TreeVets New MS661C

My advice based on the problems that my 661 had, is to use the saw until the warrantee empires. Then get the mods done. I am still using a stihl rep's saw while my saw is waiting for a new power head to be installed. Apparently the piston had some melting problems. The saw is pretty powerful stock. I've never had a chain tooth shear off until now.
 
I promised Brad yesterday I would give some input and vid on this saw I just got from him. It is impossible to represent the power of this saw without a much better sound pick up camera. But it is just awesome how this runs. And I had a Brad ported 461 as mentioned. This is another level.

I mentioned I had a huge uprooted hackberry to do today but I forgot my cam and was too busy to go back for it even tho all my work is usually a mile or two away. So after work I cut a few discs and had my gm video it and again, the video doesn't represent the way this saw cranks. I am extremely impressed and consider it $1300. very well spent. It tore up the big hack today and I left my 088 home.


DSCF2816.webp
 
treevet said:
I promised Brad yesterday I would give some input and vid on this saw I just got from him. It is impossible to represent the power of this saw without a much better sound pick up camera. But it is just awesome how this runs. And I had a Brad ported 461 as mentioned. This is another level.

I mentioned I had a huge uprooted hackberry to do today but I forgot my cam and was too busy to go back for it even tho all my work is usually a mile or two away. So after work I cut a few discs and had my gm video it and again, the video doesn't represent the way this saw cranks. I am extremely impressed and consider it $1300. very well spent. It tore up the big hack today and I left my 088 home.


View attachment 36340
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Yup. You can drop a saw size when they are ported.
Maybe two. Lol
Enjoy.
 
blsnelling said:
:bananahappy: I love to see a happy customer:D Thanks for your business Dave. I do appreciate it.
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I cannot imagine owning a Stihl that you have not done some mod to. And I really want to port my 261 and 461 whenever you are ready....tomorrow if so. Put me on that list. Thanks Brad for making my tools that I work with every day so much better.
 
Treezybreez said:
My advice based on the problems that my 661 had, is to use the saw until the warrantee expires. Then get the mods done. I am still using a stihl rep's saw while my saw is waiting for a new power head to be installed. Apparently the piston had some melting problems. The saw is pretty powerful stock. I've never had a chain tooth shear off until now.
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First, I'm not a pro, so please be patient with me. I'm wondering what the standard warrantee is for a new Stihl chainsaw when used by a pro for commercial work? Is it three months?

I understand what you are saying about trying to protect yourself from an unexpected, serious problem with a new saw, such as you experienced yourself. The problem with doing it your way is that it adds cost to the process of getting the saw modded, because the saw now needs to be shipped in two directions instead of one.

It also means that Brad will likely have to work on a dirty saw, instead of a pristine, new one. I'm not sure how much that matters to him, or if it makes the mods harder to perform or not.

So the obvious question that I have is, what is Brad's answer to this problem? I would expect that he likes and prefers to work on brand new saws, and so would want to encourage folks to continue on with that practice. All Brad would need to do to calm anyone's fears about an unforeseen defect in a new saw, is to pledge to honor the warrantee on the saw himself.

He'd be taking on an economic risk in order to encourage customers to use his services in the most cost-effective manner possible, as well as to provide the most pleasant working conditions for himself.

So, that is the question. Who bears the risk of a catastrophic failure of a new saw that gets modified before the warrantee has expired?

I hope I don't make anyone mad, just by asking this question.

Thanks for your time.

Tim
 
Fair question.

There's a liability assumed by both myself and the saw buyer. It's generally well understood that when you mod a saw, you lose your factory warranty.

I will stand behind my work 100%. However, I can't be responsible for a defective saw. In the VERY odd case that something went wrong, I would work with the buyer and do everything I could to help rectify the situation. Quite honestly though, this simply hasn't been an issue to date. I have eaten a couple topend repairs/replacements over the years, but there has never been a catastrophic failure of a new saw. They're very simple tools.

Let's look at a worst case scenario. Suppose Dave's new 661 has the crank go out right away on his new saw, totally unrelated to the mods I made. The first thing I'm going to do is talk to my dealer and see if anything can be done. Assuming he'll do nothing, I would donate the labor to rebuild Dave's saw, but Dave would be responsible for the parts. That's the risk you take when you choose to modify anything that's still under warranty. It's no different than if it were a nice used saw not under warranty. I will warranty my work 100%, but not the entire saw.

This is one of the main reasons that I will only port new or like new saws and will not touch aftermarket cylinders on a customers saw. It's not worth your money or my reputation. If a customer chooses to buy their saw locally and run a few tanks of fuel through it, that's fine.
 
Warrantee s on Commercial saws are almost nothing. I would no more expect Brad to take on the warrantee for the few weeks than I would to have him take a saw someone is having problem with on a bought new saw and fix the dealer's or manufacturer's issues. This was a saw that had problems out of the box as I understand it...I doubt Brad has time for that kind of stuff. I sure wouldn't.

I am willing to take my chances on losing warrantee on my new saws that are modded out of the box. These new saws are so pure. But if one did have an issue, my dealer would certainly fix it...and I would pay him. But no employee of mine will run my ported saws unless Stihl starts installing rev limiters like crotch rockets have.
 
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blsnelling said:
Fair question.

There's a liability assumed by both myself and the saw buyer. It's generally well understood that when you mod a saw, you lose your factory warranty.

I will stand behind my work 100%. However, I can't be responsible for a defective saw. In the VERY odd case that something went wrong, I would work with the buyer and do everything I could to help rectify the situation. Quite honestly though, this simply hasn't been an issue to date. I have eaten a couple topend repairs/replacements over the years, but there has never been a catastrophic failure of a new saw. They're very simple tools.

Let's look at a worst case scenario. Suppose Dave's new 661 has the crank go out right away on his new saw, totally unrelated to the mods I made. The first thing I'm going to do is talk to my dealer and see if anything can be done. Assuming he'll do nothing, I would donate the labor to rebuild Dave's saw, but Dave would be responsible for the parts. That's the risk you take when you choose to modify anything that's still under warranty. It's no different than if it were a nice used saw not under warranty. I will warranty my work 100%, but not the entire saw.

This is one of the main reasons that I will only port new or like new saws and will not touch aftermarket cylinders on a customers saw. It's not worth your money or my reputation. If a customer chooses to buy their saw locally and run a few tanks of fuel through it, that's fine.
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Brad, fair enough. Thanks so much for the quick and reasonable response. I appreciate your time.

Just one more question from the new guy on the block, just to be sure that I have a clear understanding. If someone were to buy a new Stihl chainsaw, and use it daily until the warrantee expired, (which I assume is three months or less), would you consider that to be too much use and wear on the chainsaw, or would the owner still be eligible to have the porting work done by you?

Thanks again for your time and attention.

Tim
 
All I ask is that you don't send me a filthy saw, is close to new, and in perfect working condition. I only work on saws on Saturdays and simply don't have time to deal with issues. For the same reason, I don't offer any kind of repairs.
 
Saw mods are kind of like anything else, you pick a good aftermarket product or service and make to educated choice. First thing I did with my 2 day old truck back in 2010 was have a leveling kit installed and put larger than manufacturers recommended tires. Haven't had a single issue but I knew any warranty work would have been a hassle. Sometimes you just have to do it.
 
treevet said:
Just unplug the garage door every night. If they come in upstairs I just shoot them and ask questions later.
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Treevet, it would be a little bit of trouble, but you could have an in-line switch installed for that receptacle, to make it easier to kill power to the opener. It would save time every day, and reduce the wear and tear on both the receptacle and the garage door opener's cord.

Now that I think of it though, it might require the installation of a motor-rated switch, which might add to the cost, but provide protection from overloads and possible fire due to same.

Probably too much trouble. Just a thought.

Tim
 
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