Ultimate "Firewood" Saw

[Mastermind]

Pics of your buzzing hands when done

He's purty tough......for a northerner.

Oh.....wait.

 

[huskihl]

They aren’t that bad! 660’s with a little time on them are fine,the mounts soften up a bit. And a lighter grip helps too.

I was being sarcastic. Honestly, none of them bother me. Sure, I can tell when running a smooth saw, but at the end of the day my legs and back hurt way more than my hands

 

[Bigmac]

I was being sarcastic. Honestly, none of them bother me. Sure, I can tell when running a smooth saw, but at the end of the day my legs and back hurt way more than my hands

Haha! I agree, I don’t notice that much of a difference, I am sure other people are different, but I am beat using anything! Lol

 

[TreeLife]

562, 7900, and 395 would be the smooth as silk trio.

That is a truly sexy combo...all large mount husky too

 

[a. palmer jr.]

In an effort to keep this post from being three pages long, here is the bare bones. I have two saws, neither do quite what I want, and I am considering buying a 3rd saw.

I have two totally stock Stihls, an MS290 with a 20" bar, and an MS661-CM with a 36" bar. I use these saws solely for firewood to heat my house, which can include felling smallish trees (18-24") and bucking as big as 50".

The 290 is dead reliable but underpowered. The 661 is not so reliable (won't hot start sometimes) and underpowered for the size bar I am running. I am open to basically ANY solution to get a saw(s) that perform "well" in all hardwoods up to 50" diameter.

One consideration I had was putting a smaller bar on the 661 and using it for my primary bucking saw, and getting a larger, or highly modified saw to run the 36" bar. Is that nuts?

Then I saw there is a "new" 462 that weighs exactly the same as my 290...but has nearly double the power. That sounds too good to be true.

Things that are important to me, in order, are:
Reliability!
Torque
Antivibe stuff...I have nerve problems.

I don't have any preconceived notions about much of anything, I am too green. I have no brand loyalty, but do have access to a Stihl dealer that gives very decent pricing. I have been doing the firewood thing since 2011, but thats all the experience I have. Please feel free to enlighten me if I do not seem to grasp something, I am not very well versed in this stuff. I am also happy to share more information, I just wanted to keep this short for you guys.

Thanks in advance,

FTM

I turned my 290 into a 390 and it's still dead reliable and quite a bit more power. It's a worthwhile endeavor..

 

[Terry Syd]

If you're game to mod the 290, here's a thread that discusses some of the mods and the results.

http://opeforum.com/threads/ms390-039-pop-up-piston.9517/

 

[rogue60]

I was being sarcastic. Honestly, none of them bother me. Sure, I can tell when running a smooth saw, but at the end of the day my legs and back hurt way more than my hands

Same I don't notice vibes but some guy's are very sensitive to it.
3 days straight bucking would have been like a holiday for me my work days where 9hrs minimum the truck loads of logs for the sawmill would never stop year after year.
But you get fit to the point you don't even sweat doing your job.
I used to have to train some of the young bucks how to buck logs there were two kinds the 1st kind with a look of horror on there face at the fact this is hardwork and sweat running off them by the buckets we are only onto the 2nd cut here nothing sinking in or flowing..
And the 2nd kind he would be smiling from the second the saw is started thinking this chit is fun and doing it all with ease it just clicks with them.
The 1st kind I'd sack within the week lol

If they where really smart young men that could go places in life after a year or so I'd tell them to get out of the timer industry it's just a dead end of hard work for not much money go do something with your life.
One young guy came and seen me years later and thanked me he joined the army he loved it got qualified as a mechanic something to do with tank recovery..

 

[Locust Cutter]

Hell, after about 7 tanks in my 660, I'm ready to be done, at least my back is, but with 4 screws, cadaver bone and a chunk of plastic where my L5-S1 used to be, I'm not 18 anymore...

 

[Terry Syd]

Mate, wait until you're over 70. Crikey, what happened to my life?

 

[rogue60]

My boss now is 86 he has never done any kind of manual labor in his life runs around like 20 year old.
I look at him and think if he was a man that had worked his life in the timber industry he'd have a walker! lol he doesn't get how lucky he has been with the hand life dealt him.
He looks at me funny if I say sorry I can't do that I can't lift my arm that high it no worky as good as yours lol

 

[Terry Syd]

Yeah, but some of us just have to push the limits, otherwise, it just isn't living.

http://northwestvets.com/spurs/shulze.htm

 

[Al Smith]

Time will get you alright . You just have to figure another way to do things .

 

[homeheater]

"Ultimate" firewood saw is way too subjective. I don't give 2 s?h!ts about Ms 460 461 462 660 7900 395 372 all that stuff. Ifn it needs a saw that big I sure as hell aint wanting to man handle it to the splitter. I feed a smaller outdoor stove, use about 16-20 face cord a year, and have enough dead wood down to cut to last the next 2-3 years, and maybe 90% of it could be handled easily with an 18" bar. My 1 ultimate firewood saw is a 50 cc going to the sausage man.

 

[sawmikaze]

Pics of your buzzing hands when done

I'll trade you for pics of you with no shirt on at that michigan polar bear contest.

 

[homeheater]

And maybe sausage the 421. I got an 034. @huskihl you wizzy'd that little Makita yet? I want one of those. This is not good.

 

[dustinwilt68]

My personal favorite right now is the 2156WH ported. Lots of good choices out there, I could probably use my 2153 or 346 for most of my needs too, I like to cut wood the size I can fit right in the furnace too.

 

[NSEric]

Most of the firewood in my area barely needs split to fit in a wood stove, so the ultimate firewood saw around here is 50-60cc, fast in small wood and capable of cutting 20 inch trees once in a while.
My cheapy ported joncutter 5800 suits what I do.

 

[sawmikaze]

That is a truly sexy combo...all large mount husky too

It got me really hot too..

 

[trooney]

It got me really hot too..

Yeah, but you're easy Ryan!!!

 

[TreeLife]

Yeah, but you're easy Ryan!!!

Stop slut shaming Ryan! Its okay bud, I understand.