The factories dont port the saws because ...............

Above all others? Cost. The hand work involved would be prohibitively expensive. even doing it via CNC machine would add quite a few $$ to the price tag. Only a very slim minority of customers are willing to spend the money for a little more performance.

We shouldn't let ourselves think for a minute that we are outsmarting the folks that design and build these things by hopping them up.

 

Could the cylinders be cast differently, or is this not correct thinking on my part, MM?

 

That's a whole additional production process before that part is finished however. I agree that the machine and the tooling would be relatively inexpensive. But you also need trained operators to run that equipment. I have a feeling you know a little more than I do about that tho.

The number of owners spending money to hop-up their chainsaw is still a microscopic portion of chainsaw owners in general. Even compared to the total number of professional saw operators, it's still an itty bitty piece of the pie.

 

Every penny put into the manufacturing process is scrutinized. I sold power equipment here for several years, I'm well aware of what the margins are for the dealers at least. I'm not sure how the pricing is in Your area but $2-300 worth of gifts here would pretty much wipe out any profit on the saw sale assuming it sold at list price.

 

That's where the emissions and durability factors come in. But at least some of a good port job's power gains come from the hand smoothing of casting surfaces and defects.

You could very well cast the cylinders to replicate a ported saw's port timing and size/shape along with the smaller combustion chambers. Assuming the engine still passes emissions standards (unlikely), the effect of these mods has to be considered on every other component of the saw and any chance of failure figured for possible warranty liability. All this extra power generates extra heat too. Remember, we are generally enthusiasts and take very good care of our equipment. I don't think a saw modified to today's standards for a "woods port" (increased compression, sometimes significantly altered timing) is a warrantable machine for your average commercial user. How long do you think a 50cc saw producing upwards of 4.5hp is going to last with a dull chain, marginally plugged air filter and covered in a thick layer of oily sawdust? Especially if it was being run on fuel that is not carefully stored and was mixed with whatever oil was bouncing around the bottom of a truck toolbox?

 

Now, that's the kind of answer I like! There's probably a few of us here in FHC land that understand a bit more about this realm of chainsaw modding, due to insightful and thorough knowledge sharing like this. Thank you MM
You da man, bud!