61/266 is an amazing power:weight saw. Looks nice and clean!
1985 white top 61
- Thread starter Orange Ripper
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Lookin pretty nice with the brake flag all cleaned up now along with the nice clean top cover 
I am actually very surprised at how similar in weight this saw with the 20” bar it is to my 50/55 with an 18” bar tbh, and from what I could tell from the couple cuts I made when I got her home she has nice power in the wood for sure!
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Well...I haven't used it for some time so checked to see what I'd done. Uh...did nothing, lol
The inner baffle doesn't appear to be restrictive but the side slitts may be and the 6 1/4" holes definitely are.
I guess I put that saw on the shelf and forgot to finish it
So, just opened up those 6 holes and repositioned the fins a bit. Looks like this is all that is needed to get around 89% of the exhaust port volume.
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Congrats on the OP of this thread for saving this 61!! 61 has always been a good solid saw.....not the most powerful of the family but a dependable, hard worker.
However I must advise anyone who has an older Husky with this "Fish Gill" muffler he should part company with it. Though it is super easy to mod it also has a built in flaw. The inner baffle has the spark arresting screen actually sandwiched betwen two baffles. On an older saw one or both baffles can fail as the following pic will show.
This is the muffler on a 266 XP I rebuilt for a client 3-4 years ago. It ran super and he was very happy with it. He used it about a month an and then showed up at the shop one morning and said the saw was locked up. When I gave him the saw I knew the muffler body was quite thin but had no holes and mentioned it should be replaced soon. I had not taken it apart as it came on the saw. As you can see there a piece of the baffle missing........and that is the inner baffle.......guess where the missing piece went!! Took out the piston, and ring but didn't damage the cyl. but a lot of metal flew around in the crankcase. At the time of the rebuild I had no idea that this could happen. I was only conserned that the outer body of the muffler would fail.....as it was, in the time he used it all of the "Fish Gill" fins has broken off so it was just a ragged hole in the side of the muffler. He was bummed......not at me but by the fact he had put a fair chunk of change into and old saw. He gave it to me and I split the cases and replaced the main bearings and seals (again) installed a new Meteor piston and a dented but solid muffler from a later saw. Sold it to a friend for just what I had in it for parts and it's still going strong.
Anyway a word to the wise.....if you have this type of muffler check the baffle condition frequently or replace the muffler entirely.!!
I’ve seen this before which is why I removed the spark screen on both my saws that have the louvered muffler.
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Did you remove the inner baffles as well?
I removed the plate/spark screen, and the six hole diffuser thing. It’s a hollow can now.
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Yep....that's the best way to go with one of those!!! I'll never run one of those mufflers without removing the baffle/screen again!!!
The saw is a little louder without that diffuser but it performs much better.
Never thought of that baffle breaking up like that, thanks 
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Never thought of that baffle breaking up like that, thanks
No I hadn't either....until.......it did!!!
Thanks @b fish i agree with you there, I like her so far from the amount of time I’ve got to use her! Been searching for a nice new 20” bar now seems the one I have has seen better days, found a 20” replaceable tip laser bar for a good price shipped from right here in Canada, anybody with any experience with this brand ?
Here’s a link to the bar in question!
https://www.cutterschoice.ca/en/41049-bar-fpro-20-3-8-058-(72dl)
You get a chain with it as well?
I don’t think, but don’t matter much to me as I have a brand new unused one that fits the bar spec, also been looking at the GB bars as well but it’s hard to find somewhere that ships to Canada and also not 100 bucks for shipping
You ever deal.with Donny Walker? WALKER SAW SHOP. He should be able to hook you up!
I like GB bars, and Husky bars. I have never run a light weight bar, the are $$$, but probably well worth it!
I have not, but have heard the name, Will have to check them out for sure! Thanks!
I love the look of the GB, I think the ol girl would look quite pretty with one of them on
Cannon bars look good on huskies, they’re pricey though. Got a 24” superbar on my 61/630 super hybrid.
