Trailoftears

I'd have to say get the 261, particularly if you have to buy all the infrastructure that goes with buying the battery one-charger,2/3 batteries etc.Also-I may be wrong on this,but I suspect the battery version may well come out heavier than the 261 with the recommended battery which I regard as a bit of a poisoned chalice tbh.The 261's sweet spot is probably a 16" bar,but it will cheerfully run an 18" too,also if you want to,it will feel bonkers on a 14" bar too.Probabably stihls best all round pro saw for most people's wants for q.a few years.

Can only agree!viburnum and 2nd one deffo camellia-not necessarily japonica,could be williamsii,or reticulata or another 230 odd species!Japonica is usually a rounded shrub,Williamsii more upright and spreading- almost Ideal for up against a wall.If its Sinensis-have a cuppa tea 😁

This is what I found,see gearbox base housing,that was black stihl grease when added!

I must admit,when I open my gearboxes up there's generally far too much in there.Just renewed the blades on the stihl hl 94 c,which involved delving into greasy gearbox areas.So after imperfect 'cleaning' out of excess grease,have tried a minimal amount of blue/almost translucent car wheel bearing grease.Which I hope will be ok....gulp.

I find it really shocking that the likes of J.deere can remotely switch off your shiny new state of the art tractor if you fail to make your monthly payment(s).Also repairing them is totally impossible

Can I just reassure you that I DO have 2 peepers present+correct!More suprisingly to me all 10 fingers n toes too 😁

Not strictly chainsaw gear,but took a punt on arbortecs waterproof smock for q.big bucks due to being terminally p*#ssed off with getting constantly soaked last couple of weeks.Shocked to see they use a crappy PLASTIC zip on the detachable hood.Failed on day 2.Wtf?Dont mind paying for quality gear but a PLASTIC zip on activewear.They'll not get custom from me again, thats for sure.

I note honda have decided to retreat from the American market comeplety,which is q.a big shock given their quality gear

So,a poisoned chalice-is 4 stroke gear the golden future where we all skip gaily into an environmently friendly future,or an absolutely short-term cynical move by major manufacturers to get round strict regs such as in California? Is mixing fuel as horrid and difficult as 4 stroke proponents claim?Why do stihl invite you to buy a 4 stroke where- horror of horrors you still have to MIX fuel!(yes,I know there's no sump involved!) Will we ever see a 4 stroke chainsaw?Are you happy to monitor the horrifically tiny amount of oil in 4 stroke machines+add complexity and valve clearance into your already busy life?Phew!

Pondering too,with the best will in the world,I cant honestly think that any battery hedgetrimmer at this moment in time is either capable-or designed to deal with say,a 300 metre 8ft conifer hedge on a double building plot in comparison to a well-maintained big stihl single sided hedgetrimmer for which jobs like that are bread and butter.Hopefully that may change in the future,but leaving aside the luxury need of needing say6/8 batteries,I cant see a battery gearbox being designed for 4 hours non-stop work.

As to battery gearboxes,I only have the cheapest 18v makita hedgetrimmer for sculpting stand-alone shrubs/bushes etc.Have sharpened the blades 2 or 3 times,inside the gearbox, there's an an almost transparent grease with no greasing point,so have left well alone.But given its useage,wouldnt expect to see extended use times/overheating issues needing new grease?

As to saving money on any petrol gearboxes by the use of 'unsuitable' grease-seems a bit cheeseparing even bonkers behaviour given the minimal quantities required to me.Unless of course opening unfamiliar trashed gearboxes with several greasy sheared bits is your idea of a fun evening!

Really uncomfortable that the stihl fs 40cc+models are now 'sealed for life' re: greasing the gear housing/heads.And it has to be said, I've heard some worryingly whiny noises on local authority contracters machines,which in my book is a sign of bad news coming! Intriguingly,there is a tiny allen grub screw on the gear head? Personally, I've now downgraded to the ms240 c due to a decent engine/1 kg weight loss over the entry level stihl clearing saws plus I get to grease the gear housing.The only penalty is a poorer 1 point a.v. system as opposed to 4 point on the clearing saws.

I may be out of date (I fervently hope) here,but many moons ago doing my chainsaw training,we were handed a pair of 'chaps'-immediately vowed NEVER to wear them again-dare I say-absolute PANTS,but in a bad way!and a nod to those crap gaiters you had to buckle about 3 times around already clunky work boots,and stumble through the forestry brash tripping all over the shop as you tried to make progress.Truly,the work of Satan.

The sale of 'logs' certainly needs more regulation.You get cowboys selling any old raw/wet cack.Generally they dont give a feck about repeat sales,because there's ways another mug in the nxt town looking for a 'good' deal.At the bare minimum it should be a mixed load-of both hardwood and softwood with no more than 20% of moisture content.Ideally,it should have been cut down/rounded and stored under cover for 12 months.I suspect its a dying market due to cowboys/uneducated consumers burning crap/painted offcuts etc,etc.I gather in urban areas woodbur ers contribute more poison/particulates than diesel vehicles.Cherish the market-its being increasingly scrutinised-and in many ways-rightly so.

Glad you've sorted it out.Depending on usage,may be a plan to treat yourself to a pair of anti vibe gloves-gel-filled palms/fingers.It does have a highish vibe rating.The higher you up the food chain/spend,the more effort is devoted to a.v.It seems.

I didnt add half an hour for degreasing the table+a swift mop of the k.floor before the power that be returned home either! 😳

I think the ideal life/work balance should be 4 days a week-or maybe 4+a short Friday. For probably 15 odd years, I've vowed this coming Year will be different and I will NO longer work on Saturdays,every Year I end up working on a Sat,usually because in spite of my best efforts,work can 'get ahead' of me.Also of course some seasons,you can easily lose a day a week due to inclement weather conditions.Even then,I tend to service stuff/catch up with paperwork on the rainy days so as not to feel so guilty about being off work,so not really a day off. P.s.-I lied about the paperwork bit...😎

On the subject of stihl hedgetrimmers, I've had a new set of blades for my hl 94 waiting to be fitted (for quite some time),decided to face the music and do it today.Thankfully, I've dismantled it before,so at least had some vague idea of the horrors that lurk within-concealed washers,internal bushes/spacers-inc 3 in the gearbox.Bought 8 new bushes-should have got 11 given the gearbox ones,luckily they had virtually no wear,so were re-used on the blade length.Its really not a job to be undertaken lightly/when you're in a hurry.By the time I'd cleaned everything up,cleared out the best I could the tired looking gearbox grease and reassembled everything,it was a solid 2 hour job.I was on the point of doing the same for my hs87 r,but thankfully found the whole blade set as a unit,so much easier-gearbox base off, 2 hex bolts off,new blade set affixed-job done.No wonder stihl dealers are costly,these are unpleasant,time-consuming jobs!At least with the hs87 r you can sharpen with the blades in situ given the generous tooth spacing.I'm sitting down feeling rather virtuous now-albeit somewhat greasy!

Thinking about it, when you're taking say,9" off the top of a woody hedge with some stems up to 1cm,your cutting hundreds of woody stems per metre-even more as they collapse in front of the blade-its a helluva ask really and needs an extremely robust clutch onboard I imagine.

Yep,cant argue with you on that.Shorts tho,Shorts!I dream of shorts,due to plant sap/heavy b/cutter use-I'd look like the elephant man frm the waist down!Having said that,my legs remind me of what Spike Milligan once famously described as disturbingly white pipe cleaners.Some things are best kept under wraps......

Would concur that IF you have the money the stihl hs 87's are probably the best on the market at this point in time.Formerly the kawasaki single-sided 30" were superior- lighter,better balanced-however,kawi have left the market tragically.If you can only afford one,go with the stihl r version.Kept sharp its good enough to fine-trim conifers+knock 6" inches off the side/top of a privet.They are not without their flaws tho-the tip protector which could save you buying a new set of blades,drags horribly when the nose is buried in a hedge.the front handle being integrated into the handle isnt situated far enough up the blade.Also,underneath the machine,2 screws protrude up q.high which is a pain-cut down the plastic slightly and seat them lower.Dont EVEN think about a deflector/sweeper-it will make the top work heavier+fatigue you-should the hedgetop be visible-just use a hand-held blower to clear.

Also,on praps a slightly bitter note,Ive spent most of my adult life wearing protected toecap boots of various materiels.Now,70% of my nail beds are wrecked.Coz thats what toecap boots do to you long term.Put it like this-a nail scissors/clippers are no longer a viable option!Side cutters maybe.Of course,over the years I've NEVER come even close to driving a g.fork thru my pinkies or stood on a lurking nail in a plank!Of course,should I be rash enough to dust down my dancing pumps and give them a much-needed airing-fate will ensure I drive a g.fork down to its hilt in my foot first day out.

I suppose in a way,what I was hinting at in starting this thread,that things aren't always completely black and white re: ppe.There are moments-particularly the way our Summers now seem to head,that you can find yourself grossly overclad.Your sweating/overheating by the minute,you cant see properly due to glasses etc fogging up.You end up feeling stressed and unhappy and dehydrating-and thats before you start doing whatever gig your'e on-that makes you a potential accident statistic in many ways?

Good point,I often use a top handled makita chainsaw not so much for classic chainsaw work,but picking up branches to process onto a big bonfire-one hand on the branch/other wielding the little saw.Far,Far quicker than lopping all the stuff down to size.But as you say,it feels toy-like.