28" bar? Mod 357 buy bigger saw??

kodiakfisher · Nov 10, 2005

Here is my problem...I mostly cut smaller wood 16" or less and have a 357 with a 20" bar works great! She is good and broke in so I will be doing a muffler mod and resetting the carb.

My question can a muffler modded 357 pull a 26-28" bar? If not would you pay $200 and have the chainsaw modded by one of reputable saw builders on this site, or would you buy the Dolmar/Makita 7900/1. Baileys has a pretty good sale on the Makita 7901.

I cut mostly pine, fir and alder also the very occasional Hemlock like yesterday and some oak but 80% soft wood.

I would really like to not feel that I need to buy another saw. I just don't have enough experience with a muffler modded or fully modified saws nor the larger displacement saws. How about it Gypo and Jokers what do you guys think?

Doug

kf_tree · Nov 10, 2005

i don't even know if they make a 28in bar in small husky mount. i run a 20 in bar on my 357ehp and wouldn't go any bigger. if your looking to run a 24-28in bar i'd look for a 372 or 7900. i've never run a 7900 but they seem pretty good.

jokers · Nov 10, 2005

kf_tree said:
i don't even know if they make a 28in bar in small husky mount. i run a 20 in bar on my 357ehp and wouldn't go any bigger. if your looking to run a 24-28in bar i'd look for a 372 or 7900. i've never run a 7900 but they seem pretty good.

Hi Doug,

I believe that Ken is right about there not being any 28" bars in small Husky mount although I`m sure that you could adapt one, infact I think Walker`s has the adapters pre-made.

I would suggest modifying your muffler first and adjusting your carb. You will get an impressive gain in power doing this. If you are still unsatisfied, I`d have no qualms about sending the saw to Ed. He`s built a bunch of 357s and 359 and they all seem to run very well with a huge improvement in torque.

Of course you know that you can cut nearly double your bar length but if your heart is really set on a 28" bar I`d opt for a larger saw. The 372 will handle a 28 in softwood no problem but the 7900 will do it even better. Both saws are very nice(got `em both), so I suppose it`s a matter of personal choice.

Too bad that you`re not local, I`d show you first hand how well a modified 357 will run but if you go to EHP`s forum you can find before and after videos and times in the "Saw Videos" thread.

Russ

asb151 · Nov 10, 2005

Why do you need a 28” bar if you are only cutting 16” wood or less? However, if you have your mind set on running a 28” bar then you need a bigger saw. A modded 357 would be great to have but I would recommend taking the $200 and put it toward a new larger saw that can handle a 28” bar. I would add the Dolmar 7300 an MS440 and MS460 to the saws kf_tree mentioned. Which one?……That would depend on several factors including how much you want to spend and how much wood you plan to cut. That’s my opinion.

kodiakfisher · Nov 10, 2005

sorry for some confusion, I am cutting quite a few 30" trees 60-70% are 16" or so. 80% of my cutting is soft wood and a bout 20% hardwood. I would not attempt large hard wood with my 357 even if I had it modded and configured a longer bar to fit. The soft stuff you bet! Plus the larger hardwood are too fookin heavy to move. I tried to move some 20"-22" x 18" green Hemlock. Lets just say I'm glad I have a very cute chiropractor at my disposal

how do you like dem apples and yes she is femal before any of you smart a$$s start with me!

Anyone on in Oregon or Washington have any modded 357s how about you guys from Washington Hot Saws. I guess the small bar mount and max bar lengths is why I never thought of a longer bar for the 357. OK caught me in a moment of ignorance..I rebuilt my own McCulloch saw can I still be in the club..that has to count for something

?

Jokers,

I know I can cut double my bar length I'm just to darn impatient for that. I wouldn't cut anything bigger than 30" in pine or fir is too much work to move. There is too much smaller stuff that can be had to worry about the bigger stuff.

Doug

NORMZILLA44 · Nov 11, 2005

Ive cut alot at work with a 257 with a 24" bar, soft, and hard wood no problems. My backup, and firewood saw is a 51 husky, had it for eight years. Cant tell you how many times I have had people say you run a 3/8 chain with a 20" bar some say it is to big. But I run full skip, and get plenty of chain speed. I have cut alot of hardwod too. Some big logs also just have to make to cuts. Why dont you just get a 24" bar for the 357, and do the muffler mod you shouldnt have a problem. If you were cutting 30" logs every day yeah get a bigger saw. Hell I have had people with 066's tell me a my 044 is to small. I do all of my tree jobs with it, and have cut alot of big logs too. Some guys just think bigger is always better.

pbtree · Nov 11, 2005

If you want to run a bigger bar, then I vote for a bigger saw. I do not feel the 357 has the umph to pull a longer par with any authority...

SawTroll · Nov 11, 2005

pbtree said:
If you want to run a bigger bar, then I vote for a bigger saw. I do not feel the 357 has the umph to pull a longer par with any authority...

.......and a 357xp with a 28" bar would be badly off balance (front heavy), but west coast people don't seem to care much about that.....

HiOctane · Nov 11, 2005

The max blade lenght(oregon) available is 24" for 357.If you cut only 16" or less,keep your 357,she can handle tha job easily,and if you want keep same weight and get more power,EHP is the way to go.

gatkeper1 · Nov 11, 2005

My Oregon catalog shows a 28" 280RNDK095 Power Match bar as the longest available...........

HiOctane · Nov 11, 2005

gatkeper1 said:
My Oregon catalog shows a 28" 280RNDK095 Power Match bar as the longest available...........

Ive got 2004 book and says 24" is max,they probably add new lenght.

SawTroll · Nov 11, 2005

HiOctane said:
Ive got 2004 book and says 24" is max,they probably add new lenght.

Or maybe the other way around?

Anyway, the Selector Guide turns up 24" and shorter - no 28".

asb151 · Nov 11, 2005

NORMZILLA44 said:
Ive cut alot at work with a 257 with a 24" bar, soft, and hard wood no problems. My backup, and firewood saw is a 51 husky, had it for eight years. Cant tell you how many times I have had people say you run a 3/8 chain with a 20" bar some say it is to big. But I run full skip, and get plenty of chain speed. I have cut alot of hardwod too. Some big logs also just have to make to cuts. Why dont you just get a 24" bar for the 357, and do the muffler mod you shouldnt have a problem. If you were cutting 30" logs every day yeah get a bigger saw. Hell I have had people with 066's tell me a my 044 is to small. I do all of my tree jobs with it, and have cut alot of big logs too. Some guys just think bigger is always better.

You raise a good point. What is satisfactory for one person may be completely unacceptable to another. When people on site make recommendations they do so based on their experience, preference and certain unwritten “norms’. Doesn’t mean that something else won’t work. Running a 24’ bar on a <60cc (stock) saw is not the norm but it will certainly work if you don’t mind a little slower cut. Personally, I wouldn’t go less than a 365 running a 24” bar.

pbtree · Nov 11, 2005

asb151 said:
You raise a good point. What is satisfactory for one person may be completely unacceptable to another. When people on site make recommendations they do so based on their experience, preference and certain unwritten “norms’. Doesn’t mean that something else won’t work. Running a 24’ bar on a <60cc (stock) saw is not the norm but it will certainly work if you don’t mind a little slower cut. Personally, I wouldn’t go less than a 365 running a 24” bar.

Good post...

trimmmed · Nov 11, 2005

gatkeper1 said:
My Oregon catalog shows a 28" 280RNDK095 Power Match bar as the longest available...........

From this pdf, it looks like GB has one too.

http://www.dscpreferred.com/ipl/344/Pages137-155X-REF.pdf

Marco · Nov 12, 2005

The discontinued Dolmar PS 6000 & PS 6800 had the small Husky mount if I remember correctly. These where 60 & 68 cc saws, this is possibly why these longer bars are available with this mount.

Freakingstang · Dec 28, 2005

asb151 said:
You raise a good point. What is satisfactory for one person may be completely unacceptable to another. When people on site make recommendations they do so based on their experience, preference and certain unwritten “norms’. Doesn’t mean that something else won’t work. Running a 24’ bar on a <60cc (stock) saw is not the norm but it will certainly work if you don’t mind a little slower cut. Personally, I wouldn’t go less than a 365 running a 24” bar.

That was a good post. I have two 365's and agree, I don't think much less would handle it. Even the 24's can bog a stock 365 a little in hardwood. I have also run a 28" bar on a couple occasions, while it was slow, it got the job done. I wouldn't recommend it for daily use lol. I prefer the 18" bars on mine, they are fun saw that doesn't compare with the others in the 18" category.

keith c raymond · Dec 29, 2005

I dont run my 357 with anything but an 18'' bar.I would definitily opt for the 460-7900-575 size saw for that type of wood.You wont be sorry to have the power there when you need it.

Simonizer · Dec 29, 2005

kf_tree said:
i don't even know if they make a 28in bar in small husky mount. i run a 20 in bar on my 357ehp and wouldn't go any bigger. if your looking to run a 24-28in bar i'd look for a 372 or 7900. i've never run a 7900 but they seem pretty good.

Ken is giving good advice here. I agree 100%.

28" bar? Mod 357 buy bigger saw??

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