Excellent, yes- those both look to be the same as mine. Glad it appears to be original (except the hack job on the air filter). How you come up with all these photos and info is amazing! I haven’t had a chance to tear into it yet but I did do a couple spot cleaning sections on it just to keep inspired as to what it could look like. It should clean up nicely and I was actually surprised at how nice the red grips popped!
Thank you for all the great advice. After looking at it a bit more I’m actually getting more excited at doing the more in-depth overhaul/restoration on this one. It’ll be fun working through the entire unit and I’m sure I’ll learn a great deal along the way. I’ll definitely keep my eyes open for other augers, I pretty much look on a daily basis and will let you know if I spot one.
I would have to agree. I worked on my first recoil job over the holidays and it was a bit tedious. I didn’t even have to change the spring. I think I have a little technique now so hopefully the next one will be a little easier.
Its really too too bad a previous owner butchered the whole recoil system on this auger. Strange what some people do to try to fix things. I’ll add some pics once I tear into it more.
I ended up learning a hard lesson on buying an item sight unseen and out of state. In my excitement to find another O&R auger I ended up working out a deal with a seller out of state. They only had a couple very bad photos for me to gauge condition and make my decision but I went ahead with the gamble. I just received it and unfortunately it’s a disappointment. I haven’t been able to spend any time with it yet to completely go through it but after 10 minutes with it I have uncovered a number of issues already:
1. No spark, I had expected this and wasn’t too worried about it.
2. Some previous owner butchered the recoil mechanism and rigged up some strange spacer system comprised of a bolt and nut through the little oil hole. The distance between the inside of the recoil housing was also affected so they added washers as spacers between the blower cowel. They also ground down the threaded shaft and flywheel nut as part of this butcher job. So that’s pretty disappointing. I haven’t spent enough time yet to see if there is any way improve this, not sure it can be truly fixed ithout completely replacing the recoil and crank shaft.
3. I don’t think the actual aguer is a match to the gear box. It has a ton of slop at the unition and the paint is slightly different color so I’m thinking the auger was replaced at some point along the way.
4. The air cleaner assembly was also cut and welded on poorly made threaded shaft. The welding created other big holes and distortions so the air cleaner assembly is pretty much trash. They also did a terrible job actually trying to thread the throat of the carburetor to accommodate the newly welded threaded end on the air cleaner assembly.
5. The gas tank needs a thorough cleaning and new guts.
6. Condition of the coil is unknown and it is a bit rusted.
More to come as I dig into this project. I’m not sure yet just how far I will actually go with it in terms of fixing it up. It would be nice to at least see if I can get it to run but given all the other issues I might end up just hanging this one on the wall as a reminder to be extra careful in buying sight unseen. Probably paid a bit too much to learn this lesson...
That’s great, I actually have something similar in progress. I ordered some materials over the holidays and they just arrived. The pictures you provided do give me some additional good ideas on how to construct it. Thanks, this is really helpful!
I’m slowly making some progress going through the TAS P7 engine. I spent some time on the gas tank today and need to get some new sealing washers, add a new fuel filter and replace all the fuel lines. I have a new spark plug on order and I have the spark plug wire prepped for repair. It will be my first attempt using a new type of shrink wrap tape since I can’t slide the normal shrink tubing over the large end with the plug connector. I also had some success finding a used, but in great condition, kill switch from a vintage Tanaka outboard motor that matches the broken one on the P7 so I’ll have to get that all wired up.
It’s incredible how much knowledge and information you have! I might make the drive out to check out the saw in person and give it a good looking over. I don’t know how quickly it might sell, I’m guessing a chainsaw collector will snatch it up. Maybe after I can see it up close then I can make a more informed decision. The pictures they have posted shows in pretty well.
This is great info. I have to say as amazing as it would be to have this saw I’m really struggling to justify the $400. I wouldn’t really be putting it to any hard use but those old plastic races make me a bit nervous, especially since I never see NOS parts for these come up.
The E3 plug has a US patent number on it but that’s it. It looks to have similar depth but I think I’m going’s to swap it out for the NGK or Champion plug.
What do you all think a fair price would be on a Comet chainsaw in good condition? I found one that looks to be a complete unit and in pretty nice shape but the price seems a bit high. I’m guessing these are pretty rare so maybe it’s not out of the the question but I thought I’d get some other opinions before I attempt to go any further on it.
I just got your messages. Thank you very much for the links to the manuals, I’m anxious to check these out. The spark plug that is currently in the engine is a 14mm- I tried a standard Champion CJ14 and it fit fine. I’m not familiar with the brand, could be some off name cheapo.
I just acquired an ice auger with a TAS P7 engine. I would be interested to know if anyone has found literature, parts lists or manuals. Also, does anyone have any suggestions or know the correct spark plug to use on these?
Very nice, those are all definitely items of interest to me. Maybe we can discuss pricing and I’ll keep you posted if I can get my Boston trip planned.
Great info on the TAS, thank you! Your research skill is unmatched! My comment on similarity to O&R was mainly visual and size- they are quite different engines. I still prefer the O&R but couldn’t pass up this TAS since it was just 5 min away from me here in town. Even if I don’t get it running, it’s cool to look at. I started giving it a bath this morning and it’s cleaning up pretty well. It looked horrible when I picked it up but surprisingly once the grease and grime is coming off the paint and metal are in pretty nice shape. The issues I’ve encountered so far include: 1) the ignition coil wire is all but literally hanging on by a thread so I’m going to have to carefully try to reinforce it and seal it up. There is a section that is shredded down to the core wire and all the insulation is basically cracked away, and 2) the previous owner yanked the recoil rope too hard while trying to get it running before selling it and so that’s ripped out. I’ll have to dig into this and see if there is any major damage, hopefully the spring is still ok and I can just add a new rope.
Clint
One other issue is the red button part of the kill switch is missing. It’s a pretty unique button style switch so I may have to replace it with a vintage style button or toggle switch if I’m unsuccessful at finding something more close to original stock.
Yes, there appear to be quite a few similarities. Reminds me of the early days of Datsun and Toyota.... I don’t know that much about Tanaka and these early engines but it should be fun to work in it one of these days.
In my excitement to find another O&R auger I ended up working out a deal with a seller out of state. They only had a couple very bad photos for me to gauge condition and make my decision but I went ahead with the gamble. I just received it and unfortunately it’s a disappointment. I haven’t been able to spend any time with it yet to completely go through it but after 10 minutes with it I have uncovered a number of issues already:
Probably paid a bit too much to learn this lesson...
very nice!
Ohlsson & Rice: Herter’s Auger / Hard Lesson Learned
in Ohlsson and Rice
Posted
David,
Excellent, yes- those both look to be the same as mine. Glad it appears to be original (except the hack job on the air filter). How you come up with all these photos and info is amazing! I haven’t had a chance to tear into it yet but I did do a couple spot cleaning sections on it just to keep inspired as to what it could look like. It should clean up nicely and I was actually surprised at how nice the red grips popped!
Clint