Stihl MS260 Pro (026)

[Mark M]

Any thoughts on the Stihl MS260 Pro? I am looking for a fairly light saw to do some thinning and limbing. It will be mostly small spruce/pine around 8-12 inches. I am a Jonsereds fan but there are a lot more Stihl dealers out here on the Prairie.

Mark

[Tom]

Have you checked into gettin a bow?  They are pretty popular down here but getting harder and harder to find.

Here's Eddy, my 75 year-old, preacher-friend, pulpwooder with his bow and Husky 61

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[Mark M]

Hi Tom

I saw them in one of the catalogs but heard they were pretty dangerous (?). What does Eddy think?

Mark

[crosscut]

i maybe wrong but i had been told quite awhile back that style saw has been outlawed i havent seen one around here in years.

[Tom]

Still being used around here.  It is definitely a "bucking" saw.  It saves your back because you can stand and use it.  It doesn't pinch like a bar because the bow's perimeter is so thin that the log closes after the chain has already been through.  It doesn't matter that it closes in the center of the bow because you can yank the bow back out after the log is cut or put a wedge behind it if you have to.  'Course that's never done.

It is not a tool for cutting down or brushing though many folks will use it for that.  A big bow will take a tree down if you know what you are doing.  Brushing will get you in a lot of trouble.  It limbs pretty good too.

I think that the insurance companies are the culprits for making them harder to find, the Gov. always picks up on anything they can "stop" you from doing.  They don't want you using a chainsaw at all and bows caused a lot of injuries.  They don't consider that the pulpwood industry down here only used bows. Bars were few and far between.  I guess that makes the ratio of injuries skewed.

It's a good tool if you're careful.

Eddy has a bar on another little saw but it is only used to trim on the truck if he has to reach or climb.  The bow is his tool and it's the first thing he picks up.

I posted on this on the stihl 011 thread on this same forum awhile back.  Here is what I said then.
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With a bow, you cut with the tip.  That's a no-no with bars unless you are plunge cutting, but with a bow it is the only way to do it. The claw is located at the bottom of the tip and rides the log so that the chain has something to pull against.  

The sawyer rests the weight of the saw on the prostrate log and balances the sawhead on the the end of the bow. In short order the chain has cut through the log and the opening in the bow has kept the closing kerf from binding the saw.

Bows must be matched to the size of the tree as well as the size of the saw. They are more in their element bucking downed smaller trees in the 20" or less class.  They are not intended for felling, though some sawyers use them.  They are definitely not to be used for brushing.

When using a chainsaw for firewood and pulpwood production, the bow reigns supreme.

*note:  The government safety squads don't like them.  

[SteveS]

I have been using a 026 for 5 or 6 years now. I use it mostly to cut up firewood. It has been a really good saw for me. I would definitely buy it again.

[Kevin]

Check to see if the 260 has adjustable jets on the carb.
EPA may have made some changes on the new saws.

[Dennis]

I recently finished modifying a Stihl 260Pro for Jokers, and was quite impressed with the saw, with the exception of the carb...non adjustable high speed.  A pain in the butt if you ask me.

[Tagerts_crossing]

 Them bow saw bars are the way to go we have one on a 758g david bradley gear drive it's 17" across the wide part of the bow.  I think that the reason you can only finde small bows now is the new saws run so fast that it can break the chain and 30 some inch of chain flying around can leave a mark.  My dad bought the set up new in the 50's at sears where he worked. in over 50 years it has been keeping 2-4 households in firewood year in and out the bar is the same bar and the engin has had a couple piston and ring rebuilds plus a few points sets. I have used the saw for 15 years and never pinched it in the wood, the bar has a taper to it.  I used it over the weekend with my brother he was crawling arond on the ground like a squril using my dads 028 stihl (a nice saw) while I stood upright, and at 6'4" that makes a big diff.  Cutting equal size trees I could cut two trees to his one and not hussle.  It uses the big chain I think it's 1/2"

[jokers]

I`ve got that 260 Pro that Dennis modified for me and it is a sweet little saw, with the exception of the Intellicarb since it is not Hi speed adjustable on this model. You have to tear into the carb and replace jets if the hi speed adjustment isn`t right, and from what I understand it frequently isn`t right from the factory. Most dealers will give you a run around when you want a different jet and may not even sell you one. I`ve also been told that the adjustable oiler on the Pro model is not as durable or trouble free as the non-adjustable oiler  on the standard MS260. I would have bought the non-Pro myself but who am I to argue when I was able to walk out the door with two brand new Pros for $270 apiece. The reputation of the 026/MS260 is almost legendary. Russ