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Special Supplement to North East Tennessee Saturday MAC Report

Though the 800 saw no action today, I did use a well kept off brand MS461. I was surprised by the vibrations with an AV saw. Not as bad as my 700 but bad enough that I would think twice before buying one. It had no problem with a buried 25" bar. I didn't run it enough to say how it measures power wise with an 800, but the 800 is way smoother. I did note however that it sounds like it is spinning a lot faster - so much so I found that occasionally I was not giving it full throttle.



Ron
I would like to know what RPM that 461 was running. If I had been there I keep a tach in my tool box. It shows the Max RPM to be 13,500 RPM, I just wonder what it would be in a cut. I don't remember what we measured the max RPM was on the 800.

Brian
 
I have a 461, coil limited to 13.5. I'm not sure what it'll pull in the cut but seems pretty high.....maybe 10, 11?. I will say though that guys I cut with that have 372 huskys are certainly pulling more rpm than me. However, think 461 has more low end grunt than their competitors. Just seems like you can really lean on the 461 when needed.
 
Sounds all too familiar..., especially the idle screw.

Found my crankcase leak! :nofunny:
(looking down the bore, large mag bearing seat on the right)
Yeah - it goes all the way through. It's not just through the seat either, if you look closely, it runs all the way down to the chamfer. So... yeah. Guess it's time to keep tabs on feebay for a replacement. I just missed one last week on a "buy it now'.

20200404_234034.jpg
 
Found my crankcase leak! :nofunny:
(looking down the bore, large mag bearing seat on the right)
Yeah - it goes all the way through. It's not just through the seat either, if you look closely, it runs all the way down to the chamfer. So... yeah. Guess it's time to keep tabs on feebay for a replacement. I just missed one last week on a "buy it now'.

View attachment 814597
Bummer, id think that could be ground out and sealed with a good steel putty like devcon or equivelant.

Man i didnt see that engine!! Id a nabbed it up. Thats how i got the engine for the sp71 project.

Love the avatar by the way, i just took a close look at it. I thought i recognized it but wasnt sure. I do now.
 
I have a 461, coil limited to 13.5. I'm not sure what it'll pull in the cut but seems pretty high.....maybe 10, 11?. I will say though that guys I cut with that have 372 huskys are certainly pulling more rpm than me. However, think 461 has more low end grunt than their competitors. Just seems like you can really lean on the 461 when needed.

Don't tell anyone here but before all the hype about the 500i, a 461 was on my next to buy list as they have a great reputation for power and being bullet proof. However in my research, I ran across vibes being a common complaint. I promptly dismissed these complaints with a mental head shake "Can't be, it is an AV saw". This one made me a believer that vibration is a real issue to some.

Before I get kicked off the thread, let me add that I didn't note any bogging or narrow sweet spot like many modern saws have. But for the vibes, it would still be on my list if the 500i turns out not to be what it is cracked up to be.

Ron
 
I have absolutely no issues with vibes on my 461. I've run it for hours on end and never noticed. My husky buddies have run it and never noticed vibes either. Now I have read the 462 has a better av set up on it and once you run one of those you realize it is a bit smoother. However, my Stihl dealer recommended the 461 over the 462 to me due to my need to tinker with stuff.
 
So I'm peckin' at the 7-10 today and wondering about whether or not to run an exhaust gasket. The new cylinder is just a flat mating surface unlike most that have the recess requiring the spacer..., which I gather to also be a gasket of sorts. Looking through IPLs hasn't turned up what would seem to be a proper gasket yet, so I'm thinking either there isn't one for a flat exhaust, or the spacer is till supposed to be used as a gasket -- with the latter not seeming very likely. If there is supposed to be a gasket, anyone have a correct part number?

And on the MS461, Ron, I believe there is a soft and a hard a/v version with many actually preferring the more rigid version over the 'soft'. I've run a couple that I would describe as very, very smooth and can only assume they were the softer mounts. They won't be around much longer and the 500i seems to be having some issues after being in the field for awhile. May wanna grab a 461 while you still can. Used ones don't pop up often. There's a good reason for that.

Sorry, gents. Now about the 7-10 exhaust gasket...

0405201228a_resized.jpg
 
So I'm peckin' at the 7-10 today and wondering about whether or not to run an exhaust gasket. The new cylinder is just a flat mating surface unlike most that have the recess requiring the spacer..., which I gather to also be a gasket of sorts. Looking through IPLs hasn't turned up what would seem to be a proper gasket yet, so I'm thinking either there isn't one for a flat exhaust, or the spacer is till supposed to be used as a gasket -- with the latter not seeming very likely. If there is supposed to be a gasket, anyone have a correct part number?

And on the MS461, Ron, I believe there is a soft and a hard a/v version with many actually preferring the more rigid version over the 'soft'. I've run a couple that I would describe as very, very smooth and can only assume they were the softer mounts. They won't be around much longer and the 500i seems to be having some issues after being in the field for awhile. May wanna grab one while you still can. Used ones don't pop up often. There's a good reason for that.

Sorry, gents. Now about the 7-10 exhaust gasket...

Id have to put a gasket or seal of some sort. Very thin but something.

I just had to tinker with a sp81. This one has an A cylinder, new piston and rings, open transfers, and electronic ignition from an 850 installed, runs great....however it liked to burn bar oil. I could tell by the smell of it and of course the excessive smoke. So it was from 1 of the 4 bolts in the oil tank. It had no oring on it. Totally my fault on assembly after i got a piston for it. Put a small oring and it stopped surging and smoking. More responsive also. Such a tiny air leak causes so much. Its raining here now. But im gonna test this one out shortly.......
 
Don't tell anyone here but before all the hype about the 500i, a 461 was on my next to buy list as they have a great reputation for power and being bullet proof. However in my research, I ran across vibes being a common complaint. I promptly dismissed these complaints with a mental head shake "Can't be, it is an AV saw". This one made me a believer that vibration is a real issue to some.

Before I get kicked off the thread, let me add that I didn't note any bogging or narrow sweet spot like many modern saws have. But for the vibes, it would still be on my list if the 500i turns out not to be what it is cracked up to be.

Ron
Ron, if you get a chance, try a ported 372, I love my two. My nice early 046 is strong but now sits as my 372's feel so much better. 82cc Macs have a balance that is more akin to a Husky than a Stihl.
 
Ron, if you get a chance, try a ported 372, I love my two. My nice early 046 is strong but now sits as my 372's feel so much better. 82cc Macs have a balance that is more akin to a Husky than a Stihl.
I cut with a guy at work who only cuts with his stock 372 and wont touch another saw , but he's always impressed with my Pro Mac 700 . We teach chainsaw safety together and I'm pretty sure that if McCulloch still made saws he'd buy one after seening the 35 year old saw keep up with his, I dont need an 82cc to hang with that husky in hardwoods.
 
So it was the excessive clearance of piston to cylinder??
That's what I'm going with since the only other thing I changed were the rings. That 0.007+ of slop must have been the killer, though the rings were also shot. 0.002 is closer to normal cylinder clearance and about where it is now. Obviously much better compression now, too. I hope to do some cutting with it tomorrow. Needs a few heat cycles to get dialed in.

Quite a relief for it to fire right up after all the drama and speculation over the past year or so.

I think I'll keep it. LOL
 
Ron, if you get a chance, try a ported 372, I love my two. My nice early 046 is strong but now sits as my 372's feel so much better. 82cc Macs have a balance that is more akin to a Husky than a Stihl.
I agree....mostly. I cut with a ported 372 last weekend, it flat out hauls and would out cut my 461 hands down. However, I bet with bars buried in say 30” wood I bet the difference would be very minimal. Modded huskys I have run are stupid fast, but with that comes a slight sacrifice of bottom end torque.
 
Well would ya look at that! Glad it is all coming together.
On your exhaust gasket question, both the 2-10 and the 5-10 I just had apart had the flat exhaust flange and they both had gaskets.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Start em Sunday. A couple of test cuts with the 5-10. Gonna like this saw.
Also tried the 2-10. Thinking it is gonna need crank seals. It goes lean when I tip it on the mag side and almost stalls when I turn it back upright.
I also picked up a new chain grinder, never used one much. Is there a learning curve with these? I did the 2-10 chain with it and it wouldn't for crap. It is a Timber Tuff, it's a copy of an Oregon. Seems to work well but it wouldnt cut. It is a vanguard chain but I filed the rakers. They've always cut ok for me.


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