Longer bar for Stihl M261 - relative novice.

[WinterDeere]

I mean even poulan sells their little plastic saws 46cc with a 20" 325.

Good lord I hope a stihl 261 50cc pro saw could pull it that cost $700.

Heck I ran 36" on a 65cc poulan and 32" on 59cc stihl. Anything can be run.

It all depends on your patience. Some people even drive 4-cylinder pickup trucks, others are bolting roots blowers onto their v8's.

 

[5030]

Far as I know, every Echo model has the adjustable oiler. They also have what I consider the best brush cutter - weed wacker around.

 

[Hay Dude]

It all depends on your patience. Some people even drive 4-cylinder pickup trucks, others are bolting roots blowers onto their v8's.

theres also the crowd that buries their 20” bar in gravel, then complains “this saw sucks” lol
A 261C with a sharp, aggressive chain can cut very well, except buried in 20”+ hardwood all day.

 

[WinterDeere]

I've actually been toying with the idea of buying another smaller saw, so I can stop using my top-handle job for every small task. Top handle saws are great for their intended purpose, but not exactly the safest tool in the shed for working on the ground, which is mostly what I'm doing with it.

The 261 is one I've never really looked at, but probably should. Looks like a nice size/weight compromise to pair with an 036 and 064.

I had two 40 - 50cc saws, until I pared down to three saws a dozen years ago, thinking I'd just use the top handle for everything.

 

[mjonesnh]

I've actually been toying with the idea of buying another smaller saw, so I can stop using my top-handle job for every small task. Top handle saws are great for their intended purpose, but not exactly the safest tool in the shed for working on the ground, which is mostly what I'm doing with it.

The 261 is one I've never really looked at, but probably should. Looks like a nice size/weight compromise to pair with an 036 and 064.

I had two 40 - 50cc saws, until I paired down to three saws a dozen years ago, thinking I'd just use the top handle for everything.

Also have a top handle for smaller cutting, very handy but smaller cc's Have a Stihl MS-170 that is mounted on my tractor in a 3" PVC pipe that gets most use when at farm and anything up to about 8". Stihl 026 that was my dad's and Ms-362. 362 wears a 20" bar except when need arises have a 25". Have most trees and limbe covered up to 4'

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I am still amazed at this $130 Chinese saw I ordered from Walmart free shipping. It starts on 2nd pull and really works well. It would be a great backup saw anyone cutting lots of wood and I've cut some fairly large trees with it.
Apparently I got a lemon Sthil but it's way better than the MS291 I had ($600).

 

[BnRidge]

I wouldn't go longer than 18" on a 261. I've had one since 09, cut 5-10cord/yr, mostly white and red oak. File the rakers so the engine draws the chain nicely without bogging down. If so, 18" in white oak takes time and patience. Perfectly fine, just takes time. And patience. A few years ago I was looking at many trees 30"dia and up to cut up, so I went with a 462 with a 24" bar. It's like those stunt shows at the fair where they have a rocket powered saw slicing through a giant log in 4.7736seconds. Not really, but that's how it seems sometimes. Big rounds, I don't heft them up on the splitter anymore, I just slice and dice them so I can handle them easier. Would not have been so with the 261.

 

[Streetcar]

Back when men were MEN!
Actually I didn't know until I looked you can still buy a 2 man saw like that.View attachment 3558095

That saw is mostly for decorative use now

 

[xyz123]

It all depends on your patience. Some people even drive 4-cylinder pickup trucks, others are bolting roots blowers onto their v8's.

See that is my way of thinking too. I like the v8 in the vega.

To me 46cc 16" and the Poulan 415 was sold with 24". But it pulled that 36" with 32" buried like nothing. One of the strongest 65cc I ran to date.

I used to run 16-20 on 084's.

This was just for fun one day after fixing some saws. 16" on ported 3120 and 394.

 

[xyz123]

I am still amazed at this $130 Chinese saw I ordered from Walmart free shipping. It starts on 2nd pull and really works well. It would be a great backup saw anyone cutting lots of wood and I've cut some fairly large trees with it.
Apparently I got a lemon Sthil but it's way better than the MS291 I had ($600).View attachment 3558237

If you measure bore and strike betting it comes out to 56.5cc like the rest of them.

They sell them as 58cc-68cc but all been same bore stroke so far.

Cut great for the little cash they cost for the China clone of the old Zenoah saws.

 

[WinterDeere]

I used to run 16-20 on 084's.

lol... "the wood just fell in half when it seen the saw!"

I actually owned an 084 very briefly, before picking up the 064, and the thing was a beast. I'm pretty sure you could put that bar into concrete, and it would just keep churning away, nothing would stop it.

But mine had been set up with a .404 chain on what I remember being a 40"+ bar. The chain speed was a lot lower than the 036 and 064, and I'd have probably swapped it up to a larger sprocket to run a 28" or 32" bar (still small for that saw), but then I found myself always gravitating toward the 064 which was already set up for high chain speed and just felt a lot nicer for most of my cutting tasks.

I can't remember, but I think the 084's were something like 125cc and the identical 088's were stroked for 135cc? Big heavy beasts, which the portable sawmill guys must love. Awful heavy for lugging around the woods, though.

 

[Hay Dude]

I might make a call on this. Is this near you WinterDeere?

 

[WinterDeere]

That's about an hour southeast of me. I'm up in central Mont.Co.

There are a handful of members from the eastern Bucks area, who are probably within 20 minutes of that.

 

[xyz123]

@WinterDeere 84 121.6cc or just say 122cc rounded up.

Owned alot of those 6 total I think. stock, woods ported x2 and race ported.

64 all day IMHO. Great saw and weight for use.

Only 4 in this pic.

 

[xyz123]

One of my woods ported 84 in a up cut with 404.

 

[WinterDeere]

Wow... amazingly clean saws, for that age! Mine is pretty well-maintained mechanically, but looks like it's been through a war.

Just hunting thru photos, I found this old pic of what I carry when going out cutting. The chains I use now are diffferent (two 10 footers with choker hook on one end and grab hook on other), and now I usually carry two 1-gal gas cans, but otherwise much the same as back then.



The left tool box is full of spare chain loops, scrench, carburetor screwdriver, sun screen, granola bar, etc. The right toolbox is full of snatch blocks, remote for my trailer winch, hooks, eyes, and other stuff I use for winching logs onto my trailer.

This stuff travels in the truck, so the trailer can be kept empty for wood:

 

[Hay Dude]

Wow... amazingly clean saws, for that age! Mine is pretty well-maintained mechanically, but looks like it's been through a war.

Just hunting thru photos, I found this old pic of what I carry when going out cutting. The chains I use now are diffferent (two 10 footers with choker hook on one end and grab hook on other), and now I usually carry two 1-gal gas cans, but otherwise much the same as back then.

View attachment 3559619

The left tool box is full of spare chain loops, scrench, carburetor screwdriver, sun screen, granola bar, etc. The right toolbox is full of snatch blocks, remote for my trailer winch, hooks, eyes, and other stuff I use for winching logs onto my trailer.

This stuff travels in the truck, so the trailer can be kept empty for wood:

View attachment 3559620

Dang that’s clean.
LOL My stuff looks like it’s been through a war.

 

[xyz123]

Wow... amazingly clean saws, for that age! Mine is pretty well-maintained mechanically, but looks like it's been through a war.

Just hunting thru photos, I found this old pic of what I carry when going out cutting. The chains I use now are diffferent (two 10 footers with choker hook on one end and grab hook on other), and now I usually carry two 1-gal gas cans, but otherwise much the same as back then.

View attachment 3559619

The left tool box is full of spare chain loops, scrench, carburetor screwdriver, sun screen, granola bar, etc. The right toolbox is full of snatch blocks, remote for my trailer winch, hooks, eyes, and other stuff I use for winching logs onto my trailer.

This stuff travels in the truck, so the trailer can be kept empty for wood:

View attachment 3559620

Most times mine do too. Till I go through and brush them off and use air too.

Under covers big time to keep them cool too. Unbelievable how folks let them get around coil and flywheels.

Then they wonder why they have issues.

This is after digging crap off to see what coil was on it. How folks let them get this way. Just wow.

 

[WinterDeere]

Dang that’s clean.
LOL My stuff looks like it’s been through a war.

Zoom in on the 064! Yeah, the other two were almost brand-new in that photo, and I try to keep them relatively clean. But I've put a lot of miles on the 064, probably more than any other saw I've ever owned.

Most times mine do too. Till I go through and brush them off and use air too.

No matter how the outside of the saw looks, I try to blow them out with compressed air after each day of cutting. At least around the piston and up thru the chain cover. I'll also usually pop the air cleaner cover and blow off the carb linkage, since I hate when a saw won't idle down due to sticky linkage.

Most of my chain swaps happen outdoors away from compressed air, so I settle for scraping all of the oil sawdust gunk from under the chain cover and bar grooves with one of the sheetmetal bar groove cleaner tools. The side or back end of those works pretty well as a squeeegie for plowing away oily sawdust.

 

[xyz123]

Most of it dug out here.