High Quality Chainsaw Bars Husqvarna Toys

A new 357xp piston question

Which piston


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afleetcommand

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In other motorsports worlds it isn't unusual for a company to hire a manufacturing outfit to build"custom" parts. Dominant Pistons? Are they Wiseco? Companies like Wiseco have done that type of thing for decades. Vertex , any one hear of that piston manufacturer? Who build the pistons for Pro Circuit? DO they or is that contracted out? And does it really matter. Husqvarna used an "Italian" source and Mahle for their OEM branded pistons. Stihl did as well and looks like they brought some of that in house. Actually quite a few out there who can both forge & machine or cast & machine those rather simple shapes. No idea where LRB get their stuff. Also don't know if they "contracted" with a foreign company such as VEC or Highway to build pistons unique to LRB to stuff in those genuine little red boxes. But its possible. So lets say something like that happen, just for argument. A problem with that modus opporendi is those companies operate at their discretion and there really is little or no recourse should the manufacturing source decide to find additional channels for their widget even if it was originally speced and requested by the "first" re-seller. Have some real fumy stories from another life and time with that and interesting enough with an software developer from India...SO If I am some small company trying to accelerate a product concept, and work with a company who manufactures and sells to EVERY one ...I might be a little tight on information until I get my business model humming. Just saying.

Of course to me with Husqvarna pricing...why do anything else when reliability is the goal? Makes this kind of an academic discussion... ( any one know what that means? )

( But if a company misleads about material/manufacturing and builds chit...fair game right? Right now LRB is a "question mark" with an interesting product. WHEN folks build with them and we get feed back, guess we will know if they are worth a chit. Cool concept though )
 
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Derf

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Of course to me with Husqvarna pricing...why do anything else when reliability is the goal? Makes this kind of an academic discussion... ( any one know what that means? )

Walt, Husqvarna pricing on P&C combos is competitive enough with aftermarket that ther is often little reason NOT to use OEM. But pistons alone from Husky are not in the same ballpark price as aftermarket.

One more note to call out with the LRB vs Meteor... the indentations over the pin boss are where a fixture or jig locks the raw casting down initially for machining. The inside/bottom is then machined as on a CNC mill, with the piston upside down. This establishes the concentric center. Then the piston is transferred to a lathe where it is chucked up (holding the inside) to face the top and turn the sides down to dimension.
Looking back at my pictures, the LRB initial machining is off-center when looking at the bottom of the piston. One wall is thicker while the other is thinner (left vs right side in the picture.). The meteor looks more even on both walls.
This has to do with quality of casting, where there are variances (even with die cast) and across machining multiple samples probing center on one is not the same on the 20th or 50th part. It also speaks to the quality of the machining. The LRB looks like the machinist is trying to get them done in a hurry.


I machine parts from raw casting all the time at work, it’s what I do. I sent the LRB piston back.
 

afleetcommand

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Walt, Husqvarna pricing on P&C combos is competitive enough with aftermarket that ther is often little reason NOT to use OEM. But pistons alone from Husky are not in the same ballpark price as aftermarket.

One more note to call out with the LRB vs Meteor... the indentations over the pin boss are where a fixture or jig locks the raw casting down initially for machining. The inside/bottom is then machined as on a CNC mill, with the piston upside down. This establishes the concentric center. Then the piston is transferred to a lathe where it is chucked up (holding the inside) to face the top and turn the sides down to dimension.
Looking back at my pictures, the LRB initial machining is off-center when looking at the bottom of the piston. One wall is thicker while the other is thinner (left vs right side in the picture.). The meteor looks more even on both walls.
This has to do with quality of casting, where there are variances (even with die cast) and across machining multiple samples probing center on one is not the same on the 20th or 50th part. It also speaks to the quality of the machining. The LRB looks like the machinist is trying to get them done in a hurry.


I machine parts from raw casting all the time at work, it’s what I do. I sent the LRB piston back.

I have three of the LRB's, I certainly will measure the walls and post a pic..:)
LRB 50mm 1lrb50mm372-2.jpg
lrb50mm372-1.jpg

lrb50mmxt372-1.jpg lrb50mmxt372-2.jpg


As a side note, I've read quite a few of your posts, excellent BTW, over the years. Pretty familiar with the process. Machined castings myself, large and small, lathe and milling. Including designing & machining "Greys" and Patterns for what was then DisaMatic systems . I was tasked with obsoleting Warner Swasey 2ac's and New Britten Chuckers at first. All in the early days of CNC as a first manufacturing engineer then many years as a Applications engineer for a few Cad/Cam companies for both national and international customers specializing in the CNC side, then sold & supported modeling code to other Cad/Cam companies spending the duration of that life flying around the world working to develop their Cad/Cam products, with an emphasis on the manufacturing and helping develop their products and support their customers. Seen a bit of this stuff. Actually one of my favorite customers was Monitor Aerospace on Long Island. My least was Curtis Wright and their machining Helicopter parts. Tie bars in particular. SO I appreciate the machinists of the world.
 

afleetcommand

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And I have a few OEM, Golf , Hyway, and other meteor's should that even matter to measure. HyWays have done real well in my projects saws, even a HyWay 54mm popup in a Farmertec 54mm cylinder for a 660...thing has a couple of years on it with a logger type. Still pick OEM for reliability over AM.
 

Stump Shot

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The biggest difference besides the other small parts that come with buying a new piston is the alloy that it's made of. Without a doubt the better quality pistons have a much tougher alloy in it's composition than their less expensive AM counterparts. It's kind of up to each of us, whether or not that's acceptable or not for the application at hand. I remember this that one thing I was told years ago, "a piston is very easy to make, a cylinder, is not". The one and only thing I bought from LRB was a p&c kit, that was absolute junk that could not be used properly and LRB didn't have the time of day for me. Not that anyone can't have a screwup, how they handle it is what matters to me. So I can't say I am a fan and have a fairly biased opinion of them as a whole.
 

Spike60

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LRB is not the "first re-seller" my good friend. Northwood has had VEC for several years. And as Steve has pointed out, other factors such as customer service need to be considered when dealing with any supplier. LRB appears to come up short in that area.

An entire online sub-economy has sprung up over the last 10-15 years within what we call the "saw community". Mostly a good thing that the web has opened that door and created such an opportunity. Parts, port work, whatever. But all of the people who have jumped in with these businesses are unfortunately pulled from the same human race as conventional brick and mortar dealers and repair shops. And the incidence of incompetent, inept and/or dishonest operators will therefore be similar. In my opinion the percentage of jerk-offs is pretty much the same with either bunch. :)
 

decableguy2000

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Alright guys, the poll results are a 2 to 1 for the OEM. However I bucked the system and installed the Hyway with OEM cir clips, pin bearing, and Caber ring. Just waiting on a worm gear for.325 to come in.

I have used a LRB piston in a Jonsered 2050, the only aftermarket I could find. seems to be ok. Most of my saws are running Meteors or OEM. Used a Hyway kit on a 036 and it ran well.
 

afleetcommand

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LRB is not the "first re-seller" my good friend. Northwood has had VEC for several years. And as Steve has pointed out, other factors such as customer service need to be considered when dealing with any supplier. LRB appears to come up short in that area.

An entire online sub-economy has sprung up over the last 10-15 years within what we call the "saw community". Mostly a good thing that the web has opened that door and created such an opportunity. Parts, port work, whatever. But all of the people who have jumped in with these businesses are unfortunately pulled from the same human race as conventional brick and mortar dealers and repair shops. And the incidence of incompetent, inept and/or dishonest operators will therefore be similar. In my opinion the percentage of jerk-offs is pretty much the same with either bunch. :)

They are the first I have seen with those particular popups. Like I had mentioned in our conversation, I'll buy those popups from Northwood too when they become available. If they do :) I don't have a horse in the race or care one way or another....just like the idea of those popups at that price point. Assuming they work, and I am running one this fall/winter. I like the HyWay ones as well and have had good experiences with their pistons. So where else can those same suspected "VEC" popup pistons be purchased? And the only experience I have with LRB is I eBay order, they show up at the door. So far they are 4 for 4 in that regard. Not pitching for them just all I can do is relay my experience. You have a different experience?
 
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Spike60

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That thing will sale through wood with a .325. Recommend you go with an 8 pin rim as well. Do you have the proper clutch drum to run the small spline .325?
 

Spike60

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They are the first I have seen with those particular popups. Like I had mentioned in our conversation, I'll buy those popups from Northwood too when they become available. If they do :) I don't have a horse in the race or care one way or another....just like the idea of those popups at that price point. Assuming they work, and I am running one this fall/winter. I like the HyWay ones as well and have had good experiences with their pistons. So where else can those same suspected "VEC" popup pistons be purchased? And the only experience I have with LRB is I eBay order, they show up at the door. So far they are 4 for 4 in that regard. Not pitching for them just all I can do is relay my experience. You have a different experience?

Stuffed at the line for no gain. That'll bring up 4th down. Another 3 and out for Cortland. Logan back to punt.

:) :) :)
 

Stump Shot

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They are the first I have seen with those particular popups. Like I had mentioned in our conversation, I'll buy those popups from Northwood too when they become available. If they do :) I don't have a horse in the race or care one way or another....just like the idea of those popups at that price point. Assuming they work, and I am running one this fall/winter. I like the HyWay ones as well and have had good experiences with their pistons. So where else can those same suspected "VEC" popup pistons be purchased? And the only experience I have with LRB is I eBay order, they show up at the door. So far they are 4 for 4 in that regard. Not pitching for them just all I can do is relay my experience. You have a different experience?

I think "The Greek" has them.
 

afleetcommand

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Stuffed at the line for no gain. That'll bring up 4th down. Another 3 and out for Cortland. Logan back to punt.

:) :) :)
?
Didn't realize we are playing foot ball, did I miss your description of a bad event with lrb? Seemed like that would have been a "stuff" as my premise is and always will be to work with first hand data when it comes to "bad gas" focused at someone, not hear say...and I consider yours as "first hand" data. :) And I have documented my experience as a "4 and 4" event. Meaning 4 transactions and 4 deliveries ... and you should know I will never "pile on" based on hearsay. ever. even if I either don't particularly like or in this case don't particularly care. :) What is the definition of win? TO me finding sources of cool stuff for a reasonable price. Right? AND Looks like Stump may have found them with the "Greek" and I found them with "Dukes" THAT's a win....hoping your buddy across the river can also add them or HyWay's to his repertoire. Then we all win right?
 
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