Cheese said:
Tinker said:
[member=1619]SRSemenza[/member]
If the saw is not warm, i cannot even pull the cord. It's funny how much resistance there is with the new saws. Way back when i was 38, i did not have such problems. :
Tinker
In the interest of reducing the weight of the equipment, manufacturers are fitting smaller displacement engines on their tools. This reduces the weight and also increases the fuel economy (probably does something for the emissions they have to achieve too). However, some of these small engines don't quite have the power that's needed, so the manufacturers increase the compression ratio of the engine, which can significantly increase the HP if done correctly. The down side is that anyone that is 38 or older, will have a hard time trying to pull start the engine. Stihl is noted for this...I have a Stihl TS 400 concrete saw that is notorious for this behavior.
Way back when I was 38, I had a BSA 441 Victor motorcycle that incorporated a compression release. You'd pull in the compression release and slowly move the kick starter so that the engine was slightly past TDC (top dead center) release the compression release and give it a good hard kick. It would usually start on 1 kick if done properly. If not done correctly it would kick back and bend your knee/leg into a position that would make you assume your leg was broken, or it would literally send you over the tank and onto the ground. Hmmm...that was in 1966...guess in some areas we haven't progressed much.
[member=44099]Cheese[/member] I first learned to operate various pieces of equipment back in the early and mid '40's 1940's that is. i was living on my great uncle's farm. when i first arrived, we had all horse drawn machinery. All i had to do was wait for an adult to harness and "hitch" the team and then i could "drive" for some operations. Along about 1940, or 41, we got a Farmall F-12 tractor with the iron lug wheels. I guess i was about 13, maybe only 12, when i was first allowed to drive that monster. Actually, in that time, the F-12 was the smallest of the line; but to shift, i had to slide down so I was sitting on top of the transmission, hang onto the steering wheel with my left hand stretched far above my head and using my right hand at about my chin to operate the gearshift lever. I was stretched out almost flat on my back as I would be pushing for all i was worth on the clutch. With those old "box" gears, I had to bring the tractor to a dead stop before shifting. It could have been somewhat dangerous for me hanging on to the steering wheel. The front wheels were tricycle type with iron rib around the iron wheel. The slightest bump could send the steering wheel into a spin that could break my skinny arms. I learned early on that one never wraps his hand around the steering wheel with thumb inside the arc of the wheel. When hitting a bump, as the wheel would spin and your thumb locked against a spoke could break thumb and wrist. I still, to this day, even with power steering, find myself hanging on to steering wheels with my thumb on top of the wheel, never inside where the spoke can whack me if i hit a bump. Of course, that never happens with today's vehicles. When my kids first learned to drive, some vehicles, including my trucks, did not have power steering. even tho the improvements were such that kick back was long a thing of the past, i taught both of them to never wrap your thump under the rim. They never learned, and probably will go to their graves thinking, "My Old Man was a total nut."
By the time i was allowed to crank that old F-12, I was totally into the habit of not locking my thumbs around a steering wheel. I was instructed as a very strict rule that it was even more important when starting that tractor. you see, the self starter was actually a hand crank that was inserted directly into the front of the engine driveshaft. If the engine fired early, the crank handle would kick back with the potential to break, not only a thumb and wrist, but an elbow and possibly dislocate a shoulder. It was also very important to be sure the tractor was out of gear when hand cranking. I knew of one person in the local area who was buried at a very young age when he pulled up on the crank, (incidentally, you never push down on that crank. A short pull/snap up with never going all the way to top of the spin was as important as not wrapping one's thumb), the huge tractor jumped ahead. He tried to get to the shift, but was flattened.
Anyhow, your, @ Cheese, reply brought back some great (and not so great) memories of "the Good Ol' Days" Any body who says "they just don't make them like they useter" just ain't been around the "useter"
Tinker
