Building the Ultimate 25" Barred Saw

[Cheese]

Not sure if this is trolling, but could be aggravating to some.

I am coming at the problem a little differently. I have a bunch of trees that need to come down, Colorado beetle kill. I have some money to put into tools in the form of saw stuff. So here is the question. Trees run from pecker poles to a full 25". My 440 and 660 are around for the occasional bigger tree.

What saw would you run to pull a 25" bar with full skip in soft wood? Saw needs to be reliable, durable, fastish and handy. No problem putting some machine work into a little saw to get better numbers. Saw has to be full or 3/4 wrapped or wrappable. Weight is somewhat of a concern.

I usually run a 25 on my 440 and don't mind the size, but the operator for this saw is smaller. The 361 is lighter but no one who cuts a bunch seems to have great things to say. I had 30 hours on one last week and wanted more power and beef.

Is the solution a woods ported 361? Can a person count on good life with hard use and maintenance? Is a stock 7900 the answer.

Thanks.

 

[husky362]

is the 361 muffler modded or stock......a true woods ported saw would help and keep the weight down, have you handeled the 7900 to compare it

 

[Darkness77]

Hands down 660. Tell the operator to harden the :censored: up!

 

[GASoline71]

The 361 will pull the skip chain on a 25" bar just fine... modding the muffler will help but is not needed. Mine had a 25" bar and it was perfect for west side softwoods.

Gary

 

[Wicked500R]

If the operator is too small to run a 440... I dunno if I would trust him with any saw over 50cc.... That can be a dangerous situation...JMO What smaller saws do you have? Give her the small saw cuttin' the small stuff and have someone else or yourself run the 440 or 660 on the trunk sections

 

[Cheese]

Not too small, just the reality that after 3-4 tanks of fuel through the 440 in a day beats her up pretty good. A 25" bar on a 361 if it had enough snort would be good. She can and does run the 660, just keeping the operator comfortable keeps the day productive and safe.

I have never touched or seen a 7900, but it sounds like I should race and work one independant of this conversation.

The 361 I was running had a 20" bar on it, stock muffler we were operating at 9k feet.

Has anyone put good miles on a 361? Stihl says it is Pro but it feels soft. Maybe it is the anti-vibe that keeps me from white knuckling when I have the beer at the end of the day?

Maybe 1-2 trees in 10 are out of the 2 foot upper limit.

This is not a 660 job. This is one of those "co-workers" who you can't just tell to buck up.

What else is there?

 

[Wicked500R]

Ahhhh.... Let me go correct my post from little guy to uhmmm .... The 361 is an awesome saw. I'm running a 20 on mine stock and she cuts pretty quick. I would run a 25 with RSC chain and feel good about it but thats about it's max. You would'nt be able to lean on it but she'll cut fine ... I don't think the skipper is necessary but would be easier on the saw

 

[JT78]

The 7900 is really stout and fast but Dolmar stretches the truth on weight. Ive heard that the Husky 359 responds well to porting.

 

[parrisw]

Buck up. If you cant run any saw for 4 tanks of fuel then oh well. Its not meant to be. Then maybe he/she should be pushing a pen around the office for work. Sorry, just my opinion.

 

[SawTroll]

.......

I have never touched or seen a 7900, but it sounds like I should race and work one independant of this conversation. .......

The 7900 is really stout and fast but Dolmar stretches the truth on weight. .....

The 7900 definately weights more than the 440, and the difference is larger than the specs tell you....

The anti-vibe on the 361 is really nice compared to most other Stihls, like the 440.

Sounds like the ol' 262xp would have been a nice compromise here, a tad heavier than the 361, but also more power.

.......and I am pretty sure a modded MS361 would be as well.
You may try with just a muffler mod first - that might be enough, with skip chain..........





Btw, it normally is no problem to fell 25" trees with a 18" bar - it would make the saw much easier to carry.

 

[Tzed250]

:agree2:

 

[Chopwood]

Get her a 5100 and be done with it.

 

[excess650]

there was a thread here sometime back about a ported 346xp work saw

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=69624&highlight=ported+346

 

[woodfarmer]

i prefer my jonny 2159 to the stihl 361, 2159 is woods ported, which would definitely pull the 24" in softwood

 

[2000ssm6]

The 50cc is too small, even modded, for a 25". I say a ported 361 or my favorite a ported 440/460. Try a muffler mod on that 361 and see how she likes it, mine picked up quite a bit.

 

[computeruser]

Assuming that price is not a factor, something in the 60cc/12lb range that has been woods ported by someone who knows what they're doing would probably get the job done. MS361, MS360/036, Husqvarna 357xp/359, etc. would be good candidates. Even if pushed a bit past normal tolerances and into the performance realm that slightly degrades saw life, it might make more sense to sacrifice longevity between rebuilds to keep this particular operator productive and safe.

Now your post indicates that the wood ranges up to 25". Well, it would seem that a 20" bar would be plenty for such work, and you might even be able to get by with 16" or 18". Perhaps saving a few inches on bar length would help out. I know that the muscle groups that get a workout swinging a long bar are different than those that get a workout swinging a heavier saw with a short bar, so perhaps the issue of operator comfort could be addressed that way.

 

[husky362]

why beat up your body

a tied worker is not productive, im all for the 70cc & 50 cc combo a smaller saw will be safer easy to limb with and less tiring.......less wear n tear on your body, if i was doing it every day....... all Jobs are different if i had to use one saw it would be a 361 or 357xp ... as sawtroll point's out a 18" bar will cut a 25" tree with less carry'd wight you may have to double cut a few times, still easy'er than packing too big a saw all day

 

[Cheese]

Thanks for the opinions and ideas.

A couple thoughts from this end...

25" takes the big trees and allows easy reach limbing.

On all the toughen up stuff, I am pretty impressed. I am not macho, but I am a decently big and decently strong guy. Running saw all day is real work. Being tired, unsafe and slow hurts and potentially kills. I imagine there are some real sawyers here who run 660's all day with 42" bars and more gas then God, but how many really do it? I know I didn't start out working all day with a huge saw saving the world.

It sounds like the project can be done, the 361 is a worthy candidate and it is a matter of getting the bits together.

Thanks.

 

[056kid]

Its hard to have your cake and eat it too so get the 361 or a husq of equal size and put an 18 or 20inch bar on it. If the biggest tree is 25 inches a 14 inch bar will whack it down with ease! It will make whoever a better sawyer.
As far as limbing, hell if you can't tote a 440 you couldn't be that far off the ground!!!!

 

[2000ssm6]

No offense but.....

If the biggest tree is 25 inches a 14 inch bar will whack it down with ease! It will make whoever a better sawyer.

I would leave that to the pros. While I'm no pro, I would never try to fell a 25" tree with a 14", 16", or 18" b&c. Now bucking sure, but that is too little of a bar vs. tree diameter to fell safely. My .02, get a bigger bar....