for giggles i threw it together without a gasket (currently double gasketed) and it was .0125....but there also was no undesireable tight spots on the squish band due to the pop up... looked like the pop up was about .050+ from the edge of the band all the way around, at least at the spots i checked the squish with solder....
Did you do a compression test?
If you can get the squish down that low without a gasket why would you not want to use the 066 piston with one gasket and you could make the squish right and take care of the freeport?
Not at the .0125 squish.... i do my squish checks with no rings in, as it makes putting the jug on multiple times way easier, and eliminates the drag of the rings that likely would have masked the piston bottoming out on the case.
Because i am still new to building saws and dont need every last ounce of ommph out of it? If i need more oomph i have a MMWS jug on my ms661
theres some oomph for ya...Also.... you make it seem like freeport is a bad thing.... 
bottom line is, i only have a half tank thru this saw and its already got more balls than my woods ported 044....the 044 is fully broken in and about .025 squish, while the 460 is .050 squish and unseated rings.... why chase theoretical gains that could be losses in the end both time and money wise when i have a working combo?
That's a little aggressive.
Maybe/maybe not opinions will vary and that’s fine. Honestly I would have a lot more respect for you if you actually called out by name and gave a valid reason for your thoughts. The some know and have done it and some just think they know is a bs school girl attempt at calling someone out with no reason why. All I’ve done is ask a few questions on how you cut the base and kept straight with bore because it does matter that’s why people that do it all the time buy lathes. They also buy 90 degree tools for transfer work because it the appropriate tool for the task, you and your smart ass response to the question I asked why wait to wreck a 100$ cylinder before buying a 250-300$ tool really wasn’t an answer. I realize you may have paid 30$ for the cylinder but 80-100$ for a good clean oem cylinder isn’t out of line so what you paid isn’t what you may need to give for a replacement. Also just because a person isn’t on here posting pictures constantly doesn’t mean they don’t have experience on anything. I’ve ported a fair number of cylinders over the years, no they weren’t full woods ports with machine work because i wasn’t set up properly to do it. I did an 036 for a neighbor Ive been friends with since high school with the stacked cut off wheel set up. Yes it does work if you want to go through the extra work and time, where you took pictures and posted was about half way done on the 036. After I got them raised I used long shank balls to smooth all the transitions out for flow, then a large diamond ball to bevel and clean all transfer edges to keep the rings from possibly peeling the plating. I also widened the exhaust and intake matched the exhaust and did a timing advance. That saws been cutting wood for a 1000 gallon boiler on a farm for 6-7 years no issues. From all my years on here talking with guys that port all the time and getting advice and ideas a few of the biggest things when porting are smooth transitions, good chamfers on port edge, even from side to side and as accurate as possible on the machine work. The reason most of the guys that port all the time show stuff on the forum to help and show what it should look like they don’t do it because they want to feel validated on their work. Anything I’ve told you or said to you is just advice take it or leave it we all can learn from each other this includes me from you on certain things because know one knows it all. The comment bwalker made about the 260 pro not gaining enough in his opinion to be worth the time and money is an opinion and valid also. The 026/260 do not make the power of the others and will not beat a done up 346xp some with tons of work and different carbs in all our race trim may be closer but usually won’t do it and it’s not because guys haven’t tried. Your response to him telling him he was talking about a different saw and leading to it not being relevant was just that so i answered with advice again on the 026/260 being basically the same because they are. Some 260’s have the same exact cylinder as an 026 and some have the 44.7mm instead after an epa change. The 260 pro ect has an adjustable oiler and compression release vs fixed oiler and no release on a ms260. The 026/260 have some changes in air filters, carbs and covers the port on a 260’s filter is for the intellicarb that adjusts mixture slightly by changing the atmospheric pressure acting on the diaphragm through the port on carb. Instead of the diaphragm acting in actual atmospheric pressure like an 026 the one with the port varies the pressure by how plugged the air filter is to maintain more constant mixture as it plugs. Seems like you plan on doing many saws and my suggestion to get the angle handpiece would make life much easier with better results along with asking yourself would I be comfortable selling this when done and being able to stand behind it? If it’s not finished well enough to sell and not be worried about it lasting why should it be good enough for you to keep and use take time and pride in what your doing and do best you can that’s how the pros do it. Obviously everyone makes mistakes and you need to fix stuff you just did but being meticulous keeps it to a minimum. Machine work is critical and that was the reason I asked how you were keeping stuff true, I went to machinists school along with millwright and welding at college because i didn’t know what i wanted to do 100%. Between school and an uncle next door that’s been a machinist for 50 years i learned if it says plus or minus 2 thousandths shoot for as precise as you can without wasting a bunch of extra time and odds are all your parts will be in spec. So now I’m done with my novel and will post some pictures in next few days, you can comment if you want or don’t makes no difference. I will also refrain from giving you advice you probably wont take anyway unless you want to ask a question directly about a saw family ect and I’ll then help if I can.
