wyk

I like the bruntons and suunto's. Affordable, accurate, and light. I dunno how accurate the new breed of digital are, but the ones I used back in 2012 weren't very impressive, and rather large and heavy. When I worked for a contractor for Weyerhauser in Washington State, we used Spiegel Relaskopes.

They are not cheap, nor light...but we had to measure boles as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relascope

Bars are like legs. You only just need to have enough to reach the ground.

On 16/09/2016 at 21:10, SawTroll said:

 

According to the only somewhat serious test I have seen of the 501SX, it isn't anywhere close to the 550xp in performance, and it was firmly placed in the "semi-pro" category = more comparable to a 353 or 545.

 

Then there is the cheap and brittle feeling Echo plastic with sharp corners in the wrong places etc.

Just a heads up, Mr Info collector, Echo uses mainly PA6-GF30 like everyone else making saws do. Only a select few polymers fit the sort of use and abuse saws will experience, so expect all the major makes to use the same stuff.

Man, children are so lucky it isn't legal to kick them anymore. Society is crumbling.

On 19/07/2017 at 20:58, Will Heal said:

Well an update on my 501 which I have had for about a year now.

About 8 weeks ago I had to remove the clutch bell to mend the brake band which had popped out of place.

The clutch bell is held on by a nut and washer instead of a circlip like still and husky.

Put it all back together and obviously didn't tighten the nut enough as when I next used it it fell to bits- my fault completely.

I thought no bother I'll order a new nut and washer from local dealer.

Dealer said 1 week to get it.

Not there after 1 week or two or three, or four I ring the dealer every week he's not too bothered tho.

After 6 weeks I ring echo uk who say the nut is in stock and blame the dealer.

They suggest a local dealer who say yes can get you one tomorrow.

I week later I get a phone call saying it is not in stock and won't be there till the 8 th of august!

I WILL NOT BE BUYING ANOTHER ECHO MACHINE AGAIN!!

Should have bought a dollar ( sorry shavey!)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

Chances are those nuts and washers are available at most hardware shops, and many places on line.

The saws IPL should specify what it is.

That 6100 has a reed valve in it. If that carb allows, you can have rather generous intake duration on the intake side without it regurgitating mix back out the front or causing tuning issues.

Hrm, I wonder might that explain why the Echo/Shindaiwa 390 doesn't have a circlip retainer on the pto side...

I saw Randy on the OPE mentioning he had to send sumfin to our side of the world and wondered what it might be. Didja get some custom profiled square chain as well? Looking forward to the vids.

The Echo has a rather large rubber gasket on the tanks. The good news is it won't leak. The bad news is you have to be mindful and not cinch it down like you would on some other saws. Just snug it does the trick.

That's an unlikely situation since few folks limb trees while walking them in the UK with longer bars like they do stateside, but it does show how it really does depend on how the saw hits the trousers and with what.

2 hours ago, Stubby said:

Actually it depends on were the chain contacts the strides . If it is a couple of inches from the bucking dawgs on the under side the bar can be twenty feet long it will still be as quick as a 13" bar in the same position .  Also a longer bar saps a little power so chain speed might be a tad slower for a given sprocket size .

55 minutes ago, Craig Johnson said:

bar length has nothing to do with chain speed.

Well, it does and it doesn't, but that's a different debate.

My point is with a longer bar, it takes longer for the kevlar threads to become wrapped up in the sprocket - disabling the saw. This means there is more chain that can gather the kevlar, and more of an opportunity for the chain to defeat the protection before the saw is jammed. On a large, powerful saw at full blast, it's something that can make a difference. On a 12-24" bar on your typical makes used in the UK, likely not.

@RobDis out of stock at the moment, but you still might want to give them a shout and see what they can do for you so you can keep your saws and support costs down:

https://www.chainsawbars.co.uk/product/cs-501sx-echo-powerhead-only-with-325-rim-sprocket/

If it's Dolmars you're considering, there's @shavey

What are they asking for 501sx's in your area?

Chainsaw trousers work by clogging the sprocket, forcing a jam. The more powerful the saw is and the longer the bar is, the more likely it may defeat the protection. Having said that, I have used kevlar straps in a lot of applications stateside for hauling equipment. It is very difficult to cut kevlar with even the sharpest knife or razor. So a powerful saw isn't likely to actually cut the fibres so much as power through longer before it jams. Be mindful out there, folks.

7 hours ago, Wonky said:

Well,, ask for cash on collecting,   but I bets it’s deliveroo only, 

 

anyhoo. Where’s the link. So we can all be potential buyers and piss take the  Bacs only deal. 

But-on the off chance.. he maybe near @wyk then it may be a dodo deal

If it isn't a scam, some folks do shy away from paypal for many reasons. I bought a Harley in the UK off EBay and he only would accept cash after a down payment. He wouldn't even take credit cards because visa hammers sellers on occasion in disputes(which, unfortunately, is true). But dealers are easy enough to confirm.

I am down below Dublin in Wicklow - about 2.5 hrs from Belfast. Where in the north is it?

I can't find the listing, tho.

I only deal with inches when it comes to squish. I'm just dumb that way. The usual accepted spacing is .020", or near enough. As mentioned earlier, the fuel is 'squished' out of this band and into the combustion chamber. Often, whatever fuel is left in this band does not combust fully. So the closer the tolerances up to about .020", the better. Any closer and you are risking damage, especially if you are using something like a £20 tool from a former British Colony in Asia VS something like an expensive Mitutoyo or SPi Micrometer to gauge the depths.

If you are considering doing port work, you may want to first spend time learning on something like a used, worn out two stroke motor VS a functioning 390XP top end. I began my porting days working on <$100 Echos that needed repair(so I could see the results VS using a destroyed engine). I would also spend a good amount of time on one of the outdoor power equipment forums porting threads beforehand to better grasp the nuances of porting. I learn something new there every time I visit. I don't build ultimate performance engines, and nor do you have to, but its good to know where to spend your limited time and efforts for maximum returns, let alone simply preventing making mistakes(like ring ends, free porting, bad timing, damaged plating, clearance issues, etc etc etc). In general, with porting, less is more.

Haven't had it for too long now, but purdy happy with it. The exhaust outlet cover does need to be longer. I assume this is simply robbed from the CS501SX and chunked on to the 390 since they look identical. With the cat removed, it doesn't spew it as directly upon the handle as stock(and not as hot, either), but I can still see it going to work on it. Otherwise, very, very impressed with this saw. A poster who has had one apart on another forum claims it is the same stroke(33mm) as the 501. I haven't tested it myself, but it would go a ways to explaining why these have so much mid range grunt.

On 19/01/2019 at 10:49, Steve Bullman said:

surprised at your comment about dropping a file size not working.  My 461 never cuts better than when I run a 5/32 file over it at the end of the chain.

He might be sharpening deeper down in to the gullet, or using a different offset from you, getting a different hook, etc etc. I never change my file size, but I go pretty deep in to the gullet to retain the hook, often grinding in to the end of the link before the cutter. The tip/hook is what you start to lose as the tooth gets more shallow.

On 19/01/2019 at 11:56, MattyF said:

Not for me ... not saying it doesn’t but I’ve never noticed..once a chain especially on a bigger saw is at this point I’ll bin it and make another any way.
Not that I’m the oracle of chain sharpening or out but last time I ran a 560 in timed cuts against ported 357’s and a few other saws that was what in my opinion made the 560 quicker... there was 4-5 other Arb talkers there to witness that and prove I’m not taking bollocks !

Any more than that and your kerf is gonna shrink too small for your bar. Well, mebbe not the kerf, per se, but it's not gonna chew up the wood effectively enough to clear out the cut.

I can't confirm this, but SGFoley in Germany stated he ran a 501sx exhaust(without cat and baffle tube) in his 390sx.

On 15/12/2018 at 18:31, MattyF said:

Aye it seems a shame the big two don’t give a shit really who sells and repairs there saws and offers warranty .
My local husky dealer ... I’ve tried to stop using as it was just a joke really but a few weeks back desperate for 15liters of XP oil we go in , they inform us we don’t want that it’s too expensive to run in saws and they didn’t have it any way ... I’m not putting anything else in my 550’s and 560’s so head for the door and there walking out by the door was a 15litre container of XP oil ... begrudgingly I took it back to the counter to be charged full on whack for it... and that is the last time I set foot in there.
Then there is the stihl / husky dealer not far from you spud who could not even change a topend on a 3120.

I started repairing my own saws because, back when I actually had money, I went to the dealer and asked them could they fix such and such on my thingy mubob, and they basically told me it wasn't worth their while or mine. It was something simple, too. I went to the local independent saw shop in Willamina, OR on my way back after some of the other loggers told me where to go(though he did have a Stihl contract and dealt almost solely in Stihl saws), which has a super grumpy owner(or had, it looks like he's closed since). Anyways, I showed him my old 046, he took it, went out back in to the shop, and came back within 2 minutes with it repaired. That guy knew his stuff, and had ported two stroke bikes back in the day. He told me what he did, and how to fix it in the future, and then refused to take money from me. From then on I was only using him for my saw needs. He explained the local dealers sell lawn mowers. So they want their techs to be free to set up new equipment for sale and repair riding lawnmowers - they make hundreds and thousands on those two, so do not want to waste their tech's time repairing saws. Some of them have never had a saw apart.

On 15/01/2019 at 00:14, Markymark82 said:

A two cycle engine compresses the fuel in the crack before it's ported into the combustion chamber. That's how it gets in there is a combination of pressure in the crank case and the suction from the piston. This is all created by the pistons movement up and down.

The bearings in the crank case that hold the crankshaft in position and allow free movement using either needle rollers or ball bearings to do so need to be lubricanted this is done using the oil in the two stroke fuel. The oil needs to be forced into the bearing by pressure this is done when the saw is revving. Have you ever wondered why if you leave a saw idling then go back to it, it smokes like hell? Unburnt oil (and some fuel) thats not libricated the intended areas i.e. The bearings in the crank, piston rings etc. 

First - that's a terrible design(and I own a similar Echo as well). The exhaust should be directed more outwards(which I did by virtue of opening the bottom of that vent cover and the muffler underneath), and the cage should have a larger relief in case of roll over(you listening, Echo?). Otherwise, we love ours. I was told, back when I had a future in university, that if you must explain to an operator how to coddle your product designed for the field, you have created a terrible design.

As for the bearings - at idle, the saw has disengaged the PTO/clutch, and there is much less load on those bearings, and there's much less friction/heat than at throttle. It's the piston that gives up the ghost rapidly without oil. The puff of smoke is likely more due to incomplete combustion on the front of the timing advance and the high speed jet kicking in than lack of enough lubrication.

Just regurgitating what google told me about all this nonsense

And there's a bit of video now:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&amp;objectid=12190151