Stihl MS660 vs Husqvarna 390xp (vid)

[Jacob J.]

Quote:A modded saw for me on a straight falling job will put 40-45 more trees on the ground by the end of the day with the same bar and chain. This equates to $50-60 more everyday I'm out there. Doesn't take long for that to add up.

Jacob, are you only getting 1.50 to dump a tree? I wouldn't get out of bed for that unless the trees were 2" dia and three feet apart! lol
Gypo

Gypo-

That's about what it works out to be these days...

A typical straight fall job here is bid around $125-140/load, and a typical load is 70-90 sticks...

If a guy isn't getting 4-5 loads a day, then a guy won't make it.

There's Hispanic crews here now with no real timber falling experience making decent money on these straight fall jobs.

 

[THALL10326]

All good points Thall, whether it's about ego or money, I'm not sure, but what I know is it's an addiction and a feeling of self satisfaction. I think my first mod was simply removing the spark arrestor, then I found out about the 066 dual port muffler, then Walkers, then Dennis Greffard, then Dozer Dan, then Ken Dunn, then Ed Heard, Cahoon, etc., till I was capable of building my own with all the information I got from these builders.
I agree though that most modded saws out there haven't even cut a cord of wood. Stock always resells for more because no one knows for sure who's been in there hacking and slashing.
In the final analysis though, it's all about the chain and hard won experience.
Gypo

Thanks Gypo, thats what I'm talking about. I'm not condeming modding at all, hell those that are into it, be those that build them and those that enjoy them, I say cool beans. All I wanted to point out is the obvious and nothing more. The lure of great speed and power is all over this site and thats fine but as Rope told me, I got all day,LOLOL

 

[2000ssm6]

That may even have an impact on the cutting speed - or am I totally off????




:Eye::Eye:

Your hands feel the smoothness, not the bar and chain. It would take a measurement from inside the log to tell but I highly doubt it makes any difference. From the few vids I've seen the husky is always dancing around on the ground, like a teen on meth. Not that it matters because we don't use them on the ground.

 

[THALL10326]

Well good point Thall, I agree but after seeing and especially feeling the difference I want all mine modded and it is not ego it is production. In this overly competitive business you need to make hay while the sun shines and why do it with a Massy when you can do it on a Deere?
I definitely used stock saws in pro applications but more from a tight budget than anything.

Well gettttttttttttttter done Rope, ya got a speedy saw now, ya got no excuse. As for me, I'll take the cost of your mods and buy me a few ta's ta's and a lawn chair, you was right, I got all day,hahaha

 

[2000ssm6]

Why I run a Jasha modded 372 XPW

Stihl 066 roughly 17# dry weight
Cannon super bar 32" around 6# = 23 pound combo

Husky 372 xpw roughly 14 pounds
Oregon reduced weight bar around 4# = 18 pound combo

Reduce weight 5 pounds same cutting speed lot easier to walk back up hillside After hours of droppin trees. That weight makes a big difference. I only do side jobs but one job last fall spent 6 hours on a hillside droppin Cedars up to 50" with the 066. Test drove TS 372 and thought about that job and bingo. Still mixed on the Husky Stihl deal the husky is smooth but I just about like everything else about Stihl 044/460/066.

Good point, trying to find the baddest 70cc combo out myself. I'm convinced the 440 w/ a ported 460 topend hybrid is the key. Just need a few more $$$ to get one. Running JT's stock 7900 didn't help either.

 

[ropensaddle]

Well gettttttttttttttter done Rope, ya got a speedy saw now, ya got no excuse. As for me, I'll take the cost of your mods and buy me a few ta's ta's and a lawn chair, you was right, I got all day,hahaha

:rant: you lucky bugger <a href="http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&lpver=3&ref=11" target="_blank"><img src="http://content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/0002006E.gif" border="0" title="Click to get more." ></a>

 

[blsnelling]

Good point, trying to find the baddest 70cc combo out myself. I'm convinced the 440 w/ a ported 460 topend hybrid is the key. Just need a few more $$$ to get one. Running JT's stock 7900 didn't help either.

Oh yeah. Now we're talkin'! Listen to that baby hold RPMs in the cut. Of course the B&C's too short to mean anything, lol.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rMMhekibx5w&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rMMhekibx5w&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

[Outlaw5.0]

Plenty of big trees here in michigan to warrant buying a 32" bar. I have 3 bars, 16,18,28,32. The last oak I cut, the 28 bar would not go all the thru, so I got the 32 bar. There are some really big oaks around here.

 

[ropensaddle]

Oh yeah. Now we're talkin'! Listen to that baby hold RPMs in the cut. Of course the B&C's too short to mean anything, lol.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rMMhekibx5w&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rMMhekibx5w&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

I tached mine in the cut on bigger wood the other day 10000 to 11000 is what it said 24" bar 39" wood! just enough presure to cut smooth!

 

[THALL10326]

:rant: you lucky bugger <a href="http://www.sweetim.com/s.asp?im=gen&lpver=3&ref=11" target="_blank"><img src="http://content.sweetim.com/sim/cpie/emoticons/0002006E.gif" border="0" title="Click to get more." ></a>

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


Rope I got and old feller that comes in the shop. The cat has a house thats sitting right in the middle of the woods, big oaks all around the place. He came in one day and asked me would I come out and saw up this huge tree that blowed over. I go sure.

I get out there carrying my 660 and 880. Hell I was looking forward to putting that 880 in some big wood. I get there and go ok where is this big tree. He walks me down in the woods about 50 yards and there lays maybe a 32-36 inch red oak. I go thats the big tree, he goes yeah. I go good grief that thing is a toothpick. I went back to the truck and grabbed the 880 just to run it some. The guy goes what the hell is that. I go unlike your so called big tree this is a big saw. The tree I could have zipped up easily with the 660 but I wanted to run the 880abit for the fun of it. Out of no where his wife comes down where we are. I get the tree done in no time. He's going to do the limbing. She tells him, honey his saw is much larger than yours. I grin and he tells her oh go back to the house,LOLOLOLOLOL He gave me 50.00 to block that tree up. I sawed maybe 20 minutes at most. The tree was soft and I had more trouble holding up the saw from going in the ground than anything else.

He's got supposely two more big ones he wants me to come out and do fairly soon. I asked him are they as big as that last one. He goes oh shut up and just get your azz out there when I call ya,LOLOL

 

[ropensaddle]

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:


Rope I got and old feller that comes in the shop. The cat has a house thats sitting right in the middle of the woods, big oaks all around the place. He came in one day and asked me would I come out and saw up this huge tree that blowed over. I go sure.

I get out there carrying my 660 and 880. Hell I was looking forward to putting that 880 in some big wood. I get there and go ok where is this big tree. He walks me down in the woods about 50 yards and there lays maybe a 32-36 inch red oak. I go thats the big tree, he goes yeah. I go good grief that thing is a toothpick. I went back to the truck and grabbed the 880 just to run it some. The guy goes what the hell is that. I go unlike your so called big tree this is a big saw. The tree I could have zipped up easily with the 660but I wanted to run the 880 abit for the fun of it. Out of no where his wife comes down where we are. I get the tree done in no time. He's going to do the limbing. She tells him, honey his saw is much larger than yours. I grin and he tells her oh go back to the house,LOLOLOLOLOL He gave me 50.00 to block that tree up. I sawed maybe 20 minutes at most. The tree was soft and I had more trouble holding up the saw from going in the ground than anything else.

He's got supposely two more big ones he wants me to come out and do fairly soon. I asked him are they as big as that last one. He goes oh shut up and just get your azz out there when I call ya,LOLOL

Lol I get calls like that I have a huge tree go out and its 25" of course there are the times like the 67" dbh pine that tied the state record that died and I won bid on or the 82" sweetgum but thet are getting more rare everyday.

 

[THALL10326]

Lol I get calls like that I have a huge tree go out and its 25" of course there are the times like the 67" dbh pine that tied the state record that died and I won bid on or the 82" sweetgum but thet are getting more rare everyday.

Same here. I've been asked many times to come saw down this big tree. I get there toting big saws only to find a 20 incher that was suppose to be this huge tree.

The biggest tree I've ever seen was a dayumm swamp oak on the back of a farm I once lived on. The tree had been tagged by the county as one of the biggest trees in the county. Someone told me one of the schools took a class of kids out to see this tree. They claimed it took 22 school kids holding hands to go around the tree. It was indeed a huge tree. I told the guy that ran the farm that I was gonna go back there and saw down that tree for the fun of it. He says go ahead, your azz will be in jail in the morning,haha. Far as I know that tree is still there. I'd say it was well over 7 foot across the bottom. Nasty looking thing though, only had a trunk about 10 feet and then branched off. I gotta take ole Hoss over to see it sometime. He'd get a kick out of that tree.

 

[gr8scott72]

Lol I get calls like that I have a huge tree go out and its 25" of course there are the times like the 67" dbh pine that tied the state record that died and I won bid on or the 82" sweetgum but thet are getting more rare everyday.

Yup, don't see many like this anymore:

 

[ropensaddle]

Yup, don't see many like this anymore:

I still get a few of those per year 56 " stuff is still fairly common but the real big 65" and up is a dying breed no pun intended.

 

[parrisw]

Oh no doult , I'm well aware of that. The pro fallers love their modded saws and hey good for them. I got nothing againist modded saws or the folks that use them. Hell if I had the ego need for speed I'd have all my saws modded. I guess I enjoy sawing, I'm not in that big a hurry,LOL

I'm not blind though. Its very easy to see what all the talk about modding is for this site. Its more about ego and $$$$$$ than anything else and hey thats cool. I just say lets be honest about it, nothing more..

I got plenty of stockers too, they all have their place.

Modding saws is just part of my nature. There isn't hardly anything I own that I don't play around with. I've done it since I was a kid. When I was 17 I helped myself to a jigsaw, cut a hole in the roof of my nice car(that I paid for with my own money), and proceeded to install a sunroof. I can't imagine turning a kid loose to do something like that to his car unsupervised. I guess that's part of what made me what I am today, good or bad. Through the years it's been cars, Jeeps, trucks, motorcycles, quads, lawn equipment, water-cooled computers, cameras, and on and on and on. It's just something I enjoy doing. Do I post most of my videos for sales? Hardly, I just enjoy it. I honestly look forward to getting home with the camera and doing the editting on my over-clocked quad-core computer. And I don't say that to brag, I say it to make a point. I don't know how compulsive I am, but I'm very obsessive! Once I start something, I don't know where to quit. This is nothing more than a hobby to me. Any money I make usually goes right back into it. Yes, stock saws do bore me for the most part. I know that there's so much more in there and I have to let it out, lol. You see, I'm an extrovert. I like to share, I like to talk. You guys are my friends with a common interest so I want to share my experiences with you. Any of this make sense?

Mee too Brad, I enjoy sharing the most.

I was gonna question the bar length issue. I didn't think there was much call for BIG powerheads and long bars these days. 33" and 385's are what the crews even on the wet coast seem to be using.

I'm just a firewood guy, but I've managed to use the heck out of my 372 I just got back on Monday, that thing is a wood weapon. Walkers does an amazing job on the muffler, that thing is art.

I should have my tired leaky 385 sold this weekend and hopefully onto a sling'r 390.

Well what are ya waiting for then, post up some pics and vids.

I still get a few of those per year 56 " stuff is still fairly common but the real big 65" and up is a dying breed no pun intended.

Last year, I cut up a snag, that a tree service topped about 40-50' up, at that height it was about 40" across, the butt I was guessing was 5-6', doug fir.

 

[Henry G.]

Heres a Euc log Ive been cutting into blocks for several months now ...measured 7' wide at its thickest...big mother. Got it about 2 cords out of it and another log that was a branch off of it, got another 1- 1 1/2 cords to go...

 

[Trigger-Time]

He he........A1 entertainment

 

[Gypo Logger]

When's BB King due back? He sure put up a good single handed fight didn't he?
He responded to everyone who addressed or attacked him. All the makings of a good AS member.
Gypo

 

[B_Turner]

When's BB King due back? He sure put up a good single handed fight didn't he?
He responded to everyone who addressed or attacked him. All the makings of a good AS member.
Gypo

 

[Gypo Logger]

Gypo-

That's about what it works out to be these days...

A typical straight fall job here is bid around $125-140/load, and a typical load is 70-90 sticks...

If a guy isn't getting 4-5 loads a day, then a guy won't make it.

There's Hispanic crews here now with no real timber falling experience making decent money on these straight fall jobs.

I feel for you Jacob, but a guys got to do what he's got to do. I'm not in much of a better boat now myself. I've been cutting firewood and have atlot of orders at 200/cord, but I have to handle it three times before it gets to the customer.
This lil venture takes me about 6 hrs/crd to fell, block, split, load in ATV trailer, relay to landing (about 6 trailer loads) unload and stack in truck and deliver 7 miles away. It's not what I really want to do, but it's an independant life and keeps the wolf away from the door. Plus it's a huge endless, wild and beautiful country up here and you don't have anyone breathing down your neck, except for hoards of blackflies that appear in clouds.
It's to damn painful for me to work within a structured environment, but saying that, I may be going into camp as a timber faller, which means I'll probably be sold for 65$/hr. and get 40$/hr. myself. Such is free enterprise. Lol