Should I Fill a Husky Equipment Gap?

[Wood Doctor]

I own no Husqvarna saws. I'm not sure why. This past few weeks I have been restoring two of them--a Husky 41 with an 18" bar and a Husky 61 with a 20" bar. Both are vintage, but now they both start and run very well. They are also clean, well taken care of for the most part, and they only needed about $100 worth of parts and my dirt cheap labor to being them up to snuff. I've checked out rings and compression (good), idling (smooth and good), top end (very good), power in the cut (very good), and appearance (almost excellent). Bars are good and lots of almost new spare chains. Take a look:


For $300 and a free restoration bill, I think the owner would say good bye to both and hand over the keys. Should I make him the offer and bring these on board? Please advise. And, if you own either of these saws, please let me know what you think of their performance.

 

[Yoopermike]

Yep! Then find a 51!

 

[Wood Doctor]

Oh, and BTW, I noticed that the decal on the 61 that says 300: 1689 -- 1989. Not sure what that means, but maybe this is a 1989 vintage saw. The way it starts and runs, you would never know it.

 

[president]

61s are bullet proof and easy to work on ,accepts up to 272 upgrades
with relative ease

 

[DSS]

Oh, and BTW, I noticed that the decal on the 61 that says 300: 1689 -- 1989. Not sure what that means, but maybe this is a 1989 vintage saw. The way it starts and runs, you would never know it.

It's 1989 vintage, yes. Husqvarna's 300th anniversary. I have several saws in that series (61/268/272) and they are fine saws. That one is in very nice condition. Pretty much bulletproof, they don't have any real issues.

I have no experience with a 41

 

[KYsawman]

Those are to good looking saws. My dad had the same 1989 aniversary husky 61, he started out with a 1979 61 white top. Both wery good saws, anvil reliable. I have had both a 36 and 41,(same family,parts all interchange),they are good little limbing saws. The 41 with a muffler mod and a non safty chain will run side by side a new 445 husky. I sold it to a coworker that has the 445 and he likes the 41 better.

 

[Wood Doctor]

It's 1989 vintage, yes. Husqvarna's 300th anniversary. I have several saws in that series (61/268/272) and they are fine saws. That one is in very nice condition. Pretty much bulletproof, they don't have any real issues.

I have no experience with a 41

The only thing I did to fix the 61 was (1) replace an ignition coil (2) replace a broken chain brake and clutch cover, and (3) replace a rim sprocket. That was it. The engine started and ran. Oiler is fine. There was a little smoke, but this saw has sat around for awhile. I have a feeling it just needs some run time. Fuel might have been a bit stale...

 

[old guy]

I have a 41 I bought new in 93, it looks a bit battered but still runs strong.

John

 

[Marshy]

The only thing I did to fix the 61 was (1) replace an ignition coil (2) replace a broken chain brake and clutch cover, and (3) replace a rim sprocket. That was it. The engine started and ran. Oiler is fine. There was a little smoke, but this saw has sat around for awhile. I have a feeling it just needs some run time. Fuel might have been a bit stale...

If you think its stale then jsut dump it. The stale fuel can to dmage if you or the OP decides to run it out. Last thing you want is perignition because the fuel is stale.

 

[svk]

My first saw was a 41 and it gets the job done but is no barn burner. I owned that saw for almost 20 years and I think the only thing it ever needed was a carb cleaning. I'd personally run a 14' or 16" bar on it as 18" is probably a little long.

That is a nice 61. I found an older white top online locally but they never answered me so I must have been too late.

 

[SawTroll]

Those are to good looking saws. My dad had the same 1989 aniversary husky 61, he started out with a 1979 61 white top. Both wery good saws, anvil reliable. I have had both a 36 and 41,(same family,parts all interchange),they are good little limbing saws. The 41 with a muffler mod and a non safty chain will run side by side a new 445 husky. I sold it to a coworker that has the 445 and he likes the 41 better.

The 41 and 141 are much "peppier" than the later Poulan made Huskys, like the 142 (US version ) and 240.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

$300 plus what you have into them? Maybe if your in them $100.

 

[Cliff R]

"Please advise. And, if you own either of these saws, please let me know what you think of their performance."

Had a 41 for a brief period and have worked on several others over the years. Nothing impressive about them anyplace, about on par with the same size department store Poulan for power, etc.

61's and open port, and at the bottom of the pile in that chassis for power. They have a smooth/broad/flat power curve, and decent firewood saw, 20" bar max, better suited to a 16-18" bar...IMHO. The big upgrade for them when the time comes is to use a 268-272XP top end on them. I've done that conversion, very easy, but the spark plug requires a matching hole in the cover to fit........Cliff

 

[Wood Doctor]

Well, I guess I did too good of a job. The owner paid his $100 and turned down my offer to forget the bill and accept $300 more for the two saws. So, the saws are repaired, running, and back in his hands.

Word has it, however, that the promised to sell the saws to a good friend, so perhaps that was the major motive for hiring me to fix them. Anyway, the experience was really worthwhile for me because now I feel rather comfortable working on Husqvarna saws. They are well made and I can understand why their owners get along with them so well.

Thanks for the thread.

 

[ft. churchill]

I've had two 61's they were both great saws. One has been converted to a 272.