Over the holiday break I bought a MS361 on marketplace. I have wanted one of these 36x series saws since SawTroll loved them so much on the green forum ten years ago or more. This saw is in pretty good shape. The piston and cylinder look perfect. It needed the oil tubes blown out and I replaced the oil line, filter and sealing ring. This is a sweet saw to use. It's not super powerful but handles nice. I ran a 24" bar because that's what I had on hand. I'm thinking a 20" would be about right! I need to work on the carb tuning. This thing is hard to hear the four stroking. I think the muffler is a little too aggressive. Anyone run one of these and have suggestions to get a little more out of it? For it's first day of work I cut up some blown down tress then dropped some live oaks and cut out some brush.
My first real saw was a 361 that I bought new in about 2006. It has been a faithful workhorse since then. I really like a 24” on mine. In 18 years I have replaced the spark plug, the air filter, and the clutch springs. The clutch springs were my fault. I ran it hot trying to get the last of a 30” fir tree cut up to bring home. It was my 1 saw plan until I bought my 500i. This was the tree that I smoked the clutch on. It was a much younger me, but I never was a quitter.
I bought my 361 from jo191145 Summer 2020 when my 460 got wounded in action. He bought it new(sort of) and barely used it so it had very low hours on it. Great saw. I ran it once with a 28" bar bucking larger maple (it was my biggest saw at the time), but a 20" is ideal IMO. Since acquiring all my bigger saws and getting the 460 fixed it doesn't get used that much. Funny as I found a decent 362c on FBM I'm pondering. Seems I like mtronic saws these days. Congrats on the "new" saw and looking forward to seeing it in action.
I picked up a 500i in 2020. I still like to run the 361 a bit. It is narrower and a bit lighter. I don’t think my 361 knew that it was only 59 cc. With a sharp chain and the right touch, it is a real workhorse.
I did some brushing on a hillside today. The 24" bar is really too long but the saw worked great. I'm dealing with a combination of manzanita, live oak and buck brush. I basically have to cut my way in and cut my way out. A shorter bar would get hung up a lot less. I would normally run the 346xp but I'm excited about the new saw. I imagine you are using the MS400 for the under 70cc work? Do you use the 241's much?
That's a really nice saw. I have looked at the 500's at the Stihl dealer and they are definitely lighter than my 440 and I hear they make more power. I imagine it would be hard going to anything else when you have that hot rod!
It is fun to run. I had them put a 28” light bar on it when I bought it, but I have since put a 32” Stihl lightweight on. For me, the balance and reach are about perfect with that length. The only gripe that I have found is the filtration. The stock filter plugged fast and let in a few fines around the edges. I tried an outerwears prefer. It helped with the plugging. I now have a foam filter from Egan. That is doing a great job of keeping things clean. The Doug fir bark is super dirty and dusty. I know that guys cutting in cleaner wood have less trouble with the stock set up.
I spent three days on the saws brushing one area in the back of our property. I was able to use the 361 and the 562 back-to-back. The 361 feels like my other Stihls so the familiarity is comfortable to me. The Husky is also comfortable to handle, just a tad different. The Husky is smoother with better anti-vibe and noticeably more powerful. Weight-wise I don't feel a lot of difference. I was able to ALAP several 20"+ size stumps and the Husky had a much easier time with the 24" bar buried. The 361 did it, but you could tell it was slower in the cut. I love both of these saws! Here are the results in firewood. About a cord split and two cord in the pile to be split. Here is the area cleared. Just brush piles left. The next good burn day I'll use the grapple to bring the brush up to the burn pile.
Thanks, love this time of year. We have about six months of green and six months of super dry and brown. I have to get my firewood and clearing projects done before June. No pigs, hundreds of turkeys, dozens of deer around here.
I looked at modding the stock muffler but I found I can buy a modded muffler on ebay for cheap. This means if I do have to cut when its dry and fire danger is higher I can swap back to the stock muffler which has a spark arrestor. I switched to a 20" bar and the saw is better balanced. I love the sound and feel of this saw now.
I cut some downed limbs and set a brush pile on fire before the rains hit. The saw was a blast to use! Question for everyone- how do you get a brush pile lit? I used diesel but I think it was too cold. Spent nearly an hour getting it going.
I use a propane “weed burner” hooked to a 20lb grill cylinder. That torch is not asking it’s making a fire. I had some diesel from washing parts I also used. Lots of farmers around here use dirty oil from their tractors and that stuff brings the heat. Last bonfire I lit I made a fire starter torch. 4 wood splits lashed together with a piece of barbed wire. Set the splits in diesel or kerosene or used oil, if you think ahead and let it set a week it will be good and saturated. I did flip it over once to get both ends soaked. Final step, jamb a pine split into the bundle, now you have an handle. The torch will burn for quite some time and hot. I also had wood noodles soaked in diesel above where I set it in the bonfire. This wood was wet, punky and the outside temperature was in the low 30s and halfway covered in snow.
Lots of ideas here thank you! I am going to try that torch idea, will put one together to soak this weekend.
