spudulike

<p>All good here, got a fair bit on, 026 seized, fs360 seized, two 372XPs for porting and a 350 for the same....and you?</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>And you Andy, and Happy New Year to you</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Dawbacks are more fuel consumption, noise and not being able to give the saw to employees to use due to H&S. The saw should last for a good time, I haven't seen any detrimental effects to the life of the saw and have a few long service saws out there!</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Good luck with it, if you need help then drop me a line.</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Andy - sorry to hear you have been done over. I tend to hold on to saws until I have received payment unless I really know the owner - you, I would trust 100% as we have done business in the past but generally that is the deal with me - cash up front!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>It may be worth you crossing this one with Steve Bullman, he may say it is your own silly fault........sorry.... or may put the boot in a little harder!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Is the guy local - we could knock on his door, IMO, he got a belter of a deal from you and he is taking the piss big time - PM me his name as I will keep an eye out and swerve any business from him!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I guess you could threaten him with the police or legally - not sure it is worth it but TBH, it stinks!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Andy, all good here, been working on that pole cutter amongst other things, hope all is good your end?</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Andy, Yes, looks pretty fast, Burrell tested his ported 357XP against MattyFs 560 and I have managed to get the 357XP as fast as the 560, My own one has had a pop up piston and a few other trick things done so reckon it will now out run a standard 560 comfortably.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I do find the auto tune on these saws works well, I believe that the carb and ignition timing is being sampled all the time so as soon as the saw starts to bog, it retards the ignition and leans it so it pulls the revs back and then slaps the fuel back up and goes back to full advance - something you can't do on a standard 357 or other normal tune saws - it works really well and looks like the saw responds well to porting allbeit some pretty involved work as pop ups are not that easy to do...Burrell turned mine up with me overseeing.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Should be able to do your 390 before long....I hope!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Andy,</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Burrell (Martin) is the mechanic to my really stupid ideas - he turns, mills and welds anything I throw at him - usually in a haze of bad language:-)</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Looking at it I would expect you to be dead right - £10 buys you about 30 mins on a good day!!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Andy,</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Which Steve is this...Stevie B??</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The price of the parts is around £235 ex VAT and that is from L&S engineers. What happened to your saw, from what you are saying it sounds like new parts were fitted and failed - no disrespect to you if you fitted them but I always check the saw out for the cause of failure and tune to run a bit rich for the first few months after rebuild.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The saw may be salvageable if the cylinder isn't badly scored - just got a MS660 in for a similar fault and have brought quite a few back from dead for minimal cost.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Let me know if you need any further help - I can tell you aren't in a happy place but may be able to get the saw checked out and running again!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Take it easy</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Andy,</p>

<p>Always busy mate, always busy. Got a load on as always - the buggers on here keep fooking their saws up! Latest saws in date back to last November - a guy I asked to wait a bit:-) I reckon around 3 weeks may do it - ask me again round then.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hope the 372 is still bopping nicely and sorry about the wait - manic!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Andy,</p>

<p>I am not too loaded with work at the Mo so I guess it is time to work my magic again:-) Only got am MS200T coming in next week so send it in and I will see if I can get it done next weekend, Cheers</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Andy,</p>

<p>No, not at all, just taking the piss:-) It has always been about finding the right time and there never is so get it in here and I will do all I can to make this a beast! Just started on an old 066 I aquired and it is going to be a shyte or bust monster - another interesting little project.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hope all is good with you and thanks for all the support - it does make a difference and sorry it has taken so long.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Boaty, I am always busy and always have kit coming in but if I have it, I can fix it, if I don't, I can't!</p>

<p>Normal turn around is 1-2 weeks and 3 is unusual unless I have parts issues. If you need it done, get it in and will turn it around for you.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Carl,</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I have ported a couple of 395XPs and they respond to port widening, transfer work, muffler mod and igniton timing advance. I believe the 560 will come to life with a muffler mod. I don't know how much you know or have done but read the info on here and arborist site to learn more before cutting metal!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Chris,</p>

<p>Happy to talk with you, weekends are best, happy to look at your MS660, I am experimenting with my 066 currently so it may be worth waiting a litle. Happy to give advice on your saws and working on them, just don't make it a one way flow if you know what I mean - reciprocation is my middle name.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>If a saw is ported by another, happy to work on it as far as maintenance goes but the stages of porting are firstly wideninng and flowing the cylinder and muffler, you then get in to popups and heavy modification that I dont provide as I don't have the time or equipment and the mods would get consideably more involved and technical - I have been there but only on my machines.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>If you need prices then PM me, I get fed up with wannabees saying it is all easy - I have seen others idea of maintenance and saw work and it can be shocking!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Chris</p>

<p>The usual method is either to drop it off or to send it in by courier, the common places to try are inteparcel, parcel monkey, Ipostparcels and parcelforce.</p>

<p>Better PM me with when you need it looked at, I am not around for a week later this month but can sort something out.</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Colm,</p>

<p> </p>

<p>You have my mail bud.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Dan, I use Ipostparcels to ship. I am back from holiday now so the sooner it lands, the quicker I can get on with it.</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Daniel, I have done a 560XP before but not the 576XP, the simplest nd cheapest way to get more out of these saws is to open up the muffler which will giv good gains as the modern exhausts are pretty restrictive. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>If you want the ports opened up then it gets more expensive, some saws have lots to give, others not so and some of these modern strato engined saws have less to give unless you get really radical with them but would not experiment on others saws.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Other thing to mention is that if the saw is used by others, perhaps employees then think of their H&S in regards to using a modified saw. Most I do are for contractors or operator saw owners.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Have a think about it and PM e if you have further questions.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Dave,</p>

<p> </p>

<p>You can pop it over and I will do a quick assessment on parts and get them on order ASAP. The repair will be within 1/2 day of the parts arriving so the lead time depends on their availability....best I can do!</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Dave,</p>

<p>Much depends on budget and if you are looking for second user or brand new! The 261 and 362 suffer from weak clutch drum bearings but not sure if this will show up with heavy domestic use!</p>

<p>The 365 comes in a number of variants but is a solid lump of a saw and will do what you want. If it is the Xtorq, the saw can be easily converted to a 372!</p>

<p>I started with a 346xp 50cc and is a ripper, very fast, I then got a 357xp and is the same but faster but did modify them extensively!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>A pro 50cc saw will run a 16" bar with ease, the weight of the saw will also be easier on the back, especially if you will be a weekend warrior!</p>

<p>The 550xp has a decent turn of speed, nice balance and is light!</p>

<p>I have little experience of the echo/Dolmar range!</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Drossi,</p>

<p>The electronic auto tune is no problem, it actually makes the job easier and works well with the mechanical changes I make.</p>

<p>Pros - more power, faster pickup, you can use a smaller saw for larger jobs hence less fatigue on your body. Cons - bit more fuel consumption, more noise, you can't hand a ported saw to an employee.</p>

<p>Costs - I charge circa £150 for porting and includes a clean and service so pretty good value. Aspen isn't an issue - run it from day 1 and it wont need any changes. As far as the big enough difference - I have ported blowers, hedge trimmers and saws, it sort of takes you and changes your perception of wood cutting. It isn't for some but most love the gains and feel of a modified saw.....ask others and take a view!</p>

<p>Cheers</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Ed, I believe I have sold the saw but will let you know if it falls through </p>

<p>Sorry </p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Ed, Just a 335XPT that has been fully stripped and rebuilt - no MS200Ts at the moment.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Regs</p>

<p>Steve</p>

<p>Hi Ed, not really up on the price of latest saws but generally it depends on the look of the saw - shiney and new looking or heavy use and abuse, mechanical condition and then how desirable the saw model is. If it is in tidy condition - around 75% of new value is probably about right falling to 50% for older or more "used" examples.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hope it helps</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Steve</p>