Wood-Weekend with the new toys, my findings:
Used both saws on all trees: Pear 25'', Walnut 28'', Apple 18''
All bars new or nearly new. All chains Stihl and new out of the box.
We were cutting 8 hours (hauling will be next weekend), 2 operators. I was handling both saws wile BIL (i have a good one) was using the 026 when not hauling branches. (it was his first chainsaw experience).
Felling went perfect although the walnut needed a wedge to come over. BIL was felling his first tree also, a 5 inch/ 9feet apple tree and i have to say, he followed the book and the result looked near to perfection.
Took him 15minutes but safe and sure.
Great day.:greenchainsaw:
BIL mentioned something as ' i want to move to the States, they have bigger trees and bigger saws there...' CAD in progress....
361, 25'' bar 3/8 RS, 7T
saw is a little out of balance but no doubt helps in bucking.
the bar with RS chain (RSF simply not available in Slovakia) held up better than expected. Yes you can bog it down, even in wrong mastered bucking cuts it is prone to bogging but generally faster and more power than i expected.100% workable. Sure, max lenght for a 361 and not for the novice (bigger bars = bigger lever on the saw so more delicate handling in the cut) but worth having for felling the occasional bigger trees.
Oiler set at max gave good striping.
Dual dogs are ordered and will help a lot. The stock ones are not able to grab in each position on this size of wood. In bucking you tend to go diagonal instead of straight down because of it also.
I dont see the need for skipchain to be honest. Correct me if i am wrong but i was struggling much more with my 024 and 16''325 combination before. (on much smaller wood of course, i mean frequency corrections while cutting)
If this size of trees is common, get a bigger saw. simple. (remind me...)
361, 16''bar, 3/8 RS, 7T
10''-16'' no doubt the target size of the 361. smoothly- powers-through. smaller size and the handling effort becomes too big compared to cut-time.
026, 14''bar, 325 RS, 7T
Light toy compared to the 361. less than 10'' and you are playing it nice. It will always be slower than the 361 in the cut but the ease of handling really makes it worth switching on the saw. I even expect ending up in a faster total-job-time.
026, 16''bar, 3/8RS, 7T
Might be fractional faster in fresh wood but anything dry will slow it down compared to the 325 chain. On branches smaller than 4'' the teeth will grab. Also, if not touching the wood at full speed the cutters grab the wood and the engine laks the torque to start cutting and bogs down (bigger diameter less problem).Sometimes i like to lay the saw on the branch and then open the throttle, this became problematic on all branches in the 5'' and lower range. 325 just 'slides' better.
It works, no doubt but i keep having the feeling that we are overworking the 026 in this combination. (muffler mod might take away this edge)
Note on the 026: is on a new piston and rings. Have the feeling that it was progressing during the day but it will surely never be 10cc more. As a one-saw plan i see the fun in it for usual 8'' to occasional 10'' as biggest diameters. Above this productivity drops too fast. (like cutting a 28'' tree with a 361 and 25'' bar??!!
NOT)
Impression on my combo:
You can go to and cut up a 28'' tree with the 361 alone, but having the 026 as second saw will allow you to have enough energy and time left to load the wood to your trailer at the end of the day.
Having only the 361 will sipp that extra energy on the small stuff
Having only the 026 will keep you cutting till midnight on the big stuff.
So, Happy and positively surprised on both of them.
MORE WOOD
Used both saws on all trees: Pear 25'', Walnut 28'', Apple 18''
All bars new or nearly new. All chains Stihl and new out of the box.
We were cutting 8 hours (hauling will be next weekend), 2 operators. I was handling both saws wile BIL (i have a good one) was using the 026 when not hauling branches. (it was his first chainsaw experience).
Felling went perfect although the walnut needed a wedge to come over. BIL was felling his first tree also, a 5 inch/ 9feet apple tree and i have to say, he followed the book and the result looked near to perfection.
Took him 15minutes but safe and sure.
Great day.:greenchainsaw:
BIL mentioned something as ' i want to move to the States, they have bigger trees and bigger saws there...' CAD in progress....
361, 25'' bar 3/8 RS, 7T
saw is a little out of balance but no doubt helps in bucking.
the bar with RS chain (RSF simply not available in Slovakia) held up better than expected. Yes you can bog it down, even in wrong mastered bucking cuts it is prone to bogging but generally faster and more power than i expected.100% workable. Sure, max lenght for a 361 and not for the novice (bigger bars = bigger lever on the saw so more delicate handling in the cut) but worth having for felling the occasional bigger trees.
Oiler set at max gave good striping.
Dual dogs are ordered and will help a lot. The stock ones are not able to grab in each position on this size of wood. In bucking you tend to go diagonal instead of straight down because of it also.
I dont see the need for skipchain to be honest. Correct me if i am wrong but i was struggling much more with my 024 and 16''325 combination before. (on much smaller wood of course, i mean frequency corrections while cutting)
If this size of trees is common, get a bigger saw. simple. (remind me...)
361, 16''bar, 3/8 RS, 7T
10''-16'' no doubt the target size of the 361. smoothly- powers-through. smaller size and the handling effort becomes too big compared to cut-time.
026, 14''bar, 325 RS, 7T
Light toy compared to the 361. less than 10'' and you are playing it nice. It will always be slower than the 361 in the cut but the ease of handling really makes it worth switching on the saw. I even expect ending up in a faster total-job-time.
026, 16''bar, 3/8RS, 7T
Might be fractional faster in fresh wood but anything dry will slow it down compared to the 325 chain. On branches smaller than 4'' the teeth will grab. Also, if not touching the wood at full speed the cutters grab the wood and the engine laks the torque to start cutting and bogs down (bigger diameter less problem).Sometimes i like to lay the saw on the branch and then open the throttle, this became problematic on all branches in the 5'' and lower range. 325 just 'slides' better.
It works, no doubt but i keep having the feeling that we are overworking the 026 in this combination. (muffler mod might take away this edge)
Note on the 026: is on a new piston and rings. Have the feeling that it was progressing during the day but it will surely never be 10cc more. As a one-saw plan i see the fun in it for usual 8'' to occasional 10'' as biggest diameters. Above this productivity drops too fast. (like cutting a 28'' tree with a 361 and 25'' bar??!!
NOT)Impression on my combo:
You can go to and cut up a 28'' tree with the 361 alone, but having the 026 as second saw will allow you to have enough energy and time left to load the wood to your trailer at the end of the day.
Having only the 361 will sipp that extra energy on the small stuff
Having only the 026 will keep you cutting till midnight on the big stuff.
So, Happy and positively surprised on both of them.
MORE WOOD
