Not another MS261 thread...

[Strelnikov]

Thanks, another great thread by MCW!

 

[sgrizz]

:agree2:

Thanks, another great thread by MCW!

 

[MCW]

Thanks, another great thread by MCW!

:agree2:

Thanks gents. I'll get some more piccys and videos tomorrow with some tree felling as well. 16" bar will get a workout

I'm also going to loan it to a local tree crew for a week or two who currently run 260's. The 261 has only just become available in Australia according to Stihl's Australian website but I'm sure they won't market them very strongly until the 260's are sold out.

http://www.stihl.com.au/products/subcategory.cfm?iSubcategoryID=34

 

[Brian_NC]

Excellent thread.. All the talk about the 261 got my interest up about them, so I ordered me one yesterday. I hope to have time to pick it up tomorrow or Sat and try it out. I handled one that was already sold, sure had a good feel to it.

 

[Jacob J.]

It's not really a fair comparison because the 5100 has that sticker on it that says "SPEED."

That's like asking Crocodile Dundee to win a dunk contest against Yao Ming.

 

[MCW]

Excellent thread.. All the talk about the 261 got my interest up about them, so I ordered me one yesterday. I hope to have time to pick it up tomorrow or Sat and try it out. I handled one that was already sold, sure had a good feel to it.

Good stuff

It's not really a fair comparison because the 5100 has that sticker on it that says "SPEED."

That's like asking Crocodile Dundee to win a dunk contest against Yao Ming.

Hah hah. Yeah thats right. Now all I have to is swap that sticker off the 5100-S and onto the 261...

 

[indiansprings]

I had some extra Magnum stickers, so my 261 is now a 261 Mag,lol. It had to match the 044/460 and 660. It has every bit the quality of it's bigger true mag brothers.

It does keep getting stronger like most other Stihls.

You'll find this saw is one of the most fuel efficient in not the most you've ran.
Be sure and check your oiler, mine was set at the low end, now its wide open.

 

[wendell]

It also seems to "run down" quite slowly from full throttle like it's got a heavy flywheel or something!

That was one of the first things I noticed too. Definitely takes a little getting used to.

 

[kjb1622]

could i get some details on how you put that dual spike kit on? thanks

 

[blsnelling]

could i get some details on how you put that dual spike kit on? thanks

Here ya go, LINK.

 

[MCW]

Ran the 261 briefly agan this arvo and had a bit of a play with the tune but didn't really gain anything. Out the box it tached out at 14,000rpm no load max and was on the stops as far as richening it up so 14,000rpm minimum for now I played with the L a bit as well and only "marginally" increased the throttle response but will redo this again later once I've run a few tanks through it. I now have it fitted with 3/8" semi chisel instead of the RSC which is a bit more suited to our wood.
I'm also going to pull the 16" ES bar off and adapt a 17" 64DL 3/8" .050" Husky mount GB Pro Top to it so it can happily share chains with my 5100-S. I've got about a dozen of these bars in stock and it's a bit of a wierd size so therefore unpopular.

The more chains I have the more confused I get

You'll find this saw is one of the most fuel efficient in not the most you've ran.
Be sure and check your oiler, mine was set at the low end, now its wide open.

Actually thats something I haven't checked re: the oiler, so will look tomorrow. Thanks for reminding me. Every oiler I own is set flat out whether it needs it or not. I toasted a 42" Oregon Power Match Plus sprocket a few years ago on my 3120 when I tried to be a tightarse with oil then forgot to wind it back up again...

could i get some details on how you put that dual spike kit on? thanks

Brad's link below tells the story but it really is easy. The inner spikes are simply a bolt off the old and bolt on the new setup. With the outer spikes you have to remove the two nylon chainguard thingies and behind those are moulded nut holes. Just drill from the inside out with a 5.3mm drill (from memory) and the outer spikes bolt straight on. Only thing to remember is that the supplied bolts are too short (in my case) and only "just" reached the threads in the nuts resulting in stripped nuts. You may need to get longer bolts, maybe 1/4" longer.
I had everything done in under 5 minutes with 3 of those finding the right drillbit

Here ya go, LINK.

EDIT: I should have read Brad's post a bit better. He mentioned the short bolts

 

[MCW]

Oh and despite a few people thinking dual spikes on saws, even small saws, are a waste of time I can assure you that the guys that have said this do very little felling and if they do wouldn't be very good at it.
Not every tree is parallel and perfect. I'd even fit dual spikes to my 200T if I could.

 

[RandyMac]

Spikes, dogs whatever are essential items. They aren't there as a crutch for dull chains.

 

[SCHallenger]

bore cutting with the MS261

1st time poster with many thanks for all the great info & commentary! Have just bought a new MS261 to replace a stolen J'Red490 which I liked a lot. It will be used as a felling saw for recently dead pin & red oak, poplar, jack & red pine, & a few other species, & as a firewood saw for honey locust, maple, hickory(hopefully), cherry, beech, apple, & oak. Many of the trees to be felled are in the 12-16in. dia. range. Am not new to chain saws, but am new to bore cutting. Is the 261 suitable, power wise for this job? If so would you suggest .325 chain only, or would 3/8 be OK? Will be heading into the northern Mich. woods in April to start cleaning up some serious wind damage.

 

[tdi-rick]

So how are you coping with the flippy caps Matt ?

 

[blsnelling]

You may need to get longer bolts, maybe 1/4" longer.

EDIT: I should have read Brad's post a bit better. He mentioned the short bolts

You should have had longer bolts in one of the kits I sent you. I forget what length they were. They were a standard size bolt from the hardware store. The only other mod is to put a washer or two behind the chain catcher pin, to make it stick out far enough to go into the other spike. There are plenty of threads to do so. I believe this is also mentioned in the other thread.

 

[MCW]

Spikes, dogs whatever are essential items. They aren't there as a crutch for dull chains.

Your wisdom is oozing and flowing forth once again Randy.

So how are you coping with the flippy caps Matt ?

Actually I don't mind them Rick. Every now and then you'll turn them before they're fully locked which results in some head scratching or oil down your leg
For some reason I've never had an issue with the fuel caps locking in on my 200T or other flippy saws I've used. It's always been the oil cap?

You should have had longer bolts in one of the kits I sent you. I forget what length they were. They were a standard size bolt from the hardware store. The only other mod is to put a washer or two behind the chain catcher pin, to make it stick out far enough to go into the other spike. There are plenty of threads to do so. I believe this is also mentioned in the other thread.

There is a whole lot of things I should have read in your thread Brad
The customer I sent the other set of dual spikes too loved the kit so assume he got the longer bolts! All good now, great setup.

 

[Anthony_Va.]

Oh and despite a few people thinking dual spikes on saws, even small saws, are a waste of time I can assure you that the guys that have said this do very little felling and if they do wouldn't be very good at it.
Not every tree is parallel and perfect. I'd even fit dual spikes to my 200T if I could.

I agree with ya man! I gotta have the dual dawgs on my saws. They make life easier.

The 261 looks great, glad you like it. Hopefully they'll incorporate those filters on all the Sthil lineup. Hopefully at least the PRO models.

 

[MCW]

Back again. Both myself and Wayne (gmax) spent a bit of time today cutting with the 261 again. I adapted an old 17" unlabelled GB Pro Top to suit the 261 which was previously a Husky mount bar.
Didn't take long with a die grinder...

The wonders never cease however in the mysterious world of bar fitments as what is a 64DL chain on a Husky or Dolmar suddenly needs to be shortened to a 63 DL chain on a damn Stihl :msp_cursing:

Therefore I can't use chains from my 5100-S as planned...

Anyway, I'm still hoping that this thing improves in regard to power output. Comparing it to my 5100-S it is still a slug (as in not even close) and Wayne commented on this too. In fact his old 54cc 10/10 McCulloch even gave the new 261 a whooping, and with semi chisel compared to the 261's RSC to boot.

The balance, feel, and everything else about the 261 is great, I just hope it grows some nuts. It is maxed out on the H so can't richen it up anymore and today peaked at 14,200rpm no load. I played with the L a bit and have gotten the throttle response about as good as it will get at this stage.
Despite saying it pulled a 16" buried in solid hardwood it does seem to bog too easily in both Wayne's and my opinion.

I'm all ears guys if anybody has some tuning tips, even if I have to trim the limiters or something. At this stage I'm sure there is more in it I just can't work out how to get it

Any help or tuning advice greatly appreciated. Also, 14,200rpm sounds too high or am I wrong?

 

[SawTroll]

Spikes, dogs whatever are essential items. They aren't there as a crutch for dull chains.

I suspect they often are used for just that, but of course not by any AS members.....:hmm3grin2orange: