new 2 site w/ new stihl 361

[flubber]

Howdy all. Yesterday I picked up a brand new stihl 361 saw with a 18" and rapid super chain. The bar length is good for what I plan on doin with the saw. Heres the plan, help the girlfriends brother cut up alot of already fallen timber here in wisconsin for firewood. Im very good with a saw and safety is not a concern. (safety chains ect.)

1. Is this the chain you would recommend for cutting already fallen timber?(rapid super)

2 How about cutting in the summer?

3 hardwoods?

4 softwoods?

5 Is the muffler mod worth it for this saw? wont I have to richen the carb after doing the muffler mod. If so, doesnt the high speed needle only open up so far? Im very good at fabricating things but dont know exactly what the muffler mod would do for me. More chain speed maybe, torque?

6 I see these rsc chains on stihls site? where is the proper place to use these chains.

7. Im running the saw a little rich to break it in? I used to race rc cars with tiny little two stroke engines in them. To break them in we used to let them sit and idle through a tank of fuel. Im not going to that extreme with my new saw but pretty close. How are you pros breaking in your new saws? Not company saws either. Your personal saws that YOU paid for.

I hope Im not to full of questions but I dont know where else to ask these questions. Have a great day, Chris

 

[Andyshine77]

Lets start with safety. The very fact that you think your so good with a saw you will never get hurt, will in fact get you hurt.

Safety chain will cut you just as fast as
non safety chain, safety chain just reduces the chance of kick back. When working with a chain saw one should always ware a pare of chain saw protective chaps, and a helmet with a face screen.

As long as you keep the chain sharp, the RS chain should work fine.

 

[SawTroll]

Welome!

Welcome here flubber! :rockn: :rockn:

You have made an excellent choise, both of the saw model, and the cutting attachment. :rockn:
An 18"bar should balanse the MS361 pretty close to perfectly, for most use.

1, 2, 3, 4.
Yes, RS/RSC is chisel chain, and very good as long as the wood is clean. Personally, I like to have at least one semi-chisel (RM) chain also for each bar, for the occational dirty wood (I don't get into much of it - mostly cut standing, frech "green" birch).

5.
I haven't tried it so far, but as I understand it, there are a lot of gain from it.
The downside is that the saw becomes lauder.
The gain is in the torque department, but it will affect the chain speed under load, as it helps keep the rpms up.

6.
The difference between RSC and RS is that the RSC has a low-vibe chassis -they cut the same.
RSC3 is another story........

7.
Run it slightly rich, and avoid WOT out of wood.
Also avoid sustained cutting, like ripping logs across the grain.

It should be run in after about 15 tanks of fuel (10 litres) - time for readjusting the carb.

I don't think idling fuel trough makes any sense, just fouling things up....

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

....safety is not a concern.

I'm sure that's now how you meant it. I'm good with a saw too, but safety is always a concern.

5.
I haven't tried it so far, but as I understand it, there are a lot of gain from it.
The downside is that the saw becomes loader.
The gain is in the torque department, but it will affect the chain speed under load, as it helps keep the rpms up.

Yep. This saw responds very well to a muffler mod. There's been volumes written about muffler mods and specifically 361 muffler mods on this site. Try a search on here for "muffler mod," or "361 muffler." I even started a thread about this very thing last year sometime. And when done right, this saw isn't that much louder, it's just deeper and throatier. But it does really get this saw running where it needs to be.

And your chain is fine for your down trees, as long as they're clean and not laying in the mud and dirt. If they're dirty, skip the RS and use RM cutters.

Welcome to AS.

Jeff

 

[RiverRat2]

Wow!!!!

lOOKS LIKE YOU GOT ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN SHORT ORDER,
BY SOME REAL PROS @ THAT,,,,GOTTA RUN GOT TWO ON THE GROUND FROM FALLING YESTERDAY EVENING,,,,, GOING TO FLUSH CUT THE STUMPS BUCK OUT AND GET'EM LOADED, GRIND THA STUMPS AND GO TO THE NEXT JOB,,,,, WELCOME TO AS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

BE SAFE, GOING TO MAKE SOME CHIPS FLY!!!!!!!!!! :notrolls2:

 

[tom-saw-er]

keepa hard nose bar handy

If I cut many trees that have been laying around for a while, I save the parts close to the dirt for a much cheaper aftermarket hardnose bar and semi-chisel chain. It is easy wear out nice new stuff if you nick a dirt pocket unseen or carried into the tree by insects.

 

[SawTroll]

....
BY SOME REAL PROS @ THAT,,,,

....

I am sertainly not a pro, but I happen to know a thing or two about saws and related items, and the MS361 is my favourite "do it all" saw, over here.......

 

[flubber]

andyshine, im very very safety minded when it comes to cutting wood. Im not saying im a hotshot and just go all when cutting. But hey when your good your good.

You guys are leaning your saw out a tad once there broken in??

 

[kevinj]

Im very good with a saw and safety is not a concern. (safety chains ect.)

If you go to the Arborculture Injurues and Fatalities
forum, and check out some of those pics,
you may reconsider that safety is a concern.

 

[1953greg]

andyshine, im very very safety minded when it comes to cutting wood. Im not saying im a hotshot and just go all when cutting. But hey when your good your good.

You guys are leaning your saw out a tad once there broken in??

accidents can happen to anyone!!!!!! the first step to one is thinking you are invincible. always be consience of that and u wil live longer/healthier.

rich/lean??? always keep the rpm's <12600 and u wil b ok. the engine needs to "4-stroke blubber" w/ wide open throttle when out of the wood w/ bar n chain.

 

[Lakeside53]

On a 361 use a tach. It's very hard to hear the "blubber" and you lose a lot of the top end by setting it too low. 14K is max rpm. You will need to retune the limiter caps to retune the saw


Most of what you need to know is in this thread:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=33528

 

[flubber]

Dang, I worded my first post very poorly. What I meant was, in regards to safety I didnt want a safety chain because safety is goal one with me. I use proper technique ALL the time. Safety is always a concern. I asked about chains for different woods and such. I just didnt want anyone to recommend a safety chain for any of the types of wood that I cut. They dont seem to cut as fast. By the way, you should see some of the fools that go and help cut wood with me. I try to teach them proper technique and they look at me like im crazy. Good thing I have a ham radio in my truck to call for help when they seriously injure themselves.

 

[Ray Bennett]

I recommend the woodsman pro chain over the stihl chain, Im a stihl man but 20" loops for 10.95 when on sale is hard to beat and I like the performance. I use the round chisel but what ever you type you prefer will work well. You will nearly get 2 woodsman pro chains for 1 stihl.

 

[SawTroll]

Dang, I worded my first post very poorly. What I meant was, in regards to safety I didnt want a safety chain because safety is goal one with me. I use proper technique ALL the time. Safety is always a concern. I asked about chains for different woods and such. I just didnt want anyone to recommend a safety chain for any of the types of wood that I cut. They dont seem to cut as fast. By the way, you should see some of the fools that go and help cut wood with me. I try to teach them proper technique and they look at me like im crazy. Good thing I have a ham radio in my truck to call for help when they seriously injure themselves.

Forget the Stihl "safety chains" - they are not that much safer than other chain, and they don't cut as well (depending on what type of "safety chain" it is). The best "safety chains" are made by Oregon, not by Stihl.......

....but it doesn't really matter, RS/RSC, and RM for dirty wood, won't let you down........:yoyo: :yoyo:


Another note, the best "safety chains" are really Oregon, LP, DP, BP and VP - but they also bore-cut very well, and aren't slow in the normal cut at all......

 

[Lakeside53]

Forget the Stihl "safety chains" - they are not that much safer than other chain, and they don't cut as well (depending on what type of "safety chain" it is). The best "safety chains" are made by Oregon, not by Stihl.......

....but it doesn't really matter, RS/RSC, and RM for dirty wood, won't let you down........:yoyo: :yoyo:


Another note, the best "safety chains" are really Oregon, LP, DP, BP and VP - but they also bore-cut very well, and aren't slow in the normal cut at all......

It's a guess, but I'd say you haven't used any RSC3... "safety", but cuts great (almost as good as RS and RSC) and bores just fine.

 

[SawTroll]

It's a guess, but I'd say you haven't used any RSC3... "safety", but cuts great (almost as good as RS and RSC) and bores just fine.

He he, you know that I haven't actually used it - as I said, it is just a theory, based on how they look.........

 

[Lakeside53]

I know you know that I know..

 

[SawTroll]

I know you know that I know..

He he, Try some Oregon LP on your Stihls - it may be a rewarding experience.......

......but generally, I prefere the Stihl RSC - only not for bore-cutting.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

He he, Try some Oregon LP on your Stihls - it may be a rewarding experience.......

......but generally, I prefere the Stihl RSC - only not for bore-cutting.

Bore cut.............over here that is a Prostate exam............both hands on your shoulders I might add!!!:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[SawTroll]

Bore cut.............over here that is a Prostate exam............both hands on your shoulders I might add!!!:hmm3grin2orange:

Are you saying that bore -cutting is not a big deal????????

If so, I actually agree with you, I try to avoid it, except for carving bird-cages with a 95VP......:yoyo: :yoyo: