Help me with my two-saw plan

[John Lyngdal]

I think you will find yourself doing most of your work with the small saw, so optimize for that. If your 201 serves that purpose adequately, keep it and decide on your larger saw. Select a nice 70-80cc class saw and purchase a 20" and a second 25 to 28" bar for the super big jobs.

 

[StihlPotlicker]

Good luck on whatever you buy. I started out with a 170, gave that to a son and bought the 261 it does all my firewood chores and does it well. I recently got the itch for more power/speed so I purchased the 400, have not regretted that purchase one time. So my 2 saw plan is 261/400, that works great for a few cords of eastern hardwoods each year. But realistically the 400 drops as big of a tree that I need, rarely anything over 24”.
Maybe set aside the 201 for a future child (wink wink) and get 2 great saws!

that was the excuse I would tell the wife when I woold come home with 2- 3 saws at a time when I would buy a new one, we have 4 boys, or I thought you wanted a new saw.?

 

[mas0n]

My wife just asked how many saws do you have here? I Instantly answered three wish I said four. I mean husqvarna is having a great sale right now.

 

[StihlPotlicker]

My wife just asked how many saws do you have here? I Instantly answered three wish I said four. I mean husqvarna is having a great sale right now.

20% off I think.

 

[Pjohnson]

20% off I think.

Do the wife thing....look dear I saved 200 dollars don't tell her how much you spent to save it.

 

[muddy42]

Apologies I havn't read all the posts.

I recon a gap of a >20cc between saws is about right. Any less that that and you could get the power jump with a sharper chain / shorter or lighter bar etc. Therefore I wouldn't set out to own a 261 (50cc) and a 400 (60cc). But a 261 and a 461 (76cc) or a 500i (79cc) would be a good partnership. That's just my view, but also I like saws and having spares is always worthwhile and you always seem to loose money when you trade in well looked after saws.

 

[FXJenkins]

I am on a 2 saw daily driver plan.... 362 pre auto carb with 25" ES light bar for technical, felling, and limbing, then a 461 (substitute 462) pre auto carb for bucking and larger stuff, also with a 25" bar...both saws pull the 25's fine with a sharp teeth and you don't push em too hard. I don't have to bend over when cutting with the 25's and I run the same 33RS 84 for both saws. Continuity of chains is like continuity of ammo. Grab and go. The 500i is dedicated for the granberg and apocalypse.

 

[Bruiser1]

I’m looking for some thoughts about a two-saw plan. I heat partially but not exclusively with wood, and I help a couple of friends with maintenance on their property (260 acres of fields and hardwoods). My primary uses are bucking trunks and limbs as well as cutting trails.

Right now, I have the smaller of my two saws: a Stihl 201C-EM with a 16" bar (this is the rear-handle version). I love the saw. It is light and handles quickly, and it’s not hard to carry from wherever we park to wherever we might be working.

I have a Stihl 291 right now, but after cutting with a smaller professional saw, I want to upgrade my larger saw, and my neighbor is interested in buying the 291 for a property his parents just bought. I’m torn on which saw that larger should be. After much reading here and elsewhere, I am thinking either a 261 or a 462. Both of those models seem to have a lot of good feedback here.

On one hand, the light weight and increased power of the 261 compared to my smaller saw lean me in that direction. It is “enough” saw. On the other hand, the 462 could handle everything that I am going to cut with a lot more power. A 25" bar on there would be just about perfect. The real downside would be the increased weight. The price difference doesn’t really come into play here, since I am a buy-once-cry-once type of guy. (I’ve thought about the 362, but it seems to have a less enthusiastic following here.)

No, I don’t “need” a professional saw, but I love saws and enjoy having top-of-the-line equipment. I'm leaning toward the 261 but don't want to regret not going for the big saw. And no, my wife will not let me have three saws, unfortunately. What do people think?

I think you got a good combination as is. I also have the 201 but the top handle not the rear handle it's a great saw I just don't think it's worth $700 what I paid for it ,it's only like two or three more CC's than the 194 but the 194 is half the price anyway. The only thing I would do is I would change that 291 over to 3/8 50 put a 20 inch bar on a full skip rsf chain or the hexa full skip I know the 291 is kind of a boat anchor but ,it is a 56cc saw. If you go to buy a new steel saw they're real pricey












to buy a new saw the early price especially the Stihls

 

[damifino]

Many here suggesting you should spend big but not one has sent you his credit card number to use.
Try to leave ego out of the mind and consider Echo. No I am not a Echo fan boy, but I do like best bang for the buck thinking. I am the guy that always wants Pro, top of the line stuff and that includes chainsaws. But I love what Echo has to offer for the non pro but serious user.
I'm sure this opinion will not be popular here but I hope it helps.

 

[Khntr85]

Are the newer 362s a lot better that the 8-10 year old standard carb….i have one that wears a 20” bar….now that I have the 261 and 461 I never use it….i damn sure can’t imagine running a 25 bar on the 362, exspecially buried in hardwood…

 

[Hickahollar]

Are the newer 362s a lot better that the 8-10 year old standard carb….i have one that wears a 20” bar….now that I have the 261 and 461 I never use it….i damn sure can’t imagine running a 25 bar on the 362, exspecially buried in hardwood…

Mine is a carb 362 and I use the 25inch bar had it buried yesterday in about 30 plus inch pin oak did just fine to me but you can't force it to hog in wood just let it do its Thang. Was sending inch long chips out. So my chain was a little aggressive. But by no means is it as fast as a 660 can't compare it to a 70cc saw as I have non. But I can say in wood about that size just for example (I don't time my cuts) if a 660 could cut it in 15 seconds the 362 would cut it in about 25 to 30 seconds. As the tree gets smaller the 362 picks up speed. I think I got maybe 5 big 30 inch cuts. The 660 would have saved me maybe a tad over a minute. My only other option was a 45 cc ms250 and it would have done it but would have taken another couple minutes. For me the I like the lighter weight of the 362 vs a 660. However the OP owner has a 290/291 and that saw is very close to a 362s 59cc he probably wouldn't notice a significantly faster saw. It would be faster but main thing it would be lighter. A ms311 is heavier than my 362 and well for cutting firewood the ms311 seems to have decent low end torque but it is not as fast as a 362. The 362 seems to lack that low end torque of the 311 but let that 362 have that extra 1000 rpms and it's gonna open up and spin a good bit quicker than the 311. Over all running both 59cc saws I would much rather have the 362. Lighter and faster. Keep them in their torque band. The 291 and 311 have their torque lower In the rpm band makes them harder to bog but not as fast. 362 torque is mid range easier to bog at low rpms but put it in its proper rpm range and it eats. It handles my 25inch bar just fine.

 

[Khntr85]

Mine is a carb 362 and I use the 25inch bar had it buried yesterday in about 30 plus inch pin oak did just fine to me but you can't force it to hog in wood just let it do its Thang. Was sending inch long chips out. So my chain was a little aggressive. But by no means is it as fast as a 660 can't compare it to a 70cc saw as I have non. But I can say in wood about that size just for example (I don't time my cuts) if a 660 could cut it in 15 seconds the 362 would cut it in about 25 to 30 seconds. As the tree gets smaller the 362 picks up speed. I think I got maybe 5 big 30 inch cuts. The 660 would have saved me maybe a tad over a minute. My only other option was a 45 cc ms250 and it would have done it but would have taken another couple minutes. For me the I like the lighter weight of the 362 vs a 660. However the OP owner has a 290/291 and that saw is very close to a 362s 59cc he probably wouldn't notice a significantly faster saw. It would be faster but main thing it would be lighter. A ms311 is heavier than my 362 and well for cutting firewood the ms311 seems to have decent low end torque but it is not as fast as a 362. The 362 seems to lack that low end torque of the 311 but let that 362 have that extra 1000 rpms and it's gonna open up and spin a good bit quicker than the 311. Over all running both 59cc saws I would much rather have the 362. Lighter and faster. Keep them in their torque band. The 291 and 311 have their torque lower In the rpm band makes them harder to bog but not as fast. 362 torque is mid range easier to bog at low rpms but put it in its proper rpm range and it eats. It handles my 25inch bar just fine.

Ya this is the second one I have had…I’ll keep it just because, but for whatever reason it just never impressed me….it would be a great one saw for all around use…I use it just to keep fresh gas in it, but that’s about all…