As stated in title - this seems to be a nice inexpensive chainsaw, my reason for purchasing. Price from Amazon was less than I found elsewhere. Case was smaller than other brands for this size saw (desired); the other major comparable brand was an ugly slime green color. The saw starts easily, runs smoothly, etc. Anti-vibe handle is uncommon in this price range. My only caveat is the cheesy plastic choke linkage. When it breaks (and I suspect it will) it can be replaced easily with some coat-hanger wire. McCulloch MCC1635A 16-Inch 35cc 2-Cycle Gas-Powered Chain Saw
Just got this McCullough saw today. It is a replacement for a 2.0 cuin. Homelite I have had for 12 years. Observations:
Packaging of saw is poorly done with it (the saw) being fully assembled and the bar sticking out (cardboard covered) to where it could be warped during shipment. Mine seemed ok but time will tell on bar wear.
Plastic covers and things like the choke are really crude compared to my inexpensive old 16in Homelite that was plastic as well. The gas and oil fillers have small openings and are placed side by side which I also do not like. The caps and stays are just poor quality.
After fueling and priming, saw seemed to start ok though it was hesitant to throttle up but being as it was 33F this might be the reason. Just did not run perfect during cutting some trees (oak about 10in thick) away from their stumps due to hesitation of pickup. Though with warmer weather this may improve.
Bar is not very good quality and might need replacement with a good Oregon manufactured one.
It is too bad that things just get poorly built these days. I had looked at comparable priced chain saws and they are worse than the McCullough in terms of quality. I would only recommend this saw to the hobbyist and not to anyone needing a production saw. I doubt it will last the 12 years my old Homelite did and the 30 years my bigger 24in Super XL Homelite is still going (not used as much the last few years). New Homelite chainsaws are not worth looking at. Oh well, I never had luck with Stihls in the past so not to many brands to choose from other than the real expensive saws.
The McCulloch MC1635A 16in. 35cc 2 cycle gas chain saw is a super machine. It was designed to reduce vibration and is very efficient with the gas and runs great. The automatic oiler is a no brainer, just fill with oil every time you fill the gas/oil mixture. Perfect size to cut down most trees. I cut down 3 large trees no problem with at least 14" trunks. Quick shipping. Excellent machine for the price!
I've run this saw's 14" brother, same but for chain-length, for 3+ years, cutting various hardwoods up to about 2' diameter, with consistently good results. It's had no problem ripping some big pieces to haulable size, also without clogging with chips.
Engine is surprisingly powerful for 35cc, well-silenced for both exhaust and induction, and well isolated via spring mounts; hearing protection still advised. Carb is supposedly not user-adjustable; I've not been tempted. Choke control needs a little upwards force to work smoothly. Saw routinely runs for ~1 hr. on its little tank (of 50:1 synthetic.) Mfg says 40:1. Clutch shows no tendency to slippage even when aggressively cutting seasoned black locust. Only maintenance so far has been occasional cleaning and hand-sharpening.
Overall combo of factors- weight, noise, vibration- enables long run-time per day, often negating power advantage of its "big brother." Fatigue reduction is a real plus for safety and long-term productivity. Automatic chain brake is very effective; DAMHIKT.
Quibbles:
My 1435a actually has an effective cutting length less than 13".
What appear to be small bucking teeth on crankcase casting next to bar are too rounded to grip, and knock cutting length below 13". There are drilled & tapped holes apparently intended to mount a set of teeth- which would further reduce cutting length. Likely its next bar will be 16", someday.
Oil and fuel tanks are molded into the _black_ plastic of the handle, making it difficult to see level while filling tanks; bar & chain oil is quite tacky and makes a real mess.
Overall:
Very nice package for the price. Overall operator safety obviously big design factor. Capable of cutting any piece of wood it can reach into, it's my saw of choice, along with similar-spec Poulan, except for cutting really big logs lying on the ground.
In the global economy, McCulloch is now owned by Husqvarna, as are Jonsered, Partner and Poulan; mine was made in Taiwan. Not a problem here.
This chainsaw is light weight and very easy to handle. It is good for small jobs like cutting off branches and cutting down small trees. If you need a chainsaw to haul wood, I think a bigger one would be necessary.
I ordered the McCulloch Mcc1635A 16 inch chain saw because McCulloch was at one time a great product, but I was unable to start it even one time. Called in to find out where I could take it and took it into the autorized dealer and was informed that it was an older model and they could not find the part needed. Now what do I do with this saw, as this is an item that cannot be returned to Amazon?????????????????????? Help is needed.
I reluctantly bought this saw because I had 5 good chains from my old Mac saw. However, it has exceeded my expectations and I have been very happy with the saw using it to cut down several large trees within a month. I would have given it 5 stars, but I did have to adjust the idle setting to get it to run properly due to the cold weather.
"CAVEAT EMPTOR" "BUYER BEWARE". I truly like this new saw. Trouble is it wouldn't run right out of the box. I called the Company 800 number and was told to take it to their authorized dealer. Which I did. After a $35 service charge it runs and cuts great. The dealer told me that if I had bought it from him in the first place, there would have been an under-warranty "no charge". This will be the last time I buy anything mechanical online.
Al Latimer - Good Value - Gas-powered'
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