Newbie question for port work

[calbo]

I am a line man for the phone co in so fla. I top poles fairly regularly and do tree trimming to clear lines several times a month. That being said, I would be considered a light user. I have a Echo CS3400 that I was sold 16+ years ago instead of a Stihl 201 t. Salesman said I didn't need the Stihl and it's $200 difference at the time. The echo has been stellar in my arena, nothing but regular maintenance. I also have a Stihl MS391 at the house that gets used maybe once a year.

I am a car guy and like power and am thinking of boring and or porting my saws. Do I need this work, no, but I live in America. I have seen many youtube vids and many yes/no builder posts. It gets too confusing and "Johnny Big Balls Porting" -made up name by the way- shows he's a bad ass and the next guy trashes him.

What are my options? Don' t trash me too bad. Thanks.

 

[jacob j.]

Moved this question over to the Chainsaws forum where it will get more replies.

 

[hacskaroly]

I have seen many youtube vids and many yes/no builder posts. It gets too confusing and "Johnny Big Balls Porting" -made up name by the way- shows he's a bad ass and the next guy trashes him.

A lot of it is personal preference, some people love ported saws, others like stock. Some people like it in the middle by doing muffler mods and such.

Are you wanting to port all three of your saws or just one or two? Letting us know which ones will help narrow the feedback from those with experience if it will be worth it or not for that saw or even recommend another saw that when ported will be everything you ever wanted.

 

[calbo]

Well, I was just told that both of my saws are considered homeowner saws and there's nothing much that an be done with them. I only have the two saws, Echo cs3400 and Stihl MS391. I do have a "company" stihl battery 200c with the pico 14" bar that cuts as good if not better than my Echo 3400. Very impressed with that battery stihl.

Again, just looking for more power " cue tim the tool man taylor" HA.

 

[Ketchup]

Port the Echo. You have a backup for that one if you botch it. Start with a muffler mod and some timing advance. From there you may be able to improve air flow to the carb.

Good porting takes a number of specialty tools and some trial and error. There’s lots of folks that want to skip important elements like machining or upper transfer work. Many want to grind on the cylinder and get big power, but they don’t have the tools or practice to do more than widen the exhaust and lower the intake, which doesn’t usually result in significant improvements.

Honestly, if you’re in it for the power, you’re looking at an expensive hobby. Start with saws that are already pretty powerful (there’s a recent porter’s choice thread that will give you an idea of models). And get real tools.

 

[DillonBuck]

I am a line man for the phone co in so fla. I top poles fairly regularly and do tree trimming to clear lines several times a month. That being said, I would be considered a light user. I have a Echo CS3400 that I was sold 16+ years ago instead of a Stihl 201 t. Salesman said I didn't need the Stihl and it's $200 difference at the time. The echo has been stellar in my arena, nothing but regular maintenance. I also have a Stihl MS391 at the house that gets used maybe once a year.

I am a car guy and like power and am thinking of boring and or porting my saws. Do I need this work, no, but I live in America. I have seen many youtube vids and many yes/no builder posts. It gets too confusing and "Johnny Big Balls Porting" -made up name by the way- shows he's a bad ass and the next guy trashes him.

What are my options? Don' t trash me too bad. Thanks.

Can you tune a saw?
If not, stop.

If you can, can you braze or weld thin metal, or have a buddy…?
If yes, gut the 391 muffler. Give it a 3/4-1” pipe outlet. Attach a short piece then cut the hole if you want stupid loud. Bury 2” inside a precut hole if you prefer a lower tone sound.

Tune the carb.

Buy a Farmertec 272.
A Foredom, angle handpiece,degree wheel…
You will be hooked.

 

[Outback]

One could get one of the neotec 843 543xp clones for $140 with removable transfer covers and port the hole thing with a harbour freight die grinder if one was just interested in trying out the process for cheap. No foredom, no right angle, but one would still need the degree wheel. My first one I printed out and glued to some cardboard so that can be cheap too. If you can find a friend with a lathe you could go all in for around $200 as a hobby project. As for doing it right, I have a used car's worth of tools at this point so consider the dangers of a new mechanical addiction.

A bigger hole in the muffler is sufficient for increased power. There is no reason to braze in a pipe unless you like the aesthetic.

 

[MAF143]

My first muffler mod was a 391 that my older brother sold me very cheap when he quit cutting wood. I just put some gill slits in the front on the ridges and made sure the exhaust gas was going up away from the plastic body of the oil tank. The 391 responded well to that but it was still a heavy beast. Sold that and went to a 362 pro series soon after getting the bug...

 

[Sloughfoot]

Well, I was just told that both of my saws are considered homeowner saws and there's nothing much that an be done with them. I only have the two saws, Echo cs3400 and Stihl MS391. I do have a "company" stihl battery 200c with the pico 14" bar that cuts as good if not better than my Echo 3400. Very impressed with that battery stihl.

Again, just looking for more power " cue tim the tool man taylor" HA.

It's the clamshell design that limits what you can do with them, not the homeowner tag. Port timing and flow can be enhanced easy enough, but not compression. In addition to opening up the muffler and advancing timing, look into putting a fully tuneable carb on if they don't have them already.

 

[calbo]

I don't really have the time to start another project, so I'm actually looking for someone reputable.

Spoke to one guy in Michigan, can't remember his name, and he told me of the clamshell design of my saws were not conducive to working on easily and most people don't mess with them.

Just looking to find someone to work with. On my FB feeds, small engine guy comes up often, as well as Krafterized.

 

[farminkarman]

I am a line man for the phone co in so fla. I top poles fairly regularly and do tree trimming to clear lines several times a month. That being said, I would be considered a light user. I have a Echo CS3400 that I was sold 16+ years ago instead of a Stihl 201 t. Salesman said I didn't need the Stihl and it's $200 difference at the time. The echo has been stellar in my arena, nothing but regular maintenance. I also have a Stihl MS391 at the house that gets used maybe once a year.

I am a car guy and like power and am thinking of boring and or porting my saws. Do I need this work, no, but I live in America. I have seen many youtube vids and many yes/no builder posts. It gets too confusing and "Johnny Big Balls Porting" -made up name by the way- shows he's a bad ass and the next guy trashes him.

What are my options? Don' t trash me too bad. Thanks.

As has been said, gains on a clamshell saw aren’t as high due to the inability to correct loose squish clearance and lower exhaust and transfer ports because machine work would require a ton of extra work. That being said, you can still get gains on a clamshell. I would guess somewhere in the 20% range is the limit, but it depends on what is holding the particular model of saw back. If you want a good ported top handle, I would get either the Stihl ms151t or the 201t and have it built

 

[farminkarman]

As for builders on this forum, not sure if any would do a clamshell saw or not, but they are (in no particular order) @Red97 @tree monkey @Stump Shot @huskihl

 

[Sloughfoot]

As has been said, gains on a clamshell saw aren’t as high due to the inability to correct loose squish clearance and lower exhaust and transfer ports because machine work would require a ton of extra work. That being said, you can still get gains on a clamshell. I would guess somewhere in the 20% range is the limit, but it depends on what is holding the particular model of saw back. If you want a good ported top handle, I would get either the Stihl ms151t or the 201t and have it built

Yeh, around 20% is my experience modding a 32cc clamshell. What my very ported 50cc saw cuts in 10 seconds, it cuts in 14.

 

[hacskaroly]

Again, just looking for more power " cue tim the tool man taylor" HA.

This video by Patthesoundguy shows pat "porting" a 34cc clamshell Poulan, the perfect saw to practice on as you can usually get one for free or dirt cheap. The video will give you an idea of what can be done with what kind of tools, maybe stuff you already have.

This second video is the same saw after he ported it and put a 32" bar on it to see how it would do.

 

[Red97]

I have ported a few. Generally try to talk people out of adding much power to a plastic homeowner saw. But if they want it ported I will. Most actually gain fairly well, but that is because they are rather low performance 100% stock.

 

[fredx]

@huskihl

 

[Khntr85]

Nothing to loose waller out those holes !!!

 

[huskihl]

Nothing to loose waller out those holes !!!

That’s what she said