I came accross a yard waste dump and pull up to the office and asked if they had any unwanted hardwood available.The Sup. of the place said go into the back if your ambitious and fill up your pick-up for $15.00 a load,I said fine.I'm driving by all these tree trunks laying on the ground 3 or more feet in thickness.Too big for my STILH 16 inch bar.So not wanting to let these boys out of my grasp I went and bought STIHL's MS 460 MAGNUM saw with a 32 inch bar.It's a monster of a saw.I'll be unleasing it this weekend with anticipated good results
New saw
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Super sized saw for sure. Way more than I would ever use. Once cut you still have to load those big chuncks to get them home. Good luck with your project.
Holy Cow...that's quite an upgrade, good luck with your wood gathering. (more saw than I could ever handle)
Nice saw. That will be my next but I'll be getting it with a 24". A lot of power for only an 18lb saw. Run a shorter bar and cut from both sides.
- Jun 12, 2006
- 1,053
Hi -
That's a bold move for sure!
I cut some big oak like that several years ago. I took several wedges and sledges, and often the few true buddies I had. Made quartering up and loading the rounds a lot safer!
Good luck wit hthe project!
That's a bold move for sure!
I cut some big oak like that several years ago. I took several wedges and sledges, and often the few true buddies I had. Made quartering up and loading the rounds a lot safer!
Good luck wit hthe project!
Carl said:
With a saw of that size, it will be a simple process to quarter the rounds on site and make alot easier loading. I have done it wih my MS310 and it is only about a minute per cut to quarter oak in the 24" range.
Sealcove said:
I'm not sure why anybody would purchase a 460 Mag. if they are going to run an 18" bar. My 361 toys with an 18", and doesn't bog down. At no increase in RPM, you really would gain nothing except more fuel consumption and a heavy power head, with very little performance increase to show for it. Possibly if in the profession, where cutting a couple of seconds from each LARGE cut throughout the day, pays off, maybe. Just my opinion.
The 460 would be an animal with a 25" bar on it.
It depends of the wood you are cutting, and what kinds of demands you put on your saw. The point about the bar length is that it is a waste to use a bar that is much longer than half of the diameters of your typical cuts. A 24" bar is the largest bar you need to cut stuff up to 48", and most people never cut anything even close to that big. If you are cutting logs on the ground you are going to have to roll the log and make a second cut anyway, so you are unlikely to make many single cuts with a 30+" bar.
Professionally I use a 372XP with a 18" bar & a 460 with a 20" bar to cut 36"-40" black locust and oak (along with softwood). The only thing a longer bar would get me is weight and more sharpening time. BTW even the 460 Magnum with a 20" bar can bog down on some boar cuts into hardwood. I have longer bars, but I think it has been nearly a decade since I have used anything longer than 24". You will usually only see pro's putting on a long bar for the rare monster tree that requires it.
Professionally I use a 372XP with a 18" bar & a 460 with a 20" bar to cut 36"-40" black locust and oak (along with softwood). The only thing a longer bar would get me is weight and more sharpening time. BTW even the 460 Magnum with a 20" bar can bog down on some boar cuts into hardwood. I have longer bars, but I think it has been nearly a decade since I have used anything longer than 24". You will usually only see pro's putting on a long bar for the rare monster tree that requires it.
Ats my primary saw...it's not the animal you think it is. I mean, yeah, it's overkill for trimming branches but light enough to cut all day on smaller stuff yet it does have the nards to chew the big stuff. I got it because I had to cut a bunch of 3ft and 4ft white oak for a friend but I use it all the time. I use a 25"bar as my back is in shambles (sometimes) and I can still cut without bending over so much.
That's a good saw you'll have for a long time.
skinnykid said:
Hey Skinny,I went to the dealer and asked to see one of their saws with a 36" bar.The dealer said they didn't have one in stock however he pointed to a saw with a 25" bar whose size kind of stunned me though it was a little too small for what I'm tackling.He then said they had a 32 incher I said that's the one.They put it together started it and brought it out from the back and all I could say was "what the".It is definitely ridiculous how long these saw are.I surely didn't need a 36 incher,the 32 incher takes up over 2rd of my chevy pick-up front seat.Since I had a load of cut oak in wasn't fitting in the bed.I'll have to make sure I leave enough room in the bed for the saw and wood.This saw makes you think of needing a larger truck.However I am now ready to cut.
Hi Eric,The STIHL dealer where I purchase my saws from says the MS460 has enough torque to handle the 32" bar with no problem.I'll let you know how it goes after this week-end.ericjeeper said:
That's a fine saw for sure....but I say a 32" bar is a little much for that saw in hardwood,softwood may be fine.Enjoy.
Hey cool! I just got to run that setup recently at work. Someone brought one in for a quick tune. Holy Smokes!! Talk about scary!
Jags said:
I agree. The 440 was a much better 18" saw, being narrower and more nimble!
With the bigger powerhead, you can either gear up with your sprocket (8t instead of 7t) or lower your rakers a bit and take a bigger bite. I think that 18-20" bar is a good firewood combination on a bigger powerhead, especially if you're working with logs rather than whole trees. I just find that the time per cut is reduced enough to make the added weight and fuel consumption worthwhile.
Dolmar 7900(mufflermod)/20" and Stihl MS441(ported+muffler)/20" make quick work of logs and are still light enough to take out the larger branches. I've even run a 20" on my Stihl 066 when processing up trailer loads of 16-24" logs into firewood, but that actually starts to feel like overkill.
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Hey Titan,I put the saw to work his past weekend on some oak that was 2 feet across.The saw was overkill.I need bigger fish to fry with this bad boy.Titan said:
You would need the 36" bar to carry your saw over your shoulder like the ax men. A 24" bar wouldn't really pull this off.
I have a Dolmar 7900 w/ 20" and 28" bars. (much lighter than the Stihl Magnum at about 12.5lbs for the powerhead) - I've had the 28" bar burried full depth in 40"+ maple and the engine barely slows - however I do most all my cutting with the 20" bar - I only mount the big bar if I need it for really big wood in the 30"+ range - I find the monster bar clumsy and heavy to work with if I don't need it. Dolmar says I can use a 32" bar, and I'm willing to bet it could pull it now that I've seen how it works with a 28", but I didn't want to go that far over the 3cc/inch rule... Besides it's going to be really rare to find wood in New England that I couldn't handle with the 28".
However I like the 20" better for most work - the saw balances a lot better and is just easier to handle.
Gooserider
However I like the 20" better for most work - the saw balances a lot better and is just easier to handle.
Gooserider
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