Smaller Saws, Shorter Bars: Aging

Am I the only O.F. that finds it easier and more efficient to downsize my saws and bar lengths with age ?
The go to saw is now an MS261, 16" bar. I'm using the Stihl 009 and MS170 more and more for limbing, trail clearing, and blowdowns. The body is not what it once was.
Long ago my CLP training makes sense now using the 16" bar with boring to drop +/- 20" trees. Don't need a long bar anymore. Sure it takes longer to fell, but then the brain still works ( now ).

 

I haven't downsized but I certainly do feel like my saw gains weight every year. My actual cutting time seems to get shorter before I switch to splitting the rounds.

 

I’m seriously considering getting a cordless saw for small stuff.

 

Oh yeah, you are not alone.
My overall firewood processing time has slowed quite a bit in the last 3-4 years. My SisIL's little Homelite is used much more often now, but only for smaller stuff.
Like Jack Straw , I've seriously considered a cordless. Battery run time pretty much matches my run time nowadays.

 

That small stuff burns just as well as the big does. Dries quicker too!

 

I've only had 16" saws. The very few times a longer bar is nice, I am able to call on friends with bigger saws.

 

My first saw was a old 056 that a faller had owned. H E A V Y to say the least. Then i picked up a 026, great saw, still have the original one, and bought another i liked it so well. Sold the 056 to my brother, replaced it with a 044, another great saw. Then, picked up a 266xp husky, later got another one. While looking around i read about the stihl 261 you can probably guess what happened, yup, got one of those. No doubt it IS a great smaller saw, i went with the 18'' bar as apposed to the 20''. Then, oh yeah, it happens, i bought a Echo 590 really good little saw, but, in all fairness nothing like the 261. Cut some wood the day before yesterday, with the Echo 590, then went out saturday with the 261, i'll admit i like the 261 fast winding, a little lighter, but, just a light saber when it comes to cutting wood. And, it does cut fast.

I was cutting 20-24'' logs and it just went through them like butter. But, for the bigger wood, i'll fall back on the 044 now and again, or one of the 266xp's. Honestly the 261 is starting to become a ''most favored'' lol. I REALLY like it, a good sharp chain, and just let the saw do its work, it amazed me how fast it went through the biggest of the red fir logs i was cutting.

 

I find myself doing the opposite. I have some back issues and find it is easier to use a long bar and not bend over so much. As for weight I find the logs to be the heavy part not the saw.

 

If a 250-260 (or smaller/lighter) would pull a 24-32" b/c and also actually cut, that'd work.

 

It will it just oils poorly.

 

I'm not at that point yet. But I do appreciate having the lightest saw needed for the job, it's just that scrounging wood on fb and cl have produced huge trees that no one else will deal with. There's just no sense using a large saw for a small job.

 

My main saw was an ms290. Kevin huskihl and Cole Armbru84 helped me get a ms241 and ported it so i now have a xs241 weighs less and much faster. Went from 1/2 hour to maybe 45 min before back gave out with the 290. To several hours and just worn out with the 241. Running a 16 in bar with a 20 as backup.

 

I had an 066 for a couple of weeks that had a 28” bar on it. I honestly didn’t think it to be all that heavy and probably because not bending over to buck logs. Traded some mechanic work with the b-i-l so now he has it.

Just bought a 572 and it’s wearing a lightweight Tsumura 20”. We’ll see how that goes as I haven’t put it in the wood yet.

 

I still use the same saws and never really used a saw that was bigger than I needed. What I did change as I got older was the size of the trees I cut down. The really big stuff is just to hard on the body any more.

 

Thought once that boring with a short chain was a PITA. But now I do it with any trunk > 16". Besides it's kind of fun to match bores exactly, leave a holding piece on the back, wedges, then drop the &%$#;gives you a chance to puff up with pride.
Need more of that self backslapping in the woodlot.
Still do the larger DBH hardwoods out of that silly pride thing.

 

I think most of us over the age of 50 don't have much interest in using a 90 cc or bigger saw to cut firewood. A good running 70cc saw will cut all the firewood I will ever need. I agree with above statement about the loading being more work than sawing. I also believe a 50cc saw has its place, they are very nice to use on wood that's 10-22 inches across the stump.

 

I noticed that about my saws also MMMMMM I also noticed that about myself

 

I still use big saws all the time but most of my firewood logs are large but logs too big for the mill I have smaller saws and use them on the smaller wood but the 16-20 inch logs take too long with a small saw I would rather use a heavier saw 70cc and up with a small bar cut fast and hold it for way less time my saw for smaller logs is a ported 2171 jonsered 18 inch bar main saw is a 750 homelite 24,or 30 inch bar and the big saw is a 2100 homelite with a 50

 

All you young $#@^%'s below 4 score and 10 years ( A. Lincoln ) will understand in time. Skill.
Sure it takes a tiny bit of more time to drop a 30" DBH Ash with a 16" bar. But think of the ease on the bod, the extra brain power to plan the cut
'to fall exactly where you want it. I'd be lost in WallieWorld without learning to bore and wedge. No lines to "pull" the tree down. No FEL to push the
tree over. That CLP training too long past, worked.
Oh, BTW...how much less time to hand sharpen a 16" bar ( Pferd ) ? If I had to do a 30" bar again, there'd be no time for ale.