What is the point of a 70cc saw…

[Wilhelm]

I'm looking to buy a new Makita 7900, so please enlighten me on the plastic bolt and such- is there an aftermarket metal bolt? What else should I know? thnx

Nothing You will ever have to worry about.
Buy a new 7900 and run her.
Muffler mod is all You want to change on that saw!

It's the oiler control bolt that get's worn down. Easy to replace. There is no metal bolt that I know of. The oiler on these saws needs a little mod too, if you're running longer bars. That's a pretty easy thing to do as well.
When the control bolt gets worn, the saw will gradually pump less oil.
Keep in mind that Mason @huskyboy uses his saws for commercial logging, and they see a lot more wear in a year than most of us put on one in a lifetime.

Also, repair kit contains two of those bolts.
All mine run and oil a 36" B&C perfectly fine.

 

[davidwyby]

What's the point of any size chainsaw? Using a chainsaw you are comfortable with and fits your needs to cut trees you have dropped. Same goes for oil thread, run what works for you and keeps your saws running. Why try to ruin working saws. Your money, your time, but I can find better use of my time.

…so is raining on other people’s parades one of those better uses? It was just a random thought I had, maybe I should have just put it in the random thoughts thread. Got taken way too seriously…the oil is just out of curiosity, can this modern veggie stuff keep up, or was that guy full of it? If you don’t like it, you don’t have to waste your time reading it or pissing in my Wheaties.

 

[mrxlh]

I like 70cc saws, but lots of you guys are missing the second half of the thought, the first post.

-cuz 500i’s are espensive

I don’t think many are missing the point, personally I love running my 268, it’s my favorite saw to cut with all day. As mentioned I skipped right over the 80cc class and went to the 395, as it’s use will be a minimum, but the premium power from it to run/oil a long bar will best an 80cc class saw.

But then the CAD kicks in, and @Stumpshot sells a really nice 390XP for less than half the cost of a new 500i, and now I have that class covered. Mandatory 14 straight days work + overtime and bam….A new 3120XP fills the 100cc+ void.

I have not had a chance to run a Dolmar 7900 yet, but I can tell you the “feels like” weight difference from the 372XT to the 390XP was negligible for me, alas I like many don’t make a living running them.

Once you get outside the up front money aspect, or bar/chain stuff (it’s pretty much why I currently am fooling with anything D009 mount) it really boils down to if you need 1 saw to do it all.

On edit, I brought my 395Xp, 192T, 55, and 272XP with me this summer to clean up my deer stand shooting lane. Also along were the FS131R trimmer and HT101 pole saw. I picked up the 268Xp on the way to the cabin off spacebook market place. I ran it to shake it down and that was it. I ran the 55 and the pole saw the most, never even bared up the other saws….

 

[Maintenance Chief]

Pro Mac 800,Super pro 81, Sp80,super XL925 , VI955,Poulan 5200 ,5400 ,and Remington super 754 . All 80cc saws that might be desired by people who collect saws today and the McCulloch and Homelite 5 cube saws were very popular with cutters in their time.
Even now most of those saws effortlessly pull 24" .404 to 36" full comp 3/8ths.
I think it definitely depends on how the market and timbering has changed towards the demand for better 70cc saws.

 

[cus_deluxe]

espensive

you dont have to be a show-off with ur langauge skills.

 

[mrxlh]

Pro Mac 800,Super pro 81, Sp80,super XL925 , VI955,Poulan 5200 ,5400 ,and Remington super 754 . All 80cc saws that might be desired by people who collect saws today and the McCulloch and Homelite 5 cube saws were very popular with cutters in their time.
Even now most of those saws effortlessly pull 24" .404 to 36" full comp 3/8ths.
I think it definitely depends on how the market and timbering has changed towards the demand for better 70cc saws.

Yep and men were men back then running those saws, sheep were scared, and rented pigs had yet to be invented…..

 

[Ford3000]

Yep and men were men back then running those saws, sheep were scared, and rented pigs had yet to be invented…..

Rented pigs, heartbreaking having to give them back when you were just getting the hang of one, many a tears.

 

[Loony661]

White oak. Frozen. All of the 25” bar buried with full comp, full chisel chain. The 72cc’s of the 462 handles this very well. Is it over powered? No. But this saw is light, easy to carry all day, and cuts trees like this on the regular. I’d say the 70cc class is sticking around a while.

 

[Wilhelm]

Nothing wrong with 70cc chainsaws, they are a legit class of their own.

I am ogling a teal Makita EA7300 even though I already have a PS-7300, PS-7310 & 2 PS-7900.

 

[davidwyby]

View attachment 359657

White oak. Frozen. All of the 25” bar buried with full comp, full chisel chain. The 72cc’s of the 462 handles this very well. Is it over powered? No. But this saw is light, easy to carry all day, and cuts trees like this on the regular. I’d say the 70cc class is sticking around a while.

How do you feel about 60cc saws?

 

[Loony661]

How do you feel about 60cc saws?

I owned a 361 for a while and I really liked owning it. BUT, when it came time to produce logs with it, it lacked the power I expected/needed to cut most of the timber I am in.. It was muffler modded, otherwise stock. I had always wanted to get it ported and try it that way, to have more power with the lighter powerhead, but it didn’t happen. I actually sent it to @Stump Shot a few years ago and he discovered it had a bad crank and I decided to shelf it for a while. I eventually completely rebuilt it, new crank and all, and it stayed in my pickup as a back up. Again, liked the saw, but it always left me wanting more out of it. Over last summer, I ended up selling it to help fund my 462 purchase. To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure I made the right decision. I don’t feel that way anymore. I’m glad I have the 462. It’s my main/daily felling saw.. Weighs the same as the 361 did (or very close) and has a lot more power.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Given that commercial timbering is now mostly done with harvesters, I think it is likely that 70-80cc could be the biggest saw that anybody makes at some point. The market for saws above that size is tiny, and the manufacturers may not want to spend money on R&D which could be cancelled out by tightening smog regs anyway. Echo hasn't upgraded the CS-1201 in decades and they obviously think that bringing it up to first world smog and safety regs is not worth it. Dolkita got out of the 80+ market like 30 years ago, well before they exited gas saws entirely. Stihl and Husky have been allowing their big saw models to just cruise with minor upgrades for quite awhile now.

 

[Loony661]

Given that commercial timbering is now mostly done with harvesters, I think it is likely that 70-80cc could be the biggest saw that anybody makes at some point. The market for saws above that size is tiny, and the manufacturers may not want to spend money on R&D which could be cancelled out by tightening smog regs anyway. Echo hasn't upgraded the CS-1201 in decades and they obviously think that bringing it up to first world smog and safety regs is not worth it. Dolkita got out of the 80+ market like 30 years ago, well before they exited gas saws entirely. Stihl and Husky have been allowing their big saw models to just cruise with minor upgrades for quite awhile now.

Interesting theory. I politely disagree however. Although homeowner saws (45-60cc) probably sell more volume than the bigger saws, there are still a LOT of 70-95cc saws being sold and used. It’s completely dependent on geography and location. Although harvesters may be common in your area, they typically cannot operate here due to terrain. And the cost of them coming in to work these small acreage jobs isn’t worth it to most either. Once in a while we see one cruise through, but they are otherwise non-existent here. Hand cutting with larger saws is the name of the game here, and it’s not going away anytime soon. And I know that we are not the only area like this. Larger saws will always be around... Another take on your theory, is that IF the volume of larger saws is small enough, they may not need to meet current EPA requirements IF the majority of sales comes from smaller size machines. So they may not need to invest in any changes or upgrades at this time as a manufacturer to “skate by” the current EPA regs.. Just my thoughts.

 

[Catbuster]

Given that commercial timbering is now mostly done with harvesters, I think it is likely that 70-80cc could be the biggest saw that anybody makes at some point. The market for saws above that size is tiny, and the manufacturers may not want to spend money on R&D which could be cancelled out by tightening smog regs anyway. Echo hasn't upgraded the CS-1201 in decades and they obviously think that bringing it up to first world smog and safety regs is not worth it. Dolkita got out of the 80+ market like 30 years ago, well before they exited gas saws entirely. Stihl and Husky have been allowing their big saw models to just cruise with minor upgrades for quite awhile now.

I think the reason Stihl & Husqvarna have let their big models roll is because it’s very hard to drastically improve them and still meet Euro/CARB/EPA/etc regs.

I also disagree with thinking 70-80cc will be the biggest saw made in the future, at least until electric comes into the picture. Wood is still stupidly hard in Australia, Europeans like big CCs behind their bars, and there’s still big wood in North America and NZ, particularly in steep ground.

Tethering harvesters has some really adverse consequences for soil conditions in steep areas, and in a lot of places (looking at you, BC and southeast Alaska) just getting one to a job is problematic. Thus, hand falling is king. There’s also going to continue to be oversize trees that harvesters can’t cut, that will be continued to be hand falled.

The 585/592 and 661 are still big sellers in the commercial segment. Their bigger counterparts? Less so, but still enough to warrant being around.

 

[Stump Shot]

I owned a 361 for a while and I really liked owning it. BUT, when it came time to produce logs with it, it lacked the power I expected/needed to cut most of the timber I am in.. It was muffler modded, otherwise stock. I had always wanted to get it ported and try it that way, to have more power with the lighter powerhead, but it didn’t happen. I actually sent it to @Stump Shot a few years ago and he discovered it had a bad crank and I decided to shelf it for a while. I eventually completely rebuilt it, new crank and all, and it stayed in my pickup as a back up. Again, liked the saw, but it always left me wanting more out of it. Over last summer, I ended up selling it to help fund my 462 purchase. To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure I made the right decision. I don’t feel that way anymore. I’m glad I have the 462. It’s my main/daily felling saw.. Weighs the same as the 361 did (or very close) and has a lot more power.

I was just wondering what ever became of that 361 the other day when I slung one for my very own 361 on the bench for major surgery, which includes replacing the crank, but not because it's bad, rather because it's getting stroked. That and I happened to buy out the last Tecomec 361 crankshaft known to the free world, so I'll have some options on hand here for the next one to come through like yours did. I think had it been ported as planned you wouldn't have want for another saw. Not that the 462 isn't a dandy either, like the 361 it turns up quite nicely as well.
Seems I've been on a 60cc class saw kick as of late, just completing a 365 Special and a 262xp and now onto a 361 and then a 359/357 that's waiting in the wings. Seems I'm over my 70cc affliction, not that I don't still have a pile of them.

 

[Sierra_rider]

For falling saws, I used to be a fan of the 70cc class and then would jump up to my 066 if I needed it...however, the last couple of years I've become a fan of 80cc saws or 70 saws with larger-than-stock cylinders, all having port/machine work done to them. I just like having a bit more grunt than a 70cc saw, the 80cc saws aren't as grabby on sloping cuts and you can pour the coals on them when in the back cut of a sketchy tree. My favorite 3 of these to run are my 500i, bb372(76cc,) and my 044/46 hybrid.

Out of my personal saws, the exception to this is my ported 400. It's only 67cc and runs really well for its size...the weight makes it my go-to for cutting smaller trees and is my first choice for a rear handle when climbing. I also run a 462R at my main job...in certain situations I wish it was a 500i, but weight is a big factor for what I'm doing with that saw.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Interesting theory. I politely disagree however. Although homeowner saws (45-60cc) probably sell more volume than the bigger saws, there are still a LOT of 70-95cc saws being sold and used. It’s completely dependent on geography and location. Although harvesters may be common in your area, they typically cannot operate here due to terrain. And the cost of them coming in to work these small acreage jobs isn’t worth it to most either. Once in a while we see one cruise through, but they are otherwise non-existent here. Hand cutting with larger saws is the name of the game here, and it’s not going away anytime soon. And I know that we are not the only area like this. Larger saws will always be around... Another take on your theory, is that IF the volume of larger saws is small enough, they may not need to meet current EPA requirements IF the majority of sales comes from smaller size machines. So they may not need to invest in any changes or upgrades at this time as a manufacturer to “skate by” the current EPA regs.. Just my thoughts.

I think the reason Stihl & Husqvarna have let their big models roll is because it’s very hard to drastically improve them and still meet Euro/CARB/EPA/etc regs.

I also disagree with thinking 70-80cc will be the biggest saw made in the future, at least until electric comes into the picture. Wood is still stupidly hard in Australia, Europeans like big CCs behind their bars, and there’s still big wood in North America and NZ, particularly in steep ground.

Tethering harvesters has some really adverse consequences for soil conditions in steep areas, and in a lot of places (looking at you, BC and southeast Alaska) just getting one to a job is problematic. Thus, hand falling is king. There’s also going to continue to be oversize trees that harvesters can’t cut, that will be continued to be hand falled.

The 585/592 and 661 are still big sellers in the commercial segment. Their bigger counterparts? Less so, but still enough to warrant being around.

Did not know this stuff, thanks. I can only speak to what I see selling around here.

 

[jakethesnake]

Still run mostly 70 or 50 depending on what I’m doing. Did break out the 288 recently.

60 for me seems to fall into the area of never used. Weight vs power I’ll usually just grab a 70.

that 500i is possibly a setup I’d run but it’s not my daily income so not something I’ll splurge on just to use 3 months out of the year

 

[davidwyby]

@FergusonTO35 I got lotsa big logs to cut…in the desert like to Aussies. And then there’s Bjarne Butler(YouTube)…6’ cedars on the sides of mountains…

 

[davidwyby]

Still run mostly 70 or 50 depending on what I’m doing. Did break out the 288 recently.

60 for me seems to fall into the area of never used. Weight vs power I’ll usually just grab a 70.

that 500i is possibly a setup I’d run but it’s not my daily income so not something I’ll splurge on just to use 3 months out of the year

60cc is a weird tweener size. I have too many of them and now that I have my XS 346 they are almost moot. They are for 20”, they will pull 24” better than the 346, but not like a 70cc buried. (All ported) 60cc is good for a one saw plan in medium wood i think.