Just Putterin'

So we're stuck, waiting on well drillers, leach field engineers, and architects.  Everyone moves at a glacial pace.  There's not much happening until we get plans and building permits.  So I decided to try to get my 33 year old chainsaw to run.  This was a fine Sears chainsaw, all metal, not plastic like the new saws.  It has a lot of miles on it, but it always ran great.

I took it apart to try to determine what might be wrong with it.  It wasn't hard to figure out.  The plastic gas line from the gas tank to the carburetor was so old that it had disintegrated.  The top half of the gas tank is on the right in the pic below.  What's left of the gas line runs up and to the right of the finned wheel.

So I took it all apart.

Earl had the proper sized hose (surprise surprise) but where I thought the line connected wasn't so.  It actually ran above the engine to the carburetor.  The only way to connect it would be to completely disassemble the saw, engine and all.  Taking it all part and putting it back together would be like a Chinese puzzle.  I set it aside, dejected, and had a defeated beer.

As I sat in the screen house, I looked at where the pole barn and horse barn would be going.  Just past there, I noted the big pile of PVC pipe that I have.  The barns will be built in ten foot increments.  The pipes looked to be about ten feet long.  I got out the tape measure.  Ten feet.  I put the pipe together with connectors and laid it on the ground.

Pole barn, 20' x 40'.

Barn, with integrated trailer, 20' x 20'.

It was useful to do this to get a feel of size and distances.  The pole barn and horse barn will only be about 20 feet apart.  Is that far enough to get a car in the last stall?  Far enough will all the snow that will slide off the roof of the barn?  I needed to ponder this.

And then I stacked Bleecker Mountain Rocks^tm as anchors for the screen house.  There is no end to the uses of Bleecker Mountain Rocks^tm .  Man, if I ever built a catapult...

Earl came over mid-afternoon to see if I got the chainsaw running.  I replied in the negative.  He asked why, I told him, he asked for the chainsaw and pondered it for a minute while puffing on his pipe.  

"This is a stupid design," declared Earl.

I agreed.  Just like the hydraulic cylinder on a Ford dump truck.

"This is what I'd do.  I'd just run the gas line on the outside."

And so we did.

Earl has a tool that I can only describe as a Super Dremel.  I ground out a couple of passages for the fuel line to pass through externally...  yep.  Works.  Only I need to buy some Permatex to make a new gasket for the fuel tank.  The paper one fell apart and the saw leaks gas like Snowden leaks secrets.  Once that's done, and maybe if I buy a new bar, this old saw will be as good as new.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting on a new coil for the brand new Jonsered piece of plastic crap that I bought.  From now on, I'm buying good old American made stuff off Craig's List.  No more Chinese made junk for me.