09-05-2022, 03:56 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-05-2022, 02:01 PM by Terry Bentley.)
Chapter 116
After school I was informed it was time once again to mow my grandmothers yard. That meant it was also time to mow Mrs Tallys yard too. Considering Mrs Tally has to be pushing 1oo years old, if not older, I should take advantage of the work while she is still living. Mrs Tally is such a nice lady. I really enjoy the time spent with her after mowing the yard. Except I have too many things going on to put aside the time when I should.
Since it looks like Saturday is already tied up with work, I see no reason not to spend whatever time necessary with my grandmother and then Mrs Tally on the way back home to mow her yard. My grandmothers yard is like 3 acres. A lot of trees to mow around. The back yard wont take so much time, since it is mostly rider friendly. The front yard, I have to use a smaller push mower around the trees and other things for most of the area.
Tonight I still wanted to make some headway. So after dinner I spent the rest of this evening out in the garage. One more decision I committed to is swapping out the sidecovers like the ones used on the E-65 engines. These do not have that feed ramp like the bushing engine side covers do around the crank. According to all of the articles I have read, that ramp does not help. Especially since we are now running reverse rotation engines.
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=5066]](https://www.vintagekartforum.com/attachment.php?aid=5066)
Stock side cover
You can see the feed ramp on this stock A-400 cover. It really does not help the performance of engine. Plus the tract is not as open like the E-65 either.
For these E-65 sidecovers to work, I needed to replace the needle bearing with some type of bushing material. After talking to Mr Grimes at the Gasset Small Engine Repair shop a while back, he informed me the stock A-490 crankshafts are made of cast iron or some soft steel. But the E-65 style engine with a needle bearing rod has a hardened steel crankshaft.
This meant I could not use the needle bearing on the softer metal crankshaft. Or if I chose to do so, it would not likely last very long before wearing out. An easy fix, but time consuming, is making a bushing the same dimension to replace that needle bearing. Unfortunately there are three of these having to be made. This ended up taking a lot more time than I had expected.
So Friday night was all taken up with making these bushings. I worked late into the evening focused just on getting the bushings machined on the Craftsman lathe. Before jumping into making them, I called my grandfather with a few concerning questions. The main concern I had was how precision these bushings really needed to be made.
In my tool stash there is a vernier caliper and a couple of micrometers. But no real accurate or reliable way to measure the inside diameter of the new bushing. My grandfather told me to use a snap gauge. It should be more than accurate to get the exact measurement of the bushing inside diameter. He said my dad already had his old set of snap gauges. After some basic explanation from him, I was confident on how to proceed forward and use these.
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=5067]](https://www.vintagekartforum.com/attachment.php?aid=5067)
Starrett snap gauge
These snap gauges are super cool. You loosen the screw in handle then slide the end in hole to be measured. Slightly tighten the screw handle and rotate back and forth past center in hole. Use micrometer to measure the span of snap gauge for a perfect fit.
It was very late when I finally pressed the newly made bushings into each of the side covers. I thought they turned out great. My grandfather had also made a suggestion. With the final cut on the inside diameter, make a zero pass at a much higher feed rate using a sharp pointed cutting tool.
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=5068]](https://www.vintagekartforum.com/attachment.php?aid=5068)
E-65 side cover with bushing and stock
With the finish cut it would leave a slight machine lead or something that looks like a extremely fine thread. This would help to hold lubrication better and also might lessen the likelihood of a possible seizure on the crankshaft, in case the clearance was very close. I decided to add a flange to the pressed in bushing. This gives a better surface for the crank to ride against. You can see it on the left and stock E-65 with needle bearing is on the right. See difference in the intake feed tract compared to the stock A-400.
It took a lot of effort but I got up and made an early start on Saturday chores. My grandmother gave me a big hug. But before work started, we had to run down to the Howard Johnsons and grab a quick breakfast. Nothing like French toast sprinkled with confectioners sugar for a fix before working. The maple syrup aint so bad either. A big glass or fresh squeezed orange juice to wash everything down.
While enjoying the air conditioning inside Howard Johnsons before hitting the heat of the morning, my grandmother told me of other things she wanted to get done today. If there was time I was to also clean out one of the storage sheds. She told me there was nothing in the shed worth bothering with. All of the papers and boxes of nik-naks were basically overdue for the trash bin. If I found anything of importance or potential value, just let her know before just tossing it out. But far as she knew this one storage shed had nothing of any use to her.
When all of the mowing was finished I tackled the storage shed next. Since my grandfather had died nothing has really changed around her place. Just keeping up with the normal maintenance and minor repairs. What I did find was a big surprise. Under a lot of the junk, I discovered another David Bradley chainsaw. I recognized it immediately as one with the smaller engine. It is still just as heavy like the newer one I have already used once before. But I didnt know my grandfather had bought this one or even when it was last used.
After cleaning up the mess I made, then inquired about this older model chainsaw. My grandmother told me it was bought new back in 1956. They were still clearing out a bunch of the trees back then. But it had always been hard starting and got to be too tempermental to rely on so much. Then the other one was bought about two years ago.
This one has the same size chain as that newer model, but the bar is shorter. My grandmother had decided this saw was no longer worth keeping around. Then she asked if I wanted to bother with it for myself. What could I say? She had no need for it and the newer one sure works good. Since I was the only one that would probably be using the newer saw, she didnt see any reason to keep this one around or spend whatever it would take to get running again.
I did some more digging and found another bar and chain. Something I noticed is this earlier model has two positions for the bar to mount. This older David Bradley chainsaw is a model 360. All that meant is it would run in just about any position. Most newer saws mounted the bar inboard. This model could also mount the bar outboard. That would be to the right side of gearbox. There was a red painted cap covering the chain driver where the bar would mount to on the right.
This saw is way too heavy to carry off very far. But I decided to take a chance and drag it home with me. Even if it didnt run right now, I saw no reason why it could not be fixed then have as a spare. I sure dont plan to sell it if I do get the big monster up and running. This way I have a saw at home and a backup if the main saw does not feel like running sometime.
The work was finally finished. After hugs and kisses, I said the usual goodbyes to my grandmother. I layed the chainsaw over the frame of my bike then walked home. So much as my hands wanted to tear apart this saw, there was another yard still waiting to be mowed. After unloading everything, I hosed off my head at the outside faucet to cool off. Even tho summer has just passed, it still feels like July. It didnt take that long to push the mower up to Mrs Tallys house and do a quick mow job, Her yard is fairly small and very well kept. The grass never gets long enough to do any bagging or much cleanup.
After this mowing job was done, Mrs Tally brought out the usual lemonade and invited me inside. I declined the inside visit today, since all of the outside work I had been doing already. So she sat down in the porch swing and we exchanged some idle chit-chat. When I noticed her dozing off, decided to call it a day. I helped her up and inside then thanking for the lemonade.
Back home I was torn between playing around with the newly acquired chainsaw or getting back to working on the kart engines. Geez, why is there never enough hours in the day to do things? Instead of tearing apart the chainsaw and trying to figure out way it didnt run right, I reluctantly just piddled with it. This is when I realized it would not take much effort to mount both of these bars to the saw at the same time.
OK, it might be useless. But sure would be super cool looking. I didnt really care either way. There was not much need for a chainsaw here at home. But I could not resist the temptation of mounting both of the bars and chains on this saw. The only thing I needed to accomplish this was to add an extra pair of studs on the gearbox cover. With the cover removed from gearbox, I could see by leaving off one cover bolt would open a passage so the added bar and chain could get oiled.
Maybe I wasted what was left of this evening playing around with something unnecessary. I had a lot fun doing it and now have something I can sit up on the shelf that looks really neat. The saw is still in very good condition. I didnt have to do much more than a quick cleanup. Then do some touch-ups on the tips of both bars. After a few pumps of the chain oiler, I noticed both bars were getting lubricated. Super cool!
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=5069]](https://www.vintagekartforum.com/attachment.php?aid=5069)
David Bradley 360 dual bar
So now I have a real eye catcher when someone new is over in the garage. I think it is awesome looking. Maybe it will cut small biscuits on larger diameter logs, instead of having to split them. Hey that can work. Two biscuits per cut with the saw. Instead of having long small split logs, now use short thin cookies for fire wood. Maybe this will work out perfect. Or maybe I am not thinking this thru all of the way. Well I dont care. I have a cool looking chainsaw now.
After school I was informed it was time once again to mow my grandmothers yard. That meant it was also time to mow Mrs Tallys yard too. Considering Mrs Tally has to be pushing 1oo years old, if not older, I should take advantage of the work while she is still living. Mrs Tally is such a nice lady. I really enjoy the time spent with her after mowing the yard. Except I have too many things going on to put aside the time when I should.
Since it looks like Saturday is already tied up with work, I see no reason not to spend whatever time necessary with my grandmother and then Mrs Tally on the way back home to mow her yard. My grandmothers yard is like 3 acres. A lot of trees to mow around. The back yard wont take so much time, since it is mostly rider friendly. The front yard, I have to use a smaller push mower around the trees and other things for most of the area.
Tonight I still wanted to make some headway. So after dinner I spent the rest of this evening out in the garage. One more decision I committed to is swapping out the sidecovers like the ones used on the E-65 engines. These do not have that feed ramp like the bushing engine side covers do around the crank. According to all of the articles I have read, that ramp does not help. Especially since we are now running reverse rotation engines.
Stock side cover
You can see the feed ramp on this stock A-400 cover. It really does not help the performance of engine. Plus the tract is not as open like the E-65 either.
For these E-65 sidecovers to work, I needed to replace the needle bearing with some type of bushing material. After talking to Mr Grimes at the Gasset Small Engine Repair shop a while back, he informed me the stock A-490 crankshafts are made of cast iron or some soft steel. But the E-65 style engine with a needle bearing rod has a hardened steel crankshaft.
This meant I could not use the needle bearing on the softer metal crankshaft. Or if I chose to do so, it would not likely last very long before wearing out. An easy fix, but time consuming, is making a bushing the same dimension to replace that needle bearing. Unfortunately there are three of these having to be made. This ended up taking a lot more time than I had expected.
So Friday night was all taken up with making these bushings. I worked late into the evening focused just on getting the bushings machined on the Craftsman lathe. Before jumping into making them, I called my grandfather with a few concerning questions. The main concern I had was how precision these bushings really needed to be made.
In my tool stash there is a vernier caliper and a couple of micrometers. But no real accurate or reliable way to measure the inside diameter of the new bushing. My grandfather told me to use a snap gauge. It should be more than accurate to get the exact measurement of the bushing inside diameter. He said my dad already had his old set of snap gauges. After some basic explanation from him, I was confident on how to proceed forward and use these.
Starrett snap gauge
These snap gauges are super cool. You loosen the screw in handle then slide the end in hole to be measured. Slightly tighten the screw handle and rotate back and forth past center in hole. Use micrometer to measure the span of snap gauge for a perfect fit.
It was very late when I finally pressed the newly made bushings into each of the side covers. I thought they turned out great. My grandfather had also made a suggestion. With the final cut on the inside diameter, make a zero pass at a much higher feed rate using a sharp pointed cutting tool.
E-65 side cover with bushing and stock
With the finish cut it would leave a slight machine lead or something that looks like a extremely fine thread. This would help to hold lubrication better and also might lessen the likelihood of a possible seizure on the crankshaft, in case the clearance was very close. I decided to add a flange to the pressed in bushing. This gives a better surface for the crank to ride against. You can see it on the left and stock E-65 with needle bearing is on the right. See difference in the intake feed tract compared to the stock A-400.
It took a lot of effort but I got up and made an early start on Saturday chores. My grandmother gave me a big hug. But before work started, we had to run down to the Howard Johnsons and grab a quick breakfast. Nothing like French toast sprinkled with confectioners sugar for a fix before working. The maple syrup aint so bad either. A big glass or fresh squeezed orange juice to wash everything down.
While enjoying the air conditioning inside Howard Johnsons before hitting the heat of the morning, my grandmother told me of other things she wanted to get done today. If there was time I was to also clean out one of the storage sheds. She told me there was nothing in the shed worth bothering with. All of the papers and boxes of nik-naks were basically overdue for the trash bin. If I found anything of importance or potential value, just let her know before just tossing it out. But far as she knew this one storage shed had nothing of any use to her.
When all of the mowing was finished I tackled the storage shed next. Since my grandfather had died nothing has really changed around her place. Just keeping up with the normal maintenance and minor repairs. What I did find was a big surprise. Under a lot of the junk, I discovered another David Bradley chainsaw. I recognized it immediately as one with the smaller engine. It is still just as heavy like the newer one I have already used once before. But I didnt know my grandfather had bought this one or even when it was last used.
After cleaning up the mess I made, then inquired about this older model chainsaw. My grandmother told me it was bought new back in 1956. They were still clearing out a bunch of the trees back then. But it had always been hard starting and got to be too tempermental to rely on so much. Then the other one was bought about two years ago.
This one has the same size chain as that newer model, but the bar is shorter. My grandmother had decided this saw was no longer worth keeping around. Then she asked if I wanted to bother with it for myself. What could I say? She had no need for it and the newer one sure works good. Since I was the only one that would probably be using the newer saw, she didnt see any reason to keep this one around or spend whatever it would take to get running again.
I did some more digging and found another bar and chain. Something I noticed is this earlier model has two positions for the bar to mount. This older David Bradley chainsaw is a model 360. All that meant is it would run in just about any position. Most newer saws mounted the bar inboard. This model could also mount the bar outboard. That would be to the right side of gearbox. There was a red painted cap covering the chain driver where the bar would mount to on the right.
This saw is way too heavy to carry off very far. But I decided to take a chance and drag it home with me. Even if it didnt run right now, I saw no reason why it could not be fixed then have as a spare. I sure dont plan to sell it if I do get the big monster up and running. This way I have a saw at home and a backup if the main saw does not feel like running sometime.
The work was finally finished. After hugs and kisses, I said the usual goodbyes to my grandmother. I layed the chainsaw over the frame of my bike then walked home. So much as my hands wanted to tear apart this saw, there was another yard still waiting to be mowed. After unloading everything, I hosed off my head at the outside faucet to cool off. Even tho summer has just passed, it still feels like July. It didnt take that long to push the mower up to Mrs Tallys house and do a quick mow job, Her yard is fairly small and very well kept. The grass never gets long enough to do any bagging or much cleanup.
After this mowing job was done, Mrs Tally brought out the usual lemonade and invited me inside. I declined the inside visit today, since all of the outside work I had been doing already. So she sat down in the porch swing and we exchanged some idle chit-chat. When I noticed her dozing off, decided to call it a day. I helped her up and inside then thanking for the lemonade.
Back home I was torn between playing around with the newly acquired chainsaw or getting back to working on the kart engines. Geez, why is there never enough hours in the day to do things? Instead of tearing apart the chainsaw and trying to figure out way it didnt run right, I reluctantly just piddled with it. This is when I realized it would not take much effort to mount both of these bars to the saw at the same time.
OK, it might be useless. But sure would be super cool looking. I didnt really care either way. There was not much need for a chainsaw here at home. But I could not resist the temptation of mounting both of the bars and chains on this saw. The only thing I needed to accomplish this was to add an extra pair of studs on the gearbox cover. With the cover removed from gearbox, I could see by leaving off one cover bolt would open a passage so the added bar and chain could get oiled.
Maybe I wasted what was left of this evening playing around with something unnecessary. I had a lot fun doing it and now have something I can sit up on the shelf that looks really neat. The saw is still in very good condition. I didnt have to do much more than a quick cleanup. Then do some touch-ups on the tips of both bars. After a few pumps of the chain oiler, I noticed both bars were getting lubricated. Super cool!
David Bradley 360 dual bar
So now I have a real eye catcher when someone new is over in the garage. I think it is awesome looking. Maybe it will cut small biscuits on larger diameter logs, instead of having to split them. Hey that can work. Two biscuits per cut with the saw. Instead of having long small split logs, now use short thin cookies for fire wood. Maybe this will work out perfect. Or maybe I am not thinking this thru all of the way. Well I dont care. I have a cool looking chainsaw now.