a funny thing happened on my way to pick up my brand new MS661....

[Andyshine77]

I don't think even the most diehard Stihl fan would say a 660 is smoother than one of the smoother saw ever made in the 361, so I call complete BS on that. If you're ripping springs apart you're doing something wrong, but than again we're talking about homeowner saws, whatever they are.

 

[treesmith]

My mastermind 660xb used to make my hands tingle like hell in hard gum, sold it and bought a 390xb which was nice but didn't use it much as I knew it wasn't quite what I wanted. So then I bought a 661cxb and never looked back, it was just much better than both of the others, pretty much like a husky but with decent dogs that don't catch on the bar studs, better filtration and a chain tensioner that is so much easier to live with, especially when changing bars/chains often

 

[weimedog]

Problem with a place like this is new is never enough.... but for 90 percent of folks out there a new Stihl anything is a wonderful event! Especially a saw as capable as a 661! Your going to love that saw! Congratulations and just enjoy the thing for a while. For me its like my 2172 I bought a while back. Its new. I'll hack up and play with other saws and leave the 2172 stock until it goes through its service life .. then it may get tweaked when things need replacing. Which because of all the other saws I have will never happen. Its nice to have a fresh new piece of equipment once in a while.

 

[Moparmyway]

Yep, new DP muffler is on the way. Prolly gonna gut it and make the gasket and rear opening same size as the head opening. Just wondering if I should do it before or after the break in.

Do it right away.
I suggest you even open up the dual ports, make sure there is no internal baffle, pull the limiters and tune it to 13,500 .......... leaving it on the fat side. ........................... then make your first cut

Maybe I overpaid... dont know really

Overpaid ???
You got yourself a brand new workhorse for a decent price. A few minutes of your time modding a few things and that saw will serve you well for the rest of your life as you wont be able to throw any tree at it that it wont take down.

 

[Bwildered]

I don't think even the most diehard Stihl fan would say a 660 is smoother than one of the smoother saw ever made in the 361, so I call complete BS on that. If you're ripping springs apart you're doing something wrong, but than again we're talking about homeowner saws, whatever they are.

Well it's the only 361 I have ever used, whether it's indicative of the model I don't know, but from that experience with that saw, I wouldn't own one.
Yes I was doing something wrong! Expecting a homeowner saw to be able to be pulled once out of a small pinched cut like you would do 5 times a day, every day with a pro saw.
Thansk

 

[Chris J.]

Possibly, also it may make a difference if I was running a saw all day long. If I'm doing a tree job, even though I may spend all day on it. The actual amount of saw run time is pretty minimal on most jobs. On the majority of jobs I rarely refill a fuel tank, just keep working up to larger saws as I reduce the tree to chipper brush or firewood.

I'm guessing that there is quite a difference in actual saw use between tree work (evaluating what needs to be done, with breaks to do so), and spending all day cutting up downed trees for firewood. Then there are the loggers who consistently work the hell out of a saw.

 

[fearofpavement]

I'm guessing that there is quite a difference in actual saw use between tree work (evaluating what needs to be done, with breaks to do so), and spending all day cutting up downed trees for firewood. Then there are the loggers who consistently work the hell out of a saw.

I agree. Even firewooding doesn't involve nearly as much time with the saw's engine actually running as many people think. Unless of course you have a crew that picks up and loads all the wood while you cut. The people that put a lot of run time on a saw are fellers, chainsaw millers, line clearance guys.
I probably put more fuel through saws testing them than I do actually producing anything (other than cookies...)

On my list for today is to set up some 55 gallon drums to put cookies in so I can burn them in my shop this winter. I picked up a trailer load of cookies yesterday left over from the last GTG.

 

[Andyshine77]

Well it's the only 361 I have ever used, whether it's indicative of the model I don't know, but from that experience with that saw, I wouldn't own one.
Yes I was doing something wrong! Expecting a homeowner saw to be able to be pulled once out of a small pinched cut like you would do 5 times a day, every day with a pro saw.
Thansk

You're not supposed to pull on any saw!! So yeah you're doing it wrong.

 

[MustangMike]

Well it's the only 361 I have ever used, whether it's indicative of the model I don't know, but from that experience with that saw, I wouldn't own one.
Yes I was doing something wrong! Expecting a homeowner saw to be able to be pulled once out of a small pinched cut like you would do 5 times a day, every day with a pro saw.
Thansk

I've never heard anyone refer to the 361 as a homeowner saw before. My guess is there are some screws loose, no, not with the saw! But your avatar is appropriate.

 

[Bwildered]

You're not supposed to pull on any saw!! So yeah you're doing it wrong.

Yes in a perfect world that's how it should happen, unfortunately I have never been able cut a log through & just slip the bar out of the cut every time, every day, then look at the saw & wonder if its pinched tight or not, or if its just jammed up with chips from a stalled cut, I really should put some pink fluffy fur on the handles & treat my saws better
Thansk

 

[Bwildered]

I've never heard anyone refer to the 361 as a homeowner saw before. My guess is there are some screws loose, no, not with the saw! But your avatar is appropriate.

Neither have I, you might have misunderstood what I said, your spot on with your diagnosis, 99% of the time most problems can be traced back to the nut behind the wheel.
Thansk

 

[Big_Wood]

Just had a logger in today that sold his 661 after he found a shop that still had 660's. They had 3 leftover 660's and he bought all 3 and sold the 661. Haven't ran one but that tells me something when the guys running them daily are avoiding them.

same here. alot of guys switched to the 661 and it didn't last a few months. they all started scrounging ebay and paying to have their old saws rebuilt. all the fallers i know here sold their 661's and the ones that couldn't land a 660 switched to the 461. there was even this fat ass POS smug SOB who i wouldn't want to see handling a toy chainsaw telling everyone at the saw shop that he doesn't like it cause it sounds to much like a husky like WTF!!! the sound of a saw makes his decision. there's no way he was capable of working with one anyways. looked like he could have been 500+ pounds and an attitude like you wouldn't believe. i think he was a PSP maybe. i ran a 661 and i thought it wasn't bad at all but maybe that's cause it sounded like a husky

 

[fordf150]

My understanding of the loggers reason for ditching The 661 in favor of the 660 was the running issues and hot start issues. Couple trips back to the dealer and it still wouldn't start when hot......bye bye saw.

 

[Big_Wood]

390xp FTW 660 is ok too for the stihl guys. just not for me there may even be a little glory left for the 395 until the 590 comes out and clean sweeps the market i still do know mad men who run a 395 in the woods. funny thing is it's all the midget old guys with biceps the size of my wrists LOL

 

[AndrewF]

Tough crowd here! I think most non saw nuts would be perfectly satisfied with a 660. Seems like a tried and tested recipe. Even if the performance doesn't quite match the 661.

Enjoy your new tool

 

[Justsaws]

locustcutter, the price you paid for the 660 is what a 461 with a 16" bar and chain DSRPs for here, have not heard anyone getting super deals on the 461s. The last time I saw a 660 new it was the price you mentioned, that was a while ago. The DSRP for the 660 with the 36" bar is $1200.00.

The 661 with a 32" bar is $1240.00, which is significantly cheaper than the last time I looked.

The " problems" with the 661 are mostly dealer experience problems and the soured rep is largely and correctly do to customers having to make return trips to the dealer and or leaving their saw for waaaaaay to long in order to receive warranty work. It will get worked out eventually until then enjoy the 660.

 

[rogue661]

Congrats to the OP on your new saw! true it may not the fastest saw at a gtg or the new kid on the block but what you have is a proven dependable day in day out 24/7 work horse!...Sort/mod the muffler and retune to get it back up to specs as guys have already said, but seems you know that already ordering the daul port muffler...
I don't think the 660 is an antique just yet?? happy cutting and be safe out there .

Here is a vid from a day or so ago of one of my old stock aussie ms660's - 25in hardnose bar 7pin RS .404 bucking some small aussie hardwood.... It's a little long in the tooth this saw with high hrs on it but still seems to run ok to me, has an old 660 crank in it out of a parts saw as it snapped the crank a few years ago, out of all the 660's we have it's the only one that ever snapped a crank...

Disclaimer this is not a how to use a chainsaw video! do your own thing and be safe peoples.

 

[weimedog]

Tough crowd here! I think most non saw nuts would be perfectly satisfied with a 660. Seems like a tried and tested recipe. Even if the performance doesn't quite match the 661.
Enjoy your new tool

From what it sounds like... maybe the 660 does....after a long pull & then shut off. Have to restart to perform. From what little I have seen those old 660's are really solid performers for the long haul.

 

[Bwildered]

Congrats to the OP on your new saw! true it may not the fastest saw at a gtg or the new kid on the block but what you have is a proven dependable day in day out 24/7 work horse!...Sort/mod the muffler and retune to get it back up to specs as guys have already said, but seems you know that already ordering the daul port muffler...
I don't think the 660 is an antique just yet?? happy cutting and be safe out there .

Here is a vid from a day or so ago of one of my old stock aussie ms660's - 25in hardnose bar 7pin RS .404 bucking some small aussie hardwood.... It's a little long in the tooth this saw with high hrs on it but still seems to run ok to me, has an old 660 crank in it out of a parts saw as it snapped the crank a few years ago, out of all the 660's we have it's the only one that ever snapped a crank...

Disclaimer this is not a how to use a chainsaw video! do your own thing and be safe peoples.

I used to run 404 on my 660 but changed back to 3/8 I liked the lightness & better balance of the original laminated bar over the solid replaceable tip, I found it seemed to cut faster also, I even put 3/8 on my 076 so I only have one pitch of chain across my bigger saws. I think the 404 pitch may have something to do with the cause of the crank failures with the extra stresses it may have put on the saw.
Thansk

 

[Trx250r180]

I run .404 on my ms440 with a stihl light 32 inch. bar,it oils way better than the 3/8 did,stays sharper longer also,it is skip square grind.