seeking recomandation for stihl pro saw
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According to the latest reports since weight of a saw should not be an issue I would say either a MS660 or a 460 as a minimum.
kwikrp said:
Not to knock the 290 but you specified a pro saw and a pro saw it ain't.
an MS361 w/ 18" bar will probably run you in the vicinity of 600 clams.
Guys have to remember the stihl 361 is an old saw only a few left overs , the replacement is a 362 .
Now to answer your question honestly , really is dependant on what you are cutting . I have many saws and all sizes of bars 16-36 inches . The 260 is considered a pro saw but works best in about 12 inch and under , It will do the occasional 20 plus but will be slower . My thoughts are if you can get in the 4-5 HP range for a saw is a nice all around felling and bucking saw for wood up to and including 24 inches . Saws in this range can be the 310 390 361 362 440 . These saws generally are not real extremely heavy , but I would want a smaller saw for brushing out with the bigger saw , Unless you cut like my brother and once it gets down to 4 inches its left for the rabbits . Most pro loggers will run 660 or 460 but they don't brush out they only limb , ( Big Difference )
Some of your answer lies in how much do you cut a year , for me I am in the 14 plus full cords a year if you are in the normal say 4-8 a 310 is probably a great saw or the 390 , neither is called a pro saw but you will probably be bored with it well before you wear it out with taking some kind of reasonable care for it . I mostly use my 360 -16inch bar and my 361 20 inch bar for bucking until I am down to about 4-6 inches then I use my smaller saws . I use the 460 for anything bigger than 20 bucking . For felling I use mostly My ms 260 for up to about 12 inches and then the 361 up to about 20 and the 460 over 20 . Most of my felling is in the 12-20 inch range . Then for brushing out I will use the 260 or even the 180 .
Now to answer your question honestly , really is dependant on what you are cutting . I have many saws and all sizes of bars 16-36 inches . The 260 is considered a pro saw but works best in about 12 inch and under , It will do the occasional 20 plus but will be slower . My thoughts are if you can get in the 4-5 HP range for a saw is a nice all around felling and bucking saw for wood up to and including 24 inches . Saws in this range can be the 310 390 361 362 440 . These saws generally are not real extremely heavy , but I would want a smaller saw for brushing out with the bigger saw , Unless you cut like my brother and once it gets down to 4 inches its left for the rabbits . Most pro loggers will run 660 or 460 but they don't brush out they only limb , ( Big Difference )
Some of your answer lies in how much do you cut a year , for me I am in the 14 plus full cords a year if you are in the normal say 4-8 a 310 is probably a great saw or the 390 , neither is called a pro saw but you will probably be bored with it well before you wear it out with taking some kind of reasonable care for it . I mostly use my 360 -16inch bar and my 361 20 inch bar for bucking until I am down to about 4-6 inches then I use my smaller saws . I use the 460 for anything bigger than 20 bucking . For felling I use mostly My ms 260 for up to about 12 inches and then the 361 up to about 20 and the 460 over 20 . Most of my felling is in the 12-20 inch range . Then for brushing out I will use the 260 or even the 180 .
maybe 5 -8 cords/ year. I am running an old jonsered 625 with an 18 inch bar and it fits my needs happily. BUT, it is old and hard to get parts. I had the carb rebuilt last year and they said that they would most like;y not be able to get parts. ( they are a jonsered dealer). So I felled and started to buck up a couple of wild cherry and white oak and after the 3rd tank it would not start. I cleaned are filter and removed spark plug thinking I might have flooded it, I sharpened chain. Then tried to start it again with it back together and it wont start ??? 
So a stihl with equal qualities to this jonsered would work well for me
So a stihl with equal qualities to this jonsered would work well for me
kwikrp said:maybe 5 -8 cords/ year. I am running an old jonsered 625 with an 18 inch bar and it fits my needs happily. BUT, it is old and hard to get parts. I had the carb rebuilt last year and they said that they would most like;y not be able to get parts. ( they are a jonsered dealer). So I felled and started to buck up a couple of wild cherry and white oak and after the 3rd tank it would not start. I cleaned are filter and removed spark plug thinking I might have flooded it, I sharpened chain. Then tried to start it again with it back together and it wont start ???
So a stihl with equal qualities to this jonsered would work well for me
290 would fit the bill also 310,390 and 361/362 I would go with your pocket book on this one just because All have there place and 8-10 cords you really dont need a pro saw it would be more of a want!
All-around pro saw = 361/362. And they cure cancer.
S
Webie, I'm digging the little digs here and there!
S
Webie, I'm digging the little digs here and there!
I am very happy with my ms 310 cut alot of wood in the last few years with it. Averaging 30 plus cord a year and all hard wood. Never has given me a problem but some times I would like to slap a 16 inch bar on it to get more power. I run a 20 inch bar and keep the chain nice and sharp and it cuts that oak like butter. I think I paid 450 for it around 4 or 5 years ago and it has never let me down and always starts right up a little bit of love goes along way with a stihl saw I still have my pops 011av thats over twenty years old and use it quite often.
thinkxingu said:
Nice. The dealer suggested 290 18" for 370.00 sounds pretty decent considering the poundage to power ratio.
What kind of a dealer would recommend a 290 when a customer asks for a PRO saw? One thing I've noticed is that the Stihl dealers in my area don't 'sell' their gear, which is somewhat sad. Although I love my MS250, had the dealer gone over the differences and options on the other saws, he could definitely have sold me on the 361. Now, I have both! Wait...maybe he's brilliant?!
S
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I was just going to mention That you may want to contact a few saw dealers and see what they have used if you are on a budget . I have bought quite a few used saws over the years , that were really nice . You might be able to get into more saw for = to a 290
I did some googling on your old Jonsered and If you are looking at a 290 that may actualy be less saw.kwikrp said:maybe 5 -8 cords/ year. I am running an old jonsered 625 with an 18 inch bar and it fits my needs happily. BUT, it is old and hard to get parts. I had the carb rebuilt last year and they said that they would most like;y not be able to get parts. ( they are a jonsered dealer). So I felled and started to buck up a couple of wild cherry and white oak and after the 3rd tank it would not start. I cleaned are filter and removed spark plug thinking I might have flooded it, I sharpened chain. Then tried to start it again with it back together and it wont start ???
So a stihl with equal qualities to this jonsered would work well for me
What I have found so far is its
3.8 cu. in, 61.5 cc, 4.1hp, 13.6lbs(6.2kg), max. no-load rpm 12500, mfg until at least 1994
The dealer is just trying to make room for the new 291's....
I kinda want to play with a 391..I'm not a clam case hater......
I kinda want to play with a 391..I'm not a clam case hater......
RowCropRenegade said:
I like my 390. I burried all 28 inches of blade cutting up a 4 foot diameter 100 year old oak this weekend. It took about 6 minutes per cut through this monster, sometimes bogging the saw. If I had to do a lot of these types of trees, I would definatly buy a more powerfull saw. But since I run across this type of mother load only rarely, it was nice to see that the 390 could handle it.
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I have a brand new MS390 with a 16 inch chain that has been sitting in the box for almost three weeks untouched because I've been out of town a lot. Can't wait to get my hands on it. I'm hoping it will be a little bit of an improvement over my little Craftsman. Ya think?
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