andrethegiant70
Addicted to ArboristSite
Hi, Gang! I thought I’d make a little contribution to the knowledge base. I’ve rebuilt a number of 371/372 Huskies now and I happened onto a 362 basket case. You don’t hear all that much about these. I let it sit in the corner until a fellow member, Al Glick (Hi, Al!!) raved about the performance of the narrow kerf (Carlton) setup on his 262. Al is a no bullsh$t guy and indicates that it outcuts his 272 handily. At this statement, I perked up, as the 272 I have is a monster. The 262 is one helluva saw, but after his switch to the NK chain and bar, it became a LOT faster. So I got to thinking, how about a light, high performance milling saw (20-in bar)to take care of some of the smaller diameter juniper milling I do. As luck would have it, the Carlton people have ground out a version of this chain for milling. Less weight to lug into the woods and less wasted juniper. Enter the 362, as it is within the upper range of saws listed as compatible with the NK chain. What the heck, it seemed like a fun experiment and I was ready for another project.
So that’s the back story on this saw. Cases were split, bearings, seals, and gaskets were purchased, and off I went. I found some things out about the 362 that I didn’t expect! Here are some of the observations:
1) The piston is NOT a reduced version of the 372 piston, it is a whole different animal. Flat sides instead of scooped out, and the underside looks more like a typical Stihl piston than the 372….no bloopy shapes, and very lean on material.
2) The cylinder is an Italian manufacturer, and although the jug appears to be patterned after the 371/371 jug, there are LOTS of differences…. The base plate is missing material as opposed to being a square ( I suppose to save weight), the transfers are very small, comparatively, and the port edges are mighty sharp… to say they are beveled is being very generous. All that said, the thing appears to be very well made. Check out the pics.
3) The case is different! I REALLY didn’t expect that! In fact, I didn’t even notice until I went to split it and found the bar studs were closer together. The whole bar mount pad is reduced in size and slid back towards the clutch… again, I suppose to shed a little weight. In every other way, the case is the spitting image of a 371/372 case. This had to be an expensive way to lighten this saw by a few ounces. I can’t believe they bothered. With bar studs closer together, the bar plate and clutch cover have to be different also! Those didn’t come with this saw. Because the bar mount is rearranged, the copper oil tube is different also. Same oiler as the 371/372. The pics show a standard 371 case next to the 362 case so you can see the differences.
4) The last pic is of my little shop buddy. He was pretty disgusted that I worked on saws instead of taking him out to the woods. If you look into his beady little eyes, you can tell that he is giving me a very accusing look. He did eventually get his walk but, no matter, he is still staring at me like I owe him money, even now.
For compatibility reasons and because the 362 case had some battle scars, I went with a straight 371/372 case on this project. I scavenged the crank, top end, muffler, intake system (Walbro) and a variety of other doodads . And before you ask, no I’m not going to port this one as the intention was to reduce power to avoid snapping the NK chains. This saw will not get a chain brake as I can’t imagine there will be much in the way of kickback on a milling saw. As it sits, the bottom end is all together. I’m going to decarbon the exhaust port and do a little beveling, as the port edges make me a touch jumpy.
So that’s the back story on this saw. Cases were split, bearings, seals, and gaskets were purchased, and off I went. I found some things out about the 362 that I didn’t expect! Here are some of the observations:
1) The piston is NOT a reduced version of the 372 piston, it is a whole different animal. Flat sides instead of scooped out, and the underside looks more like a typical Stihl piston than the 372….no bloopy shapes, and very lean on material.
2) The cylinder is an Italian manufacturer, and although the jug appears to be patterned after the 371/371 jug, there are LOTS of differences…. The base plate is missing material as opposed to being a square ( I suppose to save weight), the transfers are very small, comparatively, and the port edges are mighty sharp… to say they are beveled is being very generous. All that said, the thing appears to be very well made. Check out the pics.
3) The case is different! I REALLY didn’t expect that! In fact, I didn’t even notice until I went to split it and found the bar studs were closer together. The whole bar mount pad is reduced in size and slid back towards the clutch… again, I suppose to shed a little weight. In every other way, the case is the spitting image of a 371/372 case. This had to be an expensive way to lighten this saw by a few ounces. I can’t believe they bothered. With bar studs closer together, the bar plate and clutch cover have to be different also! Those didn’t come with this saw. Because the bar mount is rearranged, the copper oil tube is different also. Same oiler as the 371/372. The pics show a standard 371 case next to the 362 case so you can see the differences.
4) The last pic is of my little shop buddy. He was pretty disgusted that I worked on saws instead of taking him out to the woods. If you look into his beady little eyes, you can tell that he is giving me a very accusing look. He did eventually get his walk but, no matter, he is still staring at me like I owe him money, even now.
For compatibility reasons and because the 362 case had some battle scars, I went with a straight 371/372 case on this project. I scavenged the crank, top end, muffler, intake system (Walbro) and a variety of other doodads . And before you ask, no I’m not going to port this one as the intention was to reduce power to avoid snapping the NK chains. This saw will not get a chain brake as I can’t imagine there will be much in the way of kickback on a milling saw. As it sits, the bottom end is all together. I’m going to decarbon the exhaust port and do a little beveling, as the port edges make me a touch jumpy.
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