wyk

When I cut trees in the Pacific Northwest I use a ported Husky 372xp and 390xp. In the UK it's usually a ported BB 365 or 372 and a ported Echo 520.

Benzene turns in to all sorts of nasty stuff once you ingest it through your lungs. I do not handle spent engine oil, and I would suspect no one else here does, either. It's simply poured into the oil reservoir. So the likelihood of it being carcinogenic to you is low by comparison. If you are using it for mix - that's a different story altogether

I usually go the easy route on the Huskies: Not conducive to milling or doing a lot of bucking of large wood, tho:

The Benzene in the pump fuel is far more a danger than using old oil. Using old used oil is more of a hazard to your saw. Benzene is a known carcinogen, and petro firms use it to increase the octane of their fuel. By law they can add up to 1% by volume. If you are a smoker, it is all moot - smoking is one of the most efficient means of getting benzene into your body. It's produced when tobacco burns(regardless of additives or not). H2O, AKA water, isn't carcinogenic. Whatever additives one finds in it may be, though. I've used safflower oil for the chain without too much problem, but I prefer a nice tacky oil specifically for chainsaw use if I can get it. I'm not too particular otherwise. I tend to use pump fuel with whatever mix I find laying about, or whatever my employer uses, so long as the saw runs. If the saw dies, I go out and get another or rebuild it and usually port it. I'm not overly concerned about engine wear since I physically wear out most saws before their engines go on me. In a saw's lifetime, the fuel and oil costs will eclipse it's value easily. I try to keep those costs down. Now off for a smoke.

Nah, those were before my time. My first real saw was a 268xp back in, uh, 90? We were cutting fire lines in the sierra nevadas for the cali DOF. If ya go to AS, there's plenty of folks there with real experience with the old iron.

Closest I got was my old mac: I think my modern day 390XPW would own it even before it was ported, though. But when I think of PNW muscle saws, I think stuff like this: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhgurOBErqY]The chainsaw guy with his Methanol Burning McCulloch 101B chainsaw - YouTube[/ame] [ame] [/ame]

Or just walk in and buy it off the shelf: Welcome To Madsen's Online A bud of mine recently came out of there with a PNW MS440 set up(large discharge clutch cover, high output oiler, large spikes, 3/4 wrap handlebar) for $780 tax included. Did he call you a butt buddy? You two get a room. The US thing relies on a lot of factors. Personally, with a good chance that customs and the handler dinging you solidly, I would really only get a used saw from someone I know, in good condition. With a new saw, all your troubles could easily end in wasted time and no real dealer support. I work independently and do my own repairs, so I have a variety of choices. But if you own a company and lend the saws out to employees, you'll want some place to drop them off to as an option; preferably a place with good support.

The last 'real' Macs were 800's and 850's before they imploded and sold the name off: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXH5Bwj9Hqc]PRO MAC 800 - YouTube[/ame] I've owned a couple of Macs:

Mine works fine now... only had to stop by the local shop for a pasty on the way in to the woods:

I ran a 20" 325NK bar on my ported Echo CS-520 happily. It was a god send for limbing/snedding cedar. I just could not imagine carrying an MS660 powerhead as life support for 16" of bar. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHq8p-I2Fuw]Echo CS 520 Ported - YouTube[/ame]

Vernonia is real logging territory. I've only done landing work and ranch work. I prefer the 372 for falling because it ports rather well and has great anti vibe. But the 046mag was a beast stock. It pulled 200 psi last time I checked. To try and stay with the topic, I honestly mean it when I say it all depends on the wood and the chain. But few jobs in the UK and Ireland are all conifer jobs like clear falling doug fir. Hard to ask folks hereabouts to commit to CJ or CK chain when there's really no industry for conifer. Not many in these parts really builds much with wood aside from furniture and pubs And the only big douglas firs I see are legacy trees up near avoca...

I think that was outside of Grand Ronde, near the Yamhill river. That was mostly ranch work. And to be honest, I thought my 046 mag made better work of that tree, but the vibes are quite a bit worse for all day use. Here is it in similar wood with a 28" and Oregon CJ chain.

It all depends on the wood you're cutting, and what chain you are cutting with. Here's a quick vid I took at the end of the day of my 372XP, non-ported, with a 28" bar, using mildly modified square tooth full skip chain(CJ) buried in Oregon Maple: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8uNt0CqU0c]372XP in Big Leaf Maple - YouTube[/ame] OREGON brand 72CJ/CK/CL , 73CJ/CK/CL , 75CJ/CK/CL chainsaw chain

Right on. Now get it ported [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhwqeIv1lHA]Ported 42 Special - Before and after porting. - YouTube[/ame]

It's Oregon 72CK reground to round, which is why I started to mod it since I only had round files at the time anyways. If yer gonna grind away on it, might as well invest double the time and make it cut as fast or faster than when it was square. Also, I just love the feel of grinding on metal, whether chain or cylinders.

This is an image I use to show some friends when they ask about it. It shows the start of a flute on the back of the cutter, start of opening the gullet, and thinning the raker. To finish you would deepen the gullet a bit more, thin the raker a tad and the cutter top plate and body, flute it till it's nearly an edge on the back of the cutter, remove some of the back of that raker, and bevel the top of the straps and the rear edge of the top plate. Basically remove anything that can cause drag or stop wood flowing, and make the chain as light as possible. How much you do it depends on whether you want it to last in the field, or do 3 cuts in a race. A race chain would have a MUCH shorter top plate. And here's the amount of chips a 'woods grind' on a chain can move even on a 444SE(heavily ported, tho): [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT8gmZRllrg]Husqvarna 444SE chainsaw. Ported, piston popped, timing advanced, 230PSI, carb bored 1mm - YouTube[/ame] And here is a woods ground chain on a stock, muffler modded 372xp with square teeth: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8uNt0CqU0c]372XP in Big Leaf Maple - YouTube[/ame] Yeah yeah, I know. PPE. I wear it nowadays.

Wow, there is a lot of room for porting there I added a similar popup to that on my 444; huge difference.