Modified Saw Discussion

[fool skip]

I spent 40 years working in the woods in Southern Oregon and Norcal. 26 years as Faller and Bullbuck. I've found the chain is the most important part of your cutting equipment. A properly ground square chisel chain will increase your cutting Approx. 20%. Keeping your chain out of the dirt, working your strip properly, and not getting hung up and pounding wedges all day is the secret to cutting big scale. I'm a bit baffled by all this saw modifying. If the saw won.t handle the job, you get a bigger one. Even a modified muffler is a big NoNo out here during fire season. When I first started guys were having kart motors put on there big Macs. They broke a lot of starter ropes. ****** way to start the day. I seen a lot of guys modify their saws but I haven't seen the increase in production. What am I missing?

 

[buttercup]

I think it has to do with interest and fascination more than "using the right tool for the job", which I can totally understand.
I was reading about someone who obviously got psychotically focused on modding and porting he's Husky 445, not in your league at all of course but it was interesting to follow it.
He ended up with the restriction of the limited coil but said that he's 445/45cc was now both faster and more powerful than a 450/50cc.
Then a more experienced professional woods worker chimed in and said; you now have a 445 that runs like a 450 and that makes the noise of a 372 - why not just get a 372

 

[sunfish]

Makes more fun cutting firewood. lol

 

[Todd Loosli]

I only do the mods because I can. Shouldn't let your mind go to waste by not enjoying the talents you have. Some of you have seen Green Ripper my 98cc poulan 3400. It was a fun project

 

[chipper1]

If you have a modded saw you may cut faster than your stock saw with a dull chain, but if you have a sharp chain on a stock saw you may out cut a modded saw with a dull/not properly tuned chain.
OP your right to a certain extent, but many of us are not out doing the type of cutting you're doing/have done and are not doing it where you're doing it. Pretty sure you're one of those guys who could make a chain do a heck of a lot better than most, we need guys like you doing tutorials! Any pictures of your chains.
Now that being said, there are many fallers in other scenarios who do benefit from mods, and they are also not restricted from doing MM's.
You will also always have enthusiasts who want to push the envelope and are willing to try new things, some work better than others.
Also most guys don't want to drop a grand on a simington grinder .

 

[berrnard]

I spent 40 years working in the woods in Southern Oregon and Norcal. 26 years as Faller and Bullbuck. I've found the chain is the most important part of your cutting equipment. A properly ground square chisel chain will increase your cutting Approx. 20%. Keeping your chain out of the dirt, working your strip properly, and not getting hung up and pounding wedges all day is the secret to cutting big scale. I'm a bit baffled by all this saw modifying. If the saw won.t handle the job, you get a bigger one. Even a modified muffler is a big NoNo out here during fire season. When I first started guys were having kart motors put on there big Macs. They broke a lot of starter ropes. ****** way to start the day. I seen a lot of guys modify their saws but I haven't seen the increase in production. What am I missing?

im one that does it cause i can, it sounds beefier, and i like adjusting the carb to the optimal setting afterwords. maybe it's the innate car guy in all of us

 

[svk]

I can appreciate that the guys in areas where any muffler modding is illegal wouldn't be too interested in modified saws.

With that being said, a woods ported saw with a timing advance and a modest muffler mod actually improves the breathing of a stock saw so in reality your saw may last a little longer and cut a lot faster. This does come at the expense of a fuel mileage.

I am not a fan of running heavy saws unless I am only bucking larger logs or taking an older saw for a rip. A ported saw of 50 or 60 cc range is all that I would ever need up here unless I needed to cut larger Norway or white pine or some type of overgrown yard tree. If I was in big timber country that would be a different story.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

For me, it's about making a chore into something really fun. I cut about 30 cords of firewood a year. It was getting to be a drag with my stock 361. Got a stock 460, and it was fun again. Now I've got several ported saws. They make me smile while I'm cutting wood, and that's what matters. To me anyway.

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

More power, less weight.

This is like asking why race car drivers modify their cars. You can race an off the lot car...but why would you?


All things being equal, a faster chainsaw will up production. I don't see how it couldn't....you spend less time in the cut.

 

[fool skip]

Thanks for your input. I get it. We live in two different worlds. Keep those chains sharp and your air cleaner clean. Oh yeah, be careful.

 

[Stihl 041S]

Can’t see running a heavier saw than needed.......
Mod a 60cc that trumps a stock 70cc.

with the same sharp chain........

Use the lighter saw unless you got issues..........unnecessary macho makes no money.

 

[cuinrearview]

Last weekend I took a completely un-modified saw to the woods. It was boring. I forgot how different a stocker is.

 

[Todd Loosli]

If my job was to lay the trees down fast I would be doing it with a saw that was big enough to do the job and would not be messing with it. But I would have my hot saw in the truck.

 

[buttercup]

I would guess for a pro; a proper tool for the job, no hassle and totally certified reliability would be the preferred option...

 

[chipper1]

All things being equal, a faster chainsaw will up production. I don't see how it couldn't....you spend less time in the cut.

Problem is not all things will be equal.
Depending on who's done the mods one saw may be more powerful/have more torque, and another may be faster.
Most saws will loose fuel economy but may cut faster so there is no lose suffered, but many will suffer from poor fuel economy and will not.make up for it in cut times.
For guys cutting firewood this may not make as big of a deal as it does to a guy carrying fuel around in the woods.
When I'm doing storm cleanup I like a saw that is capable of being fast as well as the ability to make a controlled cut, and I also like the lightest saw, so a ported saw fits the bill. When on most other jobs I like to run the autotune/mtronic saws because of their efficiency overall, fuel economy, captured bar nuts, no need to tune, side tensioners, smooth AV, master switch with return to run, are all features that help increase overall efficiency for me.

I can appreciate that the guys in areas where any muffler modding is illegal wouldn't be too interested in modified saws.

There are mods that can be done that don't require modding the the muffler such as a base gasket delete/cutting base or squish or both and popups that help performance.

 

[LonestarStihl]

Soooo I do this for fun but don’t understand why a modified saw can’t be run during a fire season. If you keep an intact spark arrest or screen then I don’t see how opening up the ports and all is an issue... seems like keeping the spark arrest or screen and nodding the timing and all would actually cause the harvesting of trees to be quicker and more efficient along with the proper sharpening of chain.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Soooo I do this for fun but don’t understand why a modified saw can’t be run during a fire season. If you keep an intact spark arrest or screen then I don’t see how opening up the ports and all is an issue... seems like keeping the spark arrest or screen and nodding the timing and all would actually cause the harvesting of trees to be quicker and more efficient along with the proper sharpening of chain.

We were just talking about this on 0PE. Basically if a fire starts where you're working, they very well may inspect your equipment. If it's been modified, you might be on the hook for the cost to put it out. Who enforces this and how strict they are varies by region. Different landowners may have different rules, sometimes requiring inspection before a piece of equipment can be used.

 

[EchoRomeoCharlie]

Problem is not all things will be equal.
Depending on who's done the mods one saw may be more powerful/have more torque, and another may be faster.
Most saws will loose fuel economy but may cut faster so there is no lose suffered, but many will suffer from poor fuel economy and will not.make up for it in cut times.
For guys cutting firewood this may not make as big of a deal as it does to a guy carrying fuel around in the woods.
When I'm doing storm cleanup I like a saw that is capable of being fast as well as the ability to make a controlled cut, and I also like the lightest saw, so a ported saw fits the bill. When on most other jobs I like to run the autotune/mtronic saws because of their efficiency overall, fuel economy, captured bar nuts, no need to tune, side tensioners, smooth AV, master switch with return to run, are all features that help increase overall efficiency for me.

Fuel economy is definitely a detriment to production. Good point.

 

[buttercup]

Soooo I do this for fun but don’t understand why a modified saw can’t be run during a fire season. If you keep an intact spark arrest or screen then I don’t see how opening up the ports and all is an issue... seems like keeping the spark arrest or screen and nodding the timing and all would actually cause the harvesting of trees to be quicker and more efficient along with the proper sharpening of chain.

Exceeding the specs of a machine by the designer might definitely result in a long term reliability issue for sure... that's like pretty logic I'd say.

 

[LonestarStihl]

Im just ignorant to it I guess. Guess I just don’t understand how the mods would increase risk unless they made more spark I guess. But I don’t understand how that all works. I’m sure the spark arrestor screen isn’t 100% anyways. They’d have to prove you were the reason it started