Stihl MS361 3/4 Wrap Handle Kit.

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Well my local shop had the wrap handle and larger side gaurd. Just had to purchase a set of different dogs which are way more aggressive than the one in the kit. Love it. Gonna order a 25" bar and chain in the weekend. It's only has a 20" right now. Total cost was $200 Canadian. A bit expensive but happy with purchase.
 
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Well my local shop had the wrap handle and larger side gaurd. Just had to purchase a set of different dogs which are way more aggressive than the one in the kit. Love it. Gonna order a 25" bar and chain in the weekend. It's only has a 20" right now. Total cost was $200 Canadian. A bit expensive but happy with purchase.
Sure is purdy!!! I would do it to mine in a heartbeat, but I can't justify the price tag on it considering my total saw build is around 350 with a genuine stihl bar and chain. I would be much more inclined to get one of the new ms440 kits from Huztl with the extra wrap handle and guard if I could sell the 361.
 
167ish plus the HST here... full wrap, clutch cover chain catcher the whole salami ..but that is full retail your local dealer might be able to do a bit better.
Doesn't the wrap version come stock with high output oiler? I know other models have h o oiler

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Doesn't the wrap version come stock with high output oiler? I know other models have h o oiler

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

Yes I believe it does. The OP was asking about the handle only. I have yet to see anyone of the tree guys bars ruined from lack of oil but most have a dedicated big saw for such tasks.
 
I have 3/4 wraps on my 361 and 460...and if anybody has one for sale, I'm currently looking for a 3/4 wrap for my 660, but just for looks mainly. Being a firewooder, I rarely fell anything that needs a 660, and if I do, I spend the day listening to my buddies cuss me because the rounds are so heavy. I cut mainly black locust and red oak and some other stuff, rarely up to 60-80" across, but usually less than 30" and much of the locust is around 20".

Wraps need to be thought about in terms of usage. We all know they look cool, but they do add weight.
I'm the main faller for our weekend firewood gang and I LOVE a wrap on the 361. It's my main felling saw and the ability to turn the saw in any direction with full control is very handy. I'd reco a west coast clutch cover so you don't nip your fingertips though. I think a 44/46 or 66 series west coast will fit on a 361, but don't quote me on that.
I pieced mine together via Ebay for the actual bar and my dealer for the needed attachment parts, esp the side spring/screw thingy. Those were non-existant on other websites, so I had to go the dealer route. But I'd highly recommend a 3/4 wrap on a 36 series saw as a felling saw on the East Coast for firewooding. I run a 20" bar on it with full comp chain. It also has a hillbilly muffler mod that I'm quite proud of. Be careful about longer bars on a 361 as they're notoriously stingy with the oiler. I put a good scorch on a 25" bar with it in red oak before I realized it. Haven't looked at a high output oiler yet. Maybe someone can chime in on if it's worth it.

The wrap on the 460 is handy, but usually not necessary as most of the firewood stuff we cut doesn't need the 460's power just for felling, which is mainly why you want a 3/4 wrap. I've actually gone too far in a hinge before I realized it with the 460. The 660? Fugetabouit! With the torque and 'residual rpm's of the 660, you can go through even a good sized hardwood hinge in a flash. There's not enough finesse to a 660 for me, but that's just me. The 361 is just right for felling, IMO. Enough power to stay at the hinge and steer if need be, but light and nimble. I run a 25-28" bar on the 460 with full skip chisel. Mainly use it for bucking/blocking/noodling. Makes quick work of anything (except rocks) The 660 with 28" full skip is perfect for noodling as well. We cut selectively, often within existing stands, with grapevine etc and the ability to steer at the hinge, do soft dutchman cuts, sizwheels etc come in handy. The finesse I get with a 361 saves us having to drag something down with chains that hangs because I couldn't 'persuade' the tree down the way I wanted with a bigger saw.

The 660 is simply something to show off with, for my needs anyway. Occasionally, I run into someone wanting a tabletop out of a 5 foot oak butt and then it's fun to slap on a 36" bar and let her eat, but she's a hoss to haul around the woods. For me, anything other than absolutely huge hardwood that the 660 can do, the 460 can do almost as well.

As far as a scrench, I just bought a cheapo socket wrench and a 3/4" socket. It fits under the side wrap easily and you don't have to constantly remove it as you're loosening. If you go this route, get a longer wrench handle. This took me quite a few puncture wounds from the oversized dawgs to realize I needed a 10"+ handled socket wrench!

Stay safe!
 
I have a critique of the wrap handlebar on the 361. I bought my kit on the bay for 150. It came with the clutch cover, handlebar, short scrench, and the other tidbits new in Stihl packaging. My own opinion is that the full wrap kit turns a handy 60cc ground saw into a somewhat unwieldy and cumbersome one. Unless you are felling trees with it, which I am not, I really don't see the need and I see it as more of a hindrance than a help.

As was mentioned earlier, it can get in the way while limbing and my experience has shown me that it nearly always gets in the way while limbing. I used my 361 with a 20" bar. I played around with a 25" but found that to also make the saw unbalanced and cumbersome. Any saw with a wrap probably needs a bar longer than 20" anyway. Around here 20" is the bare minimum for light felling work but nearly all use a 70cc class saw with a 24/25". Professional loggers that is. The harvester will take care of most of them though.

I am a fan of the west coast clutch cover on saws though. I wish they all came that way. Of course, that cover works well with a wrap handlebar since you would be eating even more saw chips if you did not have it and were using the saw inverted to utilize the wrap portion of the handlebar. I like the way the cover puts the chips more or less straight down into a smaller pile rather than spewing them all over the place like the standard ones.
See this is the problem with something like the 361, kind of a victim of its success. It's something that fits so many use cases all over the country. To me the 361 gets tiring for limbing, I use my cheap, light little 211 for that, and when it blows up I'll buy another cheapie. For me it's what I pick up for everything but limbing and the biggest falling and bucking. But west cost the 361 will do just fine with the way those guys work, skip chain, long bars, full wraps. I've never found a need for a full wrap and a big bar on my 361 even though it's honestly my favorite saw and they'll have to pry it out of my cold dead hands if it lasts that long - when I need to fall something where I need a full wrap and a long bar I just grab the 661 because here in the northeast it's likely to be hardwood and you need something big unless you're in the mood to play games.

EDIT: Sorry to reply to a years-old thread. Chalk it up to the whiskey talking.... Anyway, my first reason to reply here was jealousy at your mint 361 acquisition. I bought mine new and wish I had bought more than one. IMO one of the finest saws Stihl ever made.
 

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