My brother is helping a friend clean out a building. I went by the other day and came across this. It was a tree service saw. Handle is bent and piston looks rough. Looking for opinions If this is worth fixing. I’ll attach pic of cylinder as well.
038 mag is the most disappointing chainsaw I’ve ever ran. Crazy weight and it’s a slow cutting turd. Compared to today’s tech, much lighter less cc saws will cut circles around it. If you’re passionate about all things Stihl, then I’d fix er up. Built like a tank and will last forever if properly cared for.
I am by no means a chainsaw expert mechanic (i'm better at running them) So the question is how do I know if the cylinder is still good or not?
Rule of thumb is any scoring into plating that catches a fingernail is unlikely to be saved. If it's metal transfer and a layer on top of cylinder plating then it can be saved with fine grit scotch brite or muriatic acid. You can Google both techniques, I like the prior.
Agreed ^^. Be very very careful with acid. If there is any minute flaw in plating, it’ll get behind it and eat cylinder material. If you need it, there’s a great YouTube tutorial on cleaning up those cylinders with transfer.
