# Opinions on MS 261 C-M



## D8Chumley (Feb 24, 2016)

Well my CAD struck again. Just bought a nice looking (from the pics) 261 from a guy on AS. Why? I dunno, felt like I needed it. Got a decent deal I think, seems to have great reviews on Stihls website 4.8 out of 5 stars. How do you guys like the M-tronic? Fingers crossed but I can't wait until it gets here, probably early next week. Don't tell my wife lol


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## woodhog73 (Feb 24, 2016)

When I was shopping for my newest 50cc saw I looked at all of the pro model construction ones,  The husky 550 and 545 , the Jonsered 2253 and 2252, Dolmar 5105, and the Stihl 261 and also the farm line Stihl 271.

I really liked the feel of the Stihl. It felt bigger than the Husky/Jonsered saws in dimensions obviously same size motor. Can't remember the Dolmar but it felt bigger too.

I did a lot of research before I put down my hard earned cash on a new one. Everything I ever read about the 261 was good. Only thing If I'm remembering right was the handle is plastic. Not a big deal but for a $500 to $600 dollar saw it should have a metal handle like all the other pro 50cc saws. Probably won't break but I read stuff about them breaking in the extreme cold if you drop the saw.

I bought the Jonsered but not because of the plastic handle. That didn't bother me. I bought it because the dealer was a little better in service.

I have been told the Mtronic works as advertised. My Stihls are pre Mtronic. My Jonsered is auto tune ( same thing as Mtronic ) and now that I've lived with the saw and this feature in different weather conditions, I will probably never buy another regular saw again that didn't have some form of it. They work great.


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## D8Chumley (Feb 24, 2016)

I've been cruising CL kinda half hearted looking, like I always do. For some reason I was thinking I wanted an 038 even though I have a 590 Echo ( my go-to lately ) and a Stihl MS 460 that hardly ever sees use. I will need the 460 when I buck the big cherry in my woods that has to be easily 40" at the stump.

  Anyway, I was looking on the Trading post over there and started thinking I'm going to be 48 Monday. Why do I need another bigger saw, and started looking at a few 261s for sale. I scored it for 400 shipped with 18" bar, looks real nice. So with that said, I may be open to selling my 290 I fixed up since that won't see any work when I get the 261. We will see, maybe I'll just keep the 290 in the work truck for jobsite scrounging. I'm looking forward to trying this with the M-tronic and I have an ash blowdown I started working up when the 28" of snow hit a few weeks back that I'll be working on with this. I was using the 590 and that was a pleasure

  Here's a few pics


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## woodhog73 (Feb 24, 2016)

Looks real clean. Your going to be 48? Well we are close in age and I almost exclusively use my 50cc. You mention the 40 inch cherry I've cut stuff that big with my small saw and an 18 inch bar. In fact I cut a large oak the other day didn't even hesitate to use the small saw. My big saws going to collect dust soon. Ya it's slower but tires you out much less. That's why I'm getting my little 50cc ported because I use it so darn much ! I want to ring some serious 50cc power out of it with such a small and light saw. 

Are you running a .325 chain I assume?

I have no idea where the echo falls in line size wise as I don't know their models but I'm betting you will be selling your 290 soon ! It's heavier than the 261 and puts out less power. Those 290s are everywhere for sale used. I'm sure you won't have any problems selling it.

Enjoy the new saw.


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## D8Chumley (Feb 24, 2016)

Yeah I don't feel like 48 most days but some, well yeah. Especially after several hours of using muscles not often used . I heard this saying here, and it fits me: I'm like a Diesel engine, takes a few minutes to get going then I don't know when to stop and I usually pay for that the next few days haha

  The 590 is 59cc, decent saw especially for the price. If I didn't have the 460 with 25" bar I'd just use the 590 with 18". I'm not sure what chain is on it to be honest, either .325 or 3/8. I figured it would be 3/8 and that would be good, as I have a 20" bar for the 460 also with several chains. My saw shop has buy 2 get 1 free Carlton chains, so that's no biggie


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## Ihalmiut (Feb 25, 2016)

I liked your guys posts. I turn 57 in a few months and I feel like 77. When I was 47 I felt like 27. I definitely am going for a lighter saw, and will rent a big saw when needed, like for the big white pines. D8, your post knocked some sense into my head. Thanks. Gonna get the 026 going, and buy a smaller saw too. Haha. I've lots of Cherry trees here, and never burned them until a week ago, I had 3 5" pieces by 18", so I split them and almost fell over from the aromatic smell. The Misses commented on a 28" cherry in our woods being the biggest she'd ever seen, and I had to agree.
Sorry for being so far off topic. In this area of Minnesota, Stihl is boss. A friend has the M-Tronic and loves it.


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## D8Chumley (Feb 25, 2016)

This is the one that has me worried. It broke about 10' up and I'm really hoping it falls. If not a buddy with a lot more experience than me said he would get it on the ground for me





That's my pole saw leaning up against it -she's a big ol tree


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## D8Chumley (Feb 25, 2016)

Also love the cherry. I get a lot of it on my property that is dying/dead and like you said it smells great! One of my buddies has a tree stand near my house, and he texted me one night while he was in his stand and said how good the smoke smelled blowing in his direction. I was burning cherry at the time


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## Ihalmiut (Feb 26, 2016)

That's funny. One of my sons is with us for a while and my wife thought he was smoking those cherry cigars. Haha.
As for that nasty tree, I would get a cum along or winch on it and not deal with it hanging like that. It could go towards the hangup, or away from it, and from the pic it looks like away from it, which is where you'd be cutting from. Of course you could start whacking it from the far end of the hangup, that is the part that hit the ground, and work towards the trunk. That'd take all the pressure off the trunk still standing.  I've some hangups around the woods that I hope a storm takes care of for me. At any rate, for sure have your buddy help and scope it out and all. I never tackle those nasty's alone.


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## D8Chumley (Feb 26, 2016)

I thought about throwing a chain or cable around it if I could get one up there,and try yanking on it with the truck from a safe distance. It's back in the woods about 100' and I could get within 50' with the truck. It can stay there for the time being, doesn't pose any immediate threat unless one of the dogs would happen to be under it if it were to fall but that's about as likely as a lightning strike. I went and looked at it after work yesterday hoping the heavy winds and rain might have taken it down, no such luck. I have plenty of processed wood and since I didn't burn that much this year, I'd need to get several more pallets to stack all that on. Maybe when it warms up a bit


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## Ihalmiut (Feb 27, 2016)

Thats a good plan. I've done some shaky stuff in the woods over the years that if momma new the half... I just go overboard on safety nowadays, which is still probably not as safe as it should be.
Got the old 026 on the kitchen floor now. Impulse line wasn't nearly the hassle I expected, but now its on to the carb. Never rebuilt a 2 cycle. Pretty small gig, but we'll give it a go. Should be tapping the maples today, but my heart just isn't in it. Probably the saw on mommas floor is bugging me. Should be out of there before she gets home from work. Haha.


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## D8Chumley (Mar 1, 2016)

Got the saw today Put the bar on, fuel/oil and fired it up. Made a few cuts, the thing screams! I am going to my saw shop hopefully tomorrow to get a few real chains, it has a green chain on it. Kinda cuts funny lol.




 So with that, I have a question. In the for sale pics it had a clabbard on the bar and I didn't see it. When I got it, the paint is all worn off close to the dawgs, I assume that comes from the green chain and trying too hard to cut something? If not, what causes that, and it seems like it's ok otherwise. Slight bluing maybe 1/16" from the rail but not peened over. The few cuts I made it seems to cut better with the tip half of the bar and not as well against the dawg.  Good to go?


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## English BoB (Mar 1, 2016)

Never had a bar with that much paint missing.Maybe a lot of small diameter cutting. The bluing is from running a chain to tight. You have the same chain at the tip as at the dawg should cut the same, I have no idea what the "green " chain is - sorry.

bob


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## D8Chumley (Mar 1, 2016)

Green link safety chain. I'll see how it cuts with the semi chisel chain when I get a few. None of the saws I have and use have paint missing on the bar like that. And none have the bluing either so I must be keeping my chains just right


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## woodhog73 (Mar 1, 2016)

I believe they are talking about the safety chain that stihl markets as green chain. It is a lower kick back chain due to the extra bumper.

Just remember just because it has the extra bumper link does not mean it's safety chain. You have to look at the profile of that bumper as it rounds the tip. For example Oregons LPX ( if memory serves me right) in .325 is not a low kick back chain. Yet it has a bumper link on it.  In fact Oregon doesn't even sell chain in .325 without the extra bumper link. They market their .325 chain as non safety high kick back chain and it has a bumper link.

Unless ofcourse it's Stihl chain that's on it and you certain it's their green chain. It could be all I'm saying is don't always assume a chain with a bumper link is low kick back.

As for the paint missing it's probably from heat . Could be too tight a chain, running it out of bar oil, oiler getting plugged and still running saw, etc.

It's shows it's been used. I've seen worse. It's from heat generated in the cut most generally. Just check the rails for wear. Missing paint is no big deal as long as the rails are ok. The paint on those stihl bars wears off real easy. My current saws are wearing chrome colored tsumura bars so no paint to wear off but my previous Stihls all the paint would wear off. Fairly normal under heavy use

Is it .325 or 3/8 ?


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## D8Chumley (Mar 1, 2016)

.325 and yeah, none of the saws I own and have used are like that. Makes sense with chain too tight, oiler is working I checked before I started cutting. Rails are flat, not rolled over. Stihl chain with the green link on it, cutters feel decently sharp but I didn't check them all, just a few as I was anxious to see how it ran. I'm taking it with me to the saw shop when I go get chains and have them give it a quick look just to be on the safe side. Never know when buying used, and I'd like to catch a problem before it gets expensive


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## English BoB (Mar 1, 2016)

woodhog73 said:


> I believe he is talking about the safety chain that stihl markets as green chain. It is a lower kick back chain due to the extra bumper.
> 
> Just remember just because it has the extra bumper link does not mean it's safety chain. You have to look at the profile of that bumper as it rounds the tip. For example Oregons LPX ( if memory serves me right) in .325 is not a low kick back chain. Yet it has a bumper link on it.  In fact Oregon doesn't even sell chain in .325 without the extra bumper link. They market their .325 chain as non safety high kick back chain and it has a bumper link.
> 
> ...



Its just a little smaller than 5/16 or .375.

bob


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## woodhog73 (Mar 1, 2016)

D8Chumley said:


> .325 and yeah, none of the saws I own and have used are like that. Makes sense with chain too tight, oiler is working I checked before I started cutting. Rails are flat, not rolled over. Stihl chain with the green link on it, cutters feel decently sharp but I didn't check them all, just a few as I was anxious to see how it ran. I'm taking it with me to the saw shop when I go get chains and have them give it a quick look just to be on the safe side. Never know when buying used, and I'd like to catch a problem before it gets expensive



My guess is it's the original chain. Saws sized I think under 60cc have to be sold new with a low kick back chain I think. I'm fairly certain on that. 

My guess is the original owner was burying the bar into hardwood all the time. The oilers on smaller saws sometimes fail to keep up in the cut. The oilers are sized for the saw and well being a 50cc saw it's not hard to imagine someone bucking big wood and leaving the bar buried cut after cut without checking the chain is getting proper oil. 

I assume you checked that the oiler is turned on high ? When I bought my Jonsered 50cc saw the chain dried up quick, and ran hot on the first big cuts. I looked and the oiler was set to medium. I turned it up to high and never had a problem since. 

Are you leaving it .325 ? I think the 50cc saws are stronger with the lighter .325 chain than they are when running 3/8 chain.


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## D8Chumley (Mar 1, 2016)

Probably is the original chain, he said there weren't many hours on it. He needed the money that's why he sold it. I did not check to see where the oiler was set, I only verified it was throwing oil onto a split face before and during the few cuts I made. I'll check that tomorrow, it's supposed to rain so if I don't work I'm heading to the saw shop with it. It was getting dark and I still had to bring wood in the house so it was only a few cuts to play with the new toy. Yes, I'm leaving this saw .325 as I have bigger saws with 3/8 for bigger wood. Thanks for all the replies guys!


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## jetsam (Mar 1, 2016)

D8Chumley said:


> This is the one that has me worried. It broke about 10' up and I'm really hoping it falls. If not a buddy with a lot more experience than me said he would get it on the ground for me
> 
> View attachment 175706
> View attachment 175707
> ...




Three ideas:

I might throw a line over it and try to break that big hinge with a winch/come along, especially if there's a decent sized tree in a good position off to the side. This requires a little extra gear but you get to stand 20 feet away while you do it, which is nice.

If not, I would probably bring some wedges and take stove sized rounds off the end until the broken section either breaks the hinge or hangs vertical. That way if the hinge goes unexpectedly, you're standing uphill and away from the broken part's rolling path.

Can't tell from the photos, but it may even be reasonably safe to just drop it at a 90 degree angle from the way it broke. I'd want to actually walk around it and get a good look before I decided to try that.


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## BlackGreyhounds (Mar 1, 2016)

Bar and chain probably came out of a box of parts from the dude who sold it to you.  Many seller on AS buy, repair and flip saws.  This doesn't mean anything bad.  Looks like you got a great saw at a fair price.  Get some sharp chain on it and let her rip.


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## D8Chumley (Mar 2, 2016)

BlackGreyhounds said:


> Bar and chain probably came out of a box of parts from the dude who sold it to you.  Many seller on AS buy, repair and flip saws.  This doesn't mean anything bad.  Looks like you got a great saw at a fair price.  Get some sharp chain on it and let her rip.


Good point. It's a nice saw, and I'm happy with the price. I'll be even happier if it's still running after a few hours' cutting. This will probably become my go-to saw for awhile at least.


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## D8Chumley (Mar 2, 2016)

Well, it doesn't happen too often but I stepped in poo and I smell like a rose. The project 290 I got free had a brand new bar and chain. It's the same bar the 261 has, and a yellow link chain. I swapped them, and the oiler was down low so I turned it all the way up and backed it off a smidge. I will adjust that when I get to cutting. I'm happy


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## woodhog73 (Mar 2, 2016)

Glad it worked out. Sounds like the other owner was cutting with the oiler on low setting, resulting in too little oil, a dry chain, high heat resulting, which caused the paint to wear off the bar quicker than normal for a low hour saw.

But if the other bar is still good I'd run it or keep it as a spare. Why not? I've had bars shed half of their paint in a months time when doing a lot of daily cutting. Completely normal for a saw being worked daily. If doing a lot of big stump work the bar can look like your old bar in no time at all. 

Glad it worked out


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## D8Chumley (Mar 2, 2016)

I put the other bar on the 290, and that runs. That will stay in my work truck for " work scrounges"


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## woodhog73 (Mar 2, 2016)

D8Chumley said:


> I put the other bar on the 290, and that runs. That will stay in my work truck for " work scrounges"



Got to love the work scrounges ! I do the same can not seem to pass up free firewood !


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## D8Chumley (Mar 6, 2016)

With the nice day we had, and the wife and daughter went shopping, I had no choice but to get some cutting done I got the new saw out, strapped up my new (to me ) rickshaw lookin wood hauling thingy, and headed down to the creek to work on the Ash blowdown. At first the 261 didn't seem to be oiling well so I turned it all the way up. Ok seems to be oiling. Next, cutting. It's labor cutting with it. It's running fine, oiling ok but it doesn't seem to be cutting like I think it should.  I'm taking it to the saw shop before I use it any more and have them take a look. Chain seems sharp but who knows. Maybe I'm just expecting too much from a 50cc saw? I cut what I could until I used a tankfull and then went  to get the 590. Night and day. At this point I was working down the trunk anyway so I wanted more grunt. Of course, the obligatory pics







   I think the rickshaw thing will work with a little modification. I wanted to see if it would be able to haul a decent load before I decided what to do with it. I'm going to talk to my buddy that welds and see what we can fab up to get a coupler to hitch on the back of the quad. I just chained it to the rear cargo rack for the trial run today. I doubt I would load it heavier it's only like 3/4" square tubing but it's better than strapping rounds to the back rack. I thought of making a log arch out of it somehow but I might just beef it up a little, add a coupler and use it like it is


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## woodhog73 (Mar 7, 2016)

D8Chumley said:


> Maybe I'm just expecting too much from a 50cc saw? I cut what I could until I used a tankfull and then went  to get the 590. Night and day. At this point I was working down the trunk anyway so I wanted more grunt.



I guess it depends on what your used to. Sounds like perhaps your chain was not sharp. Or if it was sharp then are the rakers too high ? Were big chips flying out of the saw ? If the chains sharp, check your rakers, run a flat file over them one or two strokes see if that helps. Or use a depth guage tool even better. You can have the sharpest chain in the world, but if your rakers are too high it will not cut well or not cut at all.

Like you, I also have a larger saw with more grunt ( not sure what your 590 is an echo 60cc ?? ) But 9 out of 10 times on most trees I just keep cutting with my 50cc saw. It always cuts fine even in bigger hardwood.

My guess is if the saw has good compression and your getting max rpm out of it unloaded,  then it's your chain. If your good at hand filing give that a try first it may save you a trip to the saw shop. Especially the rakers since you said the chain appeared sharp.


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## D8Chumley (Mar 7, 2016)

It's a newer chain, but I'll check it out when I get a minute. If anything I was thinking like you said about the rakers. I wanted to get some sawing done while it was nice out and I had time, I didn't want to waste my time messing with the 261. Chips were mixed, big and dust so it has to be the chain. 

   That's the beauty of having CAD I guess, just grab another saw lol. Yes Echo 590 60cc.  I do hand file my 3/8 chains but I don't have a file yet for the .325 since I just got the saw. I have a 2 in 1 for the 3/8. I'm going to get a few new chains and a file when I make it over there. Thanks for the input


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## D8Chumley (Mar 12, 2016)

Well, apparently my chain was not as sharp as I thought. I picked up a few new ones the other night, and a couple files. I used it today and it was transformed into the light saber I have been reading about. I put a new chain on, and put the old one on the HF bench grinder and touched it up. I'm a very happy man!


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## Bspring (Mar 14, 2016)

I have never checked my oiler, where is it?


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## D8Chumley (Mar 14, 2016)

Bottom of the saw, you'll see a little symbol with a teardrop looking thing. Just make sure you turn it the right way, I went the wrong way at first looking at it upside down and backwards. I can snap a pic if you want, the screw is recessed up in there, you'll need a small flat head. I got one when I bought one of my new saws awhile back, orange handle little guy


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