wyk

I've used one a lot. But I would not really suggest one unless you are in a tree much of the time. The 261cm in it's latest form isn't much heavier, and has much more power.

Time for a lock washer.

If Bio Oil is a little too tacky, you can cut it with rapeseed(which is mostly what the bio oil is usually made of) and it will thin it.

I use straight rapeseed on all my saws from an ms181 up to a ported 281xp that can easily pull a full comp 36" bar in oak. I left the 281 for 9 months with rapeseed in it, and it flowed as easily as the day I left it. No gum up. Having said that, I do not see freezing temperatures very often, which may make all the difference.

I've run 22's for a bit when I got some on sale. But if you are basically just blocking and limbing, the 24/25" will give you some reach and be easier on the old back. You can also then get the Stihl E laminated bar which is rather light, and a bit more affordable than the ES version. If you do not bore cut much with it, it should last a good while. I also think Oregon has just introduced a laminated aluminum sandwiched bar in their versicut model that is affordable, too. It weighs nearly a pound less than the ES series.

On 10/22/2017 at 09:38, peatff said:

I just commented on it as I thought the 046 was an 044 and saw the decomp button. When I was repairing mine I saw there were cylinders for sale with decomp buttons so on looking into it the 044 was available with two different size small end bearings and also with or without decomp. There was a discussion on the American site about it. Just out of interest my 036 has no decomp but all the ones I've seen have. I don't have time to have "issues" with anything never mind something as trivial as a decomp button

044's with a serial # before 129-ish had the 10mm crank, more compression with a different combustion chamber,  and more aggressive porting from the factory. My 10mm 044 feels closer to a 460 than a 440. It easily pulls a 24" bar in hard oak. Back when I was mostly cutting Douglas Fir I used to think the difference wasn't as noticeable. But when you put a longer bar on the 10mm 044, it begins to feel more like an 046.

Here's a pic from yesterday:

Rob treats you right, ships fast, and is my first go to for all my equipment.

Have a laminated on the 241cm. It outlasted a Husqvarna laminated(by a huge amount) and a Stihl laminated. I like it so much I got one for my 044.

4 hours ago, wicklamulla said:

Agree on using the decomp to help reduce stress on the starter cord/pawls etc.  Where in  Wickla are ya staying Wes as yer on my manor now!!!??   Must buy yew a beverage if i'm over dare fer Christmas.   Spud,  don't mock 'the hood' man!

I'm chillin somewhere between Bray and Enniskerry.

5 hours ago, skyhuck said:

I just did not understand why you had an issue with it not having a decomp button if its easy to start?

 

Though the decomp does make it easier to start - it became popular on dirt bikes to save the battery and or your kick starter just as much as your own leg. Man, I miss my old YZF125... I don't use the decomps on smallish saws(like my 241cm), but nearly always on the bigger saws because I have had to replace more starter pawls, ropes, handles, internal parts, etc etc than I care to remember. The decomp makes it just as easy on the saw as your arm or hands. And I noticed when I start the saw conventionally as we do stateside in logging(with the left hand on the pull and the right hand on the handle), that is allows me to start a saw with less pulls. Prolly due to a faster pull. Or maybe because I am a baby.

1 hour ago, spudulike said:

Blimey Wes, where have you been???

I went stateside last year to take care of some family business(which I will also have to go to Switzerland shortly to finalise).  Mostly spent time in L.A. and Vegas otherwise. I am now up in Wicklow, Ireland. Though, I am about to go back for a bit to the estate I was working on in Waterford as they need a hand clearing all the tree fall. Which reminds me, how the hell do you get chainsawbars.co.uk to ship to an address separate from my billing(but which I have used before since I need to send equipment down to Waterford).

1 hour ago, peatff said:

I've got an 044 but it has no decomp, starts easily without it though.

That's the 046 you see with the decomp in my post. I've never seen a decomp on an 044.

I have a soft spot for 372xp's, but I mostly ran 046's and 044's when I was younger. I still have the 044.

On 10/2/2017 at 20:15, Steve Bullman said:

Mmmmm

 

 

That's the same stand I have in my shed.

I dunno - it's difficult to beat a well ported 372xp, pre strato. They had a lot of ports to work with. Even the open port 365 specials in the before times responded well to porting.

Having said that, Stihl is back in action with a new 70cc:

Lately, I've been turning a lot of big dirty chunks of oak in to smaller dustier versions.

New bar and chain.

Ah yeah

Only ones I know with full blown kart engines as standard were the 101 series. The 125s occasionally had hopped up options.

80cc's. I sold mine back in the day for... $300.

Don't have a vid of it(it was before I had a digital cam). But here's a vid of my old 7-10 70cc saw. The old 800 sounded similar.

[ame]

Gowan, post the pic of your 850 already

Oregon and Stihl files have always been made by someone else.

I bought some Bahco files recently from the local hardware store and was surprised they lasted as long as they did. I noticed they actually had a mark on them, when I looked closely, they read "Oberg". I hadn't seen Oberg files in 10 years! So was good to see them. Needless to say, I bought as many as I could find form them. Dunno when they will run out and go to another supplier.

Save Edge last the longest and are the most aggressive, but they aren't cheap, especially in Europe.

I have gotten tired of filing, tho(both effort and the time). I carry a battery powered hand held Oregon sharpener with me now. I only use files to reprofile and for rakers. Saves money in the long run too.

The standard filter flows well enough. The advantage of the high top is better filtration. Here's a ported 77cc top end with standard filter. Wood is beech.

I'm doing the exact same thing. Only I have a 281, thankfully. I also have a battery powered oregon chain sharpener, which I would suggest unless you have semi chisel chain...