MS361 To port or not to port?

[Adam77]

I was looking to get a few different opinions on porting my MS361.I did a lakeside style MM to this saw a few years ago and it really woke my saw up but I now have the itch for some more power.The MM turned the saw into an animal with the 20'' bar but it still needs a little more juice to pull the 25'' a little better.I was thinking of doing the porting myself but I think I may pick up a parts saw and rebuild it and use it as the experimental saw not the 361.So I guess what I'm trying to get at is Will porting the saw give me the extra power to pull the larger 25'' bar or should I just put the $ toward a 460 and run two saws?Also who do you guys recommend to do the work if I do have it ported?I see a few names that pop up whenever I do a search on the subject but I don't spend enough time on the forum to know who's who and what's what.Thanks guys.

 

[kodiakyardboy]

I was looking to get a few different opinions on porting my MS361.I did a lakeside style MM to this saw a few years ago and it really woke my saw up but I now have the itch for some more power.The MM turned the saw into an animal with the 20'' bar but it still needs a little more juice to pull the 25'' a little better.I was thinking of doing the porting myself but I think I may pick up a parts saw and rebuild it and use it as the experimental saw not the 361.So I guess what I'm trying to get at is Will porting the saw give me the extra power to pull the larger 25'' bar or should I just put the $ toward a 460 and run two saws?Also who do you guys recommend to do the work if I do have it ported?I see a few names that pop up whenever I do a search on the subject but I don't spend enough time on the forum to know who's who and what's what.Thanks guys.

Depending on your needs a port job may be the ticket. The guys doing them are getting some pretty substantial power increases out of them. You may think about having a pro do the job and practicing on something a little less important. You should be able to pull a 25" no problem with a good port job.