Well I had a 550XPG and got rid of it because it was a dog. Don't have a MS261 but have an 028 Super that is ported, it would shame the 261. But was stronger than the 261 before the rebuild and port. (This was my first saw in about 1990). I have 2 ported 346XPs, one by Tree Monkey, and it would not be a fair race to compare them.
There is many true woodsmen in this forum who everyday use their chainsaws to make a living or just cut firewood, they can tell us what saws and chains do the best and why.
I hear you and see you do a lot of cutting. I’ve never used a cylinder modified saw and believe everyone is speaking the truth when they talk about the performance.
Fair statement. The biggest thing I find is one needs to adapt to whatever the situation they are dealing with. For many years I have used nothing but round ground chisel, Oregon LGX and buy it by 100' rolls. Lately the cabled skidded log cut offs have had such unreal amounts of dirt the only solution was to switch to 404 semi chisel and use a hard nosed bar on a 395XP. Rather than cutting from the top, a log is plunge cut almost all the way through, cut down and out the bottom, then push the bar the rest of the way through and cut up throwing the dirt away from the powerhead. This will extend the life of the sharpening by 3 times.
Biggest thing for making a saw cut fast is a SHARP chain. This is what I cut in the last 6 weeks or so.
I agree with you 100%. I’m an arborist, so control and feel of the cut is what I’m looking for. I cut firewood the same way. I’m looking for the chain to do the work. Whether it’s at 1/4 1/2 or full throttle. Nothing can replace a properly sharpened chain. Many of the chainsaw videos I watch, the only difference I see is chain sharpness and depth gauge difference. I prefer full chisel for everything. Semi chisel is too slow for my taste. I have always hand sharpened and it can get tedious when cutting dirty logs, but I’m very particular about how I want my chain to cut at all operating speeds.
I can't make myself pay new saw price for big saws. I have 180, 026, 036, 044, 066 and only have $600 in the saws. I don't use them every day but they do work when I want them too. Except the 044, it needs new crank seals and rubber hoses. They will wear out at some point but good fuel, mix and maintenance go along ways to making them last.
Same here. A lot of my old saws I rebuilt and ported myself and they perform good and no issues with starting or reliability. I like to think that in all the different makes out there that there were certain models that were great performers and certain ones that were Eh. So I have saws from almost all manufacturers. But nothing really new.
It's just the price of admission. Cutting large log cut offs generates a LOT of firewood in a hurry. With 404 semi chisel and plunge cutting the rounds I can get a tank on the 395XP cut and that is a LOT of wood. With 3/8ths chisel I couldn't get more than 1/3 of a tank without touching up the chain.
