3/8 chain on a 261c

[Cruiser_79]

I am looking for a saw to replace my stihl 341. I use my 341 often on my home made firewood jig, and I don't like to change all time. My other saws are a 045av and a 660. Both are a little heavy for delimbing and for use in a cherry picker basket or when climbing. But I like to swap bars and chains between my saws, and I can grind them with the same files and grinder. Will the 261 work well with a 3/8 chain and sprocket?

[Tacotodd]

I am trying the same experiment with one of my saws but I'll just find out. I have a 16" bar on my 55cc saw but feel like I might need to use full skip to keep the chain speed up for it.

I found a VERY useful section in MY Oregon catalog that I've used to convert my length of chain based on drive link counts. My situation calls for .325 at 68 dl. When I convert it calls for 3/8x60.

How many dl does your current .325 use or did you find a proper 3/8 for yourself?

[Cruiser_79]

At the moment I don't have a .325 saw. I run 3/8 chains on my saws. And a ms200 top handle, for the real small work in a cherry picker or cutting some branches at the chipper. But technically that top handle is my fathers saw  :D
So actually this would be a better question; what is the lightest saw that you can run with a 3/8 chain?

[Tacotodd]

I believe that technically it's a 60cc but that information is cloudy. 

I had to have a bar special made for me by Cannon so I'd be able to change tip. Now I'm going to find out if it's worth it for me.

The saw was brand new and end-user inexpensive for $339.?? That dealer was just trying to clean up his inventory of slow moving stuff. BTW, got in 2020. A made in 2011 Echo CS550P. I bought it at his cost. Not nearly as fast as the 372XP I have but you never notice it unless you just put down the Husky and picked up the Echo.

[ehp]

I ran 3/8's chisel chain on my 261 with a 20 inch bar , you just to make sure the chain is sharp and it cut fine , the shorter the bar the better it works thou . 

[celliott]

I run 3/8" on my 550xp, 16". Would have been my only .325 saw. Nope.
It does good. Like EHP said, keep the chain sharp. 
Don't expect to lean on it blocking firewood. I mostly cut brush and limb with it, I use bigger saws for bucking and felling. 
I wouldn't worry about running 3/8" on your 261 though. Go for it.

[moodnacreek]

Here is the other extreme. I cut a lot of dry spruce knots. The best chain I found is a 3/8' low pro mini [5/32 file]. I think it is 91 vlx. It seams the smaller the tooth the better in very hard wood.

[lxskllr]

I recently got an 026 and fitted it up with 3/8 chain. It worked ok, but the saw has unrelated issues, so my trial wasn't very thorough. I actually would have preferred 3/8lp, but bars appeared to be tricky, and would have required modding, so I went with 3/8.

[Tacotodd]

@lxskllr on a 100' roll of chain, both reg and lp are 1640dl. It shouldn't have been a problem but I'd want regular if at all possible.

[sawguy21]

Keep the bar length to no more than 20", with a sharp chain you should be fine. We had a customer insist on the MS260 with 3/8 chain on a 24" bar to cut pilings in salt water. We ordered Oregon bars and changed the tips. Needless to say it didn't work.

[lxskllr]

3/8 and 3/8lp aren't interchangeable. There's geometry differences that won't allow swapping. It can be force fit, and it'll probably work in absolute terms, but it'll work poorly, and cause accelerated wear.

[Tacotodd]

I just don't understand what geometrical difference it's going to be. The picture of the 2 look so that they are practically the same except for cutter heights. Layman education is needed. Please elaborate.   ? 🤓 I'm all ready to learn, and no, I'm not being a smart @$$. I WANT to know,  please!

[lxskllr]

That I can't do. I tried it once, and it didn't work well. It binded up, and felt "lumpy". I didn't study why it didn't work well though. Here's a thread on another site that has some decent pictures and comparisons. I didn't read the whole thing, but it looks like a reasonable overview...

3/8" low profile and 3/8" regular chain interchange? | Arboristsite.com

[Tacotodd]

I just read the thing and remember troll and Willard discussing it before on here but I can't see why: if the drive sprocket is the same then why wouldn't the tip sprocket be the same? After all, the drive is smaller than the tip.

[lxskllr]

Sorry. I linked you to the wrong thread. Checkout this post from the correct thread, comparing the two rims...

3/8 lp vs. 3/8 | Page 2 | Arboristsite.com

[Tacotodd]

I still don't buy it. The 2 drives aren't indexed in his hand the same so still not a fair comparison. I've also heard of a arborist local to me using a 3/8 skip chain on his 200T with great success. I don't see still.

[Dave12]

At the moment I don't have a .325 saw. I run 3/8 chains on my saws. And a ms200 top handle, for the real small work in a cherry picker or cutting some branches at the chipper. But technically that top handle is my fathers saw  :D
So actually this would be a better question; what is the lightest saw that you can run with a 3/8 chain?

MS362c with 16" bar would be pretty light weight.  Not quite as light as a 261c but not too far off.  You should be able to pick up a used one for a decent price.

[Spike60]

I don't know much about stihls, but I think the 261 would have no problem set up with 3/8. Would balance out nice with a 18" bar. 66 DL for a stihl? Change the rim and off you go.

I set up a 550M2 with 3/8 for a customer yesterday. Has a few saws and spins his own loops of .058 3/8. Wanted to do the same with the 550. The saws can only be ordered with .325, but I do this whenever a customer requests it.

For simplicity and keeping everything the same. But a fair amount of guys really have a dislike for .325, which I don't understand. I love it myself, and keep all my 50cc saws set up that way.

Have any of you guys tried that .325 lo pro that Oregon and Husky came out with yet? 80TXL? Designed for top handle saws like the T540 and MS201, and quite impressive. Requires a unique sprocket because they don't want guys running it on saws like the 550's and 261's.

[sawguy21]

That sounds interesting.

[hedgerow]

I like to keep things the same also so I switched my 261 over to 3/8 and a 16 inch bar. Was cutting a lot of hedge { Osage Orange}. I didn't think the saw liked the 3/8 chain very well went back to the 325 and 16 inch bar. I like the way the saw runs with the 325. 

[Tacotodd]

The only way to ever know if you like it is to try it.

That's why I'm going to try it, I can always go back.

[Spike60]

That's right Todd. And as easy as it is to try it out, anybody who's really curious can find out for themselves whether they like it or not. It's really a matter of personal preference, not a right or wrong thing.

[madosta]

My stock 261cm came with 18" .325 - I occasionally run a 18" 3/8 with RSF (full skip) and it's not terrible. I ended up going back to .325 since it's my smaller limbing saw mostly and seems better buried in the cut when I do buck with it. I have a hard time picking the saw and setup so I'd try it out like you said. It's fun.

[old guy]

I still don't buy it. The 2 drives aren't indexed in his hand the same so still not a fair comparison. I've also heard of a arborist local to me using a 3/8 skip chain on his 200T with great success. I don't see still.

The fact that you don't buy it doesn't change the fact that it is so, go buy one of each and see it for yourself.

[Tacotodd]

@old guy  I do plan to just to find out. The chain dl count will be the same and if it's not going to be working then I won't be out much coin 🪙.

[sumpnz]

So I understand this topic better, to run a 3/8 chain on the 261 you just need a different nose sprocket on the bar?  Wouldn't you also need to change the sprocket on the powerhead?

I'm looking at the 261 to replace a Husqvarna 350 as mentioned in another thread.  I also have an MS-461, which of course is set up for a 3/8" 0.050ga chain, and it would be handy to only need to get 1 spool of chain.  I've previously just bought individual chains from the shop, so I have several 78dl .325 chains for that Husky (20" bar), but most of them have been pretty well used up by now anyway.

Looking at the Stihl chart, the 261 generally uses an 0.063ga semi-chisel chain, while the 461 can use either an 0.050 or 0.063ga but either way usually a full chisel.  If one were to standardize the chains between the two saws what would you pick for gauge and chisel type?  

Or, should I not bother trying and just get a second spool so I can run .325 chain on the 261?

[sawguy21]

You can run .050 on your MS261, just use the matching bar. That is the way most come here, we seldom see .063 except for with .404 on the big Stihls. I have seen 3/8 on the MS260/261 but it has to be kept properly sharpened and not pushed, let the saw do the work.

[lxskllr]

All parameters have to match. You need the correct drive sprocket, nose sprocket, and gauge. I believe Stihl only sells .325 in .063G, so your old Husky bars won't work unless you convert from one to another.

Everyone says .325 is a nice setup for a 50cc saw, but I don't like it cause it doesn't match anything I have. They're pretty much exclusive to 50cc saws, while 3/8 and 3/8lp have a wide range of application. If *I* were buying a new 261, I'd set it up 3/8 with a 16" bar. It may not be the best, but it simplifies life.

[Tacotodd]

I have bought from my Stihl dealer 2 loops of .325 in .050 RS for my 55cc saw. 

Yes, @lxskllr you said it correctly that you do ALSO need to change the drive sprocket AND everything has to match.

As far as .058 goes. The Stihl dealer may have a difficult time getting the chain for it, but it's listed in their catalog. BUT, just because it's listed doesn't mean that they will have or can easily get the chain in question.

[Greyhound]

I run 3/8 RS chain on my MS261 (ported) 16-20" bar/chain, just because that is what I run on my MS361 and MS461.  It's fine.  .325 ran fine too.

[lxskllr]

Ah, I stand corrected. I didn't see .325 listed with anything other than .063 in their b&c guide, and I hadn't seen any in person. Not being able to run Stihl chain would be a deal breaker for me. If I couldn't get Stihl chain, I wouldn't consider the saw.

[hamish]

Ah, I stand corrected. I didn't see .325 listed with anything other than .063 in their b&c guide, and I hadn't seen any in person. Not being able to run Stihl chain would be a deal breaker for me. If I couldn't get Stihl chain, I wouldn't consider the saw.

Stihl chain can be had in .050, .058, and .063, its a regional thing.

[Tacotodd]

X2 @hamish

[Reddawg]

A .325 on the 261cm is a good way to go in my experience. Have been pushing my dealer for the NK b/c , light 04, that is only available in Europe. 
No telling when it will be state side, but I would run the rollmatic  E 18" bar with the 325 semi-chisel . It's a nice combination until the NK comes around. Then it will come to life!

[Tacotodd]

.325 works great for me, but my "experimenting mind" just wants to know what kind of difference I can expect it to be.

The 3/8 seems to stay sharper without the constant sharpening of the .325. But  MAYBE I'm just being overly subjective, I don't know.

Like @Spike60 aggreed with me, only 1 way to know, and that's to try.

[Cruiser_79]

.325 works great for me, but my "experimenting mind" just wants to know what kind of difference I can expect it to be.

The 3/8 seems to stay sharper without the constant sharpening of the .325. But  MAYBE I'm just being overly subjective, I don't know.

Like @Spike60 aggreed with me, only 1 way to know, and that's to try.

I have that feeling to. My brother has a saw with .325, and especially in trunks i have the feeling his chains got damaged much sooner due to the sand/gravel on bottom. And it is annoying when I sharpen them with my Oregon sharpener that i have to change discs all the time between .325 and 3/8 chains. 
If I can make a good price for the used 261 I think I try a 3/8 chain, when it doesn't work I can still swap to the original .325 bar. 

[olcowhand]

When I bought my MS261C-M, I had the Sprocket, 16" Bar and Chain swapped over to 3/8", for the very reason mentioned. I wanted all my saws to run the same chain so my sharpening tools were common, and B/C combos were interchangeable. That saw has no problem running the 3/8" full Chisel, with a 16" Bar, but I have run the 20" bar on it with no ill effect. I cut all hardwood, and I frequently bury the bar in Maple or Beech. I use a sharp chain and I let the saw tell me when it's "eating to fast", and it does fine. There are many similar posts on this site with good feedback, and mine has consistently been that the 261 will run fine with a 3/8 chain.
I know nothing of the LP version, but I recall Willard posting something related to its use...
Steve

[Old saw fixer]

My 026 was set up with 3/8 chain on a 16 inch bar, I never noticed a problem.  The 261 is stronger, after it's broken in I may try the 16" 3/8 bar combo on it.  I may have a 3/8 rim sprocket that will fit.

[Mountain_d]

I am trying the same experiment with one of my saws but I'll just find out. I have a 16" bar on my 55cc saw but feel like I might need to use full skip to keep the chain speed up for it.

I found a VERY useful section in MY Oregon catalog that I've used to convert my length of chain based on drive link counts. My situation calls for .325 at 68 dl. When I convert it calls for 3/8x60.

How many dl does your current .325 use or did you find a proper 3/8 for yourself?

TacoTodd
Can you give a link to that Oregon catalogue or provide an image of that page with the DL,s? I want to change my 550xp to 3/8 with a 18 inch bar and 0.058 gauge. The saw came with 0.050 gauge. 
Thanks.
Mountain 

[Tacotodd]

@Mountain_d I just asked 1 of my local Oregon dealers if he could get me a current 1. He said no. I asked him if he had any old ones. As luck would have it, he did, and didn't mind GIVING that 1 to me. The price was fine with me smiley_clapping I hope that I have helped you in some way.

If you need a chain DL of one thing converted into the DL of another, just give me pertinent information and I'll do my best.

BTW, my experiment is on hold right now due to a faulty B & C oiler. Shame on me (I haven't even torn it down to find out the problem exactly, yet).

I'd provide an image, but I haven't taken the time to COMPLETELY figure out the process yet. I've just now figured out how to take pictures with my smart ___ phone. PM me and I ll give you more information.

[hamish]

I am trying the same experiment with one of my saws but I'll just find out. I have a 16" bar on my 55cc saw but feel like I might need to use full skip to keep the chain speed up for it.

I found a VERY useful section in MY Oregon catalog that I've used to convert my length of chain based on drive link counts. My situation calls for .325 at 68 dl. When I convert it calls for 3/8x60.

How many dl does your current .325 use or did you find a proper 3/8 for yourself?

TacoTodd
Can you give a link to that Oregon catalogue or provide an image of that page with the DL,s? I want to change my 550xp to 3/8 with a 18 inch bar and 0.058 gauge. The saw came with 0.050 gauge.
Thanks.
Mountain

Small mount K095 and 68DL for 3/8