Thinking about buying a 041

[MinivanFan]

Ive been watching this auction for a 041 with bow bar for a little while now and i'm thinking about bidding but first I would like to find out what everyone thinks about this saw.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stihl-041-chain...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9d390769

 

[Freehand]

Well first I wonder what exactly he considers "good compression"

With a name like Hippie Trails,how could one go wrong:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Work Saw Collector]

If I was looking for my first saw, I would get something more modern and ligher faster. That said I have a 041 and like it, but its not my go to saw. My go to is 036 and 361 or 038 depends how I feel. With the Bow it might bring a bunch the 041s do well on ebay.

 

[jd548esco72]

If I was looking for my first saw, I would get something more modern and ligher faster. That said I have a 041 and like it, but its not my go to saw. My go to is 036 and 361 or 038 depends how I feel. With the Bow it might bring a bunch the 041s do well on ebay.

don't know about ebay--i get bit about every time i try to score a deal there.

the 041 super was a great saw back in its day. when i was a teenager we ran the 041 supers and homelite 360s in the logging operation. the 041 super had enough low end power to pull a 24inch bar pretty good as i recall.

they did foul plugs with premium gas--remember leaded gas?--the carb would bite the gasket and we would cut a new one out of a milk carton and get them back up and running!

other than a few quirks a tough saw. but heavy by todays standards. and lastly there seems to be a gasket in the saw that can fail with age making the bar oil leak into the crank-case. seems like we even had one pretty new one that did that back in the day. it might be a job to fix that--IIRC

if you just want a good saw i agree with the supercabs. your likely better off with a somewhat more modern saw. but if you like OLD saws that still have enough grunt to do work the 041 super makes a decent saw. you might check up to see if the farm boss is the same as a super. we never ran the farm boss versions--

 

[AKDriveSprocket]

There is better saws out there. But if you have to have a 041 I hope it is at least a AV.

 

[mtngun]

The guys who like old-timey saws will hate me for saying this, but the 041 is slow and heavy compared to modern saws with the same displacement. You can do better.

 

[bobt]

Well, I guess i might as well put in my 2 cents worth,,,,HaHa! Firstly, the saw is a later model 041 farm boss with solid handles,,,,as in no AV. Secondly, it doesn't run steadily. Thirdly, it has a bow bar.

Having said that, the price is low and the saw looks like it is in fairly good condition cosmetically for the age.

Do you know how to work on the saw to make it run good? If you do, it may be something to bid on,,,,,,,IF YOU CAN FIND carburetor parts and intake gaskets, fuel lines, things like that. Good restoration project!

Do you want the bow bar,,,,,some guys are looking for these. If not, you will need to get a regular bar.

The vibration from these saws bothers some folks.

Having said all that, the 041 Farm Boss was a GREAT saw for it's time. It had lots of power, if not high revs. It was the GO-TO saw for cutting wood in the up to 24" range. It truly was way ahead of all other brands at the time.

If I was in the market for another heavier saw, I would go for it, if only for reasons of nostalgia!!!

But I already have one of these, and she is my old lover girl!!!!!!

 

[SkippyKtm]

don't know about ebay--i get bit about every time i try to score a deal there.

Yes, I've had bad luck there quite some time back-- But now things have changed dramatically for the sellers- they no longer have control now. It is all in the buyers power to do whatever they want. You can just about force a seller to take an item back for any reason you want. I do buy a few saws, but I sell much more there. There is still money to be made there, don't get me wrong-- you just have to be an honest seller, who knows what customer service is, or you will get nailed.
As far as the 041 goes, I kinda like 'em. I sold a few on eBay, I still currently have one -it is a neat old saw that performs well and as far as buying one on eBay, you can always return it, if you're not happy.

 

[berryman70]

041 farmboss was maybe the best saw I ever bought/owned but that was back in 1976 when I got out of highschool. There's a lot better newer saws out there now, buy it if just because you want it. Just my opinion

 

[blsnelling]

Awesome old saw that helped build the Stihl name as we know it today. My FIL bought his new in 1980. My BIL still uses it today. I have a 041AV Super myself. It's a strong 70cc saw. But, they are very dated in design, speed, AV, filtration, etc. To me, they're nothing more than a collectors item.

 

[MinivanFan]

I decited to wait and do some more research first. Thanks everyone for your thoughts anyway.

Do you know how to work on the saw to make it run good? If you do, it may be something to bid on,,,,,,,IF YOU CAN FIND carburetor parts and intake gaskets, fuel lines, things like that. Good restoration project!

If it is just a matter of tuning then yes I could probly get it to work but I've never really replaced parts on a chainsaw but I'm willing to learn.

 

[jd548esco72]

if i had time and money i would like to do a restoration job on a 041 super. i think most parts are still around. plenty of used parts because stihl sold jillions of them. though they might be a bit on the $ green side.

as far as power they were stout saws but their chainspeed did seem a little slow. but they seemed like a rocket ship compared to the red 360 homies!

this makes me wonder if they might suddenly get fast with a bigger sprocket?:greenchainsaw:

 

[ehgauss]

I bought a used 041 Farmboss used about 10 years ago and used it until three years ago cutting about five full cords of hardwood a year plus cutting a couple of roads through my woodlots, etc. Three years ago, I gave it to my son and he's been cutting about 12 cords a year with it since then. So far, we've replaced the 16" bar and chains with a 20", and replaced that once, a couple of chains, two carb kits, and a new seal in the bar oil pump. It's hard to tell the difference between the 041 and the 290 I've bought since, working side by side. The 041 is a good old saw.

 

[mtngun]

It's hard to tell the difference between the 041 and the 290 I've bought since, working side by side.

Never run a 290 but didn't realize they were that bad.

I took my neighbor woodcutting one day, he with his cherry 041av and me with a Deere CS62. Same displacement, but the CS62 was lighter and literally cut twice as fast.

My neighbor likes his "antique" and refuses to give it up. He's had it forever and it's practically part of his family. All well and good, but if you are serious about cutting firewood, get a real saw.

 

[jd548esco72]

if you got a 029/290 that is faster than a 041 super you got a really sick 041!
the points must be burned in the 041!:spam:

 

[Frank Boyer]

The 041's vibrate like hell. My 041AVE Super killed my hands. I couldn't believe how much less vibration my 460 has. I mean to put my 041 back together, but I don't know when. They are more of a collertors item .

 

[jd548esco72]

IIRC all those older saws would seem pretty crude compared to a 460 , Xp or any modern saw.

the 041 supers did have the vibration. we eventually replaced our 041s with huskys which were some what smoother and more powerful. even a husky from that era would seem rough compared to a modern husky or stihl though.

comparing the 041super to the 029 power wise. we bought the 041supers to cut saw logs with and back in those days we had plenty of big timber to cut and they did a good job. my kaput 029 super never had quite enough grunt to cut logs for me. i would say the 029 series would be closer to the homelite 360 in power. my dad did cut some decent sized oak saw log trees with the 360s i think to win a bet over if the 360 could fell some big oaks. but mostly he ran the 041supers and big huskys in the big timber.

the 041 will run pretty hard but setting one up to run is not as easy with those old breaker point saws. or antique saws in general.

a fully restored proper running 041 super would have enough power for most things but it would have some rough edges that would make it not very comfortable to run much. and you got that antique saw learning curve to deal with.