I hope all had a nice safe holiday.
You guys have seen me post the “should I get a MS361 to replace my MS270 that I bought new a few years ago. Well the saga continues but now I am off in another direction (and no I never did get a 361).
To date I have gone thought maybe 20 cords with the 270 - the biggest tree bucked was a 38 inch red oak (which had to ram it with the tractor bucket to break off the pieces since my 270 only has a 18 inch bar - took a while but it worked). I am now getting wood delivered in log length and while most are easily manageable with the 270 I do wish for a larger bar for those bigger logs. I decided to stay with the 270 because I am a small guy and the weight to me is perfect for my go to saw 80% of the time and it so friggin smooth. I just didn’t see a huge return in performance if I was to replace it with a used 361.
So, here is where I am - my 270 cuts like butter for rounds in the order of 12 - 15 inch however it does struggle for the 20+ ones - initially this was where I felt I should look into getting the 361 with a 20 inch bar (and sell the 270) but now I am thinking augmenting the 270 with a big boy (like a 461 with 25 inch bar on it). I did consider the 660 but I have read these are quite heavy and thirsty) for your average homeowner / wood processor.
One other reason I was thinking of going with a larger more powerful saw is that I recently had some nice black walnut and was thinking of making some slabs out of it with a (not yet purchased) Alaskan Mill - the 461 may come in handy for those times.
Is my direction sound?...is the 461 a nice “big boy saw” for the big boy logs?...will a 461 run a Alaskan Mill for the “odd times I want to use it”…
Any comments are greatly appreciated and as always thanks in advance!
You guys have seen me post the “should I get a MS361 to replace my MS270 that I bought new a few years ago. Well the saga continues but now I am off in another direction (and no I never did get a 361).
To date I have gone thought maybe 20 cords with the 270 - the biggest tree bucked was a 38 inch red oak (which had to ram it with the tractor bucket to break off the pieces since my 270 only has a 18 inch bar - took a while but it worked). I am now getting wood delivered in log length and while most are easily manageable with the 270 I do wish for a larger bar for those bigger logs. I decided to stay with the 270 because I am a small guy and the weight to me is perfect for my go to saw 80% of the time and it so friggin smooth. I just didn’t see a huge return in performance if I was to replace it with a used 361.
So, here is where I am - my 270 cuts like butter for rounds in the order of 12 - 15 inch however it does struggle for the 20+ ones - initially this was where I felt I should look into getting the 361 with a 20 inch bar (and sell the 270) but now I am thinking augmenting the 270 with a big boy (like a 461 with 25 inch bar on it). I did consider the 660 but I have read these are quite heavy and thirsty) for your average homeowner / wood processor.
One other reason I was thinking of going with a larger more powerful saw is that I recently had some nice black walnut and was thinking of making some slabs out of it with a (not yet purchased) Alaskan Mill - the 461 may come in handy for those times.
Is my direction sound?...is the 461 a nice “big boy saw” for the big boy logs?...will a 461 run a Alaskan Mill for the “odd times I want to use it”…
Any comments are greatly appreciated and as always thanks in advance!
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