Stihl ms440 vs ms461

[filsonhand]

Hello All

I'm thinking of upgrading my ms 440 to a new ms461. Anyone running a 461 with some advice.

Looking to run a 32" bar.

Will be used for firewood and some occasional falling.

I have an 026 for the smaller stuff

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[v0lcom13sn0w]

i hear the 461 is a great saw. i wish i could help. ive been wanting an ms250 forever now. just need to save up a little bit.

 

[filsonhand]

Pickup a used 026, excellent saws

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

Pickup a used 026, excellent saws

i'll keep an eye out!

 

[Kruel J]

If you want that much bar, get the MS461 for sure. That's a lot of bar for the 440. I ran a 32" on an MS390 and had pretty good luck for years. Either way, great saws.

 

[filsonhand]

 

[Kruel J]

The 026 was a killer saw back in the day!

 

[filsonhand]

If you want that much bar, get the MS461 for sure. That's a lot of bar for the 440. I ran a 32' on an MS390 and had pretty good luck for years. Either way, great saws.

I'm tempted to get a 32" es light bar and run a full skip to keep up the rpm's on the 440. I've got a 28" on it now, but I want a few more inches for limbing and saving the backache .

 

[Kruel J]

I'm tempted to get a 32" es light bar and run a full skip to keep up the rpm's on the 440. I've got a 28" on it now, but I want a few more inches for limbing and saving the backache .

Well don't run a skip while limbing, unless you can maintain full RPM's all the time. Otherwise it's just gonna grab like crazy. Even at full speed it tends to.

 

[41mag]

I've owned/operated the old 025/030/031? and the last decade a new Farm Boss 290. Perfect for 24" and firewood but buddies run same same with 28". None of them seem to want the extra effort for a larger saw. Then again, very little falling, mostly just firewood & jawing about the good old days.

 

[filsonhand]

Well don't run a skip while limbing, unless you can maintain full RPM's all the time. Otherwise it's just gonna grab like crazy. Even at full speed it tends to.

Interesting, honestly never gave it too much thought, or had an issue. I've run square chisel skip in the past, but usually stick to round ground nowadays unless I'm in really clean wood

 

[Kruel J]

Interesting, honestly never gave it too much thought, or had an issue. I've run square chisel skip in the past, but usually stick to round ground nowadays unless I'm in really clean wood

Full skip tends to grab the smaller limbs, and yank the saw forward. YMMV but I always kept skips and full tooths on hand. For falling, rounding and such I always used a skip. But for limbing, especially on younger trees I would swap to the full tooth. Again, I'm not a logger and YMMV.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

The 461 is a Light Saber!

Skip or semi-skip, full comp might pull a guy into a tree or over a log

Not enough bar oil for my liking; with the screw fully turned, but I'll trust the German engineering. Plan on 2 tanks of fuel for 1 tank of bar oil.

28" bar is optimum; 30 or 32 is pushing it a bit..

Some are delivered without a sock on the air filter; budget one in.

Edit: no ethanol and they start every time.

 

[filsonhand]

Full skip tends to grab the smaller limbs, and yank the saw forward. YMMV but I always kept skips and full tooths on hand. For falling, rounding and such I always used a skip. But for limbing, especially on younger trees I would swap to the full tooth. Again, I'm not a logger and YMMV.

Me neither, but I do love the smell of two stroke and wood chips. Also the nice warm fire I'm sitting next to

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

The 026 was a killer saw back in the day!

the 260 took its place, yeah?

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

YES. RUN CLEAR/ NON ETHANOL. ALWAYS.

 

[41mag]

My very first saw circa 1974 was a (as it came to be known) yellow bastard gear drive. Weighed a ton, used it for a couple years before learning something called 'sharpening chain' might help.....

Didn't know much about saws. Cut a jiggabillion chunks of firewood. It pretty much would start/run regardless. It was slow enough it really mattered little whether it was running or I was just moving the bar back & forth like a hand saw....*kaff*kaff*....

Traded off on a 32" black & yellow hot rod McCulloch 81(?) that was just about like an AC Cobra running the 1/4 mile....it was considerably touchier to keep running. Migrated thru a bunch of them over the decades. Discovered the singular unsung unadvertised merits of a particular brand new Jonesred was its unexpected aerodynamic flight characteristics as it was summarily fired from its first outing to the Big Lake/Hoodoo firewood area....

 

[filsonhand]

the 260 took its place, yeah?

Yes indeed

Pretty common around 250-300 smackers

 

[Kruel J]

Me neither, but I do love the smell of two stroke and wood chips. Also the nice warm fire I'm sitting next to

Well who the heck doesn't?

 

[filsonhand]

Well who the heck doesn't?

Hippies