Seeking help with choosing new Stihl saw!

[windthrown]

I am being flexible. I am recommending a Dolmar!

 

[GeeVee]

What? No one mentioned overloading the trailer?

Someone write this down, no one went off topic.....

Til now....

 

[wkpoor]

What? No one mentioned overloading the trailer?

I know a bunch had to have noticed that but you get the prize for the first to point it out.

 

[WV Wood Burner]

I can see that you have never experienced a prostate exam performed by a doctor with Italian sausages for fingers.

He doesn't need a 660.

Ian

I tend to agree. The 361 would be adequate and the 441 and 460 would just provide another level of flexibility. I do want to stick with a pro saw, so the 390 is out of the running even though it is about $100 less than a 361.

It seems that the choice would be:

a 361 with a 24 and 20 or

a 460 with a 32 and 24 (and maybe a 20?)

The price difference between the 441 and the 460 is relatively minimal (especially since the saw will be used for many years), so I am not sure the 441 should be considered unless someone has a specific reason.

I guess the question is, can you really tell the difference when using a 361 or a 460? Does the difference show when using a 20 inch bar or only when running a 24 inch and higher. I am hoping that some of you will have experience running both saws (or saws of similar difference in numbers) in different conditions and can give me your personal experience.

Thanks again.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

If you go 460, I would get 20 and 28. A 460 with a 32" bar buried in hardwood would be akin to a 361 with a 24" bar in hardwood IMO. I have an 18 and a 28 for my 372xpw.

Here ya go.. MS460 w/ 20" bar and a MS660/dual port muffler with a 32" bar.

just my 2c,
Ian

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I guess the question is, can you really tell the difference when using a 361 or a 460? Does the difference show when using a 20 inch bar or only when running a 24 inch and higher.

Woops, I missed that. What you do is use the extra power to run a bigger rim. I run an 8 tooth rim on the 18" bar and a 7 on the 28. They're easy to change out on an internal clutch. For every tooth rim you go up, you gain approximately 17% in chain speed and lose the same in torque, so while the 460 will have no problems running an 8 pin with a 20" bar, you would need to run a 7 when you put the long bar on. It's kinda like shifting gears in your car.

Ian

P.S. Don't quote me on that percentage... the more I think about it the more I'm not sure that's the number... but you get the idea... faster chain speed = faster cutting provided you have the power to do it.

 

[WV Wood Burner]

A 460 with a 32" bar buried in hardwood would be akin to a 361 with a 24" bar in hardwood IMO.
Ian

Thanks Ian,

I guess that means I'm looking at the 660.:jester:

I guess I'll need to price the rim at the dealer too. Thanks for sharing that.

Michael

 

[Tazman1602]

I have been lurking and reading posts for quite some time and had decided that the 361 was the saw needed for working up my annual supply of firewood for the OWB. I have not had a saw in good working order for some time, but that has not stopped my father-in-law from cutting our wood in addition to his supply for his fireplace insert.

Next winter's supply has already started coming in and it is time to find the right saw and do my share of cutting, bucking, splitting, and stacking. Father-in-law's most recent delivery has caused me to reconsider the 361. I believe that the large pieces are referred to as rounds, and I have read some members recommend that the method to use in preparing them for splitting is to quarter them while on edge as they are in the picture (off the trailer of course!).

The rounds are approximately 24" to 26", so I am thinking that a 28 inch bar would be best to make short work of them. Granted, these pieces do not come in everyday, but you can't be too picky about the size of your free wood!

The 441 obviously comes to mind, but the 460 might also be worth considering. A 650 or beyond would seem to be more than what is needed to handle the occasional big round or two.

The Stihl dealer had what appeared to be a well-used (paint worn off, plastic side panel cracked with hole) 440 come in on a trade yesterday or the day before, but I do not want to worry with a well-used saw needing extra maintenance. I am looking for a saw that, if treated properly, will be reliable for many years to come. He has not yet broken it down and so could not quote a price. Although I am leaning against a used saw, I might consider it based upon the praise I've seen here for the 440. Any suggestions on what might be a reasonable price given the risk of a used saw?

What do you think? 361, 441, 460 or well-used 440?

Also, I believe my father-in-law has a 026 or 028, and he uses only a 16 inch bar. If I were to go with two bars, what would you recommend to compliment his 16 inch?

Chain?

Thank you for your help with this post and for all of the help you have given others!

P.S. Anyone care to guess how much wood is here in terms of cords?

Check out the Husky 372. Great saw and will cut whatever you need to. On the other hand.....my Husky dealer is a good guy and my Stihl dealer is a class A jerk. I do my own repairs, mods, chains, etc so they never get any warrenty work. I just don't like being treated like I should beg them to take my money. If I couldn't do my own repairs, etc, I"d pick the dealer whom I thought would take care of me best.............

I'm just dying to add a Stihl 440, 460, 880 etc to my stable but the dealer is so bad I won't buy from him. Gas almost $4/gallon up here so driving distances is OUT.....

 

[WV Wood Burner]

I stopped by the Stihl dealer on Saturday for another round of in person inspection and to handle the 361 and 460 to compare weights. The weight difference was more noticeable than I had expected, but the 460 is still in the running.

And yes, I did check the weight on the 660. That is something of a monster saw!:jawdrop:

Any chain suggestions? I presume I should go with the RS or RSC. There doesn't seem to be any great call for the skip chain. I saw that JPP uses the RSC which I believe is like the RS but with less vibration.

The 460 was set up with an ES Super I believe and that is the way to go correct?

I will usually be cutting with my father-in-law and his 028 with the 16, so I view this saw as part of a two saw set up. At one of our wood source sites we use a skid steer to load logs onto trailers to bring home for bucking and splitting. He will always keep a 16 on his 028, so I intended to set up the new saw (almost wrote 460 , but still not sure - I keep rereading windthrown's replies!) to minimize having to cut through on two sides.

All that said, should I consider a 16 along with the longer bars for the occasion his saw might not be available or a particular load is on the smaller size? The longest bar I have cut with is an 18, and I am thinking that with the weight of these saws it would be a lot more work to cut with just the tip of the bar.

By the way, the weather channel is calling for sunshine next weekend. That should be a great opportunity to put the new saw through its paces!

 

[skid row]

Go with the 460 since you have a smaller saw already.:greenchainsaw:

 

[nitro]

stihl is my choice

my small saw is an 036 pro running 20" bar and yellow chain makes my old 029 seem whimpy . i have never bought a new saw (too much money)

 

[huskystihl]

If you need a 660, you may as well get an 880.

So, he asked for a Stihl ,and we have recommended everything in that lineup, as well as Dolmar, Husky, and some other stuff.

I Stihl say that the answer to 'which 60cc firewood saw should I buy?' is:

The Stihl MS361.

The answer to the 'which 50cc firewood saw should I buy' is:

The Dolmar PS-5100S.

We should make that a Stickey.

I have and have used 359's for years pulling 24" bars and they have done all that you would ask of them. I have a 361 and agree that it will do all you need and in the end you get know that it will take a licking and all you can throw at it. Get the 361 it will be a go to saw and if you ever want bigger you will still reach for old faithful.

 

[WV Wood Burner]

Today is the day!

Well, the decision time has come. When I started lurking about a year or so ago, I was considering the 290, 310, or 390. This forum led me to look hard at the 361 which I decided would be the saw when the time came to make the leap.

Then I kept coming back to the site (and the dealer every once and a while) and now the 361 has competition: 441 and 460 (too bad I wasn't paying attention last summer when the 440 went away…or maybe its a good thing I wasn't paying attention!).

Although the 361 would make for a great all around saw, since I will usually have access to the 028, I think that the 441 or 460 would be a good compliment for bucking and messing with the bigger stuff. I guess the best part of the 441 is the new anti-vibration set up versus the 460, and I am not sure whether the parts for it will be available longer than the 460 since I believe some have indicated that will be phased out as well as the 361. Since the weight is the same and the price similar, I wonder if the 460 should be the choice with the little extra power. The 361 is noticeably lighter, however, and, of course, it has rave reviews. What to do?

I will be driving by the dealer this afternoon, so I guess it is time to make the decision and prepare to "work" this weekend!

Thanks again for your help, and I will let you know what the decision is.

 

[huskystihl]

Well, the decision time has come. When I started lurking about a year or so ago, I was considering the 290, 310, or 390. This forum led me to look hard at the 361 which I decided would be the saw when the time came to make the leap.

Then I kept coming back to the site (and the dealer every once and a while) and now the 361 has competition: 441 and 460 (too bad I wasn't paying attention last summer when the 440 went away…or maybe its a good thing I wasn't paying attention!).

Although the 361 would make for a great all around saw, since I will usually have access to the 028, I think that the 441 or 460 would be a good compliment for bucking and messing with the bigger stuff. I guess the best part of the 441 is the new anti-vibration set up versus the 460, and I am not sure whether the parts for it will be available longer than the 460 since I believe some have indicated that will be phased out as well as the 361. Since the weight is the same and the price similar, I wonder if the 460 should be the choice with the little extra power. The 361 is noticeably lighter, however, and, of course, it has rave reviews. What to do?

I will be driving by the dealer this afternoon, so I guess it is time to make the decision and prepare to "work" this weekend!

Thanks again for your help, and I will let you know what the decision is.

I have the 361 it is a great saw but if you have an 028 I personally wouldn't go with the 361. It is gonna run you 600 witha 20" and there is no doubt that later you'll be buying a big saw anyways so you might as well dump a couple hundred more now and get a saw that will do all that and more of the 361.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

If you expect to get those big rounds on a frequent basis and the 028 is a good saw and will last a while - then definitely go with the bigger 441 or 460 with a bar longer than the rounds are long (28" or 32"). Use the smaller saw for the smaller stuff and the big saw for the big stuff. Be aware however that unless you get big wood all the time you may actually start reaching for the smaller saw more often than the big saw - as a long bar does make the saw cumbersome for smaller wood. You could get a shorter bar for those times that you want to use the bigger saw on smaller wood - but then you start hauling more stuff around.

If you are on a single saw plan - then the 361 with a 20" bar would work great. Quartering rounds with a bar shorter than the wood just requires cutting from both sides - but for infrequent large wood it is not a problem. Again you could get a longer bar for quartering - but it does add to the cost and amount of stuff.

 

[WV Wood Burner]

And the winner is.........

The Stihl MS361

I took the saws off the shelf at the Stihl dealer (again), set them on the floor in front of me, and spent about a half hour picking them up and handling them. I do not cut year round, so I will not be using a saw frequently enough to become accustomed to its weight. Between the 361, 441, and 460, the 361 just felt right. It doesn't sound like two pounds should make that much of a difference, but I just couldn't justify the added weight for the bigger saws. The difference in price also allowed for the purchase of the extras: 18 and 24 inch bars, different chains, extra spark plug and other miscellaneous items recommended in a thread some months ago, and of course the safety equipment.

It took a few months, but I finally put the saw to use and began quartering the rounds. I have never seen a saw make curly fries like it before!

After one or two rounds the curly fries were gone and the chain appeared to be very dull (putting out a powder). I guess I must have hit a nail or something, but it definitely needed sharpening. That is time consuming on a 24 inch chain! But, we were making progress and soon filled the wood stove building.

Meanwhile, all summer my father-in-law had continued to bring in the occasional load of wood, but things really picked up when one of my prime wood sources decided to clear some trees dividing pasture land. While much of it was maple, there was enough locust, ash, cherry, and walnut to keep us busy. Besides, maple burns too, right? We hauled as much of the good stuff as we could, so most of the hundreds of trees he burned as trash were the maple.

Since I believe that much of this wood will not be used until next year, my preference is to leave it as logs or poles for now until it there is room to split and stack it. It quickly became obvious that we needed a way to unload our trailers as easily as we could load them with a skid steer.

My father-in-law to the rescue again, this time with his Ferguson. We used the pole and chain to lift the poles off our trailers and set them in the pile.

Ten more trailer loads later, and I have a pretty good start on next years wood. Now I just need to find some time to finish splitting and clean up the yard. Here's were it stands now.

Thanks for your recommendations everyone. Now, its time to think about the next saw! I hate the thought of trying to make the 361 go any faster, but it would probably be okay in the smaller stuff, anyone change out the rim in their 361? I am also curious how folks unload their trailers without cutting on the trailer. Thanks again for your help!

 

[gink595]

Well it's about time you bought something!! I was hoping you's get the 460, but you should be happy with that 361 they are smooth, looking for a bigger saw already, hahaha isn't it funny how that works. Seriously though if you are wanting a larger saw in the future consider the Dolmar 7900, for the price of that 361 you could have bought a 7900. 6.3hp and 13.6 lbs it screams, it is one fun saw to run. I think it cuts faster than the 460 easily. I load and unload everything with a Bobcat and grapple bucket, my back is priceless to me:greenchainsaw:

 

[oneoldbanjo]

When you change the rim (sprocket) you are changing the gearing. Put on a bigger one and the chain goes faster......and you can no longer pull a long chain/bar. Put on a smaller one and the chain goes slower....and you can pull a longer bar/chain.

Chances are that with a stock saw you will not gain any cutting speed by changing the sprocket......unless you no longer run a long bar. Guys who run a 460 and put a 20" bar on it can get away with a bigger sprocket as the 460 can pull a 32" bar with the stock sprocket. The 361 probably can't run a bigger sprocket with a 20" bar and get any increase in cutting speed....you will probably just get a saw that is easy to bog down when cutting a big round.

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

Welcome to the site. I agree with what windthrown said. I have both the 361 and 440 saws with 20" ES bars and chisel chain. Ya cant go wrong with either one. I would try for a new saw also, never know how spent the used one is.

That looks like some nice white oak you got there. If I am cutting big stuff, I grab a big saw. But when I can I will grab an 026 for limbing and smaller stuff. Less fatigue = safer cutting.

Looks like ash to me?

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

Ripping rounds that size, I think a 441 or 460 with 20" + bar would be better.
441 has very good vibration dampening system.
I cut up 5 large oaks this spring already, ripping many large rounds pretty quickly and easily with my 441 and 20" bar, RSC chain.
Smooth and quick cut.
Matter of fact, ripped 12 rounds last night at my camp after work.
PS- touch up the chain with a file often when ripping rounds.

:agree2: