440 with an 8 pin is a NO GO

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Its a MS stihl problem and I'm sticking to it:)

I've been away from here for over a year,,,

I come back and You're still stuck on the one brand is better than the other cr@p!!!

Sheesh!!!!:clap::msp_flapper::dizzy:

IMO 8 pins are for 8'' cants or 5ci saws with 20'' bars. At least this is what I've learnt in hardwood.

This post right here could possibly be the most logical post in this thread!!!:monkey:
 
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Must be a sick 440. We run our 044 with a 8 pin and mostly 18-25" bar in oak and hickory. Prolly the fastest firewood cutter we have uses our 361 mm with a 18" 8pin, it flats rips. Our 460 is set up with a 8pin and 25" bar, no issues and the 660 is set up with a 8pin on a 25" bar.

We have always run 8 pins with the shorter bars we run in hardwood. Most of the wood we cut is 24" and under but is mainly seasoned oak and hickory with some green hedge mixed in.

I absolutely love the way a MM 361 with an 8 pin cuts with an 18" bar. It is one of the most awesome firewood set up's out there.

When I read the 440 is coming back this summer I called my dealer and ask that he order three of them for me, one for each son and I'm putting one up in the box. I ask that he set all of them up with 18" bars and 8 pin sprockets. With dual port mufflers opened up they ought to be the cats azz.

My 044 is cosmetically very nice but has a lot of run time on it, it's blowing just over 145 psi compression but still handles a 20" 8 pin set up very well buried.

7 pin's are for long bars and big wood and 50cc saws and under imho.
 
Must be a sick 440. We run our 044 with a 8 pin and mostly 18-25" bar in oak and hickory. Prolly the fastest firewood cutter we have uses our 361 mm with a 18" 8pin, it flats rips. Our 460 is set up with a 8pin and 25" bar, no issues and the 660 is set up with a 8pin on a 25" bar.

We have always run 8 pins with the shorter bars we run in hardwood. Most of the wood we cut is 24" and under but is mainly seasoned oak and hickory with some green hedge mixed in.

I absolutely love the way a MM 361 with an 8 pin cuts with an 18" bar. It is one of the most awesome firewood set up's out there.

When I read the 440 is coming back this summer I called my dealer and ask that he order three of them for me, one for each son and I'm putting one up in the box. I ask that he set all of them up with 18" bars and 8 pin sprockets. With dual port mufflers opened up they ought to be the cats azz.

My 044 is cosmetically very nice but has a lot of run time on it, it's blowing just over 145 psi compression but still handles a 20" 8 pin set up very well buried.

7 pin's are for long bars and big wood and 50cc saws and under imho.

When you say sick do you mean "that new saw is really Sick" or "my grandma died last summer she was so sick"?

Its funny to me how many people rave about the 8 pins in hardwood. Must be my 440 046 and 660 are all Sick.....I would only run a 20'' on my 440 a 24'' on my 046 and a anything 36'' and under on my 660.

I just find it hard to believe that a stock (not ported) 440 could pull a 24'' bar 8 pin buried in hickory with authority. I know it will pull it but it doesnt seem like it would pull it impressively fast like people state on here.

please prove me wrong with some vids
 
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please prove me wrong with some vids

Here is one of mine, in sycamore wearing a 20" bar, RSC chain and an 8 pin. :) Sycamore definitely aint Hickory though.....

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/V8ssHI8j5uI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Must be a sick 440. We run our 044 with a 8 pin and mostly 18-25" bar in oak and hickory. Prolly the fastest firewood cutter we have uses our 361 mm with a 18" 8pin, it flats rips. Our 460 is set up with a 8pin and 25" bar, no issues and the 660 is set up with a 8pin on a 25" bar.

We have always run 8 pins with the shorter bars we run in hardwood. Most of the wood we cut is 24" and under but is mainly seasoned oak and hickory with some green hedge mixed in.

I absolutely love the way a MM 361 with an 8 pin cuts with an 18" bar. It is one of the most awesome firewood set up's out there.

When I read the 440 is coming back this summer I called my dealer and ask that he order three of them for me, one for each son and I'm putting one up in the box. I ask that he set all of them up with 18" bars and 8 pin sprockets. With dual port mufflers opened up they ought to be the cats azz.

My 044 is cosmetically very nice but has a lot of run time on it, it's blowing just over 145 psi compression but still handles a 20" 8 pin set up very well buried.

7 pin's are for long bars and big wood and 50cc saws and under imho.



It's posts like this that got me thinking my MM 361 would benefit from the 8-pin 18" set-up. It just wasn't so for me. I usually cut at 4,000' - 6,000' though, so altitude may be contributing.
 
i find that lots of folks use a heavy hand intsead of a sharp chain,though they think they have a sharp chain . but,when compared to someone than can really sharpen a chain thers is quite dull. i see lots of folks at gtg grab my saws and dog them in which is a no go. i keep my chain too aggressive for a heavy hand or an inexperienced cutter.[/QUOT

I'm not pointing fingers or being judgmental but I tend to agree. I too have seen guys (usually large) at a gtg dog every damn saw they get their hands on from Walkerized 394s to 49sps.....just plain push them past the "sweet spot" where they are spun up good and cutting fast....making them cut 1000 rpm below peak power (not to be confused with peak rpm) some guys understand the balance between tooth and engine and can hear the difference...some can't... so I don't know.... with such a polarized opinion of the same saw and bar lengths, I kinda have to go with the human error here...FWIW...IMHO.....LOL!!!
 
.....

7 pin's are for long bars and big wood and 50cc saws and under imho.

I suspect you are overdoing the 8-pin thing a bit, but if it works for you it works!

There is nothing wrong with 7-pin, just about 12% less initial chain speed, but that difference may lessen fast after you hit the wood, and could change pretty fast into minus.

For random readers, what cuts wood is chain speed, chain design + number of cutters in the wood, and of course sharpness - Hp and Nm doesnt really cut anything, they just help keeping the chain speed up! A dull chain or a heavy hand will bring the chain speed down pretty fast.
 
Jeepy, I'm old, don't even have a cell that will shoot video, don't have a clue how to post one.lol. All I can tell you is that we are extremely pleased with the way they cut or we would go back to a 7 pin.
In hedge we would prolly be faster with the 7 pin, no more of than we cut of it, we just are lazy and don't change out. We carry a box full of extra goodies on the wood truck, any one of the guys could change out at any time and they all prefer the 8's is all I know. We've run more Stihl full chisel this year than semi, and I can say we keep it sharp as I've been given that task, head chain sharpener. My 2nd cousin is a third generation walnut and oak logger, he runs his 660's/460's with a 8 pin set up on 25" bars, claims it's his best set up. I can't tell that much difference between cutting post oak and hickory.
 
i find that lots of folks use a heavy hand intsead of a sharp chain,though they think they have a sharp chain . but,when compared to someone than can really sharpen a chain thers is quite dull. i see lots of folks at gtg grab my saws and dog them in which is a no go. i keep my chain too aggressive for a heavy hand or an inexperienced cutter.[/QUOT

I'm not pointing fingers or being judgmental but I tend to agree. I too have seen guys (usually large) at a gtg dog every damn saw they get their hands on from Walkerized 394s to 49sps.....just plain push them past the "sweet spot" where they are spun up good and cutting fast....making them cut 1000 rpm below peak power (not to be confused with peak rpm) some guys understand the balance between tooth and engine and can hear the difference...some can't... so I don't know.... with such a polarized opinion of the same saw and bar lengths, I kinda have to go with the human error here...FWIW...IMHO.....LOL!!!

i see your point but understand something here.

I am not just putting a 8 pin on my saw then going out and dogging the saw untill it stalls or bogs. I put the 8 pin on my saw and go cut. I feed the saw in slow and cut and listen and feel. I can tell when i am feeding too fast and the saw drops below optimal RPM. I can tell the difference between a sharp chain and a dull chain.


I cut with the saw for at least 2 hours this morning. I am not pointing any fingers here either but everybody just assumes that i am just dumping the saw into a log and pushing and prying and wondering why it doesnt cut too fast.

My opinion is that the 8 pin in 20'' hardwood is just a little much for the saw. I think it bogs the saw below the optimal RPM range and if anything it cuts a little slower.

thanks for all the responces
 
Jeepy, I'm old, don't even have a cell that will shoot video, don't have a clue how to post one.lol. All I can tell you is that we are extremely pleased with the way they cut or we would go back to a 7 pin.
In hedge we would prolly be faster with the 7 pin, no more of than we cut of it, we just are lazy and don't change out. We carry a box full of extra goodies on the wood truck, any one of the guys could change out at any time and they all prefer the 8's is all I know. We've run more Stihl full chisel this year than semi, and I can say we keep it sharp as I've been given that task, head chain sharpener. My 2nd cousin is a third generation walnut and oak logger, he runs his 660's/460's with a 8 pin set up on 25" bars, claims it's his best set up. I can't tell that much difference between cutting post oak and hickory.

I ran the 8 pin on my 046 today with a 24'' b/c and it worked better than the 440. I know the 660 will own a 8 pin with a 24''.
 
My opinion is that the 8 pin in 20'' hardwood is just a little much for the saw. I think it bogs the saw below the optimal RPM range and if anything it cuts a little slower.

thanks for all the responces

Well your opinion sucks.....























just kiddin. :laugh:

Ive always heard this saying "Opinions are like buttholes, everybody has one and everybody's stinks"

Just use what works for ya. :cheers:
 
Well your opinion sucks.....























just kiddin. :laugh:

Ive always heard this saying "Opinions are like buttholes, everybody has one and everybody's stinks"

Just use what works for ya. :cheers:

well your opinion sucks more.

I really do see why everyone loves these 440s though it is a sweet all around saw.
 
well your opinion sucks more.

I really do see why everyone loves these 440s though it is a sweet all around saw.

Yep. Most of the time, im sure my opinons do. :pumpkin2:

But, in my opinion the 044/440 is/was/and will be the best mid sized saw for firewood gettin and such.
 
I've never run an 044/440 with an 8 pin. I don't think any 70cc besides a 7900 really can run an 8 pin with a bar over 20". I don't even run an 8 pin on the 660 most of the time.
 
i see your point but understand something here.

I am not just putting a 8 pin on my saw then going out and dogging the saw untill it stalls or bogs. I put the 8 pin on my saw and go cut. I feed the saw in slow and cut and listen and feel. I can tell when i am feeding too fast and the saw drops below optimal RPM. I can tell the difference between a sharp chain and a dull chain.


I cut with the saw for at least 2 hours this morning. I am not pointing any fingers here either but everybody just assumes that i am just dumping the saw into a log and pushing and prying and wondering why it doesnt cut too fast.

My opinion is that the 8 pin in 20'' hardwood is just a little much for the saw. I think it bogs the saw below the optimal RPM range and if anything it cuts a little slower.

thanks for all the responces

LOL. Funny how just because the setup did'nt work for you that now, all of a sudden you don't know what you're doing eh? Weird how people just suspect that it's you and not the 8 pin.

Well I'm not much on an 8 pin with a stock saw either. Unless you're running a bar that's too short anyways. :cheers:

I run one on my 660 thats muff modded with the 25" bar and it will pull it like no tomorrow, but it just don't feel right to me. The extra chain speed seems to make you feel every bump in the road, so to speak. Vibrates worse, jumps everywhere.

I tried the 8 pin on my 361 with a 20 and you just had to feather it around too much. I just like a 7 pin better I guess.

I'm with you, 8 pin on stock saws with bars on the average to longer side are a no-go in hardwood, real hardwood.
 
Thats the reason they make 7's. Different strokes for different folks. What works for me might not work for everyone.....but I still like a 8.:msp_flapper: ;) :cheers:
 
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