Ported saws

[Haywire Haywood]

Once you run and get used to a ported saw, off the shelf saws sound like sewing machines and just seem slow. Stay away unless you have the cash to blow on what was a utilitarian tool and now has become a hobby.

 

[sb47]

A properly filed chain will give equal satisfaction to a ported saw, IMO. A dull chain will make a ported saw seem lame. I've had a couple ported saws, and am contemplating another one. For firewood they're almost always not needed. It seems like every time I had a worked over saw a cheap or free basket case in the next cc class came my way. Seemed to make the $$ for porting silly...

I don't run any ported saws but I tend to agree with you. A good sharp chain is the most important thing next to more power.
As you can see in my sig, I raced motocross for years. and I have seen so many riders make the mistake of wanting more power when the simplest solution was to get new tires. In motocross you need power, but if you don't have traction, more power doesn't do you any good.

 

[TimberWolf530]

Does the average firewood hack have any use for a ported saw? If i put a poorly filed chain on a ported saw, do you think it would cut better than a really sharp chain on a good running, but not ported saw. Say use a 7900 Dolmar as an example. Also does anyone use square ground chain with hard woods, like white oak or Ash? Or is it mainly used in softwoods?

A dull chain on a ported saw vs a sharp chain on a non-ported saw. What a strange question. Will a blown V8 car with 4 flat tires outrun a 4 cylinder car with good tires? Can a dead cheetah outrun a live turtle? My guess is no on all accounts.

 

[Marley5]

A dull chain on a ported saw vs a sharp chain on a non-ported saw. What a strange question. Will a blown V8 car with 4 flat tires outrun a 4 cylinder car with good tires? Can a dead cheetah outrun a live turtle? My guess is no on all accounts.

Here here here now......funny non the less.

 

[user 122190]

Here here here now......funny non the less.

Yeah! How about no chain, or one mounted backwards, or out of gas, etc? What good is a ported saw if it can't perform a miracle against all odds?

 

[edgar10937]

I've run about 6 tanks of gas thru my MS462 C-M, I couldn't imagine the need to cut faster than this saw will cut. But I'm almost 65 also!!!!

I'm almost 65 too, thats why I ordered a Mastermind'd MS461, more power less weight than my echo CS750evl.
With the several hundred downed trees hurricane Michael left me, less time in a cut is a big win for me.
Edgar

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[James Miller]

I still use my 011avt far more than anything else. But I cut stuff down small at home so as not to cause tire and mower hazards. I get some big stuff when close to home no one else cares to by having the saws to tackle em.

But yeah a ms250,290 or 455/2255 will make firewood just fine. But the 60-70cc saws will chunk up 20' logs a lot quicker. In fact so much faster the fun just gets started and your done!

Between my FIL and I a stock 011 put 6+cords a year on the racks for near 20 years as are only saw.

 

[James Miller]

Ported saws are unnecessary for the average firewood guy. But I would still have the 490 and 7910 done because ported saws are fun. If you leave the wonderland of AS you'll probably find more ms250,290 or 455 ranchers keeping houses warm then you would ever expect listening to the talk on here.

 

[Deleted member 150358]

Yep. Dads only saw for 20yrs was a 16" mac 10-10. Still wish I could remember how he chunked up all the huge elms we lost when I was a kid Had to be 3x's the size of the bar. I asked him a while back and he said he couldn't remember. Though we both remember splitting them.

 

[VW Splitter]

I have several saws (10) that run and I use. 2 of them are ported. The 2 ported saws see 90% of the action. It is a struggle to use the remaining 8 enough to keep them running.
I got by just fine for 20 years with 1 saw with a 20" bar. What happened?

 

[Haywire Haywood]

You were saved by the miracle of strategic aluminum removal.

 

[stihlguy]

I have several saws (10) that run and I use. 2 of them are ported. The 2 ported saws see 90% of the action. It is a struggle to use the remaining 8 enough to keep them running.
I got by just fine for 20 years with 1 saw with a 20" bar. What happened?

CAD!!! I got the disease too!

 

[SamT1]

CAD!!! I got the disease too!

It’s a scientific fact, the more saws you own the better you’ll do. For real, when I used to run one I’d beat it into the dirt and get a new one. Now that I have several I grab the ones that are ready when I leave the house. At home I’m a lot better about cleaning out the bar groove, oiling the tip, couple squirts motor oil in the groove when I put the fresh chain on, blow off the air filter, swap rim sprockets if needed, and so on. In the field I slap a chain on and fill it up and go. Plus if you have a few extras if you need to do motor work you can take your time while it’s down instead of getting it back running ASAP.
But my rule is only one saw gets to stay that’s a novelty, that’s my JD 55V (echo 500 ev) it’s the first i ever had. I may try and work some magic on it to get it up to speed. I’m really sad I missed a vintage craftsman (Poulan) top handle on the trader the other day for $40. Pics showed it to be perfect condition, but had been sitting for a very long time. The wife’s been talking about a saw she could do the little stuff with for me.

 

[spike60]

Ported saws are fun to run, and fun to do for the guys here who have built their own. And there's nothing wrong with admitting that is enough of a reason to do it, yet guys often struggle with that. Especially if they paid $300 to have it done. 3/4 of those gains are easily realized by simple stuff that anyone can do on their own workbench. I understand the need to justify the expence but.....

It's hard to argue that it makes any significant difference in cutting firewood. When you look at the entire firewood process, sawing accounts for a small amount of the time involved. (Too small for most of us lol) Let's say that a ported saw goes through a 14" log 2, or even 4 seconds faster than when it was stock. That would look impressive in a cookie race on youtube. Now let's say you'd need to make 30 such cuts to fill a pickup truck with wood. You're only gaining 1-2 minutes on the whole truck load. Yeah, I get it, and I'm also grinning when running a quick saw. But I'm not really getting anymore work done.

In addition to you guys saying a properly filed chain is important, a properly adjusted carb also ought to be mentioned. Clean air a fuel filters. Most here take care of their saws and keep an eye on all these things. But the way many saws come into the shop......yikes!

 

[James Miller]

When my 590 was done I told Del I'd rather have it pull a 24 with authority then scream with an 18. I got what I ask for. At the time I figured it would be my big saw so that was how I wanted it done. Then the 7910 fell in my lap. If I had known I'd have that saw one day I might have said turn up the wick on the 590.

 

[spike60]

Ported saws are unnecessary for the average firewood guy. But I would still have the 490 and 7910 done because ported saws are fun. If you leave the wonderland of AS you'll probably find more ms250,290 or 455 ranchers keeping houses warm then you would ever expect listening to the talk on here.

You're right, ported vs stock is similar to the displacement thing. We get to a point where we think that you can't get by without a 70cc saw, but so much wood is cut with 45-50cc saws, or even smaller. Gal I know has a little MS180 with that rubber band starter that Stihl has. Little 14" bar. But she has a bum shoulder and that's one of the few saws she can get started. I tease her about it, but she puts up a very impressive amount of wood with that thing. She has some property, and can stay within the saws capability. And I go over and lend a hand on the bigger stuff now and then.

That all being said, I'm sure not going to be giving up any of my 60 and 70 cc saws, but small saws do get more work done than they get credit for here on these sites.

 

[SamT1]

You're right, ported vs stock is similar to the displacement thing. We get to a point where we think that you can't get by without a 70cc saw, but so much wood is cut with 45-50cc saws, or even smaller. Gal I know has a little MS180 with that rubber band starter that Stihl has. Little 14" bar. But she has a bum shoulder and that's one of the few saws she can get started. I tease her about it, but she puts up a very impressive amount of wood with that thing. She has some property, and can stay within the saws capability. And I go over and lend a hand on the bigger stuff now and then.

That all being said, I'm sure not going to be giving up any of my 60 and 70 cc saws, but small saws do get more work done than they get credit for here on these sites.

Yea if your not selling firewood 60cc’s is the sweet spot. Buy one and sell it every 5 years, you’ll never have to spend a penny on maintenance. The ms360 class stuff has an excellent return if it’s in good shape. I used to run them 100-150 cords and sell em for 2/3 what I paid.
A 70cc saw will pay for itself twice as many times as a 60 doing the same work though. IMO 100 cords a year is when you need a 70cc saw, unless all you have is 24” plus trees or something.

I think if I was just going to cut for myself and someone stole all my saws I’d go buy a nice Poulan 3400 or 3700 it’s almost impossible to beat the value there. You’ll pay an extra 150 (double) for an 036 that’s not no spring chicken anymore either (but does have better parts supply).

 

[farmer steve]

You're right, ported vs stock is similar to the displacement thing. We get to a point where we think that you can't get by without a 70cc saw, but so much wood is cut with 45-50cc saws, or even smaller. Gal I know has a little MS180 with that rubber band starter that Stihl has. Little 14" bar. But she has a bum shoulder and that's one of the few saws she can get started. I tease her about it, but she puts up a very impressive amount of wood with that thing. She has some property, and can stay within the saws capability. And I go over and lend a hand on the bigger stuff now and then.

That all being said, I'm sure not going to be giving up any of my 60 and 70 cc saws, but small saws do get more work done than they get credit for here on these sites.[/QUOTE[
My 87 year old dad uses one of those. ( i took all his big saws away). He sells a lot of firewood. Probably what I'll be using if I make it that far.

 

[James Miller]

I know a guy that will sling the big saws for you if it gets to that point. Still hoping to seal the deal on my totally unnecessary jred 6 cube saw .

 

[rarefish383]

For the average, a couple cord a year, no you don't need it. If you want it sure. I don't need 30 saws, most over 90CC's, but I want them. The sharp chain is the one thing the average fire wood guy does not understand. Almost every friend I have that has one saw for yard use, can not keep it sharp. You can look at the ground around where they have been cutting and see the little zip marks in the dirt where each cut broke through and touched. So, the extra speed you get in a ported saw is wasted on the average guy. One thing I know is that bigger chain dulls slower than smaller chain. I can take one of my 100CC saws with 404 chain on it and snip right through a nail or piece of barbed wire. If one of my 70-90CC saws with 3/8's hits the same size nail it will wipe out every tooth on the chain. 325 touches the ground a couple times and it's gone. One project that keeps getting put to the back of the bench is an old Stihl 08S that a friend pulled out of a dumpster and gave me. I think it's 55-56CC's with a 20 inch bar, pulling 404. I'd love to try it out for a few hours. Maybe I'll send that one down to Randy to work some magic on. If anyone takes offense because I say the average guy can't keep a saw sharp, don't. The fact that you are hear puts you above average, or you will be soon.