Advice on small saw.

[rahtreelimbs]

if shindiawa arnt a ''throw away saw'' you tell me what they are?

They are not a throwaway saw. Guys around my parts work'em hard and they are stone reliable. I am not saying in any way that are better in performance than a Husky or Stihl, just that they are as reliable!

 

[docbar85]

Not yet Toneman. I have been watching the feedback and there have been some very good points made. I was getting a little concern that my post may have caused some hard feelings. It will be between a 260 or 346. I have three bars for my 044, 20, 25, and 32. The 25 is is used the most which means I could put the 20 on the 260 and save the price of the bar, if it will fit and I can purchase the saw without a bar. I have not priced the 346 from a local dealer but appears it is reasonably less pricey. I'm in no hurry and will sleep on it.
Just want to thank everyone for all the feedback, it has been very helpful. Will keep watching the feedback.

 

[Toneman]

I would not put a 20 inch bar on the 260 or the 346. I have a 16 inch on my 026, and a 16 on my 346. You may be disappointed with the saw and the 20 in bar combo.

 

[Stumper]

Different strokes. I absolutely would put a 20" bar on those saws. Having a 20 inch bar doesn't mean I have to bury it in 24" wood. What a 20 does is let me stoop less when limbing and bucking the sub 14 inch stuff where the 3 cube class saws shine. (And those little monsters will cut with the 20 buried).

 

[glens]

Space, never mind what Erik said, it's irrelevant to what I was saying.&nbsp; <tt>:</tt>)

I never said anything about having two of the same or similar-sized saws with me.&nbsp; I was talking particularly about an 036 through 066 which share many of the commodity parts I'd mentioned, and will all swap the same high-quality bars.&nbsp; (include the 026 in that group, though I don't have one)&nbsp; Furthermore, if I were to rob Peter to help Paul, it would only be for the moment.&nbsp; Why carry extra parts in the glove box?&nbsp; Hahaha!

Yes, I've taken the bar off the smaller saw to use on the big one and vice-versa to comfortably finish jobs.&nbsp; I'm not proud that I had to but am glad I could.

Glen

 

[a_lopa]

with a stihl you dont even need a spare chain

 

[a_lopa]

I am not saying in any way that are better in performance than a Husky or Stihl, just that they are as reliable![/QUOTE]

so what are you saying?i wouldnt let one contaminate my tool locker
been there done that,its all good

 

[a_lopa]

Different strokes. I absolutely would put a 20" bar on those saws. Having a 20 inch bar doesn't mean I have to bury it in 24" wood. What a 20 does is let me stoop less when limbing and bucking the sub 14 inch stuff where the 3 cube class saws shine. (And those little monsters will cut with the 20 buried).

ive never run anything over a 16'' on my 26s ,i agree but which saw stumper surely you wouldnt even think a 20'' on a elux

 

[geofore]

260vs346

I'm still a bit confused. Docbar85 hasn't said whether he was looking at the MS260 or MS260 Pro or was it the 346XP or the 346XPG. If he goes with the MS260 he'll miss having adjustable oil pump and decomp valve on the MS260 Pro and if he goes with the 346XP he'll miss the heated handles he would have gotten with the 346XPG. It's apples and oranges. Do you go for the decomp valve or the heated handles?

 

[a_lopa]

 

[a_lopa]

plsoucy these yawns are killing me n glens, :angel:

 

[a_lopa]

personally the heated handles would come in handy while its 48c LOL,it would up production.

 

[brent denny]

Aussie, you're right. I'm not a real pro. I only spend 2-3 full days per week in the woods. I cut mainly firewood, a few sawlogs for the local mill, and do a few tree jobs on the side. I've had my 488 for almost 3 years and its never given me any trouble. It is funny how you say they are trash though, when I know of several guys that work for asplundh tree co. that have had theirs longer than mine, seeing very hard daily use, and havent had any trouble either.

 

[WoodTick007]

20" Bar

I absolutely would put a 20" bar on those saws. Having a 20 inch bar doesn't mean I have to bury it in 24" wood. What a 20 does is let me stoop less when limbing and bucking the sub 14 inch stuff where the 3 cube class saws shine. (And those little monsters will cut with the 20 buried

Stumper,

You tell me that you run your 026 with a 20" bar and 3/8 chain and it doesn't affect performance? Maybe if your cutting pine or aspen trees, but a 20 inch b/c combo in any hardwoods is going to make the operator work harder and longer. Time is money.

007

 

[Stumper]

Guys, How much additional friction are you expecting from four more inches of bar? We are talking 8 inches of oily bar rails and what??, an oz of additional chain. If the extra chain weight is harder to get moving it adds additional momentum (harder to stop) so call it a wash. How rough/dry are your bar rails? I own neither an 026 nor a 346 (I have run a 346). What I own in this size class are a Dolmar 115si- It has an 18 inch bar on it. A Jonsered 590- running a 20 inch bar and a couple of PoulanPro 330s (which are a bit bigger -57cc displacement) The 330s have 22 inch bars. I promise you -they do not run and cut slow. If you run dull chains and push hard I suppose that the longer bars would give you fits in buried cuts. Sharp chains and good technique don't have problems. If the wood is big enough to bury these bar lengths then I prefer a larger saw--BUT I have used both the PPs and the Jonsey in buried cuts with good performance.

There was a time when 16 inch bars were standard on saws up to about 60ccs and 20" was 'normal' on everything bigger. The consumer grade saws started getting longer bars simply because Joe Homeowner tends to rate saws by bar length rather than displacement.Short bars(16-inches) can handle big trees. The reason I like longer bars is ease of operation. My climbing saw gets a 16-I like the balance with both 14 and 16 but the 16 gives me a little more reach. For ground saws I like 20-24 inch bars (20 on 3cid saws 24 on 4cid and up). The saws handle well and minimize hunching over with those lengths. I have a couple of longer bars on big saws for big cuts but 3 foot bars are lousy for "brushing out" stuff.

P.S. I cut mostly hardwood.

 

[rustyb]

Hi Docbar,

I'm offering this post not because I have anywhere near the experience that these other folks do but rather because I was in your shoes about 2 yrs ago: 260 or 346. I ended up getting the 260.....only becuase there were no 346's around for me to look at. Most of the Husky dealers I spoke with didn't even know what the 346XP was. Anyway, I'm not sure which one I would have purchased had I been able to hold both (no dealers would allow a test run). Knowing what I know now though, I would have had a dealer just order a 346 for me. Here's why. I was dissapointed in the 260's power right off the bat. I was expecting more. Inspired here to install a fully adj carb & mod the muffler, I did just that. Luckily, a member here sold me a nice rebuilt carb for about $25 (new would have costs ~$70). The saw runs considerably better now. But, that's work & money I had to put in it.

Another couple points I might make is that the 346, I am told, runs smoother & vibrates a touch less. I don't know how good the filter is on the 346 but IMHO, the 260's is poor. Supposedly there's another & better filter that Stihl makes but that's more money....around ~$25 I believe. So, the saw cost me $420 then I turned around & put the $25 carb on. It's now a $445 saw. Should the other filter pan out, that brings the total price to around $475. The 346 on the other hand, I believe, can be had for a full $100 less than that, perhaps more. That's not bad considering fewer vibes may reach your joints.

And one last point. If I'm not mistaken, the Husky has a better warranty too. Someone here may know better than I but that seems to be what I remember after buying my 260.

I should also note that the newer 260's I have looked at have fully adj carbs so maybe that aspect shouldn't be factored into the equation. However, it will still have the choked up muffler which from my experience, really holds that saws performance back. If you can mod yourself, then no worries. Otherwise, just something else to consider. As for the stock 346 muffler, I don't know. I just haven't seen reference here on AS that it holds the 346 back like the one on the 260 does.

Currently, for myself, if I had money burning a hole in my pocket, I'd just order a 346, try it out then sell which ever I liked least, 260 or 346.

Good luck.

 

[glens]

I partly agree with Stumper, but that means I partly disagree as well.&nbsp; I do not think running a 20" bar on a 50cc saw would be the best thing to do.&nbsp; Think about it by comparing some extreme examples.&nbsp; Running no bar/chain (which is what those who use a tach to tune the carb HS screw should do) has absolutely no friction.&nbsp; Putting a bar/chain of any length on and checking with the tach shows what?&nbsp; A drop in RPM?&nbsp; Would there be a different drop in "no-load" speed with a 14" bar as compared to a 40" bar?&nbsp; Absolutely.&nbsp; The same goes for using electrically-heated handles: more load on the engine before cutting even starts means there's less power available for the cutting.

As for myself, there are three saws on the truck.&nbsp; An 036/20" (soon to be shorter), an 044/20", and an 066/24".&nbsp; I've got plenty of spare peripheral parts just by having the saws with me.

docbar85, do you have day-to-day experience installing bar/chain on a saw with an outboard clutch and brake in the cover?&nbsp; Do you prefer that over an internal clutch and cover-only?&nbsp; Does it make a difference in how the chips clear the drive system in any way?&nbsp; &nbsp; Just asking...

Glen

 

[jokers]

docbar85, do you have day-to-day experience installing bar/chain on a saw with an outboard clutch and brake in the cover?&nbsp; Do you prefer that over an internal clutch and cover-only?&nbsp; Does it make a difference in how the chips clear the drive system in any way?&nbsp; &nbsp; Just asking...

Glen

Glen, I think that you`re grasping at thin air here. Just as a frame of reference recall that I have more 026/ms260s than you have saws, so it`s not like I don`t like them, but I find it harder to put a bar and chain on them than I do the 346. Primarily because the bar wants to continually fall off the 260`s adjuster pin while the 346 just sits there while you drop the chain into the rim and bar.

I`ve also found that to put a 67 driver chain on an ms260 with an 8 tooth rim, you must remove the rim and then install the rim, bar, and chain as an assembly until your chain get`s significant stretch, which it normally doesn`t on my saws. The bottom line is that it`s a PITA to change the 260 chain when compared to the 346.

I have not noticed any problem with chip clearance on any current husky saw with an outboard clutch, even when making parallel to the grain cuts, and in fact the 357 is the saw I reach for if I have alot of large chunks to split because it works so well at it.

I can surmise that you feel the brake band in the clutch cover is a weak design but history dispels your concern. Name a few real and significant problems that you have seen because of the brake in the clutch cover. On the other hand, I`ve seen quite a few Stihls that had significant heat damage to the point where engine case components, oil tubes, and seals were melted beyond servicable from what should have been non-issues like a broken or misadjusted brake band or having something get lodged between the band and the clutch.

Conjecture and postulating can make for an interesting conversation under the right terms, but they should never replace documented history or first hand experience.

Russ

 

[brent denny]

Installing the bar and chain is a little easier on the inboard clutch but I have two saws with outboard clutches and it is just a matter of getting used to it. The bigger benefit though is better chip clearance and the ability to be able to remove the powerhead if you happened to get the bar pinched during felling or bucking and there was a chance the saw could be damaged. JMO

 

[jokers]

BTW, if adding a bar and chain shows a significant drop in rpm on a previously tuned saw, it was set too lean. It`s my understanding the the manufacturers have developed a standard relative to no load max rpm tuning which establishes the baseline "saw" as having a bar and chain for the purpose of tuning to peak suggested rpm however you as an end user are able to do it any way that you want. Maybe that`s why we see so many roasted Stihls on eBay?

Russ