Trailoftears

Nope,just curious to find out where I stand in the spectrum of Mr completely irresponsible>Mr totally perfect!It would seem I'm just about heading along a road to Mr totally perfect,doubt I'll ever arrive at that hallowed place tho.Also,think its good to occasionally take a good hard look at what personal risks different folks find acceptable.

I must point out the having your face area occasionally plastered with dog,cat shit occasionally+an honourable mention to having the odd stone bounce off your head area at 30mph!Another thought-if you value your front teeth,keep your mouth shut whilst strimming!

Just as an afterthought-as I meander about on my merry way,I Note FAR too many young lads toting big brushcutters working for private firms who now have most of the local authority grass-cutti g contracts,who dont have helmets on,or sometimes even eye protection.Is that the specific firms fault,or a young lad disregarding his (probably minimal) training?I couldnt possibly say...However,What I CAN say you may well go strimming for 99 days with no incidents,on the 100th day,you will lose an eye-or indeed your mates eye.

As I've mentioned in my previous posts, I'm not strictly a heavy chainsaw user,more of a general landscaper,So,out of necessity a certain amount of p.p.e has always been part of my professional life,S3 boots protected toecap/midsole protection,waterproofness (yeah right!).Also a full forestry helmet/under glasses combined with decent ear protection.But pertaining to specific chainsaw protection, I've never bought a specific chainsaw boot system,or indeed a cut protected jacket.Because they are costly,And I wouldnt use them often enough to justify the outlay.I do have a whizz bang pair of stihl chainsaw trousers with braces.To my shame,I dont often use them-why not? A:because I feel like an extra from the monty python lumberjack sketch. B:Because I'm cocky,and think I'm really clued-up re:chainsaw useage. C:I will often just do say 15 mins work,and think-"nah,taint worth the hassle" to tog up.And herein possibly lies the issues with ppe equipment re: chainsaws and other machines too-takes too long to put on/expensive/hot n sweaty.Admittedly it has improved somewhat over the last few years-I do like the arm kevlar sleeves.Personally,as a user of many potentially dangerous garden tools-30" single-sided hedgetrimmers/40cc brushcutters with blades on-I dont feel chainsaws are more intrinsically dangerous than any other sharp motorised tools-as long as they are well-maintained.Of course,when you start talking about rope systems/climbing with saws,we enter a different dialogue and skillset.Equally,when you find yourself gingerly moving along a 50 metre leylandii hedge on your knees at a height of 8 metres with a top width of 2+metres lugging a stihl hs 87 r, that again is a different skillset to trimming a routine privet hedge. Curious to know what peoples min- max insistence on ppe is in various roles!?

In fairness,it wasnt expensive,its lasted forever,with no great care.Ok,kf you spend 500 notes up,you xpect longevity/forgiveness.But this saw is like the little scrawny bloke thhat punches far above its weight!I wouldnt hesitate to recommend it to pretty much anyone who cuts firewood/wants to harvest 12" trees(and more) from tip to toe.Also,because its 'weak'-in a good way,Ideal saw for the first time user-you dont really need to worry about kickback.

Same boat here,it keeps going,but the fabric is breaking down,plastic bits bhind the sprocket cover drop out/rear air filter cover is sloppy etc,etc.Actually had time to deep clean today,the amount of cack bhind the recoil starter was truly astonishing...Shows the difference between the pro saws tho,screws on whole side have to come off/fuel caps off,top off,then fuel caps back on before a good scrub down etc,etc

Your post made me smile-given a bloody shocking day-I spent it in a clients barn doing logging etc-should have taken my ms261 out to the car-couldnt be arsed in the pouring rain.Found myself cutting 16" larch logs along the grain with the poor little ms 180's nose more than buried-it performed admirably,it really owes me nuthin!Mine has the tool free chain adjustment-which in fairness,works ok,but is a slight pain in that it slightly complicates flipping the bar.Bizarrely,it has a decomp valve too.But its been a brilliant little saw for coppicing/fencing/garden carpentry and god knows what else!

Fuel injection sounds fascinating-instant response I imagine.Carbs are just an effin pain.I was taught 2 strokes are reasonably simple in theory-spark/fuel and air delivered in appropriate quantities at the right time etc-put rather crudely!But then we get into-ooh is it a stiff diaphragm,hairline split in me fuel line,is my jet worn,Gawd help us!

I really WANT to like the mntronic system,I grow tired of tamper- proof ever more arcane screwdriver sets etc.Not been a tech, I'm totally not getting into dismantling carbs into bits!Not so bad when you can pick up a chinese clone carb for say,the Honda gx family for £12-which are usually fine,but worryingly I notice you dont seem to find say a carb for my fs 240 b.cutter for less than £150 or summat crazy like that.Over the years I've tuned/re-tuned plenty of carbs to run fine.Part of me totally resents having that facility taken away from me/barriers put in my way.

I was looking at the ms211,or more of a like for like the 231 as a budget option,but I've had mixed results with the 'budget' stihls-the 180 has been used/abused and done things it should never have had to!On the other hand,the ms 250 was a bloody shocker!Also looking at a newish echo model 35cc,one version has autochoke,other dont-same saw tho.One of those brands I'm curious to try,heard quite good things about their entire range over the years.

I really dont mind sharpening a chain,but start avoiding the issue if I've allowed a backlog to build up.Also I find over 20" go on a bit!

I'm making a wild guess it was a mistaken purchase by the seller,he only had the one-worst luck!Hence me buying another for £20,but thats a fair enough price too.

I bought 2 stihl r.s.pro 18" .325 chains via ebay to go with the light 04 bar,one was £20 which I thought was fair.The other was £14 which I felt was silly cheap-so thats slightly cheaper than the stihl easyfile.I suppose its a tad different when you get onto 25"+ genuine chains,they are something of an investment.

Tbh,given what seems to be the static if not downward trend in chain prices,I can see the day coming when a sizeable proportion of users,particularly casual users will just not bother.Given a 'nervous' filer may look at the stihl gubbin for £35 odd,then notice he/she can buy 2 rotatech 16" chains for say £25 you can see where its going.

If you wanted the stihl easyfile in say,4/4.8+5.2 your looking at £100.Pferd do the equivalent tool,but v.little price difference.

I can file freehand ok (in my own mind),and you're spot on re: the placcy rollers,such a shame they're not at least brass or something,I just bin them every year or so.I do have the posh stihl easyfiles courtesy of my good lady getting them at cost.But I never use them in truth.

I'm good at home in my workshop (shed!) I screwed one of those cheapo exterior halogen lights onto a shelf directly above my vice.Sadly,as my luxurious flaxon tresses diminish-it dont half burn the top of my head......😳

Ahh right,I was/am speaking from memory,I often end up sharpening in a badly lit farm building.I use those little drop-on husky roller file guages which are grand.Even in the woodlands,I have rarely got my increasingly necessary reading glasses!But I was dimly aware that you needed to mix n match with the bigger chains re:file sizes,as ever I got it Arseways around!

There does seem to be some logic in that,as the cutter diminishes/retreats, there's some sort of narrower half-worn sweet spot as long as the depth gauges are also correctly lowered.Am I right in thinking as the conventional 20"and up 3/8 chain wears you would/should initially file with a 5.2mm file,then as the cutter lowers/retreats switch to a 5.5mm file?

Good info.Ironically this rather tortuous tale all started with me deciding to replace my ageing 'chuck it in the roofbox' 181 c utility saw.So my first thought was to treat myself (after much head/arse-scratching)to the little ms 241 c-m saw.But given the price between that and the 261 is only £30,it seemed silly not to buy the bigger saw.It strikes me Stihl are overpricing the smaller saw by £75?Then they would sell in higher volumes I'm sure.Logically for me,it makes sense in that the 181 still totters along,and the 261 makes sense as a middle ground before getting my hefty ms441 out on 20"/25" bar.Hence the attraction of adding an 18"bar to the 261 for a tad more flexibility.However,in my heart of hearts I still totally want the 241 as well!Xmas is coming,but my good lady would A:leave me.B: savagely berate me at the v.least.So for now discretion is deffo the best part of valour.However,it has crossed my extremely nefarious mind that If I jolly up the 181-new bar/chain and just generously give it to her Dad as a really kind/out of the blue gesture-you never know....

Right,I get that I think!

Also,the super picco kit is marketed as being better/faster cutting in softwoods-pine is specifically mentioned.But,if the teeth are identical (ish) why would it not be equally good in typical hardwoods?A sharp chain is surely a sharp chain-it does drop 7 cutters tho compared to the stock chain supplied on the ms261.

Blimey,its all bit of a handful.Just staring at the much larger picco super rim and trying to work out the ramifications of making it larger than the standard .325 rim.faster chain travel/or slower due to larger circumference?

I will whip the .325 off later,hopefully a piccy pr two!