What did you do to/with your chainsaw today

[Built6spdMCSS]

Few of the Farmertec saws for sale local here for a third of the price of the Stihl model, that has me leery on it alone.

The older models are easy to clone, haven't seen any newer models yet.

This was funny to see, FB random ads.

 

[Built6spdMCSS]

Couple here in the local area for sale.

This one has been up for a little bit, the 361 is a hair better from what I've read, better on gas. Like a 460 compared to the 461.

Then there's this pig, buddy has one and hates it. Plenty of power but heavy, prefers to run a 461 over it for use in the woods.

 

[ck80]

Smart move passing on the 360. Good saws but I pass on stuff that other people have worked on unless I know who was working on it. Too many ways for other people to mess things up and make them worse than if they had just left it alone.

Assembling them is a lot of fun. It's like working on a big puzzle except when it's done it doesn't have to sit in a corner and collect dust; it's a tool you can put to use. You may want to look into one of the Farmertec 660 kits. Some company in China reverse engineered a Stihl 660 and sells all the parts as a complete kit. They also sell them fully assembled under the name "Holzfforma". I have put them together and they run well. Very low cost of admission too. I intend on building one eventually. I've heard the current kits are better than the earliest ones. Lots of great videos on how to put them together too. They have made kits of other saws since but the 660 was the original one. They go on sale every once in a while for $259.99 or something like that. I'm sure with Black Friday coming up there will be a sale.

Non-Genuine Complete Repair Parts for Stihl MS660, MS650, 066

www.hlsproparts.com

I shae the same mentality as you on something thats been messed with. Its easy to make it work for a sale, doesnt mean someone had the skill to make it work for long or did t use borderline stuff putting it back together.

as for the farmertec..... well.... Actually it's on sale for $179 for the rest of today...

Complete Aftermarket Repair Parts For Holzfforma G660 STIHL MS660 066 Chainsaw Engine Motor Crankcase Crankshaft Carburetor Fuel Tank Cylinder Piston Ignition Coil from China manufacturer - Farmertec

Complete Aftermarket Repair Parts For Holzfforma G660 STIHL MS660 066 Chainsaw Engine Motor Crankcase Crankshaft Carburetor Fuel Tank Cylinder Piston Ignition Coil offered by China manufacturer Farmertec. Buy Complete Aftermarket Repair Parts For Holzfforma G660 STIHL MS660 066 Chainsaw Engine...

www.farmertec.com

I read some chainsaw forum and outdoorsman themed board threads about weakpoints in their kits as a refresher - grit in bearings, lower quality piston and connecting parts.... sounds like $60 in piston. Gaskets, and bearings and you should be solid. As well as some housing casting changes in the last few years that can use some smoothing out. So, you've got me thinking about it. Added together, I've spent $180 in worse ways over the course of a month.

And they've got a $10 off a $100 or more purchase coupon right now too.

Maybe we should go halvsies on their pick - any - 4 kits deal where they knock prices even lower. Two 660s and two 361s are $596 total.. if you were nearby I'd seriously consider it

 

[joesregalproject]

I shae the same mentality as you on something thats been messed with. Its easy to make it work for a sale, doesnt mean someone had the skill to make it work for long or did t use borderline stuff putting it back together.

as for the farmertec..... well.... Actually it's on sale for $179 for the rest of today...

Complete Aftermarket Repair Parts For Holzfforma G660 STIHL MS660 066 Chainsaw Engine Motor Crankcase Crankshaft Carburetor Fuel Tank Cylinder Piston Ignition Coil from China manufacturer - Farmertec

Complete Aftermarket Repair Parts For Holzfforma G660 STIHL MS660 066 Chainsaw Engine Motor Crankcase Crankshaft Carburetor Fuel Tank Cylinder Piston Ignition Coil offered by China manufacturer Farmertec. Buy Complete Aftermarket Repair Parts For Holzfforma G660 STIHL MS660 066 Chainsaw Engine...

www.farmertec.com

I read some chainsaw forum and outdoorsman themed board threads about weakpoints in their kits as a refresher - grit in bearings, lower quality piston and connecting parts.... sounds like $60 in piston. Gaskets, and bearings and you should be solid. As well as some housing casting changes in the last few years that can use some smoothing out. So, you've got me thinking about it. Added together, I've spent $180 in worse ways over the course of a month.

And they've got a $10 off a $100 or more purchase coupon right now too.

Maybe we should go halvsies on their pick - any - 4 kits deal where they knock prices even lower. Two 660s and two 361s are $596 total.. if you were nearby I'd seriously consider it

Afleetcommand on YouTube was one of the first guys to start putting the Chinese clone kits together and finding their weak spots and really making them run reliably. He's got probably dozens of videos putting them together. Gaskets and rubber pieces- intake boot, impulse and fuel line are the main parts that need swapped to OEM.

I'm hesitant to buy direct from Farmertec because I believe they ship from China so it takes weeks or months to get your order. I've bought from HL Supply before, they are legitimate and I'm comfortable doing business with them.

 

[Built6spdMCSS]

So here's a thought of logic.. because that's how my mind works.

Why buy the chinesium "kit" just to spend time and more money in having to swap in the "correct parts" as mentioned above, instead of just buying the actual Stihl saw?

I guess I see my time in buying a whole working saw less invested, even with cleaning it up, compared to trying to save $20 and have a bunch of labor in building one.

My $.02, I'll give that away for free. Take it or hate it..

 

[ck80]

So here's a thought of logic.. because that's how my mind works.

Why buy the chinesium "kit" just to spend time and more money in having to swap in the "correct parts" as mentioned above, instead of just buying the actual Stihl stuff?

I guess I see my time in buying a whole working saw less invested, even with cleaning it up, compared to trying to save $20 and have a bunch of labor in building one.

An ms660 from stihl is a $1k saw. A knockoff kit from china is $200.

Your argument reads sort of like why buy a Shelby kit car when you can buy a genuine Shelby Cobra for so much more?

Depending what your goal for it is, sometimes you don't need that big money investment, especially if you look at the building process as a hobby and not a drain on time.

sometimes the actual build Experience has value of its own.

 

[joesregalproject]

So here's a thought of logic.. because that's how my mind works.

Why buy the chinesium "kit" just to spend time and more money in having to swap in the "correct parts" as mentioned above, instead of just buying the actual Stihl saw?

I guess I see my time in buying a whole working saw less invested, even with cleaning it up, compared to trying to save $20 and have a bunch of labor in building one.

My $.02, I'll give that away for free. Take it or hate it..

I think most people who build them tend to do so for the learning experience and the fun of putting something together rather than for the purpose of obtaining a saw. Very low cost relative to an actual 660 and very low risk if you mess something up. Additionally it's probably nice to work with clean, new parts and not have to chase down missing or broken parts (minus the gaskets and a few rubber pieces that you should probably go OEM on). I spend a lot of time cleaning, ultrasonic-ing, beadblasting, degreasing, painting and powdercoating and repairing threads, etc. on old parts. It would save me a lot of time if I had new parts to begin with.

I don't know how well they'd hold up in commercial use, but for someone who wants to play with a saw every now and then, I think they can be perfectly reliable. I also think they can be put to use as milling saws. Milling is extremely hard on saws so rather than burn up your nice Stihl 660 milling, why not use a cheap Farmertec one to mill and save your good Stihl for felling and stumping and bucking?

There is also the whole China knockoff-intellectual theft argument which probably has some merit however it begs the question, are these 'knockoff' parts more or less the chainsaw equivalent to the automotive aftermarket and the OEMs are just being childish about having to share the parts market?

I like them for what they are, which is a very affordable 92cc saw and a fun project to put together. Not to mention a great way to learn how to put a saw together without worrying about messing up expensive parts. There are some ported examples out there that will practically pull your shoulders out of their sockets.

 

[Built6spdMCSS]

Yea, definitely depends on use and what you're doing.

Here's one in the local area to me. Full wrap handle. Decent price.

 

[joesregalproject]

My work bench in the basement that I use for working on saws was overflowing with saw parts, receipts, tools, books, saws etc. I finally had enough and decided reorganize the basement.

Moved the desk to the back part of the basement, which used to be a sort of guest bedroom but hasn't been used as such in years.

I hung a 4x8 sheet of pegboard, used some of the old bedroom furniture that was collecting dust to make a bigger bench and shelves. Put up some hooks for chainsaw bars to hang. Still need to add a light above the bench but it's a vast improvement.

 

[Built6spdMCSS]

Someone engraved their initials on this saw, did what I could to get them out and smoothed over. The sticker works.