Chainsaws!

[nevada]

I heard a rumor last year? that Stihl was going to discontinue the farmboss MS290. so I ran out and got one.

I got it with the 16" bar, I wanted a nice small saw to keep in the back of the 4runner, or wherever I needed it. well turns out, they all come with the same size case.

well hell, if I have a big case anyway, I may as well have a bar to match, so I picked up a 20" bar, and a skip-tooth chain. I realize that's not really a BIG saw, but it does a damn fine job.







house pics for now, im heading up to the mtns on Thursday for 5 days, i'll try to get some "in the wild"

im sure many of you have saws, and I expect some monster sized ones.

what do you have?

lets see them!

 

[541joseph]

I have a. 20+yo husqvarna rancher 21 in. Most powerful saw I've used

 

[MyHigh]

I got the 290 as well with a 20" skip tooth. But I want to get just a smaller saw with a 16" for the back of the rig. Trying to pull a fallen tree out of the way with a tow strp suck major wood! I thought they had a small and large case? Am I wrong? I know the bar protector is the same size so there is 4" between the case and bar cover. Man I love my stihl. 3 pulls always and she starts right up. Two pulls on full choke and one pull wide open no choke and it's game on!

 

[MyHigh]

I like to file my own cut teeth

How bout everyone else?

File your own

Or

Pay for pro to sharpen?


Man Nevada, great idea for a thread!!
I'm all excited now!

 

[JD914]

Not a chainsaw, but for wheeling trips, I bring a reciprocating saw with a pruning blade to gather firewood. It hasn't failed me yet for keeping the campfires raging!

 

[KidVermicious]

I haven't laid hands on a saw since I was fighting wildfire. This thread reminds me that I need one.

 

[txclimber]

It is my understanding that Stihl is reworking it's entire line of saws to be more emissions friendly. We all know this game, which is why a lot of us do run out and buy up the tried and true style before the change.

They started with the bigger saws, you can tell which are changed by the last number. The old 660's have become 661's. I have a 660 that I don't use much, unless I have to fell or buck a tree that's larger than 32".

The old 460's are changing this year to 461's. I have a 460 and believe it is the best saw I own. Light enough to use all day, strong enough pull a big chain without bogging down. Beast of a saw.

I also have a little 180 that I use for limbing. Super easy to handle, but if you overwork it the carbs with need replacing yearly.

Give the 290 it's much deserved credit, great little saw, but it seems kind of like a 'tweener for my uses. A little underpowered to properly run a 20" bar through hardwoods, and a little to heavy to toss around like a limbing saw. When the change is made to the 291, this will become even more apparent.

 

[1engineer]

At 51 years old I have learned a few things about chainsaws:
I started in my 20's with an old used Craftsman with a 22" bar. Weighed 1,000 lbs but I didn't care. Had a wood stove and this was for making heat!
In my 30's I got a Stihl with a 20" bar. It lasted 10 years or so until my "buddy" lost it. Still really heavy.
In my early 40's I got another Stihl with a 18" bar. By that time I had "retired" from climbing and got rid of my spikes. Used it for awhile but by then I had pretty much run out of things to cut. Got rid of my wood stove and replaced it with gas logs for emergency heat. Saw sat in the outbuilding unused.
When I was 50 I needed to cut some limbs. Got the saw out but the limbs were out of reach unless I climbed. No spikes, old ankles made me go out and buy a nice pole mounted chainsaw. Light too!
Fast forward to today: Every time I need a chainsaw I use my pole chainsaw. Works perfect up to about 8" limbs and trees and anything bigger I can afford to hire it done now lol. The Stihl is still sitting in the outbuilding....

Times change, needs change, people (me) get older.

 

[nevada]

I got the 290 as well with a 20" skip tooth. But I want to get just a smaller saw with a 16" for the back of the rig. Trying to pull a fallen tree out of the way with a tow strp suck major wood! I thought they had a small and large case? Am I wrong? I know the bar protector is the same size so there is 4" between the case and bar cover. Man I love my stihl. 3 pulls always and she starts right up. Two pulls on full choke and one pull wide open no choke and it's game on!

that's what I thought too, and was my reason for getting the 16" originally. since the body/engine/frame is the same they use the same case.

I like to file my own cut teeth

How bout everyone else?

File your own

Or

Pay for pro to sharpen?


Man Nevada, great idea for a thread!!
I'm all excited now!

I do sharpen my own. manually.

It is my understanding that Stihl is reworking it's entire line of saws to be more emissions friendly. We all know this game, which is why a lot of us do run out and buy up the tried and true style before the change.

They started with the bigger saws, you can tell which are changed by the last number. The old 660's have become 661's. I have a 660 that I don't use much, unless I have to fell or buck a tree that's larger than 32".

The old 460's are changing this year to 461's. I have a 460 and believe it is the best saw I own. Light enough to use all day, strong enough pull a big chain without bogging down. Beast of a saw.

I also have a little 180 that I use for limbing. Super easy to handle, but if you overwork it the carbs with need replacing yearly.

Give the 290 it's much deserved credit, great little saw, but it seems kind of like a 'tweener for my uses. A little underpowered to properly run a 20" bar through hardwoods, and a little to heavy to toss around like a limbing saw. When the change is made to the 291, this will become even more apparent.

yep, that is what I heard also. they're making "green" saw, more emissions friendly.
altho, I thought when I got my 290, they already had a 291. maybe it had already happened, and they took a bit of time to phase out the 290?

its supposed to be rated for a 20" bar, but yes I agree, that is at its upper limits. in ran that 16" GREAT! i'll mostly use it for soft woods, evergreens and such.

mostly I chose the 290, because several friends had them, and ive used them both. I knew they were great saws.

At 51 years old I have learned a few things about chainsaws:
I started in my 20's with an old used Craftsman with a 22" bar. Weighed 1,000 lbs but I didn't care. Had a wood stove and this was for making heat!
In my 30's I got a Stihl with a 20" bar. It lasted 10 years or so until my "buddy" lost it. Still really heavy.
In my early 40's I got another Stihl with a 18" bar. By that time I had "retired" from climbing and got rid of my spikes. Used it for awhile but by then I had pretty much run out of things to cut. Got rid of my wood stove and replaced it with gas logs for emergency heat. Saw sat in the outbuilding unused.
When I was 50 I needed to cut some limbs. Got the saw out but the limbs were out of reach unless I climbed. No spikes, old ankles made me go out and buy a nice pole mounted chainsaw. Light too!
Fast forward to today: Every time I need a chainsaw I use my pole chainsaw. Works perfect up to about 8" limbs and trees and anything bigger I can afford to hire it done now lol. The Stihl is still sitting in the outbuilding....

Times change, needs change, people (me) get older.

indeed they do.

I would like to pick up an arborist saw, with a top handle. they're great, can run them with one hand. very light.





I do still want to see more pics, get to it!

 

[4x4mike]

I'm really happy with my MS290. Saws are an interesting topic when I read about them on forums. Everyone has their preference, experience and suggest you go bigger than you already have.

Some of these guys live in the woods and use them a lot more than I but my 290 is bigger than I need for my house. In fact I've wanted a top handle Stihl for awhile as it would be size enough for most of my work.





.

 

[LittleCaesar]

I have my late uncle's 460 as well as his 066 Magnum (dual port) and regular 066. The Magnum 066 cut so much wood during hurricanes and the like. Starts on a first pull. It is a lot of saw to move around so.....

I use a Poulan Pro 18" that will leak bar oil like mad if the cap is put on anything tighter than finger tight. I also have a Husq 455 that I won at a raffle in 2006. Both work well for me.

 

[1blink]

This was my dad's old Mac 10-10 I inherited. It's several years older than i am. Still runs well, but it's an eardrum splitter, and the manual oiler is a pain to keep up with. The vibrations beat up my hands after an hour or more of cutting. It doesn't get used anymore...I'll get some pictures of it's replacement on here in a day or 2

 

[nevada]

nice!

I really like the old saws. Dad has an old Homelite(at least I think that's what it is), no idea what size or model, I think it was old when we got it. its not very big, but man have we used the living shit out of that thing. its getting a little hard to start now, but other than cleaning the air filter, and maybe a new plug every 10 yrs, theres been little to no maintenance done to it. its been used and abused. what a great little saw.

 

[RiFF RaFF]

I had a cheapy Poulan Pro 16" before someone decided they needed it more than me, and stole it.

Ran that little chain saw through many a log.

Thanks for the post - reminds me that it's time to get another chainsaw. I have some trees on our property that need to come down.

:lasercannon:

 

[Clone of the Mean]

Luckily I can borrow chainsaws from work. Usually an MS 290. My kid is a Wild Land Fire Fighter and convinced me I need to buy a 440.

I own a McCollugh something something. It's kind of cute…. It does a good job on branches. I live in Tucson, I need something for mesquite.

 

[1blink]

The new saw
Stihl MS 261, tuned rich by modding the mixture set screws. WorksConnection tach mounted on handle. Muffler porting is in it's future.

This thing is awesome, from the anti vibe motor mounts to the air filter setup. It hungers for tree. I splurged a bit on one, it's a pro grade saw. I don't do near enough tree work to justify having it.

I file my own chains by hand. Usually make a few passes every tank.

 

[nevada]

don't do near enough tree work to justify having it.

I file my own chains by hand. Usually make a few passes every tank.

nice. but that bar being upside down would drive me crazy.

 

[nevada]

I used the saw a bit over the weekend. nothing major. I got a few pics tho.









then I decided to make a Swedish log stove.





I didn't get a good pic from the side, but you want to cut MOST of the way through. just leave a few inches at the bottom.


it worked good.




the first one we just let burn.


the next day we made another.








this time we cooked on it.



after we were done cooking, we boiled some water.



that pot was 3/4 full, it took 10 minutes to come to a rolling boil.

 

[nevada]

oh, I forgot to mention, that both of the successful Swedish logs were started using steel and flint.

my bear grylls gerber survival knife to be exact.

 

[1blink]

nice. but that bar being upside down would drive me crazy.

Flipping the bar increases the life you get out of it, wearing evenly on both sides instead of one sided wear. A bar lasts on average as long as 2 chains. I flip it anytime I switch chains. Do it.