Ultimate "Firewood" Saw

FordTruckMan · Oct 24, 2019

In an effort to keep this post from being three pages long, here is the bare bones. I have two saws, neither do quite what I want, and I am considering buying a 3rd saw.

I have two totally stock Stihls, an MS290 with a 20" bar, and an MS661-CM with a 36" bar. I use these saws solely for firewood to heat my house, which can include felling smallish trees (18-24") and bucking as big as 50".

The 290 is dead reliable but underpowered. The 661 is not so reliable (won't hot start sometimes) and underpowered for the size bar I am running. I am open to basically ANY solution to get a saw(s) that perform "well" in all hardwoods up to 50" diameter.

One consideration I had was putting a smaller bar on the 661 and using it for my primary bucking saw, and getting a larger, or highly modified saw to run the 36" bar. Is that nuts?

Then I saw there is a "new" 462 that weighs exactly the same as my 290...but has nearly double the power. That sounds too good to be true.

Things that are important to me, in order, are:
Reliability!
Torque
Antivibe stuff...I have nerve problems.

I don't have any preconceived notions about much of anything, I am too green. I have no brand loyalty, but do have access to a Stihl dealer that gives very decent pricing. I have been doing the firewood thing since 2011, but thats all the experience I have. Please feel free to enlighten me if I do not seem to grasp something, I am not very well versed in this stuff. I am also happy to share more information, I just wanted to keep this short for you guys.

Thanks in advance,

FTM

cus_deluxe · Oct 24, 2019

a stock 661 should be able to pull a 36” bar well with a good chain. depending on your budget, there are a lot of options. if u wanna stick with stihl, id try to find a nice 361 from a member on here. if money is no object the 462 is certainly a sweet saw for sure, if you wanna spend $1100 on a firewood saw...

deye223 · Oct 24, 2019

Well after what I just read it won't be the 400 stihl

FordTruckMan · Oct 24, 2019

cus_deluxe said:
a stock 661 should be able to pull a 36” bar well with a good chain. depending on your budget, there are a lot of options. if u wanna stick with stihl, id try to find a nice 361 from a member on here. if money is no object the 462 is certainly a sweet saw for sure, if you wanna spend $1100 on a firewood saw...

Maybe I am little too harsh on the 661; it will pull the 36" bar, but it doesn't do it well. I would like to be able to lean on it a bit, whereas right now I have to feather it. The saw has absolutely no bottom end torque at all. I try to keep my chains sharp to avoid overheating the saw, and generally make my life easier while cutting. I am using full chisel chain FWIW.

As for spending $1100 on a firewood saw, I know it's crazy, but I spent more than that on the 661 back in 2015. My sole heating source is firewood, and every month I use firewood instead of my electric strip heaters, it saves me $400-600. So any saw I buy will pay for itself in no time.

FordTruckMan · Oct 24, 2019

deye223 said:
Well after what I just read it won't be the 400 stihl

I am sorry I don't understand what you are saying here??

deye223 · Oct 24, 2019

FordTruckMan said:
I am sorry I don't understand what you are saying here??

You asked about the best wood saw and I just read a bit about the ms400 and it's not real good so I don't think you would want one ......

Bigmac · Oct 24, 2019

The 462 is super light and am sure is going to be a great saw for a long time, going more old school will keep things simple, a 361, 440 or 372 are great options in the mid size range. The 661 is a fine saw, but can have some issues, if you make long cut and shut it off or run it out of fuel in a cut they can be hard to start, I try to always let a 661 idle for 30 seconds before shutting it down. A ported 395 is a great big saw option, it’s simple and effective, I don’t have one. Porting makes a big difference on the 661 too! That’s a great option a 261 462 and 661 should cover most of your needs

Bigmac · Oct 24, 2019

FordTruckMan said:
Maybe I am little too harsh on the 661; it will pull the 36" bar, but it doesn't do it well. I would like to be able to lean on it a bit, whereas right now I have to feather it. The saw has absolutely no bottom end torque at all. I try to keep my chains sharp to avoid overheating the saw, and generally make my life easier while cutting. I am using full chisel chain FWIW.

As for spending $1100 on a firewood saw, I know it's crazy, but I spent more than that on the 661 back in 2015. My sole heating source is firewood, and every month I use firewood instead of my electric strip heaters, it saves me $400-600. So any saw I buy will pay for itself in no time.

Porting wakes up the 661, I did a base gasket delete widened the ports and a single big port on the muffler and it now has some bottom end, I know what you mean, I was disappointed in the 661 stock!

Bigmac · Oct 24, 2019

this isn’t ported, if it had about 15-20 pounds more compression I think it would have a lot more torque, but as is it now handles the 36” bar well, and this is an 8pin sprocket, are you running a 7 on yours with the 36” this saw is fun with a 28” bar

dmb2613 · Oct 24, 2019

the 462 will serve you well replacing a 290 , the 661 should pull the 36 in bar fine sounds like you need a mastermind port job on the 661 I bet it will haul the mail then

FordTruckMan · Oct 24, 2019

Bigmac said:
this isn’t ported, if it had about 15-20 pounds more compression I think it would have a lot more torque, but as is it now handles the 36” bar well, and this is an 8pin sprocket, are you running a 7 on yours with the 36” this saw is fun with a 28” bar

I have not changed the sprocket from stock, so if 7 is what came on it, that what it has lol.

dmb2613 said:
the 462 will serve you well replacing a 290 , the 661 should pull the 36 in bar fine sounds like you need a mastermind port job on the 661 I bet it will haul the mail then

I did actually contact Randy before I found this forum, but he no longer works on used saws. I had him price me a new 661 ported though, which is part of what I am having trouble making a decision. If he was willing to work on my existing 661, I would put it on the mail at the end of this season, regardless of any other saw I may or may not purchase.

Bigmac · Oct 24, 2019

FordTruckMan said:
I have not changed the sprocket from stock, so if 7 is what came on it, that what it has lol.

I did actually contact Randy before I found this forum, but he no longer works on used saws. I had him price me a new 661 ported though, which is part of what I am having trouble making a decision. If he was willing to work on my existing 661, I would put it on the mail at the end of this season, regardless of any other saw I may or may not purchase.

Mine had an 8 on it, it’s worth checking, a 7 would help with torque on the 36

tree money build a mean 661!!

460 magnum · Oct 24, 2019

FordTruckMan said:
I have not changed the sprocket from stock, so if 7 is what came on it, that what it has lol.

I did actually contact Randy before I found this forum, but he no longer works on used saws. I had him price me a new 661 ported though, which is part of what I am having trouble making a decision. If he was willing to work on my existing 661, I would put it on the mail at the end of this season, regardless of any other saw I may or may not purchase.

I'm sure there are plenty of other people on here that would port your saw.

cuinrearview · Oct 24, 2019

FordTruckMan said:
Reliability!
Torque
Antivibe stuff...I have nerve problems.

572xp

MarcS · Oct 24, 2019

I’d say clean the 290 up decent and sell it for $350 since people think they are made of gold...put that money toward a new saw. 462 has my interest but I still haven’t got one to say first hand if it’s the holy grail or not.

Get a nice 50cc to pair with the 462 and also get the 661 ported.

I like that you are thinking big trees for firewood Some of my favorite days in the woods have been dealing with the monsters.

Stump Shot · Oct 24, 2019

FordTruckMan said:
Maybe I am little too harsh on the 661; it will pull the 36" bar, but it doesn't do it well. I would like to be able to lean on it a bit, whereas right now I have to feather it. The saw has absolutely no bottom end torque at all. I try to keep my chains sharp to avoid overheating the saw, and generally make my life easier while cutting. I am using full chisel chain FWIW.

As for spending $1100 on a firewood saw, I know it's crazy, but I spent more than that on the 661 back in 2015. My sole heating source is firewood, and every month I use firewood instead of my electric strip heaters, it saves me $400-600. So any saw I buy will pay for itself in no time.

The 462 could go down as one of the bestest firewood saw's so far, right out of the box.
Not that there aren't a lot of other excellent choices out there as well, most have been mentioned already.

trooney · Oct 24, 2019

Spend $350 on getting a port job on your 661 and pocket the savings. I have a 28" and a 36" bar on my ported 661, pulls it just fine. Run .404 on it. Like was said before, there are plenty of people here who can port a saw. All depends how much you want to pay for shipping..

TreeLife · Oct 24, 2019

cuinrearview said:
572xp

A 572 or 462 is probably the way to go. Excellent midsized saws, both very very smooth.

FordTruckMan · Oct 24, 2019

Wow thank you for all the replies so quickly! OK so clearly I need to look harder for someone to port my 661, and also I need to look at a 572 and 462 more closely.

USMC615 · Oct 24, 2019

Ported Poulan Wild Thing and never look back...

I'm liking what's already been thrown your way...572XP or a 462 and stick a fork in it...be done with it.

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