.325 on the MS361 ????

[Ed in Maine]

I just ran my first tank of gas this past weekend, on a pile of apple, about 12" around and solid red for 10" or so, pretty hard stuff. The new 16" B&C on the 361 cut through it like butter, just dropped the bar and went through with little/no down pressure. That is up against the powerhead. As I work farther from the head, it is not as smooth, but is smooth after you get into the cut.

I have noticed that it likes to cut at pretty much full throttle, anything slower and it seems to take more energy from the operator to keep momentum. This is my first time with a 3/8 chain though, I have only run .325 in the past.

Ed

 

[SawTroll]

To sum it up, I believe that the issues reported here most likely are related to rakers beeing too high.......

 

[kstill]

ok, im going to post a follow up in a week or so.
I did go to the dealer and i bought the .325 9 sprocket (the only one available for 361 in .325) and im going to use one of my 20" 034 bars and see how i like it. I am also going to sharpen the 3/8 and check the rakers. It sounds to me like the 3/8 doesnt like the smaller stuff, ifr thats the case the 3/8 is no use to me.

 

[kstill]

quick follow up, its still raining out so i did some test cuts on a piece of hedge in the garage, and wow , now im impressed! It looks like its the .325 for me and the type of wood i cut. It cut through the hedge like it was nothing! Im still going to play with the 3/8 and see if i can tweak it a bit to suit my needs. I will let you know.

Kevin

 

[kstill]

My 361 does the same thing on small stuff. I am running the non-safety chain with a 20" bar in 3/8". Its the chain in my opinion if you are running the yellow stuff, its non the smooth safety chain. Mine does cut smooth in the larger stuff though, the only problem I have is with small stuff. Big difference in safety versus non-safety chain in my opinion. Does yours look like it vibrates the bar side to side in small stuff ??

yes, it does that also, vibrates the bar side to side

Kevin

 

[zemmo]

quick follow up, its still raining out so i did some test cuts on a piece of hedge in the garage, and wow , now im impressed! It looks like its the .325 for me and the type of wood i cut. It cut through the hedge like it was nothing! Im still going to play with the 3/8 and see if i can tweak it a bit to suit my needs. I will let you know.

Kevin

What .325 bar/chain combo are you running?

 

[kstill]

20" Stihl Rollomatic E with .325 .63guage 26RMC
I usually dont run the RS because the wood is usually dirty

 

[SawTroll]

20" Stihl Rollomatic E with .325 .63guage 26RMC
I usually dont run the RS because the wood is usually dirty

As I said, rakers - make sure they are not too high......


..but 3/8" would probably be better anyway, and 9-pin .325 is surely too much, with a 20" bar.....

3/8" 7-pin is what you want with a 20" bar on the 361.

 

[Tractorsaw1]

380 super smoker

I don't know what you guy's are doin, but i been runnin 3/8" on an 038 super for years & it rolls thru small as good as big with none of this jumpin round. Maybe this 361 is just not heavy duty enuf, & made for the small cobbler.

Yeah Right

 

[SmokinDodge]

Was the very first thing you cut with the 3/8 Hedge? That crap will dull a chain if just think about cutting it. I'm not kidding in any way, when I'm cutting Hedge I file the chain every tank anything else I go four or five tanks. We just cleaned up a 1/4 mile hedge row last winter for use as post and i'm glad it is over. It's the best post possible, some will last 65-70 years, there are some post on my Father's property we know are 50 years old and still have a lot of life left.

 

[Trigger-Time]

Was the very first thing you cut with the 3/8 Hedge? That crap will dull a chain if just think about cutting it. I'm not kidding in any way, when I'm cutting Hedge I file the chain every tank anything else I go four or five tanks. We just cleaned up a 1/4 mile hedge row last winter for use as post and i'm glad it is over. It's the best post possible, some will last 65-70 years, there are some post on my Father's property we know are 50 years old and still have a lot of life left.

SmokinDodge, Is right about the Hedge (Osage Orange). Dad's farm has
a Hedge corner post that is about 80 years old. You can't drive a nail
in that stuff. I think the dried Hedge will weigh as much as any Green (wet)
oak.

 

[West Texas]

I have two 361's and have run both chains on them. Ran the 3/8 with both the 7x and 8x drive sprocket and the .325 with the 9x drive sprocket. The issue is not so much the chain or drive sprocket as it is the wood. On a new chain, when cutting hard dead oak trees on a nearby ranch, I have to take the rakers down in order to get a good size chip. When cutting the hard wood, look at your chips, are you getting fine saw dust or nice large chips? If the chips are nice size looking then the rakers are OK. otherwise, take them down evenly. If you have a machine grinder then take off a small amount, cut and then decide if you need to take off more. Don't take off too much, or you will have a rough cutting saw. If you don't have a machine, then arbitrarily stroke each raker four times with a flat file and then make another cut to see how its doing. I did not believe a new chain needed the rakers lowered until I started cutting really hard dead oaks.

By the way, put 3 9/16" holes in that muffler to get rid of the EPA 'jake brake' effect on the engine. Guarantee it will run better regardless of how you configure the bars and chains.

I run a 3/8 x 7 drive with a 20" bar round chisel chain for felling on one saw; and, a 16" bar for limbing with a .325 x 9 sprocket and square chisel chain on the other saw..

 

[Ed in Maine]

Thanks for the tips west tx. You are correct, most of the stuff I was cutting was hard and dead when I posted earlier. I have 200acres of slash behind me that is free for the taking for fire wood, so most of what I do is dead...opcorn:

 

[begleytree]

Was the very first thing you cut with the 3/8 Hedge? That crap will dull a chain if just think about cutting it. I'm not kidding in any way, when I'm cutting Hedge I file the chain every tank anything else I go four or five tanks. We just cleaned up a 1/4 mile hedge row last winter for use as post and i'm glad it is over. It's the best post possible, some will last 65-70 years, there are some post on my Father's property we know are 50 years old and still have a lot of life left.

This is probably most of the problem. osage will dull a chain in no time flat, and a dead osage will do it quicker! I sometimes see sparks from my chain when I'm cutting osage. That stuff is HARD!
-Ralph

 

[blis]

This is probably most of the problem. osage will dull a chain in no time flat, and a dead osage will do it quicker! I sometimes see sparks from my chain when I'm cutting osage. That stuff is HARD!
-Ralph

I get sparks all the time im cutting spruce :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[kstill]

Hedge

I am familiar with hedge, and have cut many cords of it , 90% green, thats not the total problem here. Black locust is very similar, and it was doing this in Hackberry too. This is my first experience with a 3/8 chain , so i am still trying to find what works for me.

I will also try a 3/8 36RM2 safety chain becuase i think the problem is the cutters are so much bigger and spaced further apart than the .325 which creates a larger valley between the teeth for the smaller round of wood to sit in when the chain comes around and using the bar of the nose there is no weight on it ond its going crazyThe rakers are hitting it and bouncing off.. The safety tie straps will bridge this gap and hopefully solve this problem and i will be able to stick with the 3/8.
I am going to grind the rakers douwn a bit and sharpen the RM chain and try it also.I am going to try and get back out on Fri or Sat.

By the way, put 3 9/16" holes in that muffler to get rid of the EPA 'jake brake' effect on the engine. Guarantee it will run better regardless of how you configure the bars and chains.

I was going to do that after i break it in. Do you have any pictures of yours? I thought about the washer and screen trick. Did you just drill holes ?

Kevin

 

[SawTroll]

Thanks for the tips west tx. You are correct, most of the stuff I was cutting was hard and dead when I posted earlier. I have 200acres of slash behind me that is free for the taking for fire wood, so most of what I do is dead...opcorn:

West Texas should be a real authority on hard wood and modded 361s.....:rockn: :rockn:

 

[West Texas]

The first muffler shown is mine; and, these were the original holes I drilled. Later made them to 9/16" in size and put a protective wire screen over the holes. The second picture is of a friends 361 muffler with three 9/16" holes drilled in it.

 

[B_Turner]

They were brand new and felt sharp.

Just as an aside, I find that on a chainsaw chain (unlike other cutting tools) a better test for how sharp a chain is (besides running it) is looking closely at it. A chain can feel sharp and not really be up to snuff.

Anyone else feel this way? I am not sure why true for chains as oppposed to knives, etc.

 

[SmokinDodge]

Just as an aside, I find that on a chainsaw chain (unlike other cutting tools) a better test for how sharp a chain is (besides running it) is looking closely at it. A chain can feel sharp and not really be up to snuff.

Anyone else feel this way? I am not sure why true for chains as oppposed to knives, etc.

I sure do! It can feel like it ought to cut great but it sure doesn't. The ol famous "90 second tickle" though and your in business. I thought it might have just been me.

I still have a chain or two that I used on the Hedge campaign it is just like you say BT it feels sharp but aint.