Repaired Skil 1629 First Cuts

Testing out a rejuvenated Skil 1629 Type 3 chainsaw.

This is basically the same saw as a Skil 945, 1631, 1644, 1645, or 1716. Some had no choke on the carb, but had a primer instead, others had a plastic fuel tank vs metal. This one has a choke and a plastic tank. To the best of my knowledge, all of the above models are descended from a Power Machinery Canadien PM340.

Stuff I did:

1. Stripped to bones
2. Sealed crankcase using three-bond
3. Replaced oil-seals
4. Replaced muffler
5. Installed Carburetor kit (gaskets, diaphragm, metering lever+needle)
6. Cut new gaskets for muffler/cylinder and carb/cylinder interfaces
7. Cut new gasket for manual oiler
8. Plugged automatic oiler crankcase hole, pump diaphragm no longer available
9. Added heater hose to top handle
10. Added garden-hose insert, innertube wrap & hockey-tape to rear handle
11. Flywheel had two broken fins, so ground off opposing fins to improve balance, reduce vibration
12. Fabricated gasket for oil reservoir cap
13. Fabricated gasket for fuel tank cap
14. Replaced tank vent with tygon line + wood-screw
15. Stretched and re-formed the end of one of the clutch springs (it had broken at one end)
16. Fixed poor seal around spark-plug w. teflon tape
17. Ground off & sanded jagged cracked lower corner of clutch cover
18. Cut bar mounting studs down and replaced old misshapen brass nuts with steel flanged nuts
19. Replaced flywheel nut w. stainless nut --- Note flywheel and clutch nuts are both left-hand thread
20. Sharpened the chain (often overlooked).

Stuff I didn't do:

1. Did not replace piston, rings or do any work to the cylinder. Compression tests a little low, but I am at a loss as to where I might find a new set of rings and/or piston.
2. Did not replace recoil starter spring, or rope of all things.
3. Somewhat obviously, did not paint :)

Wood being cut at the start is Birch. The pieces are too long to fit in my stove, so I'm shortening them. The last piece is Douglas Fir. It's all knots, and it would be a silly amount of work to split with an axe or a wedge.

Things I like about this saw: Has a decent amount of power, and can take up to a 24" bar. It also supports a 3/8" pitch chain, so can cut a little more aggressively. With the rubber insulation on the handles it's very comfortable to operate, not much different from a modern saw.

Things I don't like: No chain brake, no chain catcher, no automatic oiler, no fast-idle setting to help warm the saw up, old-style points ignition, so no timing advance as the saw accelerates.

Note: This video is a conclusion to a repair thread at:
http://arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=136292

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• chainsaw
• skilsaw
• skil
• 1629
• 945
• 1631
• 1644
• 1645
• 1716
• pm340
• 340
• power
• machinery
• canadien
• pm

[qft0]

Not sure what you mean by "Am I dead yet?"

The saw is definitely dead, but it was not a lean-seize as you suggest by not having the mixture screws right. For this type of saw you do not need a digital tach to set it up, there was no such thing at the time of manufacture. The coil is not rev-limiting, or even electronic, just a simple coil with points, tunable by ear.

[gokartspeeder]

Would you by chance still have the muffler for this saw? I need one my 1631 type 3.

[qft0]

@gokartspeeder Sorry, but I ended up donating it to a punk band so they could use it in one of their videos. I'm not sure what they did with it in the end. I bought the muffler as nos on ebay. The muffler was a chronic problem on this model, always cracking & falling off.

[pm270100]

AAA vid well done bit lean i think and a great saw i got 2 and need piston+ rings

[qft0]

@pm270100 Thanks for the feedback! Unfortunately, the saw has met a sad end. I noticed that it was having difficulty idling when hot, and required fairly regular adjustment of the low jet and idle screws. Thinking it might be an issue with low compression, I pulled the plug and checked. It was a little low, but not bad, no scoring on the piston or cylinder through the exhaust port. When I re-installed the plug, I stripped it.

[qft0]

@qft0 I pulled the cylinder and put it on my to-do list for spring. I cleaned it with varsol and left it until now. Looking it over this spring, I can see there are several areas on the cylinder where the chrome finish is flaking off, and the Aluminium underneath is oxidizing, forming little spider-web patterns. There's no cleaning that up. If I could find a reasonably priced new P&C I'd fix it up, but I think the game's over for this unit. Pity really, as the rest of it's in good shape.

[TheManofmanysaws]

@97Arran

I tune all my saws by hand and have never had a problem?

[97Arran]

@qft0 If it has hi and low screws (besides the idle screw) then you need a digital display to set them correctly, too hi it will seaze solid it has to be perfect.

[97Arran]

Are you dead yet ??? :D

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

When Emerson Electric acquired Skil in 1979, almost immediately the new owners sold the chainsaw division to National Union Electric, the latter representing ownership of the Eureka Company (a well-known brand of vacuum cleaners).