Talk Me In/Out of the Stihl MS261

[kozal01]

Tell me you were a tool maker without telling me you were a tool maker

lol work smarter not harder

 

[dodge man]

Will I really get into heaven because I hand file? I hand file because I think it’s the easiest and fastest. I have no idea how good I am but at least adequate.

 

[kozal01]

Will I really get into heaven because I hand file? I hand file because I think it’s the easiest and fastest. I have no idea how good I am but at least adequate.

Nothing against anyone that hand files, I did it for years and still do at times. My comment was more directed at the guys who talk down on any other method to getting a sharp chain like it makes them more of a man or something.

 

[Torvy]

Am I wrong because I have better things to do than sharpen chains?

I just keep new ones on hand. I keep the old ones in case I ever have ' sharpen chains' rise to the top of my to-do list.

Nothing against those who do, y'all are much better at this than me. I just don't see the time value. Maybe if I loved it more. Fortunately, most of my cutting is medium sized pines or small hardwoods.

As for talking in or out? Stihl is like the country club of saws, imho. Exclusive dealers and high prices. Nothing wrong with that if it fits your life. I'm more of a muni-course duffer, so the saw that has the fewest points of failure gets my vote.

 

[Skeans1]

Am I wrong because I have better things to do than sharpen chains?

I’d put it this way depends on what you call good cutting, to me a fresh loop off the reel cuts like garbage even though it’s square ground chain. A few minutes of time on the grinders and I have a chain that will run circles around a factory chain which means less fatigue on me the faller as well as a much more predictable cutting chain. Is this for everyone? No, but it’s something to keep in mind vs swapping in a brand new off the roll chain. All that said in the brush I swap out chains when cutting and sharpen at the end of the day.

 

[WinterDeere]

Am I wrong because I have better things to do than sharpen chains?

I just keep new ones on hand. I keep the old ones in case I ever have ' sharpen chains' rise to the top of my to-do list.

This isn't meant to be an insult, but anyone who doesn't sharpen their own chain is probably not running saws frequently enough to really be giving advice on them from any perspective other than that of an occasional user. If I didn't sharpen saw chain, I can't imagine how many hundreds (thousands?) of boxes of barely-used chain I'd have stacked up by now. That gets expensive!

Stihl is like the country club of saws, imho. Exclusive dealers and high prices. Nothing wrong with that if it fits your life. I'm more of a muni-course duffer, so the saw that has the fewest points of failure gets my vote.

For an occasional user, yes... any pro saw is probably a waste of money. But I can assure you there are good reasons nearly all pros in this country are only running two brands: Stihl and Husqvarna. It's not because they like needlessly spending more money for the same power, weight, durability, and ergonomics.

 

[WinterDeere]

I’d put it this way depends on what you call good cutting...

Easy. Chips are good. Dust is bad! There's no clearer indicator of a dull chain for any beginner, than sawdust.

If you hit dirt or a rock, the transformation can be instantaneous. If you behave yourself and keep it out of the dirt, you can go thru maybe two or three tanks of fuel, before you see it starting to transition.

Can you keep cutting on the same chain, past three tanks of fuel? Sure, many do. But your progress will be slower, you will work harder and become more fatigued, and you're putting unnecessary extra wear and tear on your nice expensive saw motor and bar.

Most who hand sharpen tend to touch up their chain every second tank of fuel, just to stay ahead of it, and keep it a quick/light job. Those of us who swap chains usually cut half the day (~3 tanks?) on one chain, then swap to the next. If running multiple saws, I have to make a judgement call on which ones get swapped at lunch, and which can make it through the full day.

 

[Hay Dude]

I sharpen on lunch breaks, unless I hit something.

 

[WinterDeere]

I sharpen on lunch breaks, unless I hit something.

Probably a good system. When I cut alongside someone who likes to file after every tank fill or two, it really screws up the workflow, waiting for them to do their tedious handiwork just because they happened to run out of gas in the middle of something. I understand liking things sharp, we all do, but damn... save it for the lunch break!

 

[Skeans1]

Easy. Chips are good. Dust is bad! There's no clearer indicator of a dull chain for any beginner, than sawdust.

If you hit dirt or a rock, the transformation can be instantaneous. If you behave yourself and keep it out of the dirt, you can go thru maybe two or three tanks of fuel, before you see it starting to transition.

Can you keep cutting on the same chain, past three tanks of fuel? Sure, many do. But your progress will be slower, you will work harder and become more fatigued, and you're putting unnecessary extra wear and tear on your nice expensive saw motor and bar.

Most who hand sharpen tend to touch up their chain every second tank of fuel, just to stay ahead of it, and keep it a quick/light job. Those of us who swap chains usually cut half the day (~3 tanks?) on one chain, then swap to the next. If running multiple saws, I have to make a judgement call on which ones get swapped at lunch, and which can make it through the full day.

Normally hand cutting noon is about a gallon of gas in one saw, if I’m cutting, bucking, and limbing in the brush it’s not hard to go to noon or later on a chain depending on terrain and what’s around the timber or in it.

As far indication of a sharp chain there’s an easier test let go of the handle bar does the chain self feed with ease? Chips are fine but even then I have chips but that chain isn’t self feeding.

These are brand new chains after having been ground and had the rakers dropped, from the factory they’re too high.

 

[WinterDeere]

Normally hand cutting noon is about a gallon of gas in one saw, if I’m cutting, bucking, and limbing in the brush it’s not hard to go to noon or later on a chain depending on terrain and what’s around the timber or in it.

As far indication of a sharp chain there’s an easier test let go of the handle bar does the chain self feed with ease? Chips are fine but even then I have chips but that chain isn’t self feeding.

View attachment 823524View attachment 823525These are brand new chains after having been ground and had the rakers dropped, from the factory they’re too high.

Agreed. When I talk about making a judgement call on swapping a chain at noon, when I have three saws in rotation, I'm sometimes swapping a chain that's still cutting well enough, but with a look ahead knowing it won't make it all the way to the end of the day. I hate it when I choose to leave a chain on a saw, and then find myself having to interrupt work an hour or two later to swap it.

If I change it during the lunch break, I don't mind taking the extra minutes to clean out the chain guard, adjuster, bar groove, and re-grease the sprocket nose (I prefer bars with grease holes). But if I miss that chance, and find myself having to do it in the middle of work, then I feel pressured to just slap a new chain in there and let the gunk and chips work themselves out. Much better to do it while your cutting partner(s) are also eating and sharpening, than to hold anyone up in the middle of the afternoon, when everyone is just trying to get done.

 

[John_Mc]

I always laugh at the guys that act like they are all that is man because they can hand sharpen like its some divine skill that will get them into heaven or something. Lol Most of the guys I know that brag about it are throwing dust while my saw is making chips. I was a Tool and Die maker and CNC machinist for 20+ years, I can use a file better than most but hand filing is inefficient and without a depth guide we are just guessing at the depth gauges. The 2 in 1 kit is great for out in the woods or in the garage, is faster and more consistent than separate hand files and less things rolling around my field kit. Also not a damn thing wrong with using a grinder. As you said, to each their own.

I've said this before, probably more than once: I've met dozens of people who think they can do a great job of freehand filing using just a bare round file. I've met exactly 3 who actually can do it and get a consistent.smooth cutting chain that actually holds up under use. It's not hard to freehand file and get something that will cut better than a dull chain. Those who can actually get very good results are few and far between. The 3 were a machinist, a pro logger, and just a landowner who had a passion for it.

I can do a passable job, but I do not count myself as one of the three I mentioned. I've never seen the point of developing the skill, since using a good gauge/tool works so well. I do much prefer a hand-sharpened chain to one done on a grinder. When done right, they seem to cut a bit better, and since I no longer own a chain grinder, I'd be at the mercy of whatever ham-fisted flunky is on duty at the local hardware store (No thanks!)

 

[Hay Dude]

Would like to add I have had my 261C with a 20” since 7/23 and it has been almost a perfect saw.
It is light and more powerful than I thought.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I"ve had a 261 for about 12 years now, love it and found it is awesome in any wood with an 18" 3/8 pitch full chisel chain. I cut alot of locust and it does great.
My first saw was an 029 Super, which was a great matchup with an old 024 that I had. Later had a 361 and I just found it too heavy for what I need, I ended up selling my 029 Super and the 024 when I got the 261.
Currently I also have an MS 250, it is the saw I keep a chain on it to cut creosote poles and trashy stuff, it runs great and cuts well but is no where near the power of my 261. My dad has a 180 and honestly for what it does, someone forgot to tell it that it is a very small saw. The 180 is a good combination to go with my 261.

When needed I will get my cousins 460, we swap alot of tools back and forth and we've found alot of stuff doesn't get run enough so we're happy to loan to each other so things get ran.


And currently I think the best combination to my 261 is my little 12 Volt Milwaukee 6" chainsaw, that little thing is light and packs well.

 

[JeepHead]

I'm not brand loyal, own saws from multiple different brands. I bought a 261CM 3-4 years ago and have cut a lot of wood with it. With that said, if someone were to ask me if I could only recommend one 50cc saw, my recommendation would be for the Husqvarna 550 MK II. Not that I don't love my 261 but, I feel my 550 is just a little more powerful and cuts a little quicker. And if you need a small extremely light saw, the Echo 2511 is the ticket...

 

[WinterDeere]

I was never brand loyal, until I'd owned a few of each. Now having actually done so over the last 20 years, I've become overwhelmingly partial to Stihl.

That said, I can see why some like Husqvarna, their performance is top notch. I just think they go too cheap on a lot of the mechanics, and they're definitely more fragile than competing models from Stihl. If you're buying a saw for yourself only, and not for a business to use, I can totally understand why some guys would prefer Husqvarna over Stihl.

I also can see why some like Echo, as they're about as reliable as concrete. Unfortunately, they're also as heavy and slow as concrete. I will never buy another Echo, I'm just not their target market. But if I owned a landscaping company, and were buying saws for my crews to throw around and abuse, Echo would be a top contender.

All three, along with Dolmar/Makita, make quality product. But each seems to have chosen different aspects to optimize their designs toward.

 

[Hay Dude]

I like Stihl, because their company invested in America. They are uniquely “American” although a German company, building a lot of equipment right here.
They did not go “woke” when their was pressure to do so on so many companies.
They stayed patriotic.

Just bought another Stihl blower over the weekend.

 

[JeepHead]

I was never brand loyal, until I'd owned a few of each. Now having actually done so over the last 20 years, I've become overwhelmingly partial to Stihl.

That said, I can see why some like Husqvarna, their performance is top notch. I just think they go too cheap on a lot of the mechanics, and they're definitely more fragile than competing models from Stihl. If you're buying a saw for yourself only, and not for a business to use, I can totally understand why some guys would prefer Husqvarna over Stihl.

I also can see why some like Echo, as they're about as reliable as concrete. Unfortunately, they're also as heavy and slow as concrete. I will never buy another Echo, I'm just not their target market. But if I owned a landscaping company, and were buying saws for my crews to throw around and abuse, Echo would be a top contender.

All three, along with Dolmar/Makita, make quality product. But each seems to have chosen different aspects to optimize their designs toward.

Around my parts, you see more tree services running Husqvarna than you do Stihl. But build quality is subjective to each individual.. I use to love Stihl but feel as if they are becoming way too cheap on the quality of stuff they're putting out which is one reason I have been adding more Huskys to my fleet and less Stihls. Just the other day I was looking at a Stihl pro saw, a small $900 saw that had plastic clutch cover

Echo makes a very good saw and these days, they are coming in lighter than either Husky or Stihl for the same size saw....

 

[Hay Dude]

I also like Stihl’s dealer small time dealership loyalty. They won’t allow any power tools to be sold unless the dealer fuels them and tests them before they are handed to the customer. Won’t get that at Lowes or Tractor Supply.

I go all the way back to the 70’s hand me down saws from my dad’s era and I’ve never seen saws that start & run better than Stihl, but I’m sure there are.

A buddy of mine has a tree business and runs Huskys. He said he runs them because he has a connection with a dealer that sells them to him dirt cheap.

I also don’t like Huskys because they decided to sell out to the box stores, but I’m sure they make a fine saw.

I’d say the brands are about a tie in quality, but I buy Stihl because they invest in America and they are dealer only loyal.

 

[WinterDeere]

Around my parts, you see more tree services running Husqvarna than you do Stihl. But build quality is subjective to each individual.. I use to love Stihl but feel as if they are becoming way too cheap on the quality of stuff they're putting out which is one reason I have been adding more Huskys to my fleet and less Stihls. Just the other day I was looking at a Stihl pro saw, a small $900 saw that had plastic clutch cover

Echo makes a very good saw and these days, they are coming in lighter than either Husky or Stihl for the same size saw....

Good points, and your experience sounds more recent than mine, as the Stihl's I own today and the Echo's I've owned in the past are all prior-generation models. I have one current-model Husky, but it's a top handle saw, not one of their big boys.

Did Stihl really go to plastic clutch covers on pro saws? That's surprising! All of mine are magnesium, or some other similar very light but strong metal casting.

Having said all of that, I wonder how much emphasis each of these brands puts on maintaining their current market position, versus tackling a new area. Put otherwise, an Audi has and always will have a certain feel to it, they put a ton of effort into maintaining that consistency across models and generations, as do most car brands. Referencing only the pro models from each brand, Echo has been known as the choice of fleet landscapers for many years, because of their reliability and price point, but are they trying to push into the arborist market always dominated by Stihl and Husqvarna?