the all aussie dribble thread!

[jpm11]

God. Now I'm just confused. So it's a blue one for the even days. An orange one for the odd days. And one that used to be red and black, but is sort of orange now, for the weekends. Or is it the other way round ?
I do like the sound of a moded 261 from the US. $800 is about what a 357xp goes for???

 

[masculator]

Stihl, solo, makita, or possibly even the shindaiwas, are all good, although I hear ECHO have bought out the shindy's now, so they may have gone to the pack! have heard of people getting good runs out of the oleo macs, though I don't like their filtration and have heard a few bad things about them in this regard but they do come with a 5 year warranty for non commercial use. recently looked at a solo 656 and could have had one landed for about $700 australian (they are about $1200 locally) and by what I have heard they are a VERY good saw. equally as good as any of the leading equivalents.

 

[Rudolf73]

Well we have two choices here Rudy, we could either call you 'balanced' as you have saws from all three of the major manufacturers, or 'splinters' as you are fence sitting and won't commit fully to being a blind follower

Hahaha, I think I'll go with 'balanced' Rick

 

[masculator]

Don't mind masculator he is a go big or go home kinda guy.

You had a ryobi by comparison A MS261 will be a whole new world to you.

I (david) bought a MS261 from the USofA, So did matt (MCW), andrew (sthilman441) and rudolf74 .

this is a great saw. It has plenty of torque and the best filter money can buy comes standard.
Look up the saws features it is a quality unit.

The makita 6401? that rick was mentioning is also a great saw it is 64 cc and costs about the same as the Ms261 (50cc) after you bay the frieght approx $150.00. Being a dolmar (made in germany) it is a good thing. You can buy a filter filter upgrade almost as good as the ms@261 standard filter:msp_ohmy:

The husky 346 is a quality 50cc chainsaw (but the MS261 is newer technology) nicko (sawtroll) will bs about it being better because it has a better balance.

Not a go big or go home thing, 50 ccs are toy saws. in the trees around Eden he will want a saw that will run and balance at least a 20 inch bar, for value for money the makita is a good thing and can be found in Australia for under $800 with warranty but it is heavier than most others in the same arena. Dolmar are actually wholly owned by Makita nowdays. this can be a good and bad thing as it keeps the prices down and makes them readily available through the likes of Dahlsens/mitre 10 and the likes but not a lot of dealers that service saws carry them so you need to source parts and such to get them maintained (Not really a big issue, unless you have little experience fixing 2 strokes.) As far as value for money goes they are hard to go past, and I have always been a stihl man through and through. Wouldn't buy a 261 though cause I don't believe it has a place in my line up. Maybe if I get to try one at the GTG I may be convinced otherwise.

 

[Nardoo]

God. Now I'm just confused. So it's a blue one for the even days. An orange one for the odd days. And one that used to be red and black, but is sort of orange now, for the weekends. Or is it the other way round ?
I do like the sound of a moded 261 from the US. $800 is about what a 357xp goes for???

Welcome to the site Jim. Can't go wrong with any of the saws these gents have suggested, but now you are a member I challenge you to stay with just one saw! To be a bit different I really like the Husky 365's for a fiewood saw. Sure, it is often too small (or too big) but I find they do a great job all round. I have three of them (including a big bore) and a 372 and for my money they perform as well as any. And you can soup them up like Al and cut wood at super speed!

But having said that you will usually find me cutting our local hard eucs with saws around 100cc of a variety of breeds. There is a hardly a saw I do not like but I do like torque. And weight doesn't worry me too much as you will find big pro saws very well balanced.

I have imported two Huskies from the US this year - one a factory refurbished - and they were both great deals. My suggestion would be to buy a powerhead only and buy a quality bar and chain here as the US supplied ones were not of great quality and were .050 guage. And I know some of the 357XP saws had issues with a plastic intake clamp failing and bad carbs causing running problems. I think these problems have been fixed but their whole intake design does not fill me with confidence like the 365 series does.

Hope I have not confused you too much. I am off cutting some red gum this weekend with my 25 year old 85cc Poulan and 35 year old 55 cc Partner 5000, both classic hot rods - and loving it!

 

[Stihlman441]

Yes a two saw plan would be good a 261 and then a 441 or 460 with a 20'' or 25'' bars,that would be ideal and cover most things you will come across.Then we can start talking about a wood splitter for you.

I hope there is a 361 or 362 at the GTG to compare the 261 with ?.

 

[Nardoo]

I got a 361. I run an 18" bar on it and run 20" bars on the 365's. And I am a Stihl man from way back!

 

[Stihlman441]

Ok thats that done then.

 

[Terry Syd]

Rick, I pulled the Fire Brigade's saw out to have a look at it before I take it in tomorrow, it's a Husky 181. I don't know who used it last (likely the Captain), but the chain is well used, dull, the rakers are too high and filed flat on top. The bar cover is almost in two pieces and the saw was left with the tanks only half full.

I pulled out the kit to sharpen up the chain and there were two rusty round files, one of which is for a .404 chain, there was no raker file.

Some jerk attempted a muffler mod that is bizarre and wouldn't help the flow in any case.

I should be embarassed to take the saw in like that, but since our Brigade Captain has been using it to cut firewood - I'm just going to take it in to Headquarters the way it is and let things sort themselves out.

I didn't even bother trying to start it, for all I know it may not run.

 

[tdi-rick]

We pulled our saw out a few months back and one of the young blokes was taking it into work (the local Husky/Shinny dealer) for a full service.

He tried to tell me that the round ground chisel chain on the saw was 'square' chain

I don't think I convinced him that 'square' chain was something else entirely different

 

[masculator]

Yes a two saw plan would be good a 261 and then a 441 or 460 with a 20'' or 25'' bars,that would be ideal and cover most things you will come across.Then we can start talking about a wood splitter for you.

I hope there is a 361 or 362 at the GTG to compare the 261 with ?.

Unless the 261 is a big improvement over the 260 There will really be no comparison, I have mates with the 260 and 280 and honestly we all thought my old 034 outperformed them. Still haven't got it quite right since the rebuild though I reckon, although it normally burps on 3 pulls from dry now. dunno if the crank seals need to be done as I didn't bother when I got the near new ms 361 crankcase I now have it built on or whether it is deeper.

My idea of a 2 saw plan is a ms660 and a 57 to 65 cc saw in aussie wood!

 

[masculator]

I got a 361. I run an 18" bar on it and run 20" bars on the 365's. And I am a Stihl man from way back!

my 034 runs a 20 as standard kit and regularly runs a 24/25 and does it no worries!

 

[MCW]

Have you tried a 261 yet...? I think it runs more like a 60cc saw than a 50cc and yes I have used mine to cut firewood.

Yeah I agree Rudy. The 261 I don't think is a real replacement for the 260 as it's heavier and not as snappy in my opinion. Where it does excel is filtration, fuel economy, and of course TORQUE It's like a wannabe 660 but on a smaller scale!
However when you get a 50cc saw that will pull a 20" bar easily in some of the hardest wood I've ever cut with aggressively sharpened 3/8" semi chisel chain you know it ain't no standard 50cc saw. The torque these things have when properly tuned is just, well, stupid!

In saying that though I think a saw in the 70cc class may be the best bet depending on what sort of wood you intend to cut. Running even a smaller pro saw like the 261 day in day out with a 20" bar buried in our hardwoods is a tough ask. In reality that's 60cc + territory and even then I wouldn't be afraid to run my modded 90cc saws and a 20" bar in some of our hardwoods if they are smaller logs.

 

[tdi-rick]

Now for a slight change of pace...


An HK Monaro does 217MPH on Lake Gairdner last year :msp_thumbsup:

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oieQi_637ow" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[AUSSIE1]

Now for a slight change of pace...


An HK Monaro does 217MPH on Lake Gairdner last year :msp_thumbsup:

Nearly as quick as my 327 HT Monaro..................................................................I wish!

In cab it looked like he was out for a sunday cruise.

 

[porky616]

where was ya on saturday night matt? wouldnt answer ya bloody phone! i had a cold beer and a toasted piston for ya at the berri pub

 

[Stihlman441]

I hope that was not a 066/660 BB piston.

 

[porky616]

I hope that was not a 066/660 BB piston.

it was but dont stress, i gave it the full strength list of abuse and the final straw was using on a 35 degree summer day. matt knew i was the worst saw owner around and that i would treat it like i stole it. i think it cut about 65 ton of wood so it lasted well. treating the new one a lot better, well maybe:msp_tongue:

 

[Stihlman441]

So what made it give up in the end ?.:msp_unsure:

 

[porky616]

just melted the edge off the piston, transfered onto cylinder, it was stihl running and cutting just very slowly, very slowly