Eiler2641
ArboristSite Member
I am in the process of buying a new lighter weight saw and I am stuck between these two models. If any one has either saw your input would much appreciated.
I don't have a 261 but I have both the MS260 and the 346xp and prefer the 260. I may be in the minority here, but I don't find the handling and power advantage that the 346 fans cite to be significant, and certainly not enough to outweigh how much easier the 260 is to clean, swap chains, just generally live with.
I don't have a 261 but I have both the MS260 and the 346xp and prefer the 260. I may be in the minority here, but I don't find the handling and power advantage that the 346 fans cite to be significant, and certainly not enough to outweigh how much easier the 260 is to clean, swap chains, just generally live with.
and at least you can just pic up a stihl pull the triger and thumb the choke without puting it down or letting go of the front bar
Do a search on here, there are at least 1000 similar threads...
HUH? :msp_confused:
To the OP;
The MS261 is just too large and clumcy to handle for a 50cc saw, and has a slow trigger response (according to people I trust)! The inboard clutch pushing the bar to far from the centre of gravity is one of the reasons that it is that way, but hardly the only reason. Just handling one in a saw shop was enough for me to write it off as an interesting option - no way I would want a 50cc saw like that!
There are a few flaws in this theory.
First, it's a mistake to think of the 261 as a 50cc saw, as it easily matches or out cuts larger and heavier 55-60cc saws. I was comparing the 261 to several light 50 cc saws from other competitors, and it was obvious to me that the 261 was heavier and bulkier, but it also cut like a bigger and stronger saw. After trying the 346, I would throw it in that light category as well. The older Stihl 260 Pro was also in that category. The new 261 is clearly not -- it's measurably (in terms of power and weight) and effectively (in terms of a broad power band and cutting performance) a bigger saw. The sooner people stop comparing it to typical 50cc saws, the better. I think it makes more sense to compare in terms of power and performance, and in that case the 261 looks fantastic against comparable saws -- it typically weighs 2 pounds less than some of the saws it can equal or out cut on the job.
Second, your theory about the clutch is some weak hand waving. There is so much that goes into clutch and sprocket placement, balance, and rotational inertia that it's naive to generalize a notion that an inboard clutch hurts balance. I could come up with several hand-waving theories why that is the opposite, like how the inboard clutch puts the rotational inertia of the clutch closer to the center of the saw, how it puts the mass of the clutch closer to the center of the saw, how it could conceivably have the same exact sprocket/chain/bar plane as an outboard clutch, how it can make for a more compact clutch cover and/or allow for better chip flow, etc. But that's just more hand waving. In reality, unless we could sample a 261 with inboard clutch compared against a hypothetical "all else equal" 261 designed around an outboard clutch (or do similar with a 346), it's not possible to make a conclusion either way. We just don't know what the engineers can do with each approach on the same saw.
I sure as heck would not be making hypothetical conclusions without even running the saw! You'd be better off not admitting that part, since it hurts your credibility. I think there should be a rule around here that you have to use a saw in wood for actual work before you can comment on it. Having used both a 261 and a 346, there is a night and day difference between the saws, and I can say that with experience. I don't think you can. Which means that you couldn't even legitimately explain to someone the instances where the 346 would be the better choice. Credibility goes both ways.
Lots of threads on this subject, I tried a 346xpne for a little over a year in a commercial firewood operation, they are a good saw, prolly the most overhyped saw on AS in stock form.
I bought a 261 when they first came out, the 346 just sat, last Saturday added a second 261 to the operation. They are 9oz heavier, imho pretty easy to see why, they are a rock solid saw, air filteration is the best of any saw on the market, in our opinion a much more useable power band, torquier, don't have to keep it screaming wot to get the most out of it, the 261 has the inboard clutch, a real sized chain tension screw, not a micro screw, the 261 has captive bar nuts and the even better the MS261 is made in the USA by skilled American workers, at the Virginia Beach, VA plant. Imho the Stihl bar that comes with the 261 is also a higher quality bar than the rebadged oregon that comes on the 346xpne. The 261 also comes standard with a stainless steel mufffler. The 346xpne was the best 50cc saw I had run until we got the 261's in our operation. I/f your going to use them to cut firewood from 20" down/ use them as a general purpose farm type saw imho it's the 261 hands down, we'll sell over 400 cord this year and the last three years combined have been right at a 950-1000, these 261's make the perfect complement saw to 70/80cc saws or are just about perfect for the guy who goes out and cuts for his own use. I have ours set up with 18" .325 setups and they pull them with authority buried in hardwood,
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