Dolmar 6400

[newman7786]

I am looking for anyone that has real world experience with a Dolmar 6400 or Makita 6401. I have someone on CL about two hours away from me that is asking $400 for his saw. He told me that he has had it for three years and it comes with a 20" bar and another 24" bar. I have seen pics of it and it looks to be in nice shape. I am asking him to get a compression test done and what the numbers are before I dedicate myself to the saw. I am mainly looking to use this saw to fell trees and do some of the larger bucking for me. I also have an 029 super that I got from my FIL is use for limbing and smaller bucking. Thanks in advance and as always great sight!

 

[blades]

I have a couple of 64xx Dolmars, They were about $700 list when new. They are pro saws period although a bit tougher to find dealers for then the 2 most popular brands. Nice thing about 64xx units is if and when it get tired it can be rebuilt to an 80cc unit with a big bore kit for short cash. 20 &24 bars are what i run on mine and work fine, But I am biased as most of my saws are Dolmar. Dolmars Orange, Makita Blue same saw, as Makita owns Dolmar. Couple of my units are pushing20+ years (112,116si) & still run well. Only had one problem on a 7900 cylinder base gasket blew last year, 10year old saw with a lot of hours, internally it looked almost new yet. None of mine are modded in any way. 6400 and 7900 share most parts thats why it is an easy up grade. In my biased opinion it might be a good deal, pull the muffler if possible to get a look at the piston. If its scored up then walk away as its been abused or talk the price down. They are good units just not popular and don share the big dealer net work. Dolmar/Makita so far has resisted the urge to make lesser priced clones for the mass market as the other 2 most popular units have.

 

[JRJ]

After buying one, and having a dealer within 20 min, it would be tough for me to go with anything else. This thing is a Beast!

 

[zzr7ky]

Makita 6401 Bought used in 2007 fo $300. I us it for the duty you describe and love it. I ordered the t4nsioner part I broke pinchinthe saw in a tree that came down while I was removing the powerhead from the bar from Amick's over the phone. It is boringly reliable and bucks with good authority. The worst thing about I can say is it dampens my desire to shop for or buy another saw .

I would hold it by the pull rope and it it seemes to have good compression it would go to work.

Good luck,
Mike

 

[newman7786]

Thanks for all of the replies. He sent me a message and said that he has 200 psi for compression on the saw. He also said that he is going to throw in some used chains at the price. I will let you know if I get a new saw next week.

 

[bassJAM]

I picked up a Makita 6421 with a 20" bar from the Home Depot tool rental area this past summer for just over $200. I've only ran a few tanks of gas through it, but I love the thing! It's my felling and bucking saw and I love the power. Someday I may bump it to 79cc but I don't really have a need to yet. It is a little heavy, but that's why I've got a separate limbing saw. I don't any long term remarks yet, but I researched this thing for hours before pulling the trigger, just about everybody was happy, and it seems most people with CAD end up buying more than one of these, which means a lot IMO.

 

[newman7786]

Bassjam I am jealous of your HD find. I have used the Makita before and was impressed. Unfortunately of the 4 HD stores close to me, only 1 has a rental department and I have been checking in there to see when they will sell the rentals.

 

[bassJAM]

Yeah, I lucked out. What got me started looking was I found one on Craigslist for $350, but after talking to the seller on the phone he confessed that he had just bought one at Home Depot and was trying to flip it and make some money. So I called every HD around me, with no luck. Then a week later one of the Home Depots in KY put 2 of them up on Craigslist. I called right away and left work a couple hours early to get it.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Thanks for all of the replies. He sent me a message and said that he has 200 psi for compression on the saw. He also said that he is going to throw in some used chains at the price. I will let you know if I get a new saw next week.

I would be skeptical of 200psi compression without modification.

The price is high.

I paid under $500 new from Baileys about 3 years ago for a 6401, this was the month before the 6421 came out. The 6421 has the cat muffler which generates a lot of heat.

It's a good very strong saw for 64cc, but it is heavy and bulky. Good anti vibe mounts.

Home depot rental centers sell their old ones for $200-250.

 

[newman7786]

I checked online and most specs I can find show 180 psi to be good compresion for this saw. According to him there are no mods done to the saw. I agree that $400 is a little on the high side and hopefully that is why it is the asking price. I will be calling my local HD on saturday to see what rental equipment they have for sale starting in February.

 

[NH_Wood]

I have a question about these compression numbers - perhaps better for another thread. 200psi compression? 180psi?? I've yet to have a saw that can peak above 160 - including my 262xp. Can any saw reach these other high compression numbers without mods? And, what mods will lead to such high numbers? Mods to change squish? Cheers!

 

[Thistle]

My 40 yr old restored Mac 125 (stock,not the 101B kart engine) has around 180 cold last I checked.You better use that decomp button unless you want to tear the starter off and/or break the rope & your fingers.

2100CD is 170+ & even the 288 after 25+ yrs of use is 165 give or take.

 

[NH_Wood]

Interesting Thistle. So, on that Mac 125 - if you are checking compression with decomp pressed, your actual compression must be quite a bit higher. I've seen a lot of CL ads lately with relatively small saws (50-60cc) stated as pulling 180+ compression - I always assume it can't be that high. I've only comp tested about 30 saw or so, so not many to get a great feel for - but never seen above 160 or so. Tester differences? Those classic big saws are one thing - but when I see an old Husq 55 on CL touting 180psi, I wonder. Cheers!

 

[blades]

Some of those testers the needle covers more than 20 psi

 

[Firewood Bandit]

I have a question about these compression numbers - perhaps better for another thread. 200psi compression? 180psi?? I've yet to have a saw that can peak above 160 - including my 262xp. Can any saw reach these other high compression numbers without mods? And, what mods will lead to such high numbers? Mods to change squish? Cheers!

I agree.

I am not saying that a saw can't have 200 PSI and much more. But those are modified and there is a reason for it.

A used stock saw 200 PSI,

Anything that seems to good to be true, often is.

BTW, 262XP equals a big thumbs up.

 

[NH_Wood]

Bandit - thanks - love the 262xp - any proud parent has to show a photo! Cheers!

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Bandit - thanks - love the 262xp - any proud parent has to show a photo! Cheers!

Minty!

 

[NH_Wood]

Minty!

Yes it is - I posted the story a while back, and feel a little bad saying it again - the deal was crazy. I was working in Ohio this summer and I mentioned to a co-worker about my chainsaws and that I buy saws / sell saws and parts, etc. She said her Dad had a saw that he might be willing to sell. She called him and he said sure thing - he'd sell it. She told me it was a 262xp, and that he wanted......$40. I figured it was probably a wreck, but parts would likely bring some profit. I gave her another $35 to ship from Virginia. The saw shows up and it was one of those 'too good to be true' moments. Saw was in nearly new condition and he included the original bar, paperwork, etc. After a little cleaning, here's what the package looked like.......sold my ms362 soon after and kept this as my 60cc saw - it is truly awesome. Cheers!