Recoil spring lube.

Dave Shepard · February 24, 2009, 08:25:53 PM

What's a good lube for the recoil spring on a saw? I've had trouble with them rusting up, and today, they froze up. They often get rained or snowed on in the truck, and I don't have a warm place for them to live at night. I was able to get the Husky 66 loosened up enough to get about two revs per pull, that's enough for that saw. ;) I was wondering if some graphite lube might do the trick, thawing saws with a 500kbtu torch is not my idea of a good time. :

:D

Rocky_J · February 24, 2009, 08:34:10 PM

Graphite may be a good choice. In the past I've learned the hard way not to use grease on them. It dries out and hardens up after a while, resulting in the recoil spring not returning the starter rope into position. You pull the rope and it stays out.
:-\

Al_Smith · February 25, 2009, 05:23:24 PM

If they get sticky on me I give it a little squirt of silicon lube right down the rope hole .Seems to works .I use the same stuff on the window tracks of my vehicles .

I don't know how it works,must dry and leave a lubricant film or something because it's not gooey like oil .

Dave Shepard · February 25, 2009, 10:51:52 PM

Thanks for the insight. I took the 394 apart and it turns out that there is a thin fiberboard type of a thing between the spring and the recoil, and it was completely frozen. Unfortunately, the spring popped out into a giant birdsnest. :

I got it together on the first shot, and that one is up and running again. I've got a tube of graphite around, I'll have to see if that helps. When I first got the saw together after sitting for four years, the spring was rusted, and it wouldn't recoil. Hopefully some sort of lube will keep it from rusting again.

rebocardo · February 26, 2009, 04:55:02 AM

I usually use silicon lube.

chevytaHOE5674 · February 26, 2009, 09:43:00 AM

I try not to use a liquid lube because it tends to get gummy and collect dirt/dust/saw chips, and hang the recoil up. I've used powdered graphite lube before with good results.

Ax- man · February 27, 2009, 09:53:31 PM

Take the spring out and clean it. You will have to unwind it and rewind it which is a pain.

First I take a clean rag or paper towel and spray some carb cleaner on it to remove oil, grease and any leftover lubricants that may be in the spring by pulling it between my thumb and forefinger. If I notice any bumps or small bends I straighten them out. Next I take some real fine sandpaper and do the same thing to remove rust and any leftover lubricant residue that the carb spray didn't get loose. If it is really gritty i use a coarser sandpaper first then go to the finer stuff. The goal is to get the spring shined up and cleaned up. It is that rust that builds up in the coils that inhibits the spring from winding and unwinding which affects the action of the rope on retraction into the housing.

I do spray a tiny amount of Blaster on the spring after I wind it back up and put back into the housing. But not much though because like others have said too much lubricant attracts dirt and sawdust which hold moisture in and causes rust formation in the coils. No lubricant is best to be honest but sometimes it is really hard to get a spring as clean as when it was new. You just want the spring to be smooth and shiny so the spring will wind and unwind with no hang ups inside the coils.

Larry

Dave Shepard · February 28, 2009, 08:46:28 AM

Thanks, the rust is the biggest problem at the moment, unless it's frozen. :D I had to spray it with blaster to get it to work at all. I'll take the spring out on some nice sunny day when I'm looking for something aggravating to do. ;D Might almost be cheaper to buy a new spring, I hate winding them up, they usually explode when you try to put them in the case.

Ax- man · February 28, 2009, 09:58:44 AM

I hear ya loud and clear. I have gotten pretty good at cleaning springs working on these klunker saws .

Most springs today come in their own little housings which makes changing them for a new one a snap compared to winding one up and working it into the housing hoping it won't unfurl. Practice makes perfect ;D ;D

Larry

Al_Smith · February 28, 2009, 10:06:24 AM

Rewinding a spring could make a preacher cuss .Some aren't too bad and some are a nightmare .

Stihls generally aren't too bad because most have a retainer .Left hand start 10 series Macs aren't bad .However the old right hand starts are by far the worst I've ever encountered .

I did a little Echo a few months ago that I just had to walk away from several times before I totally lost my cool but I finally got it . .

Cut4fun · March 01, 2009, 10:40:01 AM

Good ideas on the silicon and dry graphite. I will have to try those next time.

I was cussing up a storm trying to put a recoil spring back in a poulan 260. There is no little housing, it goes straight in the cover and then you have to use 3 to 4 hands to hold everything while you slide the pulley down and over everything. After a couple of hours of tries, I begged the wife for a extra set of hands and got in in 2 more tries 8).

I told the old boy (a friend) you almost got this saw back with new parts in hand ready to install yourself ;D.

Dave Shepard · March 10, 2009, 09:58:18 PM

Got the recoils on the 394 and 66 back together tonight. I hosed them with a graphite spray. Had to make three attempts on the 394 spring, but it's done. 8) Of course, it's now sleeting and freezing, the best condition for frozen recoils. :

So I put both of them in trash bags. :D We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Rocky_J · March 10, 2009, 09:59:36 PM

Good luck with it, Dave. 8)

Dave Shepard · March 10, 2009, 10:01:35 PM

Thanks. The bags should keep me out of trouble. I tried thawing one saw out with a 500k btu weed torch a couple of weeks ago. It smokes a lot, but doesn't seem to get down in the recoil. :D

joe_indi · March 11, 2009, 08:16:30 AM

I have a can of graphite powder that I had bought ages ago.Since it was a dry powder,I never knew the correct method to apply it.
I used to make a paste with the graphite and brake fluid to lubricate spring shackles, suspension arms bushings, leaf springs and also mix it with grease for use in slightly worn out bearings on some farm machines.
Was this acceptable? (Mixing it with brake fluid or grease)
Is there some other method to use it?

Al_Smith · March 11, 2009, 09:34:16 PM

Recoil springs ,ya gotta love 'em .The easiest of any is a left hand start Mac 10 series .The worst is a Mac 10 series right hand start .

Stihl is not that bad but you have to dead on with the end to get it stuck in the little cover gizmo .Usually takes several tries to get it for me .

timber tramp · March 12, 2009, 01:07:12 PM

>>>The worst is a Mac 10 series right hand start .

I'll second that, I've got a Mac 10-10 RH start that's been sitting for years because of this.

TT

olyman · March 12, 2009, 07:20:21 PM

Come on timber,get bold!!! Dry graphite is the best,it lubes,and attracts nothing,and doesnt gum up. i have a fairly large tube of graphite i acquired. I looked in a store one day at the cost of similiar size tube, and bout flipped. that stuffs costly.

Al_Smith · March 12, 2009, 08:46:41 PM

On a 10-10 righty brave has nothing to do with it .That stupid spring is under a cover held in place by a large internal snap ring .Plus the fact it sits in a deep recess . It's just a monumental pain in the buttocks to rewind .

A had another one about a month ago that was as bad .Echo 302 or something like that .Same deal,deep recess .The danged thing was smaller than a Mac though .Size two hole ,size 8 hand type of thing .

timber tramp · March 13, 2009, 12:57:36 PM

Olyman, trust me I'm not scared of the saw ;) and if I really needed it I'd have fixed it long ago.

TT

Al_Smith · March 14, 2009, 08:13:57 AM

I got to thinking about this subject then realized something .A majority of saws get abandoned to the shelf simply because of a funky carb .

I'll bet an equal number get banished for a defective starting system . Some times it's no more than the starting pawls that won't move because of inactivity .

Other times after sitting for a decade the aluminum drums gets corrosion that snags the rope making it a pain in the behind to start .

Any more if I delve into a recoil I Just replace the rope ,polish the drum and make sure the pawls engage . In the past more times than not especially on an old saw without doing so several attempts were needed to rectify the problem .