RIP Saw 500i

[Jusgunn3]

Builders, do they build a great 500i?

 

[singinwoodwackr]

 

[ZERO]

Search function is your best friend.

 

[Czed]

Source: Facebook https://share.google/yGqzuP2qMVr6cd2UW

 

[fredx]

Dont know anything about the rip saw builds or the builders- I prefer to stick with the folks on this forum who have good reputations

But as far as the YT influencer there in the video- i like the guy. He is not for everybody though. I'm not buying everything he's laying down, but I like him.

 

[stihl livin]

While I’m sure there are good builders that are not on ope or fhc I would only support the ones I trust that I’ve met or talked to through these forums. Besides buckin is just helping these guys for his channel I feel.

 

[Stump Shot]

The baddest to the bone off the hook swinging balls out 500i that I ever had the pleasure to run, was made by none other than the Paterfamilias of modern saw porting, our very own @tree monkey
Tell Scott you want the full meal deal and pay the man the extra he asks for the lower end work he does, it's not only well worth it, but you also won't find anything else out there anywhere that can even come close to compare.

 

[IffykidMn]

Dont know anything about the rip saw builds or the builders- I prefer to stick with the folks on this forum who have good reputations

But as far as the YT influencer there in the video- i like the guy. He is not for everybody though. I'm not buying everything he's laying down, but I like him.

I liked his earlier videos before his channel took off now it seems like one big commercial for the latest gadget or whatever he is hocking for, can't say I blame him for trying to make a buck but to me it has diminished his credibility.

Perhaps one of my favorite YT BBR video is he visited an area(Midwest?) with some big hardwood and his get the gullet stand up and buck long bar and chain and saw more or less fell on their face once they hit hardwood, I found the expression on his face like this does not cut like doug fir hilarious.

 

[Ketchup]

TreeMonkey does say he gets more out of a 462. Might not hurt to reach out to him before you buy a saw.

RipSaw probably does a fair job with a 500i, but you won’t know until you run one. They’re trying to be a legit business but they’re deep in the internet marketing world and trying to add profit margin through mass production. Very likely they’re doing something similar to Scott. They tend to follow the prevailing recipe and then stream-line it for production. I could see them doing epoxy rather than the welding Scott does. It’s also possible they don’t change the transfers at all. RipSaw tends to be on the pricier side too. Scott probably doesn’t charge that much more and has the best reputation.

 

[IffykidMn]

TreeMonkey does say he gets more out of a 462. Might not hurt to reach out to him before you buy a saw.

RipSaw probably does a fair job with a 500i, but you won’t know until you run one. They’re trying to be a legit business but they’re deep in the internet marketing world and trying to add profit margin through mass production. Very likely they’re doing something similar to Scott. They tend to follow the prevailing recipe and then stream-line it for production. I could see them doing epoxy rather than the welding Scott does. It’s also possible they don’t change the transfers at all. RipSaw tends to be on the pricier side too. Scott probably doesn’t charge that much more and has the best reputation.

Reviews are often difficult to differentiate between.
Paid spokesmen.
End user who believes in what he invested in.
End user whose pride will not allow them to admit they did not get what they expected.
End user who has never run anything else so has no basis to compare but believes their opinion matters.
And in the end there is me.

Oooops sorry Ketchup this was not directed towards you in any way shape or form I simply hit reply and started typing.

 

[hacskaroly]

If I was to get a saw ported (which I have no desire) then I would most likely go with someone from here on the forum. I read a lot of the posts and things people say when responding to other's questions and showing the work they do. I realize this does not replace meeting someone in person and testing some of their work, but unfortunately I live too far from may of the GTGs or other opportunities to test in person. For the money spent on the saw and then to get ported, I would at the least be asking a lot of questions of the potential porter and of those who may already have a saw ported by that person. I don't take much stock in YouTube videos as everyone is out there showing that the saw-of-the-day that they have is a super powerhouse especially since they had it ported, nitro-boost, 12-hole muffler mod and a blower installed. But then with many machine videos out there, people are going over the top with their mods (cars...etc).

 

[PA Dan]

A few years back i had thoughts of getting a 500i. @huskihl brought one to the PA GTG for another PA guy. I asked if I could run it? The log was about 30" dead Ash. The saw was wearing a 28" light bar. After the cut i shut the saw down and walked over to Kevin. I asked can you make me one just like that? That fall i picked it up at his GTG in Michigan. I couldn't be happier with it.

RIP saw is about 90 minutes away from me and I'd stay away from them.

 

[huskihl]

A few years back i had thoughts of getting a 500i. @huskihl brought one to the PA GTG for another PA guy. I asked if I could run it? The log was about 30" dead Ash. The saw was wearing a 28" light bar. After the cut i shut the saw down and walked over to Kevin. I asked can you make me one just like that? That fall i picked it up at his GTG in Michigan. I couldn't be happier with it.

RIP saw is about 90 minutes away from me and I'd stay away from them.

I’ve done about 170 for a dealer in Ohio and 150 more outside of that. Couple different recipes depending on what they want, but the ones for the dealer have all been identical. I’ve asked him 3 times in the last 3 years if he wanted anything changed and he suggested I leave them exactly the way they are. No reason to change something that works