly scuffed the cylinder walls and then quickly expelled them out of exhaust..but it wasn't bad enough to feel or notice because the piston rings were doing their job. I'm going to hone with a flex hone so as to slightly take some of the edges of the ports..is that what you were referring to issues on exhaust side? If it's not done correctly will the edge catch the rings/piston?
For many years, we used muriatic acid to remove aluminum from a seized plated cylinder. It quickly dissolves aluminum without damaging the plated surface.
I have found big power gains on porting my Saws especially on the transfers and exhaust and on jonsereds and huskys just finished up another one I am going to have to start a RU-vid page for my engine rebuilds and start making footage
