Needing a bigger saw.

Its been a while, but I have owned a quite a few 70cc 372XP's in the past, and they always cut like raped apes. The nice thing about the 3 series saws like the 395 and 372 is the simple, old school design. No computer chips or new fangled nonsense to go wrong. An on/off switch, manual choke, and a compression button. Just kickass powerful workhorses that are very easy to keep dialed in without being forced to seek a saw tech. I wish more saw like this were being produced these days.

I have a few buddies who own the new 572XP and they seem to love it. I did have the opportunity to run a 572XP recently and it screamed and threw chips like a Mofo with a 28" on it.
 
evo said:
So to start off I’m not very brand loyal. I’ve been running Stihls, mostly due to dealer support, and keeping the equipment consistent.

I’m looking at picking up a bigger saw, and looking for comparisons between a husky 395xp and a 661.

There is a husky down the street, with a short bar, no full wrap for just under a grand.

I called for a quote on a 661 3/4 wrap, and 32” bar and got a price of $1299

I’d imagine by the time I add a 3/4 and a bigger bar I’d be looking about the same price, or just a smidge under for the husky.

I’ve used a 661 with a 32” and honestly wasn’t that impressed. Chain speed seemed slower than a 440 with a 28”. Maybe a little more torque, but with the added weight I’d opt to double cut with the 440 before pulling out the 661.

What I really want is a inbetweeny intermediate from a 661 and a 880
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Watched Conor run his brand new 661 which he had Wood's Logging (Sedro Wooley) woods port.
I've run many 066/660's over the years, always with a dual port muffler. They are much lighter than a 395, but have less power when each are in bone stock form. Personally, I'd get a ported 390, done by someone like Hotsaws 101. At least 50% more power than stock.
 
rico said:
I have a few buddies who own the new 572XP and they seem to love it. I did have the opportunity to run a 572XP recently and it screamed and threw chips like a Mofo with a 28" on it.
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I've heard a bit about the 572.... I'd imagine they won't hop up as well the the 372 did.... I only have one of the new design saws, a 550XP which also has been fully modded. I like it, but think my ported 346XP's were faster. My ehp 357, done by Ed Heard many years ago, is a freakin' screamer, and is why I've not added a 562 to the fleet. and I still have two 372's, not stock of course.
 
Roger_Barnett said:
I've heard a bit about the 572.... I'd imagine they won't hop up as well the the 372 did.... I only have one of the new design saws, a 550XP which also has been fully modded. I like it, but think my ported 346XP's were faster. My ehp 357, done by Ed Heard many years ago, is a freakin' screamer, and is why I've not added a 562 to the fleet. and I still have two 372's, not stock of course.
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I stopped running modded saws a long time ago. If it takes anything more than some high test fuel and a sharp chain to make a stock saw to kickass, then I am not interested.

Speaking of Hotsaws modded saws. Not really much of a competition- 395XP all day long.

 
colb said:
I run the 20" bar 90% of the time. I do about 1 "big" tree a month, where the bottom trunk needs a 36" bar. The rest are run-of-the-mill" types - 24" pines, oaks, and whatnot. I get a lot more control in my back cuts with the 661. As soon as I have a stem tipped the right way I can power through.
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A 20" bar on a 90cc saw? Your in 16"-24' wood for fuck sakes. How much power do you really need here?
Out here we tend to run the longest bar we can get away with on a given powerhead. Hell, I usually run a 28" on my lowly 60cc bone stock 562XP and the performance is simply stunning.
 
I don’t need nor do I want to pay for the biggest most bad ass saw around. This saw would be lucky to come out of the shop a dozen or so times a year.

Think I’m leaning to a 661. It can take all the bars I already own, I can take it to the local shop, it can give my 440 a break when I’m pushing the limits of that saw, and I’m familiar with the body etc..

While it sounds like a 395 is a solid step above I just don’t see it getting used as much as a 661 would.
 
Alright, for the sake of discussion and because I want a saw that can handle a bar in the 4 foot range for the occasional large (over 36" chest height) oak or maple removal I get, can a 395 handle that in hard wood? Mod my 660? Or am I looking at 880 or 3120 range?
 
RBJtree said:
Alright, for the sake of discussion and because I want a saw that can handle a bar in the 4 foot range for the occasional large (over 36" chest height) oak or maple removal I get, can a 395 handle that in hard wood? Mod my 660? Or am I looking at 880 or 3120 range?
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I would not ask a 395XP to effectively pull a 4 foot bar. I frequently run a 42" and that is about as big as I would ever go. 4 ft and up I would go with a 3120, and pass on the 880. I have a stock 3120 and a lightly modded 3120 and they both blow my mind every time I fire them up. Simply the best big saw I have ever run. About a year ago I worked with a fella who was running an 880 with a 42" on it, and we both agreed that my 395XP with a 42" was whoopin' its ass. He is now the proud owner of one those gawd awful Brazilian made 395XP's?
 
rico said:
I have 3 Brazilian made 395's sitting in my shed

I would like to dispel this myth straight away. I am currently running 2 Brazilian built 395XP's, and I have had ZERO issues in 5-6 years with the Brazilian built saws. Thats right, Zero.
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Erik I'm glad you haven't had trouble with the Brazilian 395's you have, and that based on your experience with your 2 saws it's a myth to you personally.

But when a saw builder I know personally tells me the quality isn't the same, I trust his judgment. The guy will tear apart more 395s in a year or two than you or I will ever run in our lifetimes. Still good saws but quality control isn't the same in Brazil as it was in Sweden
 
RBJtree said:
Alright, for the sake of discussion and because I want a saw that can handle a bar in the 4 foot range for the occasional large (over 36" chest height) oak or maple removal I get, can a 395 handle that in hard wood? Mod my 660? Or am I looking at 880 or 3120 range?
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I took down some oak trunk last month that was mainly ~45" cuts with a couple 50"+ cuts at the first crotch and the bottom flair. My depth gauges were high and it was a pita end-of-day scenario. The base cut to drop the spar just needed 10 inches of love on the second side sides with the 36" bar. I did not need accuracy, but I feel I could have been accurate because when the face cut is larger there is a lot more information to sense through the bar than with a shorter bar.

When I'm bucking up trunk I usually bore cut through the top to leave a bit of holding wood to keep the kerf open. I can get the bore through just fine before the diameter thickens, then I go to the other side and dip the bar in the kerf there to finish. It's very workable for me...

I ran the saw hard for 20-30 minutes, then idled it for 5 minutes to cool it down. That's a lot to ask from a saw like that and it just worked without complaint...
 
rico said:
A 20" bar on a 90cc saw? Your in 16"-24' wood for fuck sakes. How much power do you really need here?
Out here we tend to run the longest bar we can get away with on a given powerhead. Hell, I usually run a 28" on my lowly 60cc bone stock 562XP and the performance is simply stunning.
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I mean, it's a little heavy, but as soon as it's in the kerf it's fine, and I don't know anyone who doesn't want more power.

I don't get the 201t thing. Seems like guys use them because they are powerful, but to me they just seem too in the middle to have a purpose. If I want to prune, I pack my 2511t. If I want to remove, I start with my 2511t, do a couple slow cuts in 14" wood, then take the 661 to the rest. It's nice to go through wood like its butter when I'm making occassional critical cuts, or just in general. The other day I cut some dead pine off its hinge after the grcs tipped it. I had no doubt about whether I'd be able to get through it before the fibers started side pulling.

The 661 is barely heavier than the next saw smaller in the Stihl lineup, so I don't understand the utility of the 461. Seems like a $:bar length ratio thing. I guess usually you're out of the woods in terms of ratio of piece weight to rigging stem size by the time you get into 28" wood, so the cuts are not as critical?
 
rico said:
I would not ask a 395XP to effectively pull a 4 foot bar. I frequently run a 42" and that is about as big as I would ever go. 4 ft and up I would go with a 3120, and pass on the 880. I have a stock 3120 and a lightly modded 3120 and they both blow my mind every time I fire them up. Simply the best big saw I have ever run. About a year ago I worked with a fella who was running an 880 with a 42" on it, and we both agreed that my 395XP with a 42" was whoopin' its ass. He is now the proud owner of one those gawd awful Brazilian made 395XP's?
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How are the Husky bars at that size? I worked for a company a good while back that had an 880 with a 5 foot bar. It was so floppy that I had to start horizontal cuts with the tip, then bring the saw up to straighten the bar.
 
colb said:
I took down some oak trunk last month that was mainly ~45" cuts with a couple 50"+ cuts at the first crotch and the bottom flair. My depth gauges were high and it was a pita end-of-day scenario. The base cut to drop the spar just needed 10 inches of love on the second side sides with the 36" bar. I did not need accuracy, but I feel I could have been accurate because when the face cut is larger there is a lot more information to sense through the bar than with a shorter bar.

When I'm bucking up trunk I usually bore cut through the top to leave a bit of holding wood to keep the kerf open. I can get the bore through just fine before the diameter thickens, then I go to the other side and dip the bar in the kerf there to finish. It's very workable for me...

I ran the saw hard for 20-30 minutes, then idled it for 5 minutes to cool it down. That's a lot to ask from a saw like that and it just worked without complaint...
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660, 32" bar. It gets the job done. Lucky for me I didn't have to go any lower with this one. It would have been nice to make the notch without having to cut from both sides. I have beat the shit out of this saw.
 
theatertech87 said:
My main issue with the 661 is balance, or a 32-36 inch bar on it and it is very bar heavy, not the case with the 395
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True that it is nose heavy for sure with a stock bar. Hoping to get a fancy pants bar if and when I pick one up.

Walked into the local saw shop, they want a few hundred more than any other dealers within a 30 minute commute. Add icing to the nail, the tech behind the counter was wearing a hack competitors tee shirt. Made a few comments and turned on my heals. Looks like I’ll be burying my goods online or in bulk from the mainland.

They are the reason why I started working on my own saws, so no real loss.
 
So one thing I don’t get is stihls warranty.

3 years for a home owner or 1 year for a pro? At least that’s what the dealer explained to me. Is this at the discretion of the dealer?
 
Haven’t tried the boss air filter system on stihl 6 series saws but when I owned a 395 it always kept the air filter clean, whereas I am always cleaning my stock air filter on the 660 (in hardwood) even throughout the job, and performance suffers on the job.

If I can keep the wind direction favourable helps to keep it clean. In the bucket I can’t always do that.

This is my main issue between the saws. Other than I don’t like the stock muffler on the 395 and would change the ports on it if I bought another. And I do prefer the bar nuts on the 660.
 
colb said:
When I'm bucking up trunk I usually bore cut through the top to leave a bit of holding wood to keep the kerf open. I can get the bore through just fine before the diameter thickens, then I go to the other side and dip the bar in the kerf there to finish. It's very workable for me...
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Sounds like you need to go work with a pro faller/bucker and learn how to properly buck logs Colb. Alway go get that far side wood first, then work your saw over the top, and then work your kerf to create space for you bar. Right on through without ever pulling your saw out or pulling a bunch of wood fibre, which is a real no-no in my world. Eazy parcheezy!!

 
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