Educate me about the Husky 61

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
18,048
Reaction score
25,788
Location
North East USA
This might get me into the YOU SUCK thread again.....

A friend gifted me a low hour, dirty, but pretty pristine Husky 61. Has a nice Windsor 3/8 20" bar and non-safety chain ~ 3/4 wear. He said it was given to him years ago and prior owner said it ran good. He never ran it. I've not played with it yet.....has good compression by feel. Never had a Husky saw, just a 326 trimmer.

I've done some reading here and learned this is in the 268/272 family of saws, differences being the clutch, cylinders and intake. So the 61 is sort of the weak sister of the family but a solid saw. Can be hot rodded with 268/272 cylinder/intake/cover parts. Sort of like a plain Jane 038 vs a 038 mag.

This is a grey top with the metal brake handle. Where does that put this for production? Mid-production? Also where is ser #?

Plan is to give it a bath. Check/clean air filter and box, clutch housing, bar/chain tuneup. Then see what happens with some fresh mix.

I already have two great 60cc saws, 036 Stihls that both run great. How does that 61 compare to those for power? Weight seems similar. Acres site has the 61 and 036 at 4.1 and 4.6 HP, respectively Weights at 12.8 and 11.6 (034S) Lbs. Those accurate?

Thoughts , comments, and suggestions appreciated.


1 husky 61.jpg1 husky 61 2.jpg1 husky 61 3.jpg1 husky 61 4.jpg
 
Acres site is hit and miss and is hardly right. Husky 61 says 6.2kg = 13.66lbs PHO

Weight (excl. cutting equipment)6,2 kg

Yea, I think a 034S at 11.6 Lbs is a little light. I know my 036 is lighter than my built like tank like 028S, just by feel, Acres has the 028 at 13.6 Lbs.

If I remember way back, I think there was a thread where people posted PHO weights on a scale like you just did.
 
Those are great saws...not quite as powerful as your 036 but close and can be...Thats a nice example with the metal chain brake flagg...They can over time split the recoil hub that the rope winds onto...makes pull cord real hard to pull....can only see the crack if your remove the rope...lots of stuff you can do to upgrade but a nice ride stock..

enjoy
the can
 
Exactly what burnses says above. No hotrod, but an honest grafter of a midrange saw.
I recently had two the exact same and I am now down to one, as I sold the earlier one for $450 and kept the 300 year anniversary model.
In relation the an 036- I am a bit biased and had no real love for the 036 I had, they are much the same- both honest grafters, but to me the Husqvarna is more nimble in the hands. The 036 might have a power edge, but it is not huge and not hugely evident.

Biggest drawback with an older 61 is the dual coil system, if that craps out- not a lot of options. Some of the earlier ones have a different thread on the crank tail and clutches are hard to find. Brake bands for the old metal flag brake are NLA......
Majority of parts interchange with anything from a 266 to a 272, bearings and seals are easy to find- cheap to replace.

At the end of the day they are a really good firewooders saw that just keep on lasting.
 
I built one with a 162 cylinder and piston. I seem to remember it is a closed port cylinder and the porting looked somewhat better. Ran real nice. The 61 i think all had a open port cylinder but makes them real nice runners and strong in the mid range. Still today i feel a rock solid fire wood saw. Almost the simplest saw to work on. Very little rubber to degrade over time....they suffer from a real snow ball effect in the mod department because of the commonality to larger displacement models that share the same stroke. But i feel if you have a nice original example let it be....

enjoy
 
Reckon that'd be right... This one just weighed in at 13.8lbs & that was hastily emptied & not particularly clean
View attachment 985619View attachment 985620
Weight I gave there was from Husky paper specs 13.66. Good to know it was close.

Not acres. Acres was off by a 1lb as it stated 12.8. Take whats there like a grain of salt. It has a 50/50 chance of being close to right it seems. http://www.acresinternet.com/cscc.n...01ec47be5550bbce88256d5a005a3315?OpenDocument
 
I have a white top Rancher that came to me with a scored piston and cylinder due to a leaking seal. I didn't want to cut up the top so I put a 266 P/C on it. It's one of my firewood saws and has a 20" B/C

This is my favorite family of saws because they are easy to repair and have plenty of power. That 61 heats my house.
 
As Bob H. said above in post #10, the dual coil system is a bear because you cannot tell which one is bad when it goes down. I ended up buying both coils because the small one was OK and the large one gave up. After I rebult mine 6 years ago, it still runs very well, but I think my Stihl MS361 can cut faster and seems to weigh a bit less. Regardless, I've kept them both and they will likely both outlive me. Both are very well made saws, but a 20" bar is their max. To pull a 25" bar with ease, I go to my Stihl MS441c, Echo CS-670, or Makita 6401. Dang, Professor, I guess I have too many saws. ;)
 
As Bob H. said above in post #10, the dual coil system is a bear because you cannot tell which one is bad when it goes down. I ended up buying both coils because the small one was OK and the large one gave up. After I rebult mine 6 years ago, it still runs very well, but I think my Stihl MS361 can cut faster and seems to weigh a bit less. Regardless, I've kept them both and they will likely both outlive me. Both are very well made saws, but a 20" bar is their max. To pull a 25" bar with ease, I go to my Stihl MS441c, Echo CS-670, or Makita 6401. Dang, Professor, I guess I have too many saws. ;)

Agree- 18-20"is their staple diet- but I have mine wearing a 22" bar with full compliment chisel chain.
Horses for courses and they are capable of utilising a 24" but there are better saws for that as you point out.
Might add mine only gets used for softwoods and the main Cypress species here that are considered semi hardwoods.
 
My first saw was exactly that one. 1989 300th anniversary Husqvarna 61. It's still nice and I still usually grab it when I need a saw. Never lets me down. Gets complements every time anyone sees it. I used to want to hot rod it but more and more I think I'll leave it be. It had a 24" bar on it but I put a 20 on it and it's a much better combo.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top