Why port?

[julie wolf]

I am a newbie to chainsaws and am curious. Many people I have talked to say to get my new MS400 chainsaw ported. Why? What are the pros and cons? Really curious and trying to understand. What i have learned so far is a bit confusing.

 

[dall]

What’s confusing?

 

[Squareground3691]

I am a newbie to chainsaws and am curious. Many people I have talked to say to get my new MS400 chainsaw ported. Why? What are the pros and cons? Really curious and trying to understand. What i have learned so far is a bit confusing.

If you know anyone that has a ported saw , you can try by a reputable saw builder, you will understand why , but it’s not for everyone only people that are dazed and confused, Lol

 

[Woodwater]

If you are new to Chainsaw's, all i can say is: Get comfortable with it. The question to port the saw, should not come before you think the saw can be a bit faster that you can work faster with it.

 

[farminkarman]

I am a newbie to chainsaws and am curious. Many people I have talked to say to get my new MS400 chainsaw ported. Why? What are the pros and cons? Really curious and trying to understand. What i have learned so far is a bit confusing.

Having a saw ported can change it's running characteristics to better fit the end user's needs. Some end users want a saw to have more grunt and be able to pull a longer bar than a stocker could. Some want a spicier build for faster limbing, and some want a nice balance of both. A competent builder should be able to achieve any of the aforementioned goals. As for the ms400, I would say gains of 30-40% are realistic depending on the build goals.

 

[trooney]

Welcome to the forum. Ported saws have their pros and cons. If you value your time and want to be more productive with your saw, then I would look in to porting. I've got about 10 ported saws but I've also got some non-ported saws. Some times I like to pick up the non ported saws because I like the way they cut and I'm not really worried about time and volume. So the answer is it all depends on what your end game is. Try somones ported saw if you can to see how they cut and make up your own mind. Like said above, a reputable porter is a must. I've seen some saws ruined by somebody who really has no clue or takes alternative routes to acheive the desired results. Good luck in your cutting!

 

[dall]

Having a saw ported can change it's running characteristics to better fit the end user's needs. Some end users want a saw to have more grunt and be able to pull a longer bar than a stocker could. Some want a spicier build for faster limbing, and some want a nice balance of both. A competent builder should be able to achieve any of the aforementioned goals. As for the ms400, I would say gains of 30-40% are realistic depending on the build goals.

Didn’t know they had trees in the grasslands Lol

 

[farminkarman]

Didn’t know they had trees in the grasslands Lol

You didn't get far enough north I guess.

 

[dall]

You didn't get far enough north I guess.

I never saw a tree in your pictures

 

[maulhead]

What’s confusing?

I'm sure you will un-confuse the whole thread, by the end of the day.

 

[dall]

I'm sure you will un-confuse the whole thread, by the end of the day.

You have way too much faith in me

 

[farminkarman]

I never saw a tree in your pictures

Fair enough, I don’t have many trees on my property. I wish that were different, but I’m just glad to have some land. Lots of wooded areas around here though.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

 

[maulhead]

It sure would be nice if the ms400 was a professional saw.

I like to think when I use a professional piece of equipment, that it makes me a professional as well..........

 

[farminkarman]

Around this forum, when someone says a saw is “ported”, I generally assume machine work is included. The port job in the first vid you posted doesn’t have machine work…as such, the gains aren’t going to be comparable to a saw that has had machine work done.

 

[Duce]

It sure would be nice if the ms400 was a professional saw.

I like to think when I use a professional piece of equipment, that it makes me a professional as well..........

MS400 is listed as a professional on Stihl website. @julie wolf bring your ms400 and you can compare to my newly ported MS400. I can drop a 25” red oak to cut and compare.

 

[julie wolf]

MS400 is listed as a professional on Stihl website. @julie wolf bring your ms400 and you can compare to my newly ported MS400. I can drop a 25” red oak to cut and compare.

That would be great! Thanks. Oh..., I think I saw you are in Michigan, I'm in Wisconsin.

 

[Czed]

I am a newbie to chainsaws and am curious. Many people I have talked to say to get my new MS400 chainsaw ported. Why? What are the pros and cons? Really curious and trying to understand. What i have learned so far is a bit confusing.

I've yet to see more than a few ported saws in use by loggers and tree services
Locally
It's a very limited field that has grown in popularity with YouTube and social media.
Not absolutely necessary but to get work done quicker with more power
That's why many here run ported saws
and Stihls need all the help they can get.

 

[Squareground3691]

I've yet to see more than a few ported saws in use by loggers and tree services
Locally
It's a very limited field that has grown in popularity with YouTube and social media.
Not absolutely necessary but to get work done quicker with more power
That's why many here run ported saws
and Stihls need all the help they can get.

I think it’s more prevalent on the west coast with fallers in big timber,

 

[Ketchup]

I've yet to see more than a few ported saws in use by loggers and tree services
Locally
It's a very limited field that has grown in popularity with YouTube and social media.
Not absolutely necessary but to get work done quicker with more power
That's why many here run ported saws
and Stihls need all the help they can get.

It takes some time running a saw before you start thinking about how to make the experience better. It did for me anyway. I still run plenty of stock saws too. But they have to run well or I won’t use them. Dull chains, hard starts, broken parts, no thanks. Ported saws are just another bump up in performance. It makes the work better.

People hold their dollars close in WV. Life is expensive and it’s hard to charge a living wage. Why spend extra when the saw is already good?