# MS 660 OR MS 880 FOR STUMPING OUT LARGE OAKS??



## Dave Goodwin (Jan 13, 2015)

Hello all, which would you choose for stumping 40" plus oaks on a regular basis? Looking to use a 28-32 inch bar on the saw most of the time . . . Is there enough advantage to the 880 to justify lugging around all that weight??

Oh, and Id like to keep the modding to a minimum . . .

Any advice is good advice. -Dave from CT.


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## jbighump (Jan 13, 2015)

The 660 would probably be enough...or 395xp in an orange saw


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## Dave Goodwin (Jan 13, 2015)

jbighump said:


> The 660 would probably be enough...or 395xp in an orange saw



The 395 has slightly more hp and torque, but is even heavier than the 660. What makes it more worth it in your opinion?


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## mdavlee (Jan 14, 2015)

Better oiler and the extra power. Now the 661 is out I might would lean that way.


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## jbighump (Jan 14, 2015)

as mdavlee said better oiler more torque,, outboard clutch..


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## no tree to big (Jan 15, 2015)

32" bar is 660 all day no point in an 880 that short


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## HuskStihl (Jan 15, 2015)

394 with a 42" is my stumping setup. I hate stumping with a short bar/underpowered saw. It's unpleasant enough as is without all the stump circling.


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## HuskStihl (Jan 15, 2015)

If you get a 660 get the HO oiler option. Big hardwood stumping is much nicer with a good oiler


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## Dave Goodwin (Jan 15, 2015)

Thank you all for your responses. Ill either go with the Stihl 660 or the Husky 395 xp.


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## mdavlee (Jan 15, 2015)

If you want a 660 you might want to hurry up. A lot of dealers are out of them and only have 661s now.


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## Dave Goodwin (Jan 15, 2015)

mdavlee said:


> If you want a 660 you might want to hurry up. A lot of dealers are out of them and only have 661s now.


 

Which are better in your opinion? I would imagine the 661's have more carb compliance.


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## mdavlee (Jan 15, 2015)

Dave Goodwin said:


> Which are better in your opinion? I would imagine the 661's have more carb compliance.


I think the 661 feels better to use. Not sure on durability yet.


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## groundup (Jan 18, 2015)

As said a 660 with the HO would fit the bill. Check the trading post tomorrow, a nice one might show up


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## TaoTreeClimber (Jan 19, 2015)

For big Cottonwood removals the 880 is my last cut of the day saw


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## Dave Goodwin (Jan 19, 2015)

groundup said:


> As said a 660 with the HO would fit the bill. Check the trading post tomorrow, a nice one might show up



Did that saw ever show up on the trading post?? Couldnt find it . . .


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## Mountain Ed (Jan 19, 2015)

How do i make a new post?


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## Dave Goodwin (Jan 19, 2015)

Mountain Ed said:


> How do i make a new post?



Sign in, go to forums, select the forum you would like to post in, then click "start new thread on the right of the screen . . .


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## Mountain Ed (Jan 19, 2015)

Thanks, but I don't have that option. Sorry to screw up this thread


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## Mountain Ed (Jan 19, 2015)

I need a opinion of best saw regardless of price: husky 365 special vs. Stihl ms 391


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## groundup (Jan 19, 2015)

Dave Goodwin said:


> Did that saw ever show up on the trading post?? Couldnt find it . . .


It's on there now


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## jefflovstrom (Jan 19, 2015)

Mountain Ed said:


> I need a opinion of best saw regardless of price: husky 365 special vs. Stihl ms 391



Why those two choices?
Jeff


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## Mountain Ed (Jan 19, 2015)

Th husky is what i have. less than 2 hours total run time on it but it is weak in my opinion. I like my husky 350 better than it. 

The stihl ms 391 is abiut the most i can afford. I need torque and have always heard and seen great things from stihl. I need a 20" bar, fyi.


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## jefflovstrom (Jan 19, 2015)

Try a MS261,,,maybe thats all you need.
Jeff


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## Mountain Ed (Jan 19, 2015)

jefflovstrom said:


> Try a MS261,,,maybe thats all you need.
> Jeff


Good enough for 20" bar and cutting large oak trees?


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## mdavlee (Jan 19, 2015)

Mountain Ed said:


> Th husky is what i have. less than 2 hours total run time on it but it is weak in my opinion. I like my husky 350 better than it.
> 
> The stihl ms 391 is abiut the most i can afford. I need torque and have always heard and seen great things from stihl. I need a 20" bar, fyi.


There's a big problem with the 365 if a 350 is a a strong. With a 20" the 365 will be just as strong as a 372.


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## Mountain Ed (Jan 19, 2015)

mdavlee said:


> There's a big problem with the 365 if a 350 is a a strong. With a 20" the 365 will be just as strong as a 372.


That's what I thought. probably something with the fuel/air, no?


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## BC WetCoast (Jan 19, 2015)

Unless you want to be a he man, you don't need a huge saw for 40" stumps. With a large saw, when you rock it (and you will) you have a much larger filing job, and those long bars are hard to keep the saw cutting straight.

Unless I was doing 3-4 a day, I would get a smaller saw (like the 261 Jeff suggested) and just walk it around the stump. Won't be that much slower and the saw is much more adaptable to other uses.


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## no tree to big (Jan 19, 2015)

Now that I think about it you need both a 660 and a 880... sooner or later you will want something to pull a 48" bar sooner or later you Will be in the middle of a huge flush cut and your 66 will crap out and you won't have to worry if u have the 88 sitting on the truck


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## no tree to big (Jan 19, 2015)

BC WetCoast said:


> Unless you want to be a he man, you don't need a huge saw for 40" stumps. With a large saw, when you rock it (and you will) you have a much larger filing job, and those long bars are hard to keep the saw cutting straight.
> 
> Unless I was doing 3-4 a day, I would get a smaller saw (like the 261 Jeff suggested) and just walk it around the stump. Won't be that much slower and the saw is much more adaptable to other uses.


261 with a 36" bar skip chain and break every other tooth off?


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## dontbthatguy (Jan 22, 2015)

I bought a 660 for stumping this year. In the past I have used a 460 and the 660 is def a step up power wise. The kickback potential is enough where I won't lent out my saw to anyone for fear that they might hurt themselves. 

With that being said, it doesn't impress me all that much when I have the 32 inch bar on it. First off it goes through a ton of fuel. Also the second that 32 gets somewhat dull, the saw is nowhere. To the point where I was convinced something was wrong with it. I want to chalk it up to operator in experience, I am not the best when it comes to cutting stumps. 

I would love for any advice anyone can give me here. I have a hard time keeping these chains sharp when cutting stumps. I maybe get one or two stumps done before having to go to a new chain. 

To conclude this, I am not 100% happy with my 660, but and that is a big but, it could be operator error and once I get better I might love it.


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## mdavlee (Jan 22, 2015)

Run semi chisel for stumping. It is more forgiving in dirt and other stuff you usually have close to the ground.


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## Creeker (Jan 22, 2015)

Bottoms of trees, ie stumps, are gritty/stony places, try to start on the cleanest side of the stump and get to the dirtiest side last.

And sometimes cut a little higher and add to the grind rather than burn time to set up and resharpen a long chain, especially on multi stump jobs.

No saw is impressive when its using a dull chain. The best thing is to really work on sharpening skills and I agree, use
semi chisel, takes a little longer to go dull.

Dress the cutter bar, keep the depth gauges (AKA rakers) down to spec. or a fraction lower.

It will come better with experience.

Edit - Back to OP, the STIHL 660 will go well, try a 661 and report back.....thanks


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## BC WetCoast (Jan 23, 2015)

One trick I've done on occasion is to bore cut into the stump and hog out the interior of the stump before cutting the bark, where the dirt tends to be.


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## dontbthatguy (Jan 23, 2015)

How about using skip chain? Would that help at all in stumps?


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## HuskStihl (Jan 23, 2015)

dontbthatguy said:


> How about using skip chain? Would that help at all in stumps?


Depends on u'r stumping style. Mentioned earlier was the small saw/short bar, circle/bore method (which I agree is what you need to do if you have a one saw plan). For that full comp in chisel or semi is the way to go. I am fortunate to have a multi-saw plan. I use the 394 with the 42", get it started, take a knee (outside the kickback zone), dawg in, get a diet coke, and roll thru the entire stump while moving maybe a foot (excluding the mandatory wedge to keep the kerf open). Skip helps keeping the chips cleared with this method

Edit: chisel chain can be filed to give better durability at the expense of some speed as well


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## no tree to big (Jan 23, 2015)

dontbthatguy said:


> I bought a 660 for stumping this year. In the past I have used a 460 and the 660 is def a step up power wise. The kickback potential is enough where I won't lent out my saw to anyone for fear that they might hurt themselves.
> 
> With that being said, it doesn't impress me all that much when I have the 32 inch bar on it. First off it goes through a ton of fuel. Also the second that 32 gets somewhat dull, the saw is nowhere. To the point where I was convinced something was wrong with it. I want to chalk it up to operator in experience, I am not the best when it comes to cutting stumps.
> 
> ...


The only way to keep it sharp is to not hit dirt/rocks sometimes we will run 4 or 5 days without putting a file to our 66 with a 32" but some days I'll file it 3 or 4 times.... if u r dissapointed in the performance of a 660 with a 32" bar it's not the saw u just have too hi of expectations or something no other saw is goin to cut world's faster


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## treeman19 (Feb 14, 2015)

Dave Goodwin said:


> Hello all, which would you choose for stumping 40" plus oaks on a regular basis? Looking to use a 28-32 inch bar on the saw most of the time . . . Is there enough advantage to the 880 to justify lugging around all that weight??
> 
> Oh, and Id like to keep the modding to a minimum . . .
> 
> Any advice is good advice. -Dave from CT.


 
The 880 is quite a bit heavier than the660, but with a sharp chain it will cut through any stump like no other. We have one at our company with a 41" bar and we mostly use it on the big willow oaks and white oaks around here, but i will also use it on any stump over 30". Saves a lot of time for us, although i wouldnt reccomend spending the money on the 880 if you dont cut big stumps that often.


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## Creeker (Feb 16, 2015)

Definitely worth a try, but still stick with semi chisel skip IMO.....providing it can be sourced. 

Quicker sharpening would be a plus when in dirty stumps and they blunt quickly.



dontbthatguy said:


> How about using skip chain? Would that help at all in stumps?


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## bigremovals (Feb 23, 2015)

the bigger the better


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## Knobby57 (Feb 23, 2015)

660 with a 30-32 " bar and .404 chain. .404 takes a lot more of a beating than 3/8 . Got rid of my 880 for a 660 and could not be happier . That being said the best thing is a good sharp chain...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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