Stihl Clone Saws???

macrocarpa

macrocarpa

Branched out member
Location
Midwest
For someone who does almost all pruning, consults & phc, I rarely need a big saw. I have several midsize saws like the 346 XP and 550 XP.

Only a couple times a year would it be nice to have a bigger saw if I do a big dead spruce removal or something like that.

That’s said, would it be a good investment or a mistake to rely on one of these stihl clones?

Guilty of treeson just did a video about the 660 clone.

$305 on Amazon

 
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I had similar temptations about Chinese mini loaders. A guy nearby has a brand new "Infront YF380" for $5600. Says he bought 2 - one to keep and one to resell and help lower shipping cost.

That's a $30K difference!!! But I still don't think I'm tempted enough. It's hard to find stats about the machine. Will I ever be able to buy parts?

If, however, those saws are clones, are parts interchangeable???

I'd more likely look for a good used Husqvarna or Stihl saw...maybe. $300 isn't a lot to gamble with.
 
ATH said:
I had similar temptations about Chinese mini loaders. A guy nearby has a brand new "Infront YF380" for $5600. Says he bought 2 - one to keep and one to resell and help lower shipping cost.

That's a $30K difference!!! But I still don't think I'm tempted enough. It's hard to find stats about the machine. Will I ever be able to buy parts?

If, however, those saws are clones, are parts interchangeable???

I'd more likely look for a good used Husqvarna or Stihl saw...maybe. $300 isn't a lot to gamble with.
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The parts are interchangeable.

I think metaspencer bought a mini loader like your talking about. I’ve seen his YouTube videos about it.
 
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macrocarpa said:
For someone who does almost all pruning, consults & phc, I rarely need a big saw. I have several midsize saws like the 346 XP and 550 XP.

Only a couple times a year would it be nice to have a bigger saw if I do a big dead spruce removal or something like that.

That’s said, would it be a good investment or a mistake to rely on one of these stihl clones?

Guilty of treeson just did a video about the 660 clone.

$305 on Amazon

Click to expand...
I guess I wonder whether hiring someone with the big guns for those couple times a year might be a better way to play it. A saw that’s just used a handful of times a year always has old gas, mouse poop, gummed up oil, etc.

And I would assume if you’re doing something sizable you want to have someone around to help who knows what they’re doing!
 
I looked into those saws once, more out of curiosity than anything, and saw on their website saw that a complete saw being shipped by them might be confiscated by customs and if so, you were out of a saw and the money you paid. Seemed kinda risky for a saw with known cheap parts that you end up swapping with stihl parts anyways to make it run better/more dependable.

You won't regret owning a quality saw, you might regret owning a knockoff. Or not. It might end up being a great deal.

Have you tried buying used? Marketplace has often got several options
 
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Jehinten said:
I looked into those saws once, more out of curiosity than anything, and saw on their website saw that a complete saw being shipped by them might be confiscated by customs and if so, you were out of a saw and the money you paid. Seemed kinda risky for a saw with known cheap parts that you end up swapping with stihl parts anyways to make it run better/more dependable.

You won't regret owning a quality saw, you might regret owning a knockoff. Or not. It might end up being a great deal.

Have you tried buying used? Marketplace has often got several options
Click to expand...
I bought a 200T nock off Holsforma (the working man’s saw). You can get them on Amazon for a few hundred. It ran great for a little while.
 
Jehinten said:
I looked into those saws once, more out of curiosity than anything, and saw on their website saw that a complete saw being shipped by them might be confiscated by customs and if so, you were out of a saw and the money you paid. Seemed kinda risky for a saw with known cheap parts that you end up swapping with stihl parts anyways to make it run better/more dependable.

You won't regret owning a quality saw, you might regret owning a knockoff. Or not. It might end up being a great deal.

Have you tried buying used? Marketplace has often got several options
Click to expand...
Does sound sketchy. I think if it doesn’t get delivered and it was purchased from Amazon, its easy to get a refund.

I’ve looked at used and it seems like people are asking a fortune to where I would almost prefer to just buy new. And really, this is more out of curiosity than necessity. I sold all my equipment years ago when I took a municipal job and rebuilt the business around preservation work since.

I’ve seen quite a few videos on YouTube of people saying the clones run pretty darn good!
 
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I don't go to McDeath's for a steak dinner.

That said, CS on a clone will be at a minimal, along with a good warrantee. QC also at a minimum in clone land.
Lastly, keep your monies circulating inland, AMAP.
 
Fortunately at my local multi-brand (Stihl, Husky, Echo, etc.) chain saw dealer they are always keen to rent out any of the saws on the used rack (where there are typically some long bar, large displacement “beauties”) for a nominal fee - in hopes of making a sale. These saws are in tip top form of course having been tuned up for resale.
 
ATH said:
I had similar temptations about Chinese mini loaders. A guy nearby has a brand new "Infront YF380" for $5600. Says he bought 2 - one to keep and one to resell and help lower shipping cost.

That's a $30K difference!!! But I still don't think I'm tempted enough. It's hard to find stats about the machine. Will I ever be able to buy parts?

If, however, those saws are clones, are parts interchangeable???

I'd more likely look for a good used Husqvarna or Stihl saw...maybe. $300 isn't a lot to gamble with.
Click to expand...
I've been tempted by the loaders too.
 
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I bought a chinese loader and based on the facebook pages its luck of the draw on quality. People who have ordered straighy from.manufacturer seem to have higher quality. And you better be prepared for repairs with no support. Luckily my neighbor is a retired machinist and i bought it for around the house and occasional side job so im happy with it
 
While parts might be “interchangeable” QC and tolerances might not. I bought a aftermarket 3/4 wrap for my 361, and I while I could have wollowed out the mounting holes and bend things to force fit it. I ended up just buying oem. Shit fit like a glove.
Now I’ve been tempted in buying a clone myself to do some mods as essentially as a practice saw. But I have too many projects and saws to maintain on a good day. Currently have 3 down.
 
evo said:
While parts might be “interchangeable” QC and tolerances might not. I bought a aftermarket 3/4 wrap for my 361, and I while I could have wollowed out the mounting holes and bend things to force fit it. I ended up just buying oem. Shit fit like a glove.
Now I’ve been tempted in buying a clone myself to do some mods as essentially as a practice saw. But I have too many projects and saws to maintain on a good day. Currently have 3 down.
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This sounds like a good idea for learning to port a saw! I would definitely take my chances learning on a cheap saw that I know was new and fully funtional when I started.
 
I'd much rather buy an OEM, blown up, already in need of a rebuild.
Cylinders are easy to clean, and good pistons are available. Sometimes you can find a good OEM piston, if not, Meteor is a good aftermarket piston. Shy away from Hyway products. Heard bad things about them.
 
That will probably be the way I go on my second attempt, but I have never even done any major small engine repair, so I would want to rule out any oddities as the cause of my failure. This way, if it doesn't work, I will know I did something wrong.
 
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Matias said:
That will probably be the way I go on my second attempt, but I have never even done any major small engine repair, so I would want to rule out any oddities as the cause of my failure. This way, if it doesn't work, I will know I did something wrong.
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Porting is smoothing the "windows" in the cylinder. You can change timing by lowering the bottom of the window. This is a bit more science to altering timing and should be done with a degree wheel. You can change compression via aftermarket piston, and also by squish....eliminating the base gasket.

A simple smoothing and cleaning up any rough edges on the ''windows,'' and gutting the muffler will help make good power. An easy flowing muffler is good for getting the heat out of the saw.

I haven't ported a saw yet myself, but have studied up on it a while back. In my younger years, I ported cylinder heads off V8 gas engines, free flowed exhaust, degreed mechanical timing, and set ignition timing for the build.
Some of which has been lost to memory. It's been over thirty years since I've played.
 
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