Only One Saw?!?!?!?!

[gallegosmike]

If I was only limited to only one saw. Scary Idea to think of! It would be my Univent(372xpw) @ 6.5hp. It is almost a shame that I use it for firewood. It is way to powerful for the tiny trees I cut for firewood.

 

[nmurph]

forget about the 200 or 260.....a 346 is much more powerful than either with a small weight penalty. while you are at it, find good, used 7900. it is slightly heavier than an 044/440 and much stronger.

 

[rob066]

I had bought a new stihl ms 390 four years ago. I had ran penzoil air cooled 2 cycle engine oil in it. I had ran the saw roughly 20 hours. In about that 20 hours this saw had a catostrophic bearing failure on the clutch side. Stihl would not cover cover it under warrany. Stihl said that the saw was out of warranty. I was not very impressed. Saying this you cant base a single failure on the complete product line though.

 

[Evan]

gallegosmike

ill give it work out for you ill even put my 32" stihl bar on it and realy work it

i think it would be cool to cut with my ported 372 and 32" then yank the bar and out it on your univent and see what the difrence is, im sure the univent is faster cutting

 

[fishercat]

i agree.

forget about the 200 or 260.....a 346 is much more powerful than either with a small weight penalty. while you are at it, find good, used 7900. it is slightly heavier than an 044/440 and much stronger.

i have had my 50cc 346 for almost two years now and it still amazes me every time i run it.it's running a 16" bar with 3/8 chain and it rips.i cannot believe anyone would still buy the ms260.it is a good saw but it is in need of a serious update for the price they ask for them.i usually like the smaller Stihls over the Husks but i wouldn't take two new 260s for my 2 year old 346xp.

 

[gallegosmike]

gallegosmike

ill give it work out for you ill even put my 32" stihl bar on it and realy work it

i think it would be cool to cut with my ported 372 and 32" then yank the bar and out it on your univent and see what the difrence is, im sure the univent is faster cutting

I personaly use a 28" or smaller bar(much happier with a 20" or 24")on my univent. For anything bigger, I bust out my 385xp. Dog in and go to town! I love my univent, but my 385xp has much more torque then the univent.

It is fun to run a 8 pin sprocket on my univent. Do not stand anywhere near me cutting wood! LOL You will sprayed with would chips! :monkey:

I really need a beer!

 

[Brushwacker]

Mabe as I get older it will change, but presently a 50cc saws including the 2 346's I have run quite a bit,don't get much use because they feel underpowered after wood reaches about 12 to 14" here in hardwoods. An 034 feels good up to about 16 to 18" even better in the not so hard wood.
It will be more like 2 limbing saws and 1 not so big big saw if thats what I had. Might consider a bigger saw to go w/ the 44O even bigger then it. Or a bigger saw and something like a 361 muffler modded to go with it.
It wouldn't be hard to be happy with what you said if you rarely get into bigger then 20" but if you have a bigger saw its nice doing big trees and the wood piles up quite a bit faster.

 

[Chaz1]

i have had my 50cc 346 for almost two years now and it still amazes me every time i run it.it's running a 16" bar with 3/8 chain and it rips.i cannot believe anyone would still buy the ms260.it is a good saw but it is in need of a serious update for the price they ask for them.i usually like the smaller Stihls over the Husks but i wouldn't take two new 260s for my 2 year old 346xp.

As you can see by my sig I traded my 260pro in for a NE346XP and I can say without any hesitation the 346 is a far superior saw. Hands down. End of story!!! I wouldn't waste my hard earned money on a saw if it's inferior to it's competition. And the 260 IS inferior.

 

[Evan]

i dont see the 260 as inferior they both have the theyre strenghts and weaknesses. the 260 strenght is its light weight and is as reliable as the ground we walk on.

the 346s has more power and might cut bigger wood faster makeing it slightly better all around saw but weighs more

 

[fishercat]

so is the 346..................

i dont see the 260 as inferior they both have the theyre strenghts and weaknesses. the 260 strenght is its light weight and is as reliable as the ground we walk on.

the 346s has more power and might cut bigger wood faster makeing it slightly better all around saw but weighs more

and it flat SPANKS the 260. i run 93 octane and Stihl ultra oil so all my saws are reliable.

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

260!

 

[SawTroll]

Currently have a Husky 359, picked it up for cheap, good little runner and Ive been happy with it. Well the other day I made the mistake of picking up a buddies Stihl 390... The saw was super comfortable and I like the looks of it, not to mention the inboard clutch was a nice feature. I was running a 24" bar on my 359 with a full skip chisel and he was running the Stihl 25" bar same chain. Dug his into a nice piece of oak and it seemed to cut alot better than mine, nut sure why, as the ratings on both saws look identical, maybe my 359 is getting tired. Needless to say I am thinking bout selling the 359 to fun a different saw. Looking at picking up either a MS361 or a MS440, looking around seems like both are going for around the same price range used. Normally I run a 20" bar but I like to keep a longer one around for the occasional big wood. Mostly cut up wood, around 18" across, some bigger, some smaller. During fall and spring run the saws prolly every weekend almost all day, winter time normal just to clear whatever trees have fallen, summer normally doesn't get much use.

That being said I dont know if the extra weight of the 440 is worth the power gains over the 361... Is it alot bigger of a saw (in terms of handling it, does it feel bulkier), and is the weight difference that noticeable?

Also, I am guessing the 361 will run away from the 390 in terms of performance??? Or should I look at getting a 390 instead of 361?

I am not surpriced that the 390 beat the 359 in large wood, but it sure is a lower quality saw that I would avoid. The shouldn't be a large differense though - have you checked the compression of your 359?

It also may be as simple as the condition of the chain.........

A 361 will beat both - but if you want a substansive difference, go with a 70cc saw.

 

[Chaz1]

i dont see the 260 as inferior they both have the theyre strenghts and weaknesses. the 260 strenght is its light weight and is as reliable as the ground we walk on.

the 346s has more power and might cut bigger wood faster makeing it slightly better all around saw but weighs more

Reliable as the ground we walk on? Really? That is exactly why I traded the 260 in. It kept having starting and idling issues. I cut too much firewood to be screwing around with a 2 year old saw that is tempermental. So I bought the 346 on the very strong recomendation of my local dealer. (a personal friend as well) I believe he said to me..... That new Husky is the best in it's class . The 346xp has proven him to be right.

 

[DougNH]

Univent

It would be a truly sad day to be able to have only one saw, but it would definitely be the Univent with a selection of bars from 16" to whatever. This saw has the power of a well-tuned 390XP with the weight of a 372XP. Thank you Bailey's! I used two saws today: 346XP for everything up to 12", and Univent for anything bigger.

Life is good.

 

[fishercat]

why not run Stihl oil?

I had bought a new stihl ms 390 four years ago. I had ran penzoil air cooled 2 cycle engine oil in it. I had ran the saw roughly 20 hours. In about that 20 hours this saw had a catostrophic bearing failure on the clutch side. Stihl would not cover cover it under warrany. Stihl said that the saw was out of warranty. I was not very impressed. Saying this you cant base a single failure on the complete product line though.

seems like a lesson should be learned.

 

[sprintmotor45]

I would have to keep one of my 372's I usually run a 20" bar on it for blocking up logs that we use for firewood. With the 20" its balanced good enough to handle it all day. If I had to carry a saw into the timber to cut trees down and trim the tree for draging it out for using just the log I would have to keep just the 262 or Would love to try the 346, I think it would be up to the job.

 

[J.W Younger]

i dont see the 260 as inferior they both have the theyre strenghts and weaknesses. the 260 strenght is its light weight and is as reliable as the ground we walk on.

the 346s has more power and might cut bigger wood faster makeing it slightly better all around saw but weighs more

I agree, my 026 didnt have the power the 5100 has but if I still had it it wood see just as much use.

 

[mowoodchopper]

i would refresh the 359 new piston and ring for 30 bucks.

the 359 is better saw then your buddies 390 and is on par with the 361.

id also make sure that its tuned and cutting at its full potential, maybe do this before refreshing the top end.

i wouldnt buy the 361 you have the 359. you already have saw very simialr and power and even weighs the same as the 361.

the 390 is heavy turd in comparison though it might pull a 28" bar better then both the 361 and 359 if it was muffler modded

 

[litefoot]

To the original poster, you've got a fine saw. It's easy to feel like your 359 is inferior to all the "golden boy" saws mentioned here (361, 440, ,372, etc). Do a search. You'll find that it's very highly recommended.

But to answer one of your original questions; in my opinion there is little difference in the handling of a 440 and a 361. The 440 weighs more, but with a 20" bar I can't tell much difference.

 

[Evanrude]

But to answer one of your original questions; in my opinion there is little difference in the handling of a 440 and a 361. The 440 weighs more, but with a 20" bar I can't tell much difference.

:agree2: