Chainsaw Repair

The first thing I tried was to draw and 3D print a new mount without the slots and with a sleeve that would hold the boot open.  I was not happy with that as the strings did not seal well.  Next I cut a new plate out of aluminum (about 0.075" thick).  I made the center hole 0.625" with a step drill bit.  That got rid of the slots, but still gave no way to hold the boot open, so I looked for some sort of tube that was about 0.625" OD and would fit into the boot, but thin wall so the ID didn't block the intake. 

Eventually I found the can of a common electrolytic capacitor (we use lots of these at work).  It's soft and thin and cutting a tube out of it was quite difficult (I found the sanding drum from a dremel could be put inside and used to grind the top of the can off).  But it fit perfectly and I was able to press it into the center hole - with just a bit of JBQwik it should stay in place (I was worried about it getting swallowed by intake port). 

The orange tubes were cut off the end of some vacuum caps and make it easier to assemble.