Stihl Chainsaw

[Tpondel]

I have both gas and battery Stihl. Both work well but battery for more minor cutting.

 

[JeepHead]

Hey there feller.

For reference, looking at the MS range but the prices go a bit crazy.

That being said I want something that's gonna do a good job and not go bang after hitting a snag or 2.

Really like the look the look of the light 04 bars so probably thinking an MS 261

Good choice. The MS261 is a really nice saw. Also, if you can find an Echo 4910 (not the replacement 4920) in your area (some Home Depots still have a few in stock) they are an outstanding 50cc saw that is built like other pro saws and the best dollar to quality ratio out there. The Echo 590 timber wolf is another pro class saw on the cheap but comes in at 60cc so bigger than the 261 or the 4910.

 

[5030]

I own a Timber Wolf nyself and with very minor mods to the muffler than anyone can do, along with removing the limiter caps and taking the plastic limiter tang off and replacing them and tuning the saw to run a bit richer, the Timber Wolf is a very powerful and long lasting saw. Mine if fully capable of pulling it's 20" bar (with a sharp loop of course) ripping seasoned oak with zero power issues. Echo tends to tune them lean from the factory, probably for emissions reasons. Nice thing about the Timber Wolf is it's built like a 'professional saw' Whatever the heck that means, at a very reasonable price, about 1/3 less that a Stihl comparable and the Echo 5 year consumer warranty is hard to beat as well.

I don't push any brand on anyone but I do like Echo saws. I also own Stihl as well. Just Echo's are hard to beat for cost and warranty.

 

[bdhsfz6]

FWIW, I had a logger do 6 acres last week. 8 guys with a total of 12 saws. All were stihl.

 

[JeepHead]

I own a Timber Wolf nyself and with very minor mods to the muffler than anyone can do, along with removing the limiter caps and taking the plastic limiter tang off and replacing them and tuning the saw to run a bit richer, the Timber Wolf is a very powerful and long lasting saw. Mine if fully capable of pulling it's 20" bar (with a sharp loop of course) ripping seasoned oak with zero power issues. Echo tends to tune them lean from the factory, probably for emissions reasons. Nice thing about the Timber Wolf is it's built like a 'professional saw' Whatever the heck that means, at a very reasonable price, about 1/3 less that a Stihl comparable and the Echo 5 year consumer warranty is hard to beat as well.

I don't push any brand on anyone but I do like Echo saws. I also own Stihl as well. Just Echo's are hard to beat for cost and warranty.

I love me some Echo products but I will have to disagree on the warranty part. Echo typically will do anything possible to get out of warranting their product and even if they do, there is a small handling fee for the warranty repair, last one was around $40 IIRC....


Pro saw = magnesium crank case with overhead cylinder vs a plastic clam shell design. Power to weight ratio is usually much better on pro class saws. Way easier to rebuild and maintain.

 

[dodge man]

There are a lot of MS 261 owners on this forum that like them, myself included. It’s fairly light for its power and is in Stihl’s pro saw lineup.

 

[WinterDeere]

Those 04 light bars don't exactly get great reviews. Given the MS261 is a pretty small and light saw to start, I'd probably just stick with a standard bar. I also think the stupid graphic on the 04 light bars looks like something that only belongs on a woman's kitchen apron, not a chainsaw, but maybe I'm too vain.

Note that it's set up for .325" chain from the factory, not standard 3/8". That's not uncommon for small saws (< 50cc), and novels have been written on the pros and cons of each, with more opinion than fact in most. There's a tradeoff between kerf width (narrower on .325", saves HP) and number of cutters in the kerf (higher on .325", wastes HP), which probably makes the .325" faster on small stuff, but slower on big stuff. There's also a lower horsepower limit for .325" chain, before you risk it failing, but an MS261 will never violate that.

That said, your intended use dictates the suitability of the saw, more than anything else. With a 16" x .325" bar, the thing probably rips pretty well, but you're limited to never cutting anything much over 30" diameter, working from both sides. And you're going to be slower in anything much over 15" diameter, not just because of cutter count in the wood, but just because all saws running near max bar length slow down a lot when buried nose-deep. I suspect the higher number of cutters (over 50x for 32" exposed loop) on the .325 will only make that worse when buried nose-deep, versus standard 3/8" (~34 cutters) chain on the same size bar.

One other factor I haven't seen anyone mention is sharpening. If you're cutting clean wood and never "ground" or "rock" the chain (hitting the ground), you're still going to want to sharpen it after every 2 tanks of gas, to stay in peak cutting condition. If you're an amateur, figure double that to start, because you're probably going to hit things that dull it more quickly. A .325" chain is both more tedious to sharpen, at each cutter, but has 15% more of them per inch of bar.

If you never cut over 30", and most of your cutting is under 15", then this may be the perfect saw for you. But if you find yourself cutting larger stuff, you might want to step up to an MS36x. It's been said many times on many forums, that the 63cc 036/360/361 is the ideal firewood cutter's saw. I keep an 036 Pro as the "middle" saw in my 3-saw lineup, and can vouch for that particular vintage of this popular model, as being a real nice compromise between weight and capability for a lot of firewood cutting requirements.

 

[dodge man]

My MS261 has an 18” bar and it pulls it well. Winterdeere is correct on big rounds, mine worked pretty hard cutting those up last week as shown in my picture above.

 

[RobertN]

Hey there feller.

For reference, looking at the MS range but the prices go a bit crazy.

That being said I want something that's gonna do a good job and not go bang after hitting a snag or 2.

Really like the look the look of the light 04 bars so probably thinking an MS 261

Stihl makes great saws.

When you are looking, remember, there are Homeowner and Pro saws. If it will see a lot of use, a Pro saw may be a better choice. For occasional or light duty work, a homeowner saw might be easier on the budget. The budget on Pro saws is higher. This includes other brands like Husky also.

FWIW, the 024/026/26x series are well built saws that will last decades if taken care of. Stihl using a 024AV that Dad bought in the early 1980's. I've looked at other brands of comparable saws, but have always found the balance and ergonomics of the Stihls fit me better.

 

[WinterDeere]

Stihl makes great saws.

When you are looking, remember, there are Homeowner and Pro saws.

I don't keep up with the latest and greatest, but I suspect Stihl still offers the same three products lines they have for decades now:

1. Homeowner
2. Farm and Ranch
3. Professional

There are a hundred small differences between grades, but the big distinguishing factor between Pro and Homeowner is the split magnesium case of the Pro saws versus the clamshell case of the Homeowner saws. The Farm and Ranch grade muddies the waters a bit, as I think they mostly have clamshell cases but with more of the other "pro" features included.

If you're using the saws with any regularity, and aren't super budget-conscious, the pro saws are a nice way to cry only once and smile ever after. I currently own and regularly use a pro saw (Stihl 064 AV) marked "Made in West Germany", if you want some idea of just how long they last. I suspect the damn thing might outlive me, if the ignition module made of unobtanium doesn't die first.