Just picked this up from an estate sale for $20.00 No idea how old it is but when I brought it home I put some premix in it and it fired right up. I need to put a chain on it I figured it would be a good back up to my MS 261 or my Dolmar 5105. You can’t have too many saws right
Great score. Those are pretty decent saws. All magnesium case like the pro's and very easy to work on should it need something.
I don't care for the newer Ranchers, but that is a solid saw there. $20 for a running saw is a great deal.
Dang , I was going to sell mine ( completely rebuilt ) for $250 and thought that was fair. You stole that thing !! Well done.
Nice find, the 45mm closed port top end runs a tad better stock, I think they are NLA, but still plentiful for a reasonable price. I have the non Rancher closed port version and I picked up a spare OEM top end before they become overpriced.
The only known issue with this model is the drywall carb block screws can strip. The fix is to install a threaded insert and use machine screws.
I ported my neighbor's 55 with the open port cylinder cuz that's what he has and he just wanted it to run better. After he had run a couple tanks of mix thru it, we ran it against my MM MS250 with a little timing advance. Before he could never beat the 250. After the work on it, he went from a couple seconds behind me in a 14" sugar maple log to beating me by a second or two consistently. He was so happy he started dancing a jig cuz his saw ran so much better and twisted his ankle... Fortunately it wasn't bad and we ended up laughing our butts off and having a few beers and steaks on the grill. Even the so called "lower end" saws benefit from some tender lovin' care... Those 55's have warmed the hearth of many a home over the years without breaking the bank to do it. As many a wise man can attest, a sharp chain and a little extra breathing room makes any saw better...
A while back when my son Andrew and I were playing around with saws, he had a CP 55. We got a few other 55's to flip and ended up swapping the OP top end over to the CP saw and timed them in various wood to see the difference. It was very minimal. I'm sure after a proper port job it would be significant but stock for stock, the 2 are so close you'd have to time them with a stopwatch to tell the difference. .325 can be filed to be tit for tat w/ 3/8 as well. So MAF143 I agree 100%, never overlook the chain sharpness. That saw was just muff modded and tuned proper.
I have been running a 24” full skip 3/8 on my stock 445 as well. Cuts great but you can’t bury the thing without nibbling a little. My latest experiment was a 28” lightweight bar with full skip 3/8 and that was hardly even usable, total failure. Not wanting to give up on the bar I spun up a 93 link 3/8 LOW PROFILE full skip chain and OH BOY. I was able to bury it in a maple round and it kept cutting!
Not necessarily, some open port saws just port up better than closed port saws. You’d actually have to full on port both to see what flows better. Plus the open port is a mm larger bore.
A friend gave us his FIL Husky 55. Hadn't been run in several years. Fresh mix and it fired up. Ran kinda sluggish, mixed some Sea Foam in the tank helped it out. Ran it as a limbing saw for awhile, has some starting problems occasionally now.
That seems like alot to ask of the 445. I've had one for a few years now. I enjoy using it, but with the 16" bar. If it works for you, then giddyup!
I put a new chain on it gave it a good once over and put it to work. It’s a very nice almost free saw. The line up is MS261, Dolmar 1505, and the 55 rancher
