Congrats on the saw purchase! You have been cutting some big cat daddy trees lately. I’m looking forward to seeing the 881 with the 41 inch bar getting after it! Keep the great videos coming!
First rope bridle I bought was an 1-1/4" 2-leg Amsteel Blue from Ashley Sling. They used standard steel thimbles which don't work very well with 12-strand rope. I next purchased five more bridles and a bunch of eye/eye slings from Holloway Houston. Instead of thimbles we had Cortland XT chafe sleeves installed at the hooks and master links. Much lighter and they don't chafe the rope when moving it around. Steel thimbles flop around in the rope eye unless maybe you whip them into place. Bought Holloway Houston Plasma 12 stuff in 2018 and I believe they are still in service. The Cortland XT sleeve is coated in urethane and they hold up fine.
I only run stock everything on my Stihl saws. A stock muffler will not burn up your full wrap handles. The Stihl engineers have put way more work into engineering these tools than some guy who "designed" the bark box. As far as the full-wrap handle goes here on the west coast for the big professional saws everyone runs the full-wrap. Even if you don't use the full-wrap for what it was designed for (falling trees with the saw turned sideways) it still protects the side of the saw.
My next saw is going to Sthil 400 with a wrap handle. I run both Husqvarna and Sthil. I live in Montana and I really like the heated handles on the Husky’s for our cold winters here. Egan Performance Saws makes an straight shot muffler just like WCS Bark Box except they make an add on deflector, that deflects the heat away from the handle.
I own all them saws as well. Glad to see you running some stihls , other than the Husqvarna. I personally like both. The 462c is a dream over the 572xp. The weight difference is huge after a full day of cutting. I've only used my 881 3x. Planed to mill with it. But it's so much work. I really like the mtronics as well
The 881 is a different animal to run. The .404 chain is really grabs you just have to let he do all the work. Look forward to hearing your thoughts about it. I enjoy running mine but it’s a workout. It’s a good conversation piece if anyone sees it.
All the Dyneema/Spectra slings I buy for full-on crane rigging will have some sort of jacket to keep dirt and rocks out of the rope. Wouldn't be the hot ticket for tree slings though since you need them to grip the wood. Holloway Houston has a machine to braid polyester or Dyneema jackets over the rope. Definitely good protection but really stiffens up the rope. The HH Hammerhead sling has this kind of jacket but they to eye/eye slings as well. Good stuff but Yale seems to have the best rope slings - Yale LOUPS. I have some on order at my current project.
Three very nice saws. The bark boxes look like they are well made but seem to be a bit too open, too loud and point in the wrong direction. Maybe you could talk to wcs about making a second model.
To be honest with you Tim , i had been considering buying bark boxes for all my saws. But after this video that wont be happening. From listening to your comments and reading all the comments on them i dont see the good in them. All i here is loud , burns the full coverage handles , blowes the dirt back into your face on close to the ground cuts, just for maybe a little more horse power nope. 20 years ago maybe but now at my age dont need all that noise just for the looks. Lol. Enjoy all your videos. Thanks.
youre missing the biggest benefit of these aftermarket muffler covers... getting heat out of the saw... i had one (egan straight shot) on my 440 magnum... it legitametly ran 100 degrees cooler on the cylinder... i have one on my 500i... every saw i ever own will have one on it.
I have a 462C w/28” bar and a Barkbox and WCS dogs. It is a Hoss of a saw. You’ll need to run 4 to 5 tanks of fuel through it before it’s completely dialed in.
Damn 122cc's.......881.....404pitch....... I ran my buddy's old 660...with a 36in bar.....on a Tree with a 40in stump.....that was 8in's from a cinderbloke wall......this was the first tree at about 65ft to 75ft I ever felled....it took 4 big wedges to bring it over. But Holy smokes 122cc's.....wow......Be Safe with that Monster........
Thank you for what you have done and are doing for us, for folks like you the work the 400s & 500i is the 462 a go between… Do you do saw classes anymore? Thank You
Egan Performance Saws/ Deary, Idaho, appear to have more angle on their Stihl muffler outlets & FS approval. (Egan spent 20 years on a saw). Would heat shield exhaust tape work on the chainsaw wrap handles? Farmer Tec/ Holzfforma make a G888 122cc 'imitation' chainsaw.
Not taking anything away from west coast saws. I have an eagen straight shot on my 362 and has an exhaust deflector as an option. I run mine without it. If you want to sell one of your 400c stihls iam interested. Thanks. Graham
I can't to hear the 861 with the bark box 😮🤤 Mr. Tim I had a thought. (yeah I know that's scary) Would it help save the grab handles on your saws if you put some kind of heat resistant type tape on it them
Yes sir very true. Lol. I kinda didn't think about that. Lol. I was trying to figure out something that you could put on there other than the tape. I don't know if there actually be a way to fix it to where it wouldn't ruin that side of the grab handle 🤔
Thank you for what your doing Tim, have you had 044 or 440's in the past...? The reason I ask is they are longer stroke as you know..what are your thoughts on the longer stroke saws regardeless brand..Thank You!
