taplinhill
Hiding behind the Chainsaws
Okay, so technically I didn't buy it, but my friend did and I told her to. Her family owns about 450 acres of which 90% is wooded and my family owns about 200 acres of which 75% is wooded and we had both become the unpaid minion caretakers of our respective lots. So I help her and she helps me. She has a bad shoulder and I have a bad back. I am overweight and I'm pretty sure I have saws that weigh more than she does.
Bare with me here I am getting to the saw. I have 80ish saws of which 50 are vintage and most are Jonsereds/Husqvarna. She had one, yes one, saw. I didn't even know such people existed. Her lone wolf is
a well used 026 pro that her father had bought new. She loves the saw, and I have grown fond of it as well and actually stumbled into two more. I have been in a constant downsizing of my work saws as my back gets older, so my days of using a 670 or 2171 all day are behind me. So I have settled into the 2153/346 saws as my "go-to".
So she has her 026 pro and I usually leave her a 272xp (she likes them) and some of my 50cc fleet as well. Here is where the story takes a tragic turn. In late June, I assume a can of bad fuel wiped out her 026 pro, both of my 026 pro's, the 272xp and several of my 2153's (guess what I'm doing this winter!). The timing was horrible. She was trying to get the landing she uses for firewood cleaned up because their logger needed it to do a planned cut per the forestry plan. She decided she needed a new saw. I agreed.
But what saw? She needed a decompression valve because of her shoulder. She wanted something close to the size and weight of her 026. It had to be a pro saw and it had to be dependable. We looked at Echo, RedMax, Husqvarna, Makita, but nothing really stood out. The big problem is none of the Stihl dealers near us carry much in the pro line. She looked online and thought the MS241C-M was just the ticket, but wasn't sure. I told her we might not be able to find one, as we all know they are getting scarce.
So one hot day in late July we began our hour plus drive to get to a real Stihl dealer and low and behold they had a 241 on the shelf, but right next to it was the MS261C-M. She handled them both and couldn't decide. I mentioned that the 261 would use the same bar and chain as her 026. "Done!" The deal was made and the little creamsicle came home. We both ran it the first day and were impressed at the power and balance. I told her it might "wake up" a bit as it broke in and she said after about 10 tanks she noticed a difference. It now has about 25-30 tanks and I ran it for the second time. For a stock 50cc saw it is impressive. This is the first mtronic saw I have run and like the AutoTune, it is right on the money. Initial start is 3 pulls, hot start is one. The A/V is good.
Its only been a month so time will tell if this is a good saw. She really likes it, probably even better than her 026 pro, but she won't admit it. Ramble over.
Bare with me here I am getting to the saw. I have 80ish saws of which 50 are vintage and most are Jonsereds/Husqvarna. She had one, yes one, saw. I didn't even know such people existed. Her lone wolf is
a well used 026 pro that her father had bought new. She loves the saw, and I have grown fond of it as well and actually stumbled into two more. I have been in a constant downsizing of my work saws as my back gets older, so my days of using a 670 or 2171 all day are behind me. So I have settled into the 2153/346 saws as my "go-to".
So she has her 026 pro and I usually leave her a 272xp (she likes them) and some of my 50cc fleet as well. Here is where the story takes a tragic turn. In late June, I assume a can of bad fuel wiped out her 026 pro, both of my 026 pro's, the 272xp and several of my 2153's (guess what I'm doing this winter!). The timing was horrible. She was trying to get the landing she uses for firewood cleaned up because their logger needed it to do a planned cut per the forestry plan. She decided she needed a new saw. I agreed.
But what saw? She needed a decompression valve because of her shoulder. She wanted something close to the size and weight of her 026. It had to be a pro saw and it had to be dependable. We looked at Echo, RedMax, Husqvarna, Makita, but nothing really stood out. The big problem is none of the Stihl dealers near us carry much in the pro line. She looked online and thought the MS241C-M was just the ticket, but wasn't sure. I told her we might not be able to find one, as we all know they are getting scarce.
So one hot day in late July we began our hour plus drive to get to a real Stihl dealer and low and behold they had a 241 on the shelf, but right next to it was the MS261C-M. She handled them both and couldn't decide. I mentioned that the 261 would use the same bar and chain as her 026. "Done!" The deal was made and the little creamsicle came home. We both ran it the first day and were impressed at the power and balance. I told her it might "wake up" a bit as it broke in and she said after about 10 tanks she noticed a difference. It now has about 25-30 tanks and I ran it for the second time. For a stock 50cc saw it is impressive. This is the first mtronic saw I have run and like the AutoTune, it is right on the money. Initial start is 3 pulls, hot start is one. The A/V is good.
Its only been a month so time will tell if this is a good saw. She really likes it, probably even better than her 026 pro, but she won't admit it. Ramble over.
