Stihl MS251
Husky 445
Dolmar 421
Mods here are shit
Some other saw
The MS462CM seems like a good purchase. It calibrated with ease and ran great at high altitude with the winter shutter in place.
It pulls like a champ. It did take me a little bit to get dialed in with it. Once I found the sweet spot while bucking I realized that the saw does all of the work, all I had to do was stand there and hold the trigger down. I would like to get some worthwhile dogs on it.
https://westcoastsaw.com/products/we...35975820378276
Get a Bark Box too while you are at it. I just put these plus the box on two saws. I can post pictures later today.
I got these West Coast Bark Box and Felling Dawgs a few weeks ago and finally got them installed. These are work saws and chainsaw work happens without snow and temps in the teens so I haven't put them to the test. We just finished a full clean and tune on all the saws for the winter. The sound though is awesome, it just made me smile and giggle a little.
I got a set for a 362 and a 461, pics are from the 362.
Last edited by Cookie Monster; 12-11-2020 at 02:45 PM. Reason: fixed a photo
661 - new to North American 661 with an adjustable carb - got a 32 and a 36 inch bar. I really can't say exactly why, maybe because. It'll get used infrequently but we'll like it when we do. Mainly to get my folks experience with a big saw so they got more slides in their experience. I also wanted something that would rip a 32 with a full comp chain.
What are the advantages of the various tooth numbers in felling dogs ?Originally Posted by Cookie Monster
I got these West Coast Bark Box and Felling Dawgs a few weeks ago and finally got them installed. These are work saws and chainsaw work happens without snow and temps in the teens so I haven't put them to the test. We just finished a full clean and tune on all the saws for the winter. The sound though is awesome, it just made me smile and giggle a little.
I got a set for a 362 and a 461, pics are from the 362.
Thanks.
I am going to wade into deeper water then my experience but here are my thoughts, things gleaned from my study of this. Never been a production faller or arborist.
You see a bunch of aftermarket felling dawgs on eBay and I think most of it is people like the way they look. But head to production falling and working a saw all day on the West Coast and you see larger aftermarket dawgs for professional saws. These are used to support the saw in the wood, larger dawgs to stick in the thick bark of redwoods, cedars, and Doug firs. The dawgs hold the weight and allow you to rest and manipulate the saw. Also you can lever the saw with the dawgs and apply force to the bar to speed cutting - it your chain is sharp and the saw is well tuned. I have experienced some of this in my time cutting trees. I also like the big dawgs for sticking the saw into stumps and logs to minimize bending over and unnecessarily wrestling with the saw.
Until I found the West Coast Saw dawgs - I used Pro-Safety dawgs that come in 3,4,and 5 tooth. I understand the 5 tooth which dropped well below the body of the saw was/is meant for cedar trees on the west coast of BC and other places were the bark was thick and the trunk is often furrowed and uneven. 4 point which I have used and liked for more standard cutting situations. 3 point I don’t actually know the design or intentions. Those things are sharp and I had an issue this year with my crew cutting chaps with the dawgs.
I wanted to try the West Coast Saw dawgs because the design of the middle point/spike lines up directly with the cutting tooth hence you know exactly where the saw is cutting and it is easier to line up the gunning cut and the diagonal cut when putting in the face cut on a tree.
That’s what I know.
The 661 has a pin you need to push or punch down to turn the bar oiled up to high. It is standard for me to turn that up to the max setting. It seems to work, following the lead of a local fire crew and how they set up their saws. I did that today and tested the saw. It was a lot of oil, it made an actual puddle is on the ground in less than 5 seconds. I ended up turning it down to about 1/2.
This is the biggest saw that I have used. I drained out the gas the saw shop put in it to sell it to me and switched it out with my special mix with stabilized and an octane booster since the saw won’t see much or any use until Spring. I was surprised that it took it seemed a little more than a quart to fill the tank. I took the depth gauges down a few hundreds and ran a file a few times through each tooth to sharpen it up and start to dig out the gullet. I think it will be better but I am still working on my hand filing.
Hand filed 2 more chains from the season, got two more left for Monday
I like Fridays at work.
That 661 looks like a beast.
I should mention, in case my issue is from improper technique. The factory dog on my 462 and 261 is only on the inboard side of the bar. When I try to use them for leverage I tend to apply a side load to the bar and bind the chain. I figured that a pair of good felling dogs would allow me to use them to apply a little torque in a direction that is straight in line with the chain and bar. Am I looking at this right, or do I just have an improper technique?
The oiler on my 462 was in the "E" position when I got it. It still goes through a tank of oil before it burns through a tank of gas. Is that normal?
I would say, “No”. My SOP is to peek at the oil level whenever refueling. If the bar oil runs out before a tank of gas, eventually, you are going to run the chain/bar dry and tear something up.
I think some dawgs would help. I don’t have a lot of trigger time with saws without good dawgs or using leverage on small saws. The leverage helps with falling trees - cutting in the horizontal plane. Most of my time is bucking firewood which is mainly using properly set depth gauges on the chains and the weight of the saw - cutting in the vertical plane. Doing complex bucking on steep ground (limited positioning and difficult footing) the leverage comes in handy.
I don’t remember a saw I have had that ran out of oil before gas, even with oilers turned up. Probably for the last 10 years I have only used Stihl Bio Plus biodegradable bar oil. Maybe your oil is too thin? I am trying to remember where the E is and it is cold in the garage with the saws. If it is on the left then that is low, all the way clockwise is full. I turn up the oil as my 362 run 28inch bars and my 461 run 32 inch bars.
"E" is low. I am using Stihl Platinum oil. When I first started using the saw, it left puddles where I set it. I was going to take it back to the dealer, but it quit leaving puddles while it still had oil in the tank. I will keep an eye on it. Hopefully, it has corrected itself. I will find out tomorrow.
Thanks for the tips on the West Coast stuff. I am going to get the dogs and the Barkbox.
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