oooo free saws...what should i do? husq 181 and 281

[sherpasaw]

Having recently moved to the middle of nowhere oregon and now having wood as my primary source of heat (should be about 4 cords a year) i feel impelled, compelled to acquire a saw in order to get the trees felled. And now i need my hand held. A friend has given me two saws neither of which is seized and one of which was the victim of a tree beat-down which left it chainbrakeless. i think they were both ported or had a muffler job from the owner before last.

i would like to know if anyone has anything to say about the husqvarna 181 and 281. have not seen a lot of chatter about them and i don't see a lot of after-market or even oem parts. i have found a replacement chainbrake for the 281. Worst case scenario if i need to do whole rebuilds, is there another cylinder that will bolt on to these cases?

Are these saws going to run a 22 or 24 bar? felling pine usually no bigger than 30 inch diameter and with judicious use of felling wedges. I am a tall guy and i don't like having to stoop to limb a felled tree. Guess i could leave a shorter bar on one for felling if it will be too much drag on the longer bar.

And if the carbs are no good, is there going to be a better after market option or should i find a rebuild kit? They have been sitting in a box in a pretty dry environment for about 5 years.

if i can get 2 saws going for the price of one new one i will be stoked. thanks for your help. Sweet site

 

[mdavlee]

Those are good old saws and a lot of 288 parts will fit them including pistons and cylinders. They will pull a 24" bar just fine. A lot of them have been run with 32" or so.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Send them to me!

 

[pioneerguy600]

Take either of them and make a runner, they make great firewood bucking saws and will easily run 32" bars.

Pioneerguy600

 

[sherpasaw]

wooo hooo i guess i have a good friend. and so damn happy he isn't mechanically inclined too.:monkey: but a real good guy.

thanks for the quick reply. really made my night. stinkin cold here and getting over the flu. :blob6::blob6::blob6::blob6::blob6::blob6: blowing whole flocks of these guys into the tissue

 

[AUSSIE1]

The 88cc kits for these from Bailey's are one of the nicest I've seen. The same crank as the 394 from memory. Used parts and some aftermarket are available.

 

[MadMax5578]

I just posted an add in the swap meet thread about looking for and old 80+cc Husky to make a project saw.......:bang:

 

[cpr]

Get them. 281 has been on my short list for a while.

 

[epicklein22]

I would patiently locate all the parts and build both of them up to running status again. Those saws have a good reputation and are sought after by certain members. Being in Oregon, you probably have some old school saw shops in your area. They probably have parts saws laying around....

 

[husky394]

The 281 is used to build 5 cube stock appearing hotsaws, some would be racer may be interested..............

 

[troutfisher]

The 281 is one of the best saws ever made. Here's mine at Timberwolf's GTG........

http://www.youtube.com/user/chainsman1#p/u/59/EZcXEbtLrF4

 

[teatersroad]

Burns? dude..

I think there is some family resemblance with the J-red 820/920 and those saws, a few parts.

 

[spike60]

Virtually every part is still avaiable for those saws. The one exception that I can think of is the 181 piston and it's thin riings, but the newer 281 piston fits right in there should you ever need it.

 

[Cliff R]

My 181 manages a 24" bar easily. I recently put a 30" on it, skip tooth, and don't like the skip tooth chain. It doesn't cut fast enough or work the saw hard enough. I'll be replacing it with a non skip tooth next time around. My 181 has over 180lbs compression, which seems to be the norm for these saws, at least from what I've seen.......Cliff

 

[Braintree]

That's some gift,nice saws.I pickup a 288 from a local dealer about a mouth a go,I think it from 1989 it has the metal brake on it.He said a local farmer had it,he didn't need it anymore.It's turn out to be a good deal so far.Fix them saw up,you;ll have two winners.