Have you ever pulled up to a job site, gathered your equipment, put the right mixtures in your saw and cranked it a couple times to only find your starter rope and handle is sitting in the palm of your hand? What happened? You just had a starter recoil malfunction and now you’re “on a job, without a recoil.” That’s not a good position be in.
You realize that you need to replace your starter pulley, but now you are faced with many inconveniences. There is the time it takes to receive the product. Depending on how the post office feels that day, it could be anywhere from a week to a month.
What if you are somewhere without internet or phone service? You can’t even order a part and get overnight delivery if you wanted to.
In other words, your day is over. You’ve wasted time, gas and money to get to the job and now you may as well just pack it up and go home. Chalk it up as a wasted day.
Changing a starter recoil pulley might be much easier than you actually think. Maybe there is a cheaper solution to this problem. What if you were able to do it yourself as long as you were a little prepared? This is when a good “Save-a-Saw” repair kit would come in handy. Perhaps you could take a lesson from scuba divers. After all, they too are out in the middle of nowhere when they do their thing.
Scuba divers put a lot of preparation and expense into going on a dive expedition. One of the biggest mistakes that a rookie diver makes is not being prepared for the unexpected failures of his/her equipment. This can be very frustrating for the diver, especially when he/she has paid for a dive charter trip of more than $200.00 and the piece of equipment that he/she needs to dive with is only $10.00. This why you never leave to go on a dive without a “save-a-dive kit”. The last thing you want is to be out in the middle of the ocean and not be able to do anything because a $10.00 part is broken.
Same concept applies to the forestry and construction industry. The last thing that you want to do is show up to a big job and something small breaks which forces you to temporarily abort the project, all because you were not a little prepared
Here are a few items that you could include in your “Save-a-Saw” Repair kit that will ensure that you will be ready for any problems to come:
ü Piston ring compressor tools kit
ü Chainsaw Filters Stihl/Husqvarna
ü Throttle Wires & Throttle Cables
You may also want to include any other small parts that can be easily installed quickly on the job. Something major such as a cylinder and piston kit or crankshaft should be performed at your shop.