First Fell with the MS361

[mdavlee]

Thanks! As for my checking the end of the bar, actually I was checking the thickness of the hinge. I have a habit of cutting though them on one side which also redirects the fell. N this saw, just pull on the throttle for a second on a polpar and it cuts a couple of inches. Kind of exciting and scary at the same time. But yep, that was pretty stupid of me going around the front of the tree like that. If I had heard one crack or felt any movement, I would have been gone like a fart in the wind. I may be an old lady with legs that don't really work very well, but in an emergency situation, I'm long gone.

That's what I meant checking the hinge thickness or where the bar tip is. If you would get the larger spikes for that saw it would be easier to stick on the tree and put in the face cut.

 

[Dalmatian90]

Could we make it a beating a dead hacker smiley?

 

[TreePointer]

You folks are sooo silly. The 361 is not a great saw. It's just a fancy pants 290. The worst ones are the those you find used on CL in western PA/eastern OH. Stay away from those.

 

[windthrown]

You folks are sooo silly. The 361 is not a great saw. It's just a fancy pants 290. The worst ones are the those you find used on CL in western PA/eastern OH. Stay away from those.

Ooooooooo!!!!!! Don't let Saw Troll see this post! Never call his 361 a 290... Ooooooooo you gonna get it!

 

[TreePointer]

Heehee!. It will take Niko a good while to weigh all those 290's that keep his Viking ship anchored in the fjord, so I'm not worried. By that time, I should be able to snag all the non-Euro 361's in my area.

 

[TreePointer]

And I can always distract him with a good beer.

Cheers, Niko!

 

[timbrjackrussel]

This was the third time I had run the MS361. Twice before just playing around in some cookies. But today I removed the 20" B&C and added a 24". The next tree on the list to be felled was a poplar up behind my house with a slight back lean of maybe 5 feet. I was so excited I almost completely forgot to turn on the camera so part of the face cut being made is missing. I used a conventional cut this time just because I had already shown videos with the Humbolt and the Open Faced cuts.

As for the saw, all I can say is damn that thing can cut which is also why I was a bit cautious since it was the first felling with that chainsaw. I also removed a mid sized black birch and a hickory that were in the area, ALL back n side leaners! Those last two are not felled in the video. So I have a lot of wood to buck n split for firewood!

The camera wasn't at the right angle so a lot of what I was looking at y'all can't see dang it!But, if you look at the 3:38 - 3:39 spot, you'll see me smack my hand with the backside of that hatchet!

Tree is down and no injuries or damage. Tough on a slope . May want to put your saw in a bit safer place (4:31) ie. behind a large tree.
Keep cutting, and be safe.
My wife was the one who noticed where your saw was.
Women watching out for women.

 

[lfnh]

FLHX Storm: good to see you looking up more.
take care pulling wedges, esp if its blowin.

windthown, good to see you around again.

 

[Iska3]

Good Job!! Nice Vid.. I never used wedges until I joined this forum. Now I seem to use them more and more.

 

[stihly dan]

Tree is down and no injuries or damage. Tough on a slope . May want to put your saw in a bit safer place (4:31) ie. behind a large tree.
Keep cutting, and be safe.
My wife was the one who noticed where your saw was.
Women watching out for women.

That was the 1st thing I thought when she put it down. Keep the saws safe. Storm, how do you like the green saws now? Are they still good enough?

 

[TreePointer]

I like to use the 45* escape routes when possible. The saw will either go with me or be set down along one of those routes.

 

[FLHX Storm]

Tree is down and no injuries or damage. Tough on a slope . May want to put your saw in a bit safer place (4:31) ie. behind a large tree.
Keep cutting, and be safe.
My wife was the one who noticed where your saw was.
Women watching out for women.

Y'all would have thought I would have learned the first time I did that several years ago. My Poulan Pro 4218 was in front of the tree when it fell. Needless to say the saw took a beating. The top plastic case had a chunk taken out, the bar and chain were worthless having been bent in half, and the chain brake handle was broken. But, I replaced the bar n chain and the thing is still running yet today. This morning I used it to cut up some smaller type branches.

Let you wife know I appreciate her noticing. I'll have to be a lot more careful with the placement of the chainsaw if I end up setting it down to finish felling a tree (like wedging it over)

This picture was taken right after and if you look where I drew a circle, in that is an orange 5 gallon bucket lid. That was my target. The arrow shows where the tree initially impacted before it bounced and tried to roll. I could have felled it across the hill, but there is that mound of dirt n rock. Part of the tree would have hit that and poplar does tend to be pretty brittle when it hits the ground so I'm sure the top would have broken off allowing the trunk to roll off the hill mowing down the small saplings n rhododendron before taking out a chunk of the house. Anyway, that was why I also double checked the face cut by placing the saw back in the face. I needed to see if I had to make an adjustment.

Y'all stay safe too!

 

[FLHX Storm]

FLHX Storm: good to see you looking up more.
take care pulling wedges, esp if its blowin.

I try to never fell a tree when the wind is blowing. Things can go wrong real quick that way. A gust of wind and the tree could go the other way. N with the winds we have up here, when they blow, they're generally not a breeze.

 

[haveawoody]

Yeah 361 pretty sweet saw.
I end up using a 390 most days, it's similar in power to 361 but IMO nicer on low speed but not quite the power on brute cuts.
Then again the 170 I love for removing all the small limbs.
Nice job on your first but I'm sure not the last drop

 

[FLHX Storm]

That was the 1st thing I thought when she put it down. Keep the saws safe. Storm, how do you like the green saws now? Are they still good enough?

Green Saws? I don't have any green saws But I do have those dark yellow and black saws.

All things considered, I do think I will keep using those poulans, but definitely less. They just don't have the pizzazz that the Stihl has. Mind you, there are times when less power is better n I'm not going to bring out the Stihl for knocking down a few saplings that may only be a few inches across (though it sure would make quick work of them). But for the big trees, y'all know I will be grinning from ear to ear as I pull out the Stihl.

I used two of the poulans earlier today, one to cut some small branches. and the other to buck up the remaining trunk of the poplar. I figured since I was on a steep slope and mostly operating in a sitting position the Stihl would have been too much.

But dang, I can't wait until tomorrow when I can use the MS361 again!

 

[flashhole]

Nice job Storm. I'm glad you like your new saw.

In this pic you can see my orange "Dead Blow" hammer off to the right side of the trunk. I think it weighs 3 pounds. Anyway, I think it is partially filled with lead shot that keeps the hammer from bouncing back off the wedge. It has a large face that makes it easy to hit the wedge and doesn't damage the wedge. You might consider one.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Here's mine with the 24" bar on board:



Stihl actually rates it as a 25" bar with 84 DLs. It will pull it, but only with a sharp chain. The 20" bar is a better fit for most firewood collecting.
The Stihl MS 361 Rocks!

 

[FLHX Storm]

Here are the other two that I felled shortly after the Poplar.

This was the one right behind the poplar or the stump anyway.

This one is after the top of the stump was removed, but kind of matched up to the trunk in an attempt to show my cuts. This was an open face. This was also a side and slight back leaner that I wedged over

This was also a back leaner that I wedged over and used an open face. Can y'all tell?

And the area I dropped them in.

And a more complete shot.

Destructive little wench, ain't I?

 

[Preston]

FLHX.......why are you cutting down green trees? I just cut standing dead and I'm covered up with wood. I just had a neighbor log about 15 acres and told me to go in and clean up what ever I want. I can't cuz I got nowhere to put it. What a mess.

 

[FLHX Storm]

FLHX.......why are you cutting down green trees? I just cut standing dead and I'm covered up with wood. I just had a neighbor log about 15 acres and told me to go in and clean up what ever I want. I can't cuz I got nowhere to put it. What a mess.

These are or were hazard trees. Since they were growing on a slope and leaning towards my house along with the high winds we've had over the previous winter and have already started again, I felt it was in my and my homes best interest to remove the threats. I have one more, a black locust that also needs to come down. In this area I've already seen several new blow downs and there are several more that will fall likely in the next couple of weeks if the winds keep up. Most of these are in view of my house.

I will cut out sick, dead, dying, deformed, leaning, or too tall weak trees. If a tree is straight and healthy I'll leave it. If a leaning sapling can be straightened, I'll straighten it. But if a sapling is too close to another, I will remove it. The same applies to a sapling that will grow to be one of the weak tall ones like the poplar. I won't cut out a healthy tree just to cut it. I do plan on putting in an additional 50 or so trees come spring. I've already put in over 120 trees on my property over the course of the last 2 years. So while it may appear I'm just cutting to be cutting, that isn't the case. I figure for each tree I've removed, I have put in at least 8 to replace them.