Soviet Chainsaws

[Lobo]

I'm not to sure we should laugh as they may have something there.

The only difference between them and us is that we could drum money by various ways to pursue our ideas and inventions for many many years they could not however those times are changing for them now. smiley_curtain_peek smiley_curtain_peek

[Swede]

http://www.pilorama.spb.ru/eng/opisanie.html#

http://www.pilorama.spb.ru/eng/firma.html

"Squaring sawmill "Izbushka" (Log cabin) is a mobile sawmill for length cutting and milling of square-sawn (profiled) timber." 
I´m not shure but think this is Made in Sweden. Trade name here is "Bamsesågen" and works like a Logosol but is of much higher quality. The saw is riding on a square pipe of stainless steel. No #^'/{>:[  aluminium!

http://www.pilorama.spb.ru/eng/izbushka.html

Swede.

[Tom Sawyer]

Jeff,  I will try to check into shipping for you, but it will take a while.  If you don't hear from me about it in a month or 2 IM me to remind me.

[Jeff]

will do.

[Ironwood]

Well ,I guess I came acrossed a little strong. I am all for make do, and have enjoyed travelling and seeing third world, and other cultures. I just think the safety issue would makeme think twice about the function of the saw. The ergonomics of the thing is just funky, I build design/ fabricate all the time and my back hurts just seeing the thing, cool yes, unique,yes. It just looks scary to me. Sorryif I offended.

REID

[Tom Sawyer]

Okay guys, here's the deal.  I am having trouble finding a shipping company that will ship a chainsaw for me.  They all say that because of the gas engine it is considered dangerous goods.  I haven't tried Fed Ex yet, but I am going to try to do that.  The problem is that Kyrgyzstan is in the middle of a revolution that overthrew the government yesterday.  I am not sure when I can get to the capital city again, and there are no shipping companies in the city where I live.  I will keep trying and let you know.

[Lobo]

Typical Russian junk.  Technology out of the 1930's.  Think you'd put out more wood in a day with a swede saw......and be far less frustrated.



It still amazes me that the Russians were able to build ANYTHING capable of space travel, so shoddy is their engineering.

Yep ! I guess the Russians and their engineering were responsible for the Edsel, Vega, Corvair, Pinto, etc.,  U.S space crafts blowing up twice (God rest their souls) the big 3 loosing 52% of their car manufacturing and sales to overseas companies who are renowned for better quality cars with no shoddy engineering and parts in them. These are just a few examples, it could go on and on and on.

HUM ! I guess your right Hoop !

[Swede]

Yep ! I guess the Russians and their engineering were responsible for the Edsel, Vega, Corvair, Pinto, etc.,

: Wasn´t Corvair the car that looked like a full grown Carmann Ghia? ???  If that´s right, don´t blame the Russians!  Carmann Ghia was a Volkswagen.

Swede.

[Lobo]

Hi Swede

The chevy Corvair was manufactured in the 60's, it look like a cross between the Fiat, Renault Gordini and Lada of the time.

It was Chevrolet's attempt to have a fun sporty inexpensive car with rear engine and luggage trunk in front, (needless to say they failed on all counts). Something like mixing the VW bug and a Porsche Roadster,  but bigger, boxier and lower to seat 4 people comfortably and the dog in the middle.

However they did not sell 22 million cars like the old bug did.
Quality and safety wise it was rated below the Yugo.
It ended being very dangerous in some conditions and killed many people.

[jjmk98k]

But the 'vair is one nice looking car all around, especially the later year models....

[asy]

Gotta love that Russian ingenuity!

I recall getting onto a (VERY SCARY) Aeroflot plane back in '87...

The "parcel shelves" were just that...  WOODEN shelves rivetted to the side of the plane. I kid you not.

There was a lady some seats ahead of me with a small child, and he had a truck with him, so she put the truck on the shelf. Of course, at take-off, the truck rolled along the shelf, and became airborne and flew through the plane, very narrowly missing my shoulder (and head!). The Hostess just picked it up and put it back on the shelf, wheel side up!!!  :

That Chain saw reminded me of that flight...  Looks like it was put together in someone's back shed.

Oh, and, I have enough Russian blood, and relatives, to afford to make these comments.. hehehe

Also, I think you guys may possibly underestimate the Russian Sense of humour. It's generally fantastic!

asy :D

[Lobo]

But the 'vair is one nice looking car all around, especially the later year models....

That is also very true.

[Swede]

Lobo; In the -60 we didnt know about Lada in Sweden but Moscowich.

Think I like Karmann Ghia Mod. 34. more than Mod. 14.
http://www.karmannghiaclub.nl/

I learned today there also was Corvair Vans and Trucks. Don´t know if they where sold with that name in US.
http://hem.passagen.se/corvair/
Corvair 1961/62 FC info

More links:
http://www.prinz4.de/
http://www.wankel-spider.de/
http://www.monito.com/wankel/nsu.html
http://www.monito.com/wankel/chainsaw.html

Swede.

[Phil_Oz]

I know this is an old thread, but I just posted a thread of a video of a (I think Russian - but could be Ukrainian or similar area for all I know) Russian Gent doing a resto on one of these saws.

I too, am hesitant to simply bag the technology, at least until I know more about it.

There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, of the development of the 'space pen' - the engineering that went into getting ink to flow in a pen used in 0Gs - for the Apollo program. The pens became quite the status symbol, and were ex.spen.sive.

Faced with the same challenge, the Soviets issued their cosmonauts with a pencil....

There are many ways to skin a cat, and we can learn from the way others approach, and fix, a problem.

[Greyman]

I'm an aerospace engineer (shuttle, space station, etc.) and I worked a lot with Russians.  I went to their factory in Moscow about 15-20 times - even talked to an old guy who was on the Sputnik design team!  They are not fancy, and have very little budget, but they work with what they have and they get it done.  They have very good engineers - I was embarrassed more than once when I mistook their different ways of doing things for incompetence.  So yeah - when I see something different like this saw I've learned to say "hmm, I wonder why they did it that way".  I think ergonomics might be a huge factor.  Think about how you see people lifting logs up to saw firewood - it makes a lot more sense to lower the saw than to lift the wood...

[Greyman]

Oh, that was an old thread....   :D

[Phil_Oz]

I'm an aerospace engineer (shuttle, space station, etc.) and I worked a lot with Russians.  I went to their factory in Moscow about 15-20 times - even talked to an old guy who was on the Sputnik design team!  They are not fancy, and have very little budget, but they work with what they have and they get it done.  They have very good engineers - I was embarrassed more than once when I mistook their different ways of doing things for incompetence.  So yeah - when I see something different like this saw I've learned to say "hmm, I wonder why they did it that way". ...

Greyman, I'm an Aussie, but I have worked with US space and aerospace engineers. remember the old Hughes Aircraft? (El Segundo CA) - did a bit with the 2nd Aussat series and some bits for Intelsat - and later on some more vanilla fixed wing stuff.
I have to say, the High-bays and Buildup bays are some of the more impressive places I've had anything to do with in my working life.

[Ianab]

Oh, that was an old thread....   :D

Not old if you have something relevant to add to it. And it's about old stuff anyway 

[Phil_Oz]

Oh, that was an old thread....   :D

Not old if you have something relevant to add to it. And it's about old stuff anyway  

At my age (61) I can't afford NOT to like old stuff - I sincerely hope my family likes old stuff - ie 'old farts' too.

[Greyman]

I started out with McDonnell Douglas in Huntington Beach CA - all sorts of neat stuff from the Shuttle SRB's to missiles, rockets, and classified projects.  I did tour the Boeing Everett WA plant once though - at the time the largest building.  Four parallel lines where subassemblies go in one end and complete airplanes roll out the other.  
Speaking of missiles and Russian expertise - Putin has a new toy with that Avanguard hypersonic missile.  No one else has anything close to that performance, let alone something to stop it.  I'm sure we'll catch up in a few years though, and we have them beat on other technologies.

[SwampDonkey]

The Russians have done well with a lesser economic engine to feed it.

[joe_indi]

I wouldn't just look down on Russian  technology. A bit crude looking to western eyes, but definitely over engineered to take a lot of punishment. Long ago a Soviet technical explained the reason as because the user would have to travel long distances for service, so designs were maintained for DIY repairs, crude, unrefined maybe but possible to be functional again with minimum technology.

Here is an interesting video of similar saw as the one in the picture
<html>https://youtu.be/vwLZUeaIR38</html>

[petefrom bearswamp]

Watched the whole thing, sure beats the Rose parade.
That guy knows his onions er chainsaws of soviet vintage.
I would have had the dreaded parts left over syndrome big time.

[RaulP]

My grandfather had that saw a long time ago when I was a little boy.  The main problem with this saw was that it started good when cold but once warmed up it was very hard to start. Our saw had the ignition coil from some car installed but it did not helped very much. I was too young back then and therefore I did not have a chance to saw with it but buy the look how much trouble my uncle had with it to only get it started it seemed very bad saw to me. 

[HolmenTree]

Good video Joe, thanks for posting. 
On the subject of Soviet/Russian technology,  I'm only concerned about their capability of manipulating the internet and artificial intelligence ....that they are not crude at.