Great information Doc about the weight of a bigger saw or owning only one medium duty saw. I can attest to it. I bought one of my 346xp's from a dealer in the mid west for $425.00 delivered if I recall correctly. My 372xp came from a NY dealer for $700.00 shipped. Both were brand new saws. I found them listed on Craigslist as overstock saws or demo's. Neither of them had been used and were still in the original un-opened boxes. You could smell gas in the tanks. There was no oil in the oil tanks. There are some good deals out there to be had if you search far and wide.
New Husqvarna 346XP Yikes
- Thread starter JimR
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Great information Doc about the weight of a bigger saw or owning only one medium duty saw. I can attest to it. I bought one of my 346xp's from a dealer in the mid west for $425.00 delivered if I recall correctly. My 372xp came from a NY dealer for $700.00 shipped. Both were brand new saws. I found them listed on Craigslist as overstock saws or demo's. Neither of them had been used and were still in the original un-opened boxes. You could smell gas in the tanks. There was no oil in the oil tanks. There are some good deals out there to be had if you search far and wide.
Yeah Jim sounds like you are set up like I am with the 2 saw plan. :thumbsup:
It is great but expensive especially when you get to the point you realize Pro saws are the only way to go and need both at the same time making that coin toss and go with small or big to start with or do the middle ground its a tough decision.
I personally like having the lightweight 50cc 346 with a short bar and my 372 with a 20" (this is like a 454 in a nova) I can do everything I run across in my area. But like you and all the others we paid a lot of money.
I am done buying saws because I need them these saws should last as long as I do. (want is a different master)
When I was finally tired of the second hand Homelites and Maccullochs I bought one of the biggest 1 man saws Husky offered in my area and that was at the time a 372 had to special order it even. I bought mine in 2001 just after the 371 was phased out and I did all my trimming around the yard and everything with that big heavy saw and I enjoyed every minute of it the sound of a 372 is music.
I paid the price a few times because of it I cut my left knee twice to the bone and my left upper thigh real nice all because me running out of steam and getting careless thats not good.
Now wagging the little 346 all day is a piece of cake I never run out of steam just takes a few years of saving money etc staying focused on the goal. :thumbsup:
It is great but expensive especially when you get to the point you realize Pro saws are the only way to go and need both at the same time making that coin toss and go with small or big to start with or do the middle ground its a tough decision.
I personally like having the lightweight 50cc 346 with a short bar and my 372 with a 20" (this is like a 454 in a nova) I can do everything I run across in my area. But like you and all the others we paid a lot of money.
I am done buying saws because I need them these saws should last as long as I do. (want is a different master)
When I was finally tired of the second hand Homelites and Maccullochs I bought one of the biggest 1 man saws Husky offered in my area and that was at the time a 372 had to special order it even. I bought mine in 2001 just after the 371 was phased out and I did all my trimming around the yard and everything with that big heavy saw and I enjoyed every minute of it the sound of a 372 is music.
I paid the price a few times because of it I cut my left knee twice to the bone and my left upper thigh real nice all because me running out of steam and getting careless thats not good.
Now wagging the little 346 all day is a piece of cake I never run out of steam just takes a few years of saving money etc staying focused on the goal. :thumbsup:
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s219
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Sounds like you need to invest $60-80 in a good pair of chaps! That will probably be cheaper than the insurance deductible for your next ER visit!
Yeah agreed thats so true!!! I wear them now even in the heat of summer with shorts on its too late to fix the past but I got a set of full wrap Labonville Pro chaps and thats real good advice for all of us. :thumbsup:
Btw I am bad about going to the doc I fixed myself every time with betadine and butterfly bandaids and walked with a straight leg for awhile. My wife about passed out on the last knee injury and thats the one that convinced me I need ppe.
s219
Super Member
- Joined
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- Virginia USA
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- Kubota L3200, Deere X380, Kubota RTV-X
I have the same chaps, and they are great.
Yeah Jim sounds like you are set up like I am with the 2 saw plan. :thumbsup:
It is great but expensive especially when you get to the point you realize Pro saws are the only way to go and need both at the same time making that coin toss and go with small or big to start with or do the middle ground its a tough decision.
I personally like having the lightweight 50cc 346 with a short bar and my 372 with a 20" (this is like a 454 in a nova) I can do everything I run across in my area. But like you and all the others we paid a lot of money.
I am done buying saws because I need them these saws should last as long as I do. (want is a different master)
When I was finally tired of the second hand Homelites and Maccullochs I bought one of the biggest 1 man saws Husky offered in my area and that was at the time a 372 had to special order it even. I bought mine in 2001 just after the 371 was phased out and I did all my trimming around the yard and everything with that big heavy saw and I enjoyed every minute of it the sound of a 372 is music.
I paid the price a few times because of it I cut my left knee twice to the bone and my left upper thigh real nice all because me running out of steam and getting careless thats not good.
Now wagging the little 346 all day is a piece of cake I never run out of steam just takes a few years of saving money etc staying focused on the goal. :thumbsup:
I agree on the 372xp wiping your butt out. I learned long ago before I ever came close to cutting myself with a chainsaw to never keep cutting when you are tired. I almost cut my leg one day with a 55 Rancher. That made me think twice about cutting for long periods of time. That was when I also broke down and bought a used Stihl 210c for limbing. I used to own a Pro Mac 650 with a 33 inch bar. That one got sold once I bought a used 262XP. Since then I have only bought xp saws. The other saw I own is a climbing saw with a 12 or 14 inch bar made by McCulloch. It says McCulloch Professional on the side of it. It weights about 7 - 8 pounds. I can one hand it if need be. My daughter uses the Stihl sometimes for cutting smaller trees. I had bought the second 346xp for her to use. I think it scares her just a little bit. We have a nice weekend coming up and I have downed trees to cut up. I have considered buying a pair of those leg protectors. After just missing my thigh muscle I have been extremely careful as to where the saw blade is at all times. I did take a nice 2 " cut out of my work pants that day with the chainsaw.
crazyal
Super Member
I went with the 357xp simply because I wanted to only take one saw into the woods with me. I found myself making the process of cutting firewood a real project. With two saws means to chains to keep sharpened, two to fill up, and two to lug around along with the liquids needed to keep them running and tools for the chain/ bar. At the time I was using an old 3 wheeler with a small trailer for firewood so space was at a premium. The 357xp seamed like a good in between size. Small yet large enough to use 3/8" chain.
Now I have a side by side and have retired the 3 wheeler so I can take two saws into the woods and all the tools and liquids for both for the saw and myself (nothing like having ice cold water). Sooner or later I'll add either a 576xp or 372xp for larger work. Yes the saw will be heavier but it's offset by how much easier and faster it will cut.
Now I have a side by side and have retired the 3 wheeler so I can take two saws into the woods and all the tools and liquids for both for the saw and myself (nothing like having ice cold water). Sooner or later I'll add either a 576xp or 372xp for larger work. Yes the saw will be heavier but it's offset by how much easier and faster it will cut.
So there is mention of the green gas caps as being Cat saws. Both of my 346xp's have green caps on them. Is there a way to remove the cat from the muffler? Or is a Bailey's muffler the best way to go? I found out yesterday that you cannot get a chisel chain in the narrow kerf. I also found out that the Stihl Rapid Micro yellow chain will work nicely on these saws. That chain has no anti kickback features and is a narrow kerf chain. Part number is 3627 005 0072 or 23RMC 72E for the 18 inch bars. It is an exact fit for the original Husky chain. It has semi chisel teeth. I was told by two different dealers that this chain is much harder thamn the Husky chain. I can attest to the hardness of the teeth from hand sharpening the Stihl 210c that I own. I was a bit depressed that I couldn't find a chisel chain for my saw in narrow kerf. The one I bought previously to use is a also a semi chisel. It was supposed to be a chisel chain.
The cat mufflers can be easily replaced and Baileys is where I bought mine.
My 346 and 359 both had them. (353 is the replacement on 346, 357 is replacement on 359).
Mine both were stamped "cat" on them by the part number but I have heard others say theirs did not but still were cats. Safe to say if its got the green cap its got a cat.
Far as getting rid of the guts-short of cutting one apart there isn't any way to mod them, be a lot easier to spend the $40 and forget about it imo.
I found that I had to adjust my idle down and my mixture a bit richer on both ymmv there so be aware. You will most likely need some adjustment which is a critical part of keeping the engine alive so be careful is my advice on that have a shop adjust if not sure on it. And if you think your 346 winds up quick now just wait!!!
fwtw The gas cap on the 346 can be replaced with a 372 once the cat is gone so it looks better I had an extra 372 cap sitting around is how I know that and on the 359 the 372 cap doesn't fit so its still a bit ugly but I know its ok. :laughing:
Oh man if you only knew...we had trimming chores from hades one spring after the worst ice and snow storm in 50 years when I buggered my knee one time.
We had 6" rain then hard freeze then 12" snow all in a weekend in December it broke down branches off every tree on my property. Come spring I took 13 car trailer loads clear full and strapped down off my 1 acre homestead. About as badly tangled on the ground all over the place as an old growth un-used forest area.
Yeah I was tired all right completely worn out fact wagging the 372 day after day trimming branches. If (famous last words) I would have had the little 346 back then it would have been absolutely no work at all as it was I had no choice all I had was one big saw to do it all live and learn.