wyk

Underrated saw. A previous Shindaiwa brand, and current Shindaiwa make under the Echo brand. It has about the same power as a 346(very similar cylinder construction), and weighs a further half a pound less than the featherweight Husky. Often supplied with a high quality Tsumura bar.

Here's that 361WES. In Japan the 'W' stands for what anglicises to 'wa te' - meaning 'handle.' With the included Tsumura bar, this thing is Rising Sun tip to stern. I drilled the hell out of the muffler and connected the dots to open it up as much as I could at the exhaust outlet to help most of the gas bypass the cat until the 350T muffler I ordered comes in. BTW @spudulike what tool do they use to tune echo top handle carbs. This one actually runs a bit rich even with the muffler mod(I assume RobD did me a solid here?). I thought I could use the wood screw trick on this one, but it appears to have the metal d rings?

That is a sexy, albeit Alien(tm) lookin, Bitch.

Part of the reason I decided against it is the shortage of bar options. And what bars there were available didn't last me very long at all. That ported 241 now runs a sugi laminated bar with 325 semi chisel all day long.

I just ordered some stihl micro from Rob. I hope it's smoother than that disaster that is 91vxl. To run vxl on the ms171 I had to clip the heels of it like you do race chain and decrease the cutting angle. Otherwise, the vibration was ridiculous.

That is Rich Dougan from the Myrtle Creek saw shop in Oregon. I was working in the fringes of the Tillamook State Forest when I was logging in Oregon, on the other side of the state, and he was well known up in those parts, with many folks sporting his work on saws like this:

Almost forgot to mention. The reason that bar is on the 241 is I wanted to see how the Husky Narrow Kerf chain did on the Stihl. And it is fast. But it doesn't last much longer than 3/8 LP chain. Add in it cost more than standard 325, at least here in Ireland, and it ended up just being a study. It didn't take very much time to adapt the bar, tho.

We'll have a beer in the powerscourt hotel bar in Enniskerry then. Nearly across the road from me.

I ended up with a 361WES, because...well...it had my name on it. It's replacing an MS171 on the estate, so I think it's an upgrade. In the process of getting it set up for duty as a little trimmer.

If you are still having muffler issues, I believe the 350/355t muffler fit right up. They have no baffle or cat.

Have an exhaust muffler for an Echo cs-350 or 355 by any chance?

Madeira, Lisbon, L.A., and back to WIcklow. Started a vape shop in Arklow. Hopefully it will stop bleeding me someday. Even so, I am still the forester on the estate back in Waterford. I was out there working last weekend after the storms. Was considering building a cabin out there.

I did some of that with the 241, but that's an old half rotten beech, so I wouldn't be too impressed.

Sometimes ya gotta make do.

It is an Oregon D009 mount(large mount Husky). You can also use an adapter if you already have Stihl bars.

How advanced your chain filing goes really depends on what you want to accomplish. Longevity and speed aren't often the same. The less chain you have on your saw, the faster it will fly. The thinner your cutters are, the faster it flies, and the better it clears chips. Same with your tie straps and top plates and gullets. You can always search other forums where they are a bit more aggressive with chain sharpening if you just want speed. But if you want reliability as well, then you would likely do as some here have suggested as far as avoiding the strap and using a smaller file. I am very aggressive with my chain when I start with it. I use a save edge file that removes a lot of metal, and I will file down the depth gauge as much as I think I can get away with. I use the same diameter the life of the chain as filing down in to the gullet makes the chain faster and I have only lost a few that way. I also grind off a bit of the back end of the top plate. It is very quick and easy and makes a big difference in speed and chip clearance. Here's a PDF from Madsens' that shows the basics in race chains. I am not putting it up here so you guys learn how to make race chains, but it is here so you know what it is about factory chains that can be improved for speed, why and how. http://www.madsens1.com/PDF/RacingTechfacts_93099.pdf Though this saw is ported, the main reason you are seeing huge chips fly is I have modified this chain for cutting softwoods. If I left the chain stock, it would start to clog up and slow the saw down to the point nearly there was no need to port it so aggressively in the first place for large wood:

I've used a few laminated bars in my time, mainly to lighten the weight. I never expected any of them to last past a year. I've had Stihl Rollomatics lose their tips on me as well as Husqvarnas(both the Swedish and the Oregon made ones). I wouldn't panic too much. Use whatever works for you(which is what RobD is saying - he's not telling anyone to F off regardless of what the alarmist seem to think). I have a Sugi Lam on a ported 241 that is on it's second year. The Stihl laminated before that one lost it's tip in about the same time. I have a relatively rare(at least it took me a while to replace my last one with it) Stihl 3003 laminated 25" bar. That thing is a little brittle, and is missing chunks out of the edge of the rails at points, but the tip will not die. It's 4 years old. Best $75 I ever spent. That bar started life on a ported 361 and then went to a ported 044 and 281xp, and it just kept working(though I did modify the oiling hole to flow better). The worst failure I have had was a husky small mount lam that died in less than 4 months on a ported saw. It was an NK bar which was likely never imagined to be used on as powerful saw as it ended up on, and I had also modified it to fit a 3005 mount. The Iggy Forestry bars are a bit soft behind the tip, so they can peen a bit more easily than others, especially Stihls. Though not technically laminated, I am just adding this as my experience with them so far.

1989 ish. I signed up one summer as a wildland firefighter(well, it starts in spring, but ya work the summer). I started out mostly shoveling dirt on to dirt that was smouldering. I eventually moved up to cutting shit down that was on fire. We weren't spoiled for choices as much back then. No 044's or 046's. So I found a 268xp on sale. It still resides in an ex-wildland firefighter friend's garage back in California. Here's a pic I took back in 2011 whilst visiting and reminiscing.

The problem lies in the fact that the newest version of the 261 went on a diet. It's quite a bit lighter now. Let's not forget that the 261 is nearly 20% more displacement than the 241. That is a huge deficit to make up, even ported. You would have to gut the 241's strato to make up the difference. Then what you have is a non strato saw that's about as powerful as a 261, but sucks more fuel. If you are going to port it, I would say porting a 261 would give a much better return, and you could keep the strato, too. When you talk smaller saws, the displacement differences tend to be larger. Then, one of the biggest points which has been made starts to make more sense - they are the same price is most markets. So you end up having to ask yourself do I need to save a pound on a saw compared to one that already is fairly light and fuel efficient, and has more power for the same price? If I were in a tree or having to work one-handed poking about in hedges, maybe...Otherwise, I dunno.

OK, you know what, I lied. I was thinking back, and while I was bucking timber in the PNW I would occasionally clog up the clutch during wet and cold days(which was often enough as days go in the PNW). Square chain tends to make the chips larger, then add in the fibrous fir, and it could be an issue. So they do come in handy that way, but where it also helps is they are wide enough you can squeeze a gloved finger in there and pull the blockages free.

The wide discharge comes in more handy when you are doing a lot of conifers in damp conditions, especially with ported or larger saws. A lot of folks that do the full wraps on their husqvarna's in the UK forget the wide discharge clutch cover(for PNW 'flare'). I never had troubles with mine clogging in Douglas Fir using a 32 bar on a ported 385 xp and a ported 046mag.

I really should apologise. I was rude. I can't even blame the drink. I guess I am getting old and grumpy! But what are forums for if not to war over petty things?

If you understood what I said, you wouldn't be kidding yourself, would you? Fortunately, I am not 65. But I have been cutting trees for over 30 years. From production falling in Oregon using square chisel skip chain on big bars and ported 94cc saws, to the stuff that passes for logging in the UK, to making firewood with very dirty hedge oaks in Waterford, Ireland. I'm sharing my experience as well. We'll just have to disagree, I guess. Again for the record - chisel for clean wood, semi for dirty is all I said. WYK

The benefit is Semi Chisel dulls far, far more slowly, especially in dirty conditions. Having said that, semi chisel will still cut when it is dull, unlike full chisel, and definitely not like a square chain. Once the chisel bits lose that tip - they are worthless. Semi chisel has no tip to lose. I use it unless I am working forestry where there's no nails, wire, or dirt, etc. I find it saves me more time in sharpening than it adds to cutting. I can often bring the edge back with a single stroke of a file, and I am back cutting. If the tip hits anything in the wood - it still keeps cutting. This is because it does not use the tip alone to cut. It uses the full top of the cutter. That entire top plate has to go rather dull for it to stop cutting, whereas with a chisel chain it need only lose some sharpness in the tip.

Found a decent condition 10mm Stihl 044 not long ago. I was going to flip it until I ran it. This thing, completely standard, pulled a 24" bar buried in oak very strongly. And far as I can tell, these aren't as sought after in Europe as much as stateside. So, I decided to keep it. I've outfitted it with the spikes I am more used to since it just didn't have the purchase I needed when felling. Aftermarket clutch cover looks legit..er... About to put the timing a few degrees forwards. The original baffle is still in the muffler(and can be seen in the photo). That will go and I'll increase the exhaust exit there. I find that the closer the muffle exit is to the cylinder port exit, the more beneficial it is to performance. Even so, she wears a dual port front end just to be safe. Compression is 170+ psi. I don't intend to increase it any. As it is with the muffler mods and a slight timing increase, she'll run circles around any other stock 70cc. Not too bad for a couple hundred Euro.