New saw advice.

[JJF20]

Evening All, new here. Looking for advice.

I’ve used saws for years. Bush work, firewood, property maintenance, and recovery work in the bush.

I’m in the market for a new one. Current saw was a 55 rancher 18” bar. 17 yrs old, did well for me. Been rode hard and put away wet too many times. It finally packed it in today.

I’m now semi-retired, and looking for something new / reliable for firewood and keeping trails open in the bush. I have a Stihl dealer just down the road, prefer to go with Stihl this time. I was looking at the MS362 or MS400 online. Probably an 18” bar. Most firewood I do is between 18” and 24”. Some bigger 36”, but those are odd balls. I usually just roll and do two cuts, keeps the saw out of the dirt.

I favor reliability and durability over fuel usage etc. not interested in used. Not shopping by price. Prefer to stay in that size range.

As well I see a lot of saws are now plastic chassis. Much prefer to stay with metal, I’ve never had an issue.

Edit: Most wood I’m cutting is maple or oak. 95% hardwoods.


Thank you in advance for any advice you can send my way.

 

[sundance]

Evening All, new here. Looking for advice.

I’ve used saws for years. Bush work, firewood, property maintenance, and recovery work in the bush.

I’m in the market for a new one. Current saw was a 55 rancher 18” bar. 17 yrs old, did well for me. Been rode hard and put away wet too many times. It finally packed it in today.

I’m now semi-retired, and looking for something new / reliable for firewood and keeping trails open in the bush. I have a Stihl dealer just down the road, prefer to go with Stihl this time. I was looking at the MS362 or MS400 online. Probably an 18” bar. Most firewood I do is between 18” and 24”. Some bigger 36”, but those are odd balls. I usually just roll and do two cuts, keeps the saw out of the dirt.

I favor reliability and durability over fuel usage etc. not interested in used. Not shopping by price. Prefer to stay in that size range.

As well I see a lot of saws are now plastic chassis. Much prefer to stay with metal, I’ve never had an issue.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can send my way.

If you can stand the cost the MS400 seems very well thought of. I run a couple of 036's myself and have been happy with them.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Running an 18, I'd have to recommend the 261. Lighter and it will bury an 18 all day long

 

[ericm979]

As a MS362 owner, for mostly 18-24" wood, I'd recommend the 400. If you had significant smaller wood as well as some 18-24, the 261 would be ok.

 

[JJF20]

Thank you. Seems the 261 keeps coming up. 18” has always seemed to work fine for me. Any advantages to go 20”, other than its longer?

Seems odd to me to go smaller than what I had last. But I don’t know enough about the new saws to comment.

I’m not getting any younger either.

Edit. Put it another way, how would the 261 18” compare to my old 55 rancher?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Thank you. Seems the 261 keeps coming up. 18” has always seemed to work fine for me. Any advantages to go 20”, other than its longer?

Seems odd to me to go smaller than what I had last. But I don’t know enough about the new saws to comment.

I’m not getting any younger either.

Edit. Put it another way, how would the 261 18” compare to my old 55 rancher?

The 261 will feel like your 55 with a shot of nitrous...

 

[ElevatorGuy]

This is going to be a one saw plans? Ms400 in that case. I do love my 261 though.

 

[sean donato]

If you're planning on 20" bar then get the ms400. Does well with the 20" on it, handles a 24" just fine though. If you're set on a 18" then get the ms261. It does fine in hardwood with an 18" bar. 20" is manageable but slow and not very forgiving.

 

[JJF20]

Thank you. Appreciate the feedback.

I’m going to drop the 55 off where I bought it. Fired right up cold this morning. But it’s lots it’s oomph too. I’ll get it rebuilt. I’m a mechanic but I don’t like small engine work, don’t know enough about it and they frustrate me.

Call it a two saw plan now. New one will probably be just for fire wood now. I do a lot of wood. Some yrs 50+ cord. The 55 I’ll use for bush work and back up.

Edit. Was rambling.

…Either that or dig up my dads old partner, I think it still runs like. Champ. Lol.

 

[computeruser]

400/18” would be great for that work.

 

[gggGary]

This might help?

Been looking at a new saw also mostly "just cuz" The more I look the more I think, the ole 028WB and 044 will do just fine til I put down the saws and back out of the woods.
Had to spend some time with the fuel screws on 028 the last couple days not sure what was up with that. Seems like it had gone very rich out of nowhere then those settings were way too lean and I ended up ML back where I started.

 

[JJF20]

Thank you. Appreciate the video. I like the excavator.

 

[sean donato]

This might help?

Been looking at a new saw also mostly "just cuz" The more I look the more I think, the ole 028WB and 044 will do just fine til I put down the saws and back out of the woods.
Had to spend some time with the fuel screws on 028 the last couple days not sure what was up with that. Seems like it had gone very rich out of nowhere then those settings were way too lean and I ended up ML back where I started.

I don't really find videos like that to represent much good information. The saws preformed as expected. The 261 didn't have the balls, the 880 didn't have the chain speed. The 400 and 500 preformed about how I would expect them to. Really that size log was in their comfort zones. The 261 was at its peak for a single pass and the 880 wasn't even working.
When it comes down to have one or two saws, it's what will work the best for typical use. Not let's line up a bunch of saws and play in the same log. Makes zero sense. Put the 261 in some 16" oak, the 400 in 20" 500 in 24" and get a good old 36"er for the 880.

 

[JJF20]

I got a 261 / 18”. Does it ever work nice. I measured my logs before I went, most are 14,16, with a few 20” on the big side, and a couple big odd ball.

I looked at various saws, 271, 362.. Along with above advice, the 261 felt like a nice weight to work with. I’m used to the 18” bar, so that’s what I went with. I like the weight of it compared to the 362 and up. I think you could work with this one all day. I’m sure the 400 would be nice, but this seems to be a nice all around saw for what I’m doing.

Gave it a quick try, a few 12-16”ish logs, worked great. No issue. As above a lot better than the tired old 55. I’ll be using it for the next few days clearing trails, and then about another 20ish cord this fall. I’ll follow up after that.

Everyone likes pics.

Did just fine with this. Nice side adjuster. Started easily. Nice caps for fuel and oil.



Beside the old 55 for size comparison.


Thanks for the advice guys. Much appreciated.

 

[gggGary]

I don't really find videos like that to represent much good information. The saws preformed as expected. The 261 didn't have the balls, the 880 didn't have the chain speed. The 400 and 500 preformed about how I would expect them to. Really that size log was in their comfort zones. The 261 was at its peak for a single pass and the 880 wasn't even working.
When it comes down to have one or two saws, it's what will work the best for typical use. Not let's line up a bunch of saws and play in the same log. Makes zero sense. Put the 261 in some 16" oak, the 400 in 20" 500 in 24" and get a good old 36"er for the 880.

Looks like a good choice for you JJF20!
Sean; I see your point for a saw expert like you, but for us now n then'rs, it helps with the big picture, he gave the saw weights and showed saw weight handling vs cutting speed in a typical home owner's, firewood cutters log, that is prolly what we need to get a handle on.
The 880 was an outlier for sure. Might have a been a parady of the I don't care, I want the biggest saw you have buyer mentality? Or just one more new looking saw he had on the shelf?
Wife is hinting she'd like a battery saw and I'm not against having one for limbing, quick jobs. I'm invested in M18 drills etc. so will probly keep with that brand.
Thing is; I've handed her small, easy to start saws, and 20 minutes later she remembers why gggGary does the sawing.

 

[sean donato]

Looks like a good choice for you JJF20!
Sean; I see your point for a saw expert like you, but for us now n then'rs, it helps with the big picture, he gave the saw weights and showed saw weight handling vs cutting speed in a typical home owner's, firewood cutters log, that is prolly what we need to get a handle on.
The 880 was an outlier for sure. Might have a been a parady of the I don't care, I want the biggest saw you have buyer mentality? Or just one more new looking saw he had on the shelf?
Wife is hinting she'd like a battery saw and I'm not against having one for limbing, quick jobs. I'm invested in M18 drills etc. so will probly keep with that brand.
Thing is; I've handed her small, easy to start saws, and 20 minutes later she remembers why gggGary does the sawing.

I'm just a firewood hack that gets to play logger on occasion and does some odd tree jobs. I do have CAD pretty bad though. My biggest problem with videos like that, is its not typical use for half of those saws. The 261 and 880 specifically. Typically isn't right, perhaps not ideal usage in that size of wood. The 400 and 500 shined, but. For the cost difference and noting most don't really get into bigger wood the 261 will do 90% of home owners/wood hacks just fine. With the occasional need to double pass. All that video showed was the middle saws did the best because that's the size of wood most ideal for them.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

I'm okay with the video; I have a 42cc saw and the 261 outran it in similar wood to what I cut, so it seemed representative, as did everything but the 880 as that's not a saw for what he was cutting, but it is nice to see and pretty much says to most people, "Don't buy an 880, you'll regret it" (for that type of job). He's not a pro and is making videos for people who appreciate what he does, so all good in my book.

 

[JJF20]

Thought I’d update... I like threads with follow up. Saw did well today. No complaints. I need to adjust the oiler, not quite enough yet. It went straight into ugly trail / bush work today.. no issue. Pooched a new chain, but this is what I bought it for. Opening up an old logging road.

I ran 4 tanks through. Ran beautifully. Starts easy. Can’t think of anything else to comment on. Except the oil, out of the box it’s turned right down. Still lots left in the tank at fuel exhaustion. I’ll turn it up tomorrow, didn’t figure that out until I was done today…

The saw is definitely easier on the body, very low vibrations compared to all other older saws I’ve run. Especially my old 55. A lot less fatigue at the end of the day. I spent about 3 hrs steady on the saw opening up an old logging road and a couple of off shoot trails.

The fuel tank is definitely smaller than my old saw, it goes through it more quickly, but then you get to take. A break more quickly too. I’m fine with it for my purposes. I’ll track the time when I get into straight firewood. I spent a lot of time walking and manoeuvring today.

For a ‘small’ saw, I think it works admirably. For what I’m working on right now, I could see justifying a 400 to compliment it with a longer bar.

But for the low fatigue, and ease of use, carrying it around, working over head a couple of times, down in the dirt a few times… I think it works well for all around.

Pics are worth more than words on these threads so I stopped to take a few as I worked today..

20” .. mixed wood in the first two pics.




18” poplar.

No issue. Chain was still pretty fresh here.


20”+ uneven. Half rotten. Clear Center core.




17” no problem.


Imho, this is a good saw for all around farm, ranch, home use.

I’ll leave it there for now, if anything comes up, I’ll update.

 

[jeagan]

Thank you. Appreciate the feedback.

I’m going to drop the 55 off where I bought it. Fired right up cold this morning. But it’s lots it’s oomph too. I’ll get it rebuilt. I’m a mechanic but I don’t like small engine work, don’t know enough about it and they frustrate me.

Call it a two saw plan now. New one will probably be just for fire wood now. I do a lot of wood. Some yrs 50+ cord. The 55 I’ll use for bush work and back up.

Edit. Was rambling.

…Either that or dig up my dads old partner, I think it still runs like. Champ. Lol.

Let's see Dad's old Partner!

 

[fields_mj]

I got a 261 / 18”. Does it ever work nice. I measured my logs before I went, most are 14,16, with a few 20” on the big side, and a couple big odd ball.

I looked at various saws, 271, 362.. Along with above advice, the 261 felt like a nice weight to work with. I’m used to the 18” bar, so that’s what I went with. I like the weight of it compared to the 362 and up. I think you could work with this one all day. I’m sure the 400 would be nice, but this seems to be a nice all around saw for what I’m doing.

Gave it a quick try, a few 12-16”ish logs, worked great. No issue. As above a lot better than the tired old 55. I’ll be using it for the next few days clearing trails, and then about another 20ish cord this fall. I’ll follow up after that.

Everyone likes pics.

Did just fine with this. Nice side adjuster. Started easily. Nice caps for fuel and oil.

View attachment 1112151

Beside the old 55 for size comparison.
View attachment 1112150

Thanks for the advice guys. Much appreciated.

FWIW, you're not running a 2 saw plan. You just have an old saw as a backup for your 261, which is perfectly fine (an definitely not a bad idea). For what you're cutting, if you go to a 2 saw plan, I think the 400 or 500 would be fantastic depending on what you need for a long bar and how heavy of a power head you're willing to carry around. Either way, for the bigger saw I'd have at least 2 bars. One for big stuff when you need it, and another shorter bar in the 18" to 20" range that will rip through your firewood like lighting If you're sometimes doing 50 cord a year, IMHO, that's enough work to keep a 261 and a 500 plenty busy.

As far as the video goes, I think it was largely a waste of time. It showed that bigger saws cut faster so long as they aren't wearing a bar that's 4x longer than the wood actually needs.