OT--Small engines

Jiles · Sep 30, 2011

I developed a passion for engines when I was 12 years old. I started out buying lawnmowers from a local junk yard and was immediately surprised at what people threw away. I would fix some, salvage others, and made a good profit for a 12 year old. I am now 66 and still run or work on them nearly every day.
I will always remember nailing the engines down on the basement steps and getting them to run. I was really doing good until I couldn't convince any of my nephews or nieces to hold the plug wire for a test--the second time--
I am truly ashamed of that now. But they always let me know and they still remember it today know
There were two engines I wish I had kept--
A washing machine gasoline engine that was started with a foot crank
A chainsaw that would only run in an upright position. The bar would turn sideways, for felling a tree. I do not remember the name of the saw, thought some of you might.

Old Roy · Sep 30, 2011

Wouldn't be this
Two man monster ??

Dean · Sep 30, 2011

The chainsaw was probably a Mall, the inventor of the chainsaw.

A friend of mine has one that he bought new shortly after WWII and another for parts.

Google for details.

Dean

Dannie1 · Sep 30, 2011

Hold this wire,only did that once.

George Rausch · Sep 30, 2011

My boss and I got an inside tour of Powersite Dam on Lake Taneycomo in Mo a few years ago. Deep inside the dam, in the old workshop they have kept the air-compressor powered chain saw they used to clear tree trunks out of the intakes with. My memory is it is a two-man saw, about 10' or 15' long, just scares you to look at it. Don't even want to go near it.

just another old geezer · Sep 30, 2011

Dad Had a Titan chain saw that worked that way. I was at a show where someone had a collection of old saws. 4 or 5 different early brands used that system.

Allan in NE · Sep 30, 2011

Yep, me too.

The Maytag engine was the first engine I ever overhauled.

Took something like 20 minutes and cost in the neighborhood of $2.39 for parts, which were always available at the Gamble Store. :>)

First transmission I ever overhauled was an old Chevy three-speed and this was done on the kitchen table..............that didn't go over very well with management as I recall. :>)

Allan

Bryan inIowa · Sep 30, 2011

I have a mac 920? just like that. Never sawed with it ,almost scared to..What a beast .

IaGary · Sep 30, 2011

Oh Yeah, The smell of tranny fluid in the kitchen.

My mom didn't like it either. I think that tranny was in there a total 20 minutes before she got home and kicked me out the door with it. Dad thought it was kinda funny when mom told him about it.

I never did get that transmission to push a car again. Guess that's why I'm not a mechanic today.

Gary

CLTX · Sep 30, 2011

My father bought a washing machine with a kick start engine for my mother in 1941. I think it was a Maytag. He put an electric motor on it in the early 1950's. I hadn't thought about that washing machine in many a year until I read this post. We lived out in the country where electricity was not available until after WWII.
C. L.

Jiles · Sep 30, 2011

(quoted from post at 06:46:54 09/30/11) Wouldn't be this
Two man monster ??

It has been so long that I can't remember all the details but I think it was a smaller saw. it looked like todays saws but was a lot heavier. I don't remember it having extra handles and I believe it was red??

greygoat · Sep 30, 2011

My dad had one of those McCulloch two man saws.
It had a 2 cylinder engine. My brothers later
put the engine on a go-cart, with a car driving
alongside one of them got to 60 mph, but was
afraid to go any faster!

The Dukester · Sep 30, 2011

My uncle bought a Mac 5-49 (5 horsepower, 49 lbs.) we used back in the late 1940's and early 1950's to cut wood and sawlogs. It was a lot easier to run than the old cross-cuts it replaced but we still called it a "mankiller" because it was still a pretty hard job running it all day. With it's power and weight it would sure buck tree trunks into blocks pretty fast. We still cut the limbs into "buzz-poles" that we later "chunked up" with a circular saw mounted on the front of the Farmall H. I still have a Mac "Timber Bear" I bought in 1992 that runs good.

ShadetreeRet · Sep 30, 2011

Jiles, I'm with you, I have always had a love for machinery of any size, but there are few things to me more satisfying than bringing a small engine back to life that someone else has given up on.

Anonymous-0 · Sep 30, 2011

Jiles, I also work on little engines quite a bit and I'm 7 years older than you. I have 2 Briggs-Stratton engines that ran washing machines. One is a 1937 Model WM and the other is a 1938 model H. These are both 1/2 hp. The 1937 has a kick peddle to start and the 1938 has a handle you pull to start. Both engines run well. A lot of fun to tinker with.

Gene Davis (Ga.) · Oct 5, 2011

McCulloch at one time sold a shoulder harness to go with the early one man saws like the 3-25 and the 4-30A saws

OT--Small engines

Jiles

Well-known Member

Old Roy

Well-known Member

Dean

Well-known Member

Dannie1

Member

George Rausch

Member

just another old geezer

Member

Allan in NE

Well-known Member

Bryan inIowa

Member

IaGary

Well-known Member

CLTX

Member

Jiles

Well-known Member

greygoat

Well-known Member

The Dukester

Well-known Member

ShadetreeRet

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Gene Davis (Ga.)

Well-known Member

Similar threads