Hi there all, I have been using a 357 WXPG lately on a 6 acre clearcut of hardwood. The trees ranged from whips to 15" dead Elm. I too noticed that the filter requires nil to no cleaning and even the venturi has no noticeable bypass of any fine particles, however the weather is damp and snowy, so this may be a factor.
When I was in the firewood business my main saw was the 066 magnum with a 16" bar regardless of wood size. This way I could cut more wood as the saw had nothing but shear power and was always in the wood.
I wish I had discovered power tuning in those days. I think a good man on a 357XP that is power tuned can outcut any stock saw regardless of size with 16" bar by the end of the day. Mainly because smaller saws have more available power per pound without prematurely tiring the operator. The low vibs of the new pro Huskys is a real plus. Firewooding is the hardest task one can put a saw to other than lumbermaking.
After reading the above statement it is easy to see how we can become estatic about one particular saw, however, the saw doesnt make the logger, the logger makes the saw.
It is very important I find to closely match the saw to the job, and with proper maintainance and bar length choice, we can outcut most others and still have energy left by the end of the day.
I find that some people are just plain hard on saws no matter what they use, just as we can be hard on trucks or any other thing for that matter. After twenty years of using a saw I have learned to be very gentle on them even though I run them full bore and held right to the pin at all times. This 357, after running more than 50 tanks of fuel still has the two factory stickers on the bottom and the black magic marker that indicated it as mine when it came from Walkers. Just over one year ago I couldnt stand to look at a Husky, now I cant get enough of them.
This doesnt mean other saws are not equal, it means they are just different and I think I would be short changing myself if I said a Husky was better than other makes.
We all may have noticed that hotsaw racers never say nothing bad about other makes and models (except Mr. Andrews of course, lol), but rather prefer to see what advantages those saws can offer.
I guess I have rambled on enough about my 357, however, stay tuned it just might be a 385 WXP next week.
Has anyone ever heard a powertuned 088 over the phone?
Stihl Crazy After All These Years
Russ
