Yep, when I was in the dealer last time a month or so ago, the 251s were of china origin, pretty sure the 171 & 181 were the same also. Another interesting thing I noticed while building my ms361 was some machining marks on the carb. It was right where the zama (or whoever makes them) logo would have been on one of the covers. Quite interesting, I though, that they would add an extra step to the process to set it up in a mill and remove the logo.Heres another angle, how bout the legit oem stihls being made in china themselves! now when you add that factor i think i might rather have a knock off than a chinese oem stihl.
Ask and you shall receive..
Actually yes Stihl does care. If you do some research on this you will find that they are doing a few things about it.Who cares where something is made. As long as it is made according to the right specs. Chinese are just as capable to make a decent machine as anybody else. It's just that quality products aren't produced in the same quantity are crappy stuff. And as long as you aren't making bulk products it doesn't make as much sense to outsource it to China. If toyota brings their QC guys to their chinese car plant, I'm sure the result will be the same.
Now in this case. Some manufacturers make cheap copies of stone age technology. Just like those VW beatles that where made in Mexico untill recently. No one will think the it is even comparable. They are made from glossy plastics. They have funny sounding brand names. Not even close to the original. Does Stihl care? I don't think so. For them it is just a sprinkle of free extra attention. Oh you started milling with a 100+ lead plated nylon chainsaw? And it was ruined in a week? You might concider the 880 wich is actually the right tool for the job. In the mean time, some guys didn't go drink and drive. Didn't go light a homeless guy on fire. Because they were trying to fit a huge cylinder wich isn't exactly the correct size to a chassis wich also isn't a made using quality machining. But oh my. When it does run for a couple of days, will be all worth all the missed out fun you could have had the past couple of months.
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Wasnt there an issue some time back about 070 copy that was so close you couldn't tell, i mean it was labeled stihl and sold as stihl but was a fake, not a clone
Can a 3002 bar be obtained 3/8 pitch or are they all .404
you are right, they did come up with an exact copy that had the same decals.
if im not mistaken 3002 comes exlusively in 0.063 gauge. i think you got yourself confused with pitch and gauge, 3/8 and .404 comes in few other mount pattern. it could be 0.063 3/8, 0.063 .404 and so on
I figured they would all be .063 gauge only, but if there sprocket tipped bars, they could be 3/8 or .404 pitch. Unless there exclusively hardnose bars.
That's what they thought about japan in the 60's. They also started of with cheaply made copies and quantity over quality. Now they are the world leaders in precision engineering.With all the industry being built in china everyday, your absolutely right the chinese can make high quality parts and equipment. That being said do you really think there going to make the very best as an export to send to the U.S. or other countries?
There making some good stuff over there, we just arent seeing it here, bc there keeping the good stuff to themselves.
So I'm guessing you have a business and use tools to make a living? I use all kinds of tools to make a living and Chinese knockoffs of anything I depend on day in day out would be a really big financial mistake. But that's just me.
Guess my point is whether there full time professional or a hobiest it doesn't much matter, buying a cheap reproduction to get a job done will cost them in the end. Reliability and resale are the 2 big ones that come to mind for me. I bought my first 090 back in 2006 and have used it on big jobs with no mechanical problems so far and it's worth more then I paid for it after 10 years. My opinion it's worth saving some coin to buy a better investment.I'm a machinist, so yes I use tools to make a living. But the people who want this knock-off saw aren't loggers or felling 6' trees for a living; they are avg Joes with limited funds who want to do a little milling here or there or add to their saw collection. Anyone who does full-time milling would pretty quickly realize they want a band saw anyway, regardless of the quality of the chainsaw.
They are tinkerers, hobbyists, they enjoy building, obviously, because these saws come as kits. If I had to build my own lathe just to machine a part every few weeks for fun I wouldn't be able to make a living. So don't confuse the target audience here.
I simply don't care for a counterfeit product, regardless of what it is. That's exactly what these are.
so why don't uuu tell us all, what are the good copies......since theres are a few on here, who consider themselves to be "experts" in anything.........if you guys looking to use an imitation saw for milling, its a big mistake i can tell
you that right now. theres grade "A" copy in my country and people hardly use them. the only people that will even consider is firewood guys
like someone said you'll be replacing parts so often the cost will outrun money wise invested in oem, not to mention downtimes. preco makes the closest to oem quality apparently. the rest are hit and miss
i really can go into detail with bad copies but the main issues are fittings "tolerances". look at the copies clutch cover meeting oil tank area pic shared somewhere in the beginning. parts that crap out under heat and it rattles out in first couple minutes
trust me you dont want to get the wrong copy, its waste of time and money
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