Best small saw for the light work.

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When I went and started checking for dealers around here, Husqvarna was trying to push the dealers into being full line dealers and most of them didn't want to do it or couldn't do it, so they either switched to selling Echo or Stihl.
 
inventtis said:
When I went and started checking for dealers around here, Husqvarna was trying to push the dealers into being full line dealers and most of them didn't want to do it or couldn't do it, so they either switched to selling Echo or Stihl.
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Bummer, another idea is watch the Tradin Post on here for a 346xp (or any saw you'd like) hot dog they are nice! Find them on youtube as well.
 
inventtis said:
I've also climbed into a tree and trimmed a few branches with the 036, which it seemed a little big and ackward for that.
The small saw for me would be something that I would use for limbing or cutting up small saplings, maybe trim a branch or two every now and then.
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261. The 362 is bigger/heavier than an 036 by quite a bit. I have a little MS260 with a muffler mod, and it's a very nice saw. You can also run a 3/8 pitch chain and it shares the same bar mounting pattern as all the other Stihl saws up to 066/660 size.
 
cgraham1 said:
261. The 362 is bigger/heavier than an 036 by quite a bit. I have a little MS260 with a muffler mod, and it's a very nice saw. You can also run a 3/8 pitch chain and it shares the same bar mounting pattern as all the other Stihl saws up to 066/660 size.
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I have a 261 and 361. Are you saying that the two saws can run the same chain? I realize they are not a 260 and 362, but are they that different? Just curious. Can I upgrade to a 3/8 on my 261?
 
I said the 261 because you already have the 066, when it's time to put the falling and bucking saw down and do the limbing you want a limbing saw. But don't get me wrong the the 261 will hold its own, I used to run my uncles 026 it wore a 20" bar with .325 pitch. You could set it up with a 16" or 18" with 3/8 and I'm sure it would be fine for what you would use it for. Then your bars and chains would interchange.
 
Yep. Regular old 3/8 chain. I have the exact same bar and chain combo on both my MS260 and my 036. 20" ES bar w/ 3/8 .050. It works just fine.
 
Why so little support for the 362, it only weighs 1.4 lbs more than the 261, and you get more hp?

I workout so the weight doesn't seem like a big deal with the 362 being 0.5 lb fatter than the 036 thanks to the EPA.

Does that weight bother you guys or something? Hell I was even thinking of keeping the 441 for my small saw, I was just going to put an 18" bar on it.
 
I have a ported 026 PRO with a 16" Rollmatic "E" bar and 3/8" X ,050" X 60DL Stihl RSC chain.
I use it for limbing and it is a real sweetheart.
I have Stihl 066 and 660's for the big stuff.
 
I've been looking for a 42cc saw for lighter work, such as the MS241 & Husqvarna's new 543XP, mainly for clearing and delimbing. However, only having two Stihl's in our stable, neither the small MS192 nor the larger 60cc MS362, none fit for this job. Luckily we also have two 50cc saws at our possession, two still going strong oldies, CS2150 (.325" 1.3mm 13" from 2002) & CS2152 (.325" 1.5mm 15" from 2004). H30/95VPX chains on the first, 21BPX/H25/21LPX on the latter.
My recommendation therefore would be a 50cc saw as a first step, and a <40cc saw for an even smaller saw.
 
inventtis said:
The small saw for me would be something that I would use for limbing or cutting up small saplings, maybe trim a branch or two every now and then.
Click to expand...

346xp running .325 chain was created specifically to be a very fast cutting "limbing" saw. The tree guys around here sometimes use them for in bucket work with 16" bar as well as on the ground cleanup with 20" bar and are now *slowly* switching over to 550xp's. I'm told they like the speed and narrow .325 chain for no drag, fast limbing work.

If you really want to stay with Stihl, then the 241 C-m is evidently the new sweet spot for their small saws, but I haven't used one yet. The 261 is Stihl's competitor to 346xp and new 550xp, but a tad heavier/bulkier.

A 362 is not designed to be specifically a limbing saw. It is a strong all around 60ccc saw, much like the 562xp.
 

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