Bigger bar MS261??

[northmanlogging]

Hello I have an MS261 for home use. Large wooded lot with big oak lay downs. Right now it has a 20" bar wondering if I can go larger?

Also I have heard about some exhaust mods for more power but not sure what those are...
Jeff

the 261 is small, it will like a 20" bar, it could potentially wear a 25" but its pushing it pretty hard.
as for muffler mods, pull the front plate, drill a bunch of holes in the baffle, and open up the exit port by about 50%, remember to remove the spark arrester before assaulting it with a dremel...
I do know a guy that would put a 32" on a ms260/261, but he only used it for bumping knots on his log truck, the very occasional bucking of a long log, He hauled my logs for 2? years, never ever did I see it with a chain that wasn't already thrown.

 

[computeruser]

Much of the rest of the world likes 15” for that powerhead.

 

[JPCalifornia]

Try the new 20” 04 Light bar on that 261. The new bar has a .50 gauge, and performs much better than the Wider 20” .63 gauge bar and chain that your saw (and mine) originally came with. Otherwise, just like the other lads here are sayin’, size up to a bigger saw and enjoy.

 

[pwtr02ss]

My 261cm (recommended by this forum) rips with an 18" bar. I feel it's the perfect combo in balance and power. I'd think you'd need a bigger saw for anything larger than a 20. That being said, I don't doubt it'd turn a longer bar, I just don't think it'd be optimal. This is coming from me, a guy whose first saw is the 261. Take it for what it's worth...

 

[singinwoodwackr]

Hello I have an MS261 for home use. Large wooded lot with big oak lay downs. Right now it has a 20" bar wondering if I can go larger?

Also I have heard about some exhaust mods for more power but not sure what those are...
Jeff

It will work ok with a 20”. Don’t even bother going longer with that, or any other, 50cc saw. And, it will be easier on that saw going to full skip chain if yours is 3/8 pitch.

you need 2 saws anyway.
having just one is no fun at all.

 

[stihltech]

Secret to running 20 inch bar on a 261? KEEP IT SHARP!!!!!
Secret to any saw actually. Over 50% of repairs can be traced to a dull chain.
Keep it sharp. Shhh.

 

[jeffp]

It will work ok with a 20”. Don’t even bother going longer with that, or any other, 50cc saw. And, it will be easier on that saw going to full skip chain if yours is 3/8 pitch.

you need 2 saws anyway.
having just one is no fun at all.

The stock 20" it came with is .325 so you're saying try 3/8 and full skip chisel right?

 

[jeffp]

Try the new 20” 04 Light bar on that 261. The new bar has a .50 gauge, and performs much better than the Wider 20” .63 gauge bar and chain that your saw (and mine) originally came with. Otherwise, just like the other lads here are sayin’, size up to a bigger saw and enjoy.

04 light bar .63 gauge 20" got it

 

[farmer steve]

No, don't go longer but buy a bigger saw if you need a longer bar.

It will work ok with a 20”. Don’t even bother going longer with that, or any other, 50cc saw. And, it will be easier on that saw going to full skip chain if yours is 3/8 pitch.

you need 2 saws anyway.
having just one is no fun at all.

Damn enablers!

 

[jeffp]

Secret to running 20 inch bar on a 261? KEEP IT SHARP!!!!!
Secret to any saw actually. Over 50% of repairs can be traced to a dull chain.
Keep it sharp. Shhh.

Im actually pretty good at hand sharpening my chains. Woodworker all my life so sharpening hand tools comes natural..

 

[Hundred Acre Wood]

04 light bar .63 gauge 20" got it

The Light 04 bar comes in .050. You'll want the narrow kerf .325 chain (Stihl 23RS Pro / 3690) to go with it.

Edit: I'd recommend going shorter, but if you're dead set on 20" that would be:

Bar: 3003 008 3321
Chain: 3690 005 0081

 

[JPCalifornia]

 

[Hundred Acre Wood]

View attachment 1065198

The middle three digits of the bar number are the country code. Looks like the made in the USA ones are finally out!

 

[singinwoodwackr]

The stock 20" it came with is .325 so you're saying try 3/8 and full skip chisel right?

Not necessarily. If you already have .325 I'd keep that as is.
Sometimes that saw comes with 3/8 which is why I suggested skip.
A 20" bar on that saw is easily good for 3' diameter wood, just slow. Let the saw pull itself. Don't try to force it. Like others have pointed out...keep it sharp! Make sure your rakers are at .025 as well.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

View attachment 1065198

Just keep that bar...don't need .063g for any saw under 41", IMO

 

[ElevatorGuy]

I run a 16” on my ported 261 and the 20 most of the time on my 462. I like them fast though, I wouldn’t go bigger than a 20 on a 261. 20 is too big for a 261 imo.

 

[poleframer]

I'll throw in my .02. I like a 20" on my 026, for thinning saplings, and bucking firewood >12".
It seems most are thinking of bar length fully in the wood. No, a 50 cc saw aint gonna pull 20-24 inches of hardwood. But having the extra length so I dont have to bend over so much is easier on my back, on small stuff I hardly even use the dogs.
If thats the goal for the OP he could probably even get away with a 24 (if he's really tall), but make it a light bar, a 24 is getting too heavy and cumbersome to move around with.

 

[jeffp]

Thanks!

The Light 04 bar comes in .050. You'll want the narrow kerf .325 chain (Stihl 23RS Pro / 3690) to go with it.

Edit: I'd recommend going shorter, but if you're dead set on 20" that would be:

Bar: 3003 008 3321
Chain: 3690 005 0081

 

[Westboastfaller]

What about the big bad stories.. 20" with .050 will jam up! Not good on climbing. . Sure up! Go into a redwood or a cedar and you will realise why you need a wide kerf .(happens on hardwood,all the time, also) That is why they made wide kerf chain. You got to saw in and out. (bulldogin)to keep the kerf open. Got to keep it open and not get the chips In the chain grove. Use a rail puller or an axe..if you have too, regularly. Keep a 'tight rail ' in the cut with dog pressure, but not too tight.
.050" sucks in a big tear down.

To the Op at 20" you will jam more also..due to length. I want a 20" bar on mine. from an 18" .Logging in UK is King with with18" because if you know what you are doing man..You deck everything up on slash piles or log piles and you don't walk logs like BC coast. in residential tree work then 18 this short on the ground. I probably would like a 70cc with 24 bar for trim

 

[Hatchville Homesteader]

Unless you're planning to port your 261 then I would stick with the 20" bar. Mine is muffler modded, timing advanced, and base gasket deleted and with that it's an entirely different and more aggressive animal but I just don't think the saw has the torque to handle a bar longer than 20"