Help me set up my saws?

[Yoter]

Hi guys-new here and looking to get a handle on the saw I own and what to do with them.  I started heating with wood five years ago and since I source all my own wood I started slowly accumulating saws.  Here is what I have now:

Stihl 026 - 18" bar

McCulloch Eager Beaver (610) - 20" bar

Echo CS400 - 18" bar

McCulloch Pro Mac 650 - 20" bar

The Pro Mac 650 is the newest to the group-picked it up running at a yardsale for $40.  I've been trying to do some research on it to find out what it can do but keep finding conflicting information.  Some say it's 65cc, some say it's 75cc-some say it will run a 24" bar, some say it won't, etc...  Basically now that I have a bunch of different saws I'm trying to figure out how to set each one up so that I have one saw for each type of work-here's what I'm thinking:

Echo CS400 - Put a 16" bar on it and use it for trimming/limbing/other small jobs.

Stihl 026 - Keep the 18" bar for mid range work, or can it run a 20" with a muffler mod?

McCulloch 610/Eager Beaver - ???  Not sure what do with this one-it runs great but its just as heavy as the 650 and if the Stihl can run a 20" bar adequately I'll have a much lighter saw that can do the same job.

McCulloch Pro Mac 650 - Can I run a 24" bar on this guy?  Right now I find myself busting my butt trying to buck larger logs with the 610 because it's got the longest bar but it's not quite long enough a lot of the time. 

Let me know what you all think-and if someone can set me straight on the specs of the 650 that would be great!

[tolman_paul]

If you really want a saw to pull a 24" bar with authority I'd say you might want to keep an eye pealed for an older husky or stihl 70+cc saw.  I've seen a few husky 181, 281 and 288's sell in the $200-300 range lately, and those saws will definately impress you in bigger wood.

[DDDfarmer]

Do you really need to have a 24" bar?  I only have a 18" bar and can cut a tree 36" tree give or take.  Most trees I cut up for firewood I rarely have to cut from both sides, and if I do its only for a few blocks.

longer bar longer chain more teeth to keep sharp. 

My father and I are set up now so between us we have four saws all running 18" bars 3/8"-.58 chains.  If need be we can trade off bars-chains and can share files.

[thecfarm]

Yoter,welcome to the forum. I have a 372 husky with a 18 inch bar. Cost less to replace a chain too. Takes less time to sharpen one too. Must have some big wood to cut up.

[Yoter]

Yoter,welcome to the forum. I have a 372 husky with a 18 inch bar. Cost less to replace a chain too. Takes less time to sharpen one too. Must have some big wood to cut up.

Do you really need to have a 24" bar?  I only have a 18" bar and can cut a tree 36" tree give or take.  Most trees I cut up for firewood I rarely have to cut from both sides, and if I do its only for a few blocks.

Thanks!  Maybe you guys can help me out here.  I was always taught that in order to keep chain speed up you want to have as much free running chain as possible compared to the section of the chain that is actually cutting at any given time.  Kind of like the difference between using a 7 1/4" circular saw blade vs. an 8 1/4 blade.  At least that's the theory I was told, but for all I know it could be horse hockey.  What I do know is that my Stihl 026 with the 18" bar was not happy cutting up a 24-30" diameter Maple recently, but I'm not sure if that's due to the saw not having enough power, or the fact that I'm still learning to file my chains.  Any ideas?

[Al_Smith]

The PM 610 and the 650 really aren't bad cutters except they are a tad heavy for 60 cc .They will pull a 24" but they don't really  like to .

Probabley of all saws ever made they are the most underated because of being heavy and not really all that hansome to look at .I mean they are ugly ducklings but they will about keep up with any other 60 cc saw made today .Most people who bad mouth them never ran them .

The 026 Stihl is a nice 3 cuber .Light weight with plenty of power and does nicely for under 12" cuts .You could probabley fell a 3 foot oak with one though it would just take longer .

The Echo  I have not a clue .

[thecfarm]

Yoter,never heard that about the free running chain. A sharp chain should draw itself into the wood. I have no idea about the size of chainsaws. I have a small Efco,152, 3.15 cu.in. 3.4hp. That does not like to have the whole chain in the wood. That's what the 372 is for.  ;D

[John Mc]

I keep 16" bars on my Jonsered 2152 (52 cc) and my Husky 357xp. I've found the 16" bars to be a nice match for power, weight, and balance on these saws.  80% of what I cut (for firewood) is 12-14" diameter or less, probably 95%+ is under 16", so this works out fairly well. I do have a 20" bar for the 357, and the 357 does OK with it.  I've just found for the few times I really need it, it's not worth carrying around the extra length of the 20" bar, so it usually hangs on the wall of my barn. 

I also like the shorter bar for maneuverability: most of my cutting and bucking is in the forest - I don't bring the long logs out to a landing or back home to buck up.  I generally have some elbow room, but the longer the bar, the more I have to be careful about where the tip is.

I'd never heard the idea that you mentioned about keeping as much free-running chain as possible for best performance in a cut.  I have noticed that things do slow down a bit when a bar is completely buried in the cut, but I can't see any difference in cutting speed if I'm cutting 12"-14" diameter logs with my 357 with the 16" or the 20" bar.  If there is any difference, it's probably outweighed by which chain was sharpened more recently.

[mike047]

Yoter,welcome to the forum. I have a 372 husky with a 18 inch bar. Cost less to replace a chain too. Takes less time to sharpen one too. Must have some big wood to cut up.

Do you really need to have a 24" bar?  I only have a 18" bar and can cut a tree 36" tree give or take.  Most trees I cut up for firewood I rarely have to cut from both sides, and if I do its only for a few blocks.

Thanks!  Maybe you guys can help me out here.  I was always taught that in order to keep chain speed up you want to have as much free running chain as possible compared to the section of the chain that is actually cutting at any given time.  Kind of like the difference between using a 7 1/4" circular saw blade vs. an 8 1/4 blade.  At least that's the theory I was told, but for all I know it could be horse hockey.  What I do know is that my Stihl 026 with the 18" bar was not happy cutting up a 24-30" diameter Maple recently, but I'm not sure if that's due to the saw not having enough power, or the fact that I'm still learning to file my chains.  Any ideas?

I would think that the number of teeth in the cut instead of length of chain would facilitate the cutting process.  Skip or full skip would accomplish this.

As to bar lengths, I personally use 18" on anything smaller than a 440, although I know some woodsmen that use an 18" on them.  My 441 has a 25", the 650 has a 42".  026,261,270,290,361,391 all wear 18" with LPX chain.

The only saw that I can offer comment on is the 026, I use mine more than the 261 or any other saw.  Strong saw for limbing[we call it lapping] and small trees,to me very fast....but I am sure there are faster  ;D

[martyinmi]

Your 610 and 650 are both going to be happiest with 20" or less. They are both around the 60cc range(3.7 cubes I think). I have one of each and one seems to cut as well as the other.

If you are ever out doing the yard sale thing and happen to come across a Pro Mac 700 that runs well and is cheap, it would be a much better candidate for a 24" bar (I've got one of those too). They are a 70cc saw and they will keep up with the newer 70cc saws sold today. An even better choice of saws for a 24" bar in the McCulloch line at 80cc's would be a Pro Mac 850 (Yep, got one of them too!). You should be able to find a really nice used one in the $200 - $250 range.

BTW, welcome to the forum. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who hits the woods with some of these older saws. My newest one is a Stihl MS310, but I rarely use it. I love the sounds of the older saws, especially the older Macs and Homelites (I have more than a dozen of the old Homies too). They are loud even without any muffler mods. They don't seem to make as much power at high rpm as the newer stuff, but they feel more torquey, and it seems like you can lean on them a bit harder in the cut. I'm sure 'ol uncle Al can explain that phenomenon.

[Al_Smith]

I can't explain why the horizontal cylinder McCullochs have such pulling power .I could speculate it has something to do with the way the transfer ports are designed which gives a more sweeping transfer of the cylinder .

As far as the 81 cc models really the better of the 850 I would say are the earlier models of the 850 as oppossed to the later which used "eye brow" exhaust ports .The eye brow style was added as way to relieve the high compression without the use of a decomp on some models and with a decomp on some models .The way the engine is made with a fairly small rope drum you about have to decomp them to get them started .Again though that's just my opinion others may not agree .

The 10 series of Mac saws with few exceptions all use the same basic design,For their displacement they all have tremedous pulling power although they lack a little bit in RPMS as related to a more modern design .

[martyinmi]

My 850 as well as my 700 have the decompression valves. Does that make them both earlier models?

[Full Chisel]

Your 026 is the best saw on the list. The 18" guide bar is optimum for that. With just the inner spike on it that's all the reach you need with an 026. Fine saw.

[Al_Smith]

As far as I know the 700 always had a decomp .The 805 and I think the later 850 did too .I'd have to look but I think the 8200 and maybe couple other,Double Eagle 80 did not but they all had eye brows ,In addition towards the time big Mac was circling the drain the chrome as well as the other quality suffered badly .This in my opinion makes the later production runs on some models less desirable .

If I can fetch the pic I'll show an eye brow cylinder .

 

[Yoter]

BTW, welcome to the forum. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who hits the woods with some of these older saws. My newest one is a Stihl MS310, but I rarely use it. I love the sounds of the older saws, especially the older Macs and Homelites (I have more than a dozen of the old Homies too). They are loud even without any muffler mods. They don't seem to make as much power at high rpm as the newer stuff, but they feel more torquey, and it seems like you can lean on them a bit harder in the cut. I'm sure 'ol uncle Al can explain that phenomenon.

I love the old stuff.  All of my saws are yardsale finds-I've never paid more than $50 for a running chainsaw!  You just never know what you'll find out there.  My latest edition was the Pro Mac 650-$40 in good running condition.  It's in fantastic shape too-I'll post some pictures later.  Thanks for all of the good advice!