A Dead 291, life lessons and new saw recommendations

Rugged made
Wesspur
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Duce said:
Fixes in a can crack me up. :laughing: You are correct, use nice parts and build a nice saw. Junk makes a junk saw. Just rebuilt 3-372's for a logger friend (one he crushed flywheel side), just cannot seem to get away from it. Hope your builds and life are going great.
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It's all good here. Hope it's the same up your way. Got to run some sweet saws up at Kevin's last weekend. The 500i is really going to make the Stihl guys happy. Ran a 2186 from Iowa that was flat out angry! I came back home and found a Granberg I couldn't not buy, so if your logger buddies wanna retire a 395 that's kinda what I'm thinking I want to build for it.
 
I used Stihl circlips in my MS290 build, now if I could get the rest of the saw to cooperate... My brother in law rebuilt a concrete saw with an AM piston/rings/circlip and the circlips broke within about 11 seconds and ruined his OEM cylinder.
 
I have both the 290 and 261 and both are great saws. However there is a difference. Power wise there very close to the same but the weight of the saw is different and does preform different.
I cut firewood of all sizes so most of my cutting is bucking up rounds and this is where the weight difference comes in. The 290 is heavier so it cuts better because the weight of the saw lets the saw eat through the wood without having to use the felling dogs to push the saw through the wood. When I use the 261 I have to use the felling dogs and leverage to make it cut the same speed as the 290 does with just the weight of the saw. Now if I'm limning and trimming I prefer the 261 because it is lighter but for bucking logs I like the 290 better.
 
sb47 said:
I have both the 290 and 261 and both are great saws. However there is a difference. Power wise there very close to the same but the weight of the saw is different and does preform different.
I cut firewood of all sizes so most of my cutting is bucking up rounds and this is where the weight difference comes in. The 290 is heavier so it cuts better because the weight of the saw lets the saw eat through the wood without having to use the felling dogs to push the saw through the wood. When I use the 261 I have to use the felling dogs and leverage to make it cut the same speed as the 290 does with just the weight of the saw. Now if I'm limning and trimming I prefer the 261 because it is lighter but for bucking logs I like the 290 better.
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With a sharp, self feeding chain the 261 should be faster. No leaning required.
 
:baaa: things escalated quickly :baaa:

I think I'm going to end up getting an oem P&C and keep the 291 close to stock (I'll keep the muffler mod) and seek out an older saw that I can get a big bore kit with or something... Got some reading to do now.

Seems like there's a lot to choose from with the older saws, I'm not really worried about the weight, I'm used to running a TS420 at work cutting steel.
 
cuinrearview said:
With a sharp, self feeding chain the 261 should be faster. No leaning required.
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I keep my chains very sharp. I have learned over the years how important that is and it took me a while to get the hang of it but I'm pretty god at it now. If I just let the weight of the saw do the feeding the 290's heavier weight seems to preform better and I can put less effort into it. The 261 will cut just as fast but I have to lean on it a bit more because it's lighter. Results may vary but that what I have noticed between the two saws. Both run the same chain and same bar and I run 20'' on both. Both saws are stock, no mods.
My 362 is a little heavier then the others and it to cuts great by just letting the weight of the saw do the work. If I cut wood smaller then the length of the bar all of them cut better then if I have the whole bar being used with little or no bar sticking out the other side of the log.
 
I have a MS290, now it's a Ms390. I kept a eye on eBay for a OEM MS390 piston and cylinder and eventually found one at a good price. I really liked the saw just fine when it was a stock. Then I did the Muffler Mod, then the MS390 piston and cylinder, now I REALLY like the saw!!!! Much more power!!! I've used it milling a few slabs, and still use if for edging logs, cutting trees, etc... If your going to buy a new piston and cylinder for it, the bigger piston and cylinder isn't much difference in cost, and it is worth what little extra they cost. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't rebuild it, I think they are great saws for the money. A new saw will cost a lot more than a few parts for sure!
 
Skunkdynamite said:
Broke in nice and easy, 3 tanks of gas... Then I got about a gallon of fuel through it and it Died mid cut. No obvious loss of compression, plug isn't fouled, good spark P&C look fine through the spark plug hole and exhaust port.
I really don't have time to tinker with it, I'm thinking of just putting it on the back burner and buying a used 261 or another 291.
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So you either have a second buggered P&C that you can’t see or a minor problem.

But since you don’t have time to find out:

You can snatch another 291 and have a parts backup.

Or you can buy a pro saw that will be faster to repair. 261, 361, or other brand equivalents would be good choices.

Since you like the power you were finding with mods, trade up to a saw with more power and modding potential. Stihl 360/361/362, husky 357/359/562, makita/dolamr 6400, echo 590 are all good options.
 
Spoon Carving With Tom said:
Baha you guys crack me up. It’s true though there are a lot of things that will kill you either with a bite, sting or simply rip you apart here! Luckily the Aussi blokes tend to be pretty tough..
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If they were tough- they would build MS 660's not MS 180's :happybanana::dancing::ices_rofl:
And they would have a few more rugby union trophies in their cupboard! :muscle:
 
Ketchup said:
So you either have a second buggered P&C that you can’t see or a minor problem.

But since you don’t have time to find out:

You can snatch another 291 and have a parts backup.

Or you can buy a pro saw that will be faster to repair. 261, 361, or other brand equivalents would be good choices.

Since you like the power you were finding with mods, trade up to a saw with more power and modding potential. Stihl 360/361/362, husky 357/359/562, makita/dolamr 6400, echo 590 are all good options.
Click to expand...
I have a potential 290 for sale near me for parts with a scored piston, might make a better saw for me if I go with a big bore kit.
I'm liking the idea of the 261 too... I missed out on a 460 and 261c for (parts saws) $100 this weekend. Gotta be quick! I'm all out of room in my gun safe so I might as well buy some decent chainsaws
I know I'm going to end up with a 192-T one of these days too... Small medium and large would be ideal.
 

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