Today....

[Reach]

Good to hear. It is a bit heavier than the 362, but not by much and you get a pretty big power increase for that weight, plus the incredible acceleration from the lightweight magnesium piston like the 500i has. I'll probably end up putting a 20" on it as well, the 25 is just how it came and I wanted to try it out. Needs bigger dogs though, what it came with wasn't even reaching the bark in our firs during some of my felling...

The 500i does not have a magnesium piston, this 400 is the first saw to have that, the 500i gets its acceleration from its fuel injection. With a 20” bar, I think you’ll love it. And buy the outside dog, that makes a big difference. We add that to all of our saws, Stihl makes one for all their pro series saws.

 

[27RMT0N]

The 500i does not have a magnesium piston, this 400 is the first saw to have that, the 500i gets its acceleration from its fuel injection. With a 20” bar, I think you’ll love it. And buy the outside dog, that makes a big difference. We add that to all of our saws, Stihl makes one for all their pro series saws.

Ah, I stand corrected. I'll see if my dealer has an outside dog to try, before going for bigger aftermarket ones if I don't like it.

 

[Reach]

Ah, I stand corrected. I'll see if my dealer has an outside dog to try, before going for bigger aftermarket ones if I don't like it.

No worries, we all make mistakes. I only know the 500i does not have a magnesium piston because Stihl made a big deal out of the 400 being the first saw to have it.

If your dealer has trouble looking up the part number for that outside dog (Stihl calls them Bumper Spikes, you may need to know that to order one), let me know and I will find it for you, it should be stamped into the side of the one we have.

 

[southsoundtree]

Some models' dogs are interchangeable.

I think i have 441 size dogs on my 261.

 

[oceans]

A friend gave me some aftermarket dogs from West Coast Saw for my ms461 . Very nice. Whole new saw. A little less forgiving just trying to take it out of the truck box, but well worth it.

 

[dspacio]

I worked with a crew just for the 2nd time, and was talking to myself as usual "gonna go there.. cut there... catch an throw the piece there..." and they kept asking me "What?" until they realized it's all in my head.
I hollered "yall are lucky I am not on that Sena or you'd be hearing me all day!"

just a fun day of technical, tight, but safe tree work. Removed a snapped out yellow-wood top hanging by a cable, and a mid-size dead pine in tight quarters. I was in a (not-so) rare mood, twas refreshing.

 

[27RMT0N]

A friend gave me some aftermarket dogs from West Coast Saw for my ms461 . Very nice. Whole new saw. A little less forgiving just trying to take it out of the truck box, but well worth it.

Thanks for the review. I've actually made a few orders with them recently for various parts, but have held off on their dogs due to the loss of bar length from their large size. I think I'm going to order some for my bigger saws to try out (I run a 500i with a 28" and 661 with a 36") as those two are backwards compatible, but I wonder if the 361/400 ones are too much for a 20".

 

[oceans]

Thanks for the review. I've actually made a few orders with them recently for various parts, but have held off on their dogs due to the loss of bar length from their large size. I think I'm going to order some for my bigger saws to try out (I run a 500i with a 28" and 661 with a 36") as those two are backwards compatible, but I wonder if the 361/400 ones are too much for a 20".

The loss of bar length is a real thing, but only marginally so. The gains in secure saw positioning are huge, and I especially appreciate it when aloft. I initially thought they would be nice just for face cuts when felling smaller trees, but they’re just magic for a variety of saw positions I use for cutting crane picks on trunk wood. I love the bits on dead trees with bark sloughing off since I spend little to no time swiping away bark just to get a bite.

I also had to ask myself just how often I need all my useable bar length on any given saw. I carry a 201, 461, and 660. This makes for a pretty even step in size. I’m on he verge of switching to lighter weight bars across the board and slightly longer only for the 461 and 660. I haven’t made up my mind just what length to run yet, only because it feels more like a luxury purchase. Everything is great already.

 

[Treezybreez]

Slabbed a pretty big Eastern Red Cedar at my friend Jon's place. Hopefully I'll be able to get a few natural edge coffee tables out of it.

 

[pete3d]

My fleet! - on the job on the nicest day of 2022, so far.

 

[Njdelaney]

Looks like a fun day!

 

[pete3d]

Looks like a fun day!

Every day I’m out in, or even near trees is great fun to me, although it’s taken me decades to figure that out.
On top of that, here it was a day “like the first day of Spring”.

 

[27RMT0N]

So I was at my local Stihl dealer yesterday and they told me they put in a $60k spring order from the distributor, but only got... $3k of it.

So expect the saw shortage to continue for a good while. If anyone is planning on buying saws or whatever, get on a list now and don't expect to be able to get what you need right when you need it.

(I've been on a wait list for a certain bar and blower for over a month now. Waited over a month for the 400 and almost 2 for the 500i recently if memory serves me correctly)

 

[27RMT0N]

A few photos, why not.

Cutting in a step in order to cut and wedge over a back leaning cedar on a very steep slope, making and enjoying the view, speed-lining and the snag I created, 'sawing a lean' with my new MS400 while dropping logs, and using a gutted hinge while felling sketchy snags with the 661.

 

[Winchman]

Remember this tree with the funky base in my neighbor's yard?

What's this horrible growth on my neighbor's oak tree?

The tree is leaning toward the house. The base is nearly encircled with this firm gnarly growth. One area (below left) is darker and feels moist. There's an opening near the ground to a cavity. I probed around inside, and there was no rotten-feeling material. The cavity isn't nearly as...

www.treebuzz.com

Well they decided they wanted it down and the stump removed. He has been doing well after his shoulder surgery and therapy/exercises, and wanted to work on the tree. I spent last week climbing the tree and removing s bunch of limbs. I got all but one on the side toward the house, and several of the low ones on the other side that might damage their irrigation system when the tree fell. With the lean toward the house, the tree was pretty much balanced after the I was done.

He was up for digging the stump out, so that's what we did yesterday. Having a hefty fifty-foot lever sure helped.


It was a good workout for both of us, and we got a little help from my Silverado at the end. He lost one little plant, and I lost a limb on my dying dogwood. I'm putting this in the serious win column.

I'm anxious to cut into the growth to see what the inside looks like.

 

[Winchman]

The mattock and I did a little dirt and root removal work on the stump today.

 

[oceans]

The mattock and I did a little dirt and root removal work on the stump today.
View attachment 80306

Call me crazy, but some stumps can look super cool. I’ve seen some that were.carved into some amazing pieces of art. It’s so much work to get them really clean…clean enough to cut with any kind of edge. Rain can be a huge help with that.

 

[Njdelaney]

Call me crazy, but some stumps can look super cool. I’ve seen some that were.carved into some amazing pieces of art. It’s so much work to get them really clean…clean enough to cut with any kind of edge. Rain can be a huge help with that.

And an air compressor and a power washer

 

[SeanRuel]

I saw an incredible chandelier Once made from a stump. Wanted to make one ever since, probably an airspade would Be the ticket followed by chucking it in the ocean for a year.

 

[27RMT0N]

Ran the 1/4" pitch/Panther conversion on my T540i for the first time today. More hours are needed before a final conclusion, but it is certainly an improvement, although not nearly as big a difference as the swap was on my 2511T. More to come.

(Also, the MonkeyBeaver speed-line kit is super nice)