20" Bar too Big for MS260 ?

[downeast]

Happy New Year ! 
Over the too many years of cutting, I've been dropping down in chainsaw sizes from Stihl 440, 028, to 260.    Still love my tiny 009 for climbing, trail work, light limbing. Most of our Downeast Maine woodlot is mixed 16" - 24", with an odd 36"+ oak left over from when the land was pasture. The harvests have been pulp ( when the market was OK ), some sawlogs, mostly 6-8 cords of firewood ( Red Maple, Paper Birch, Green/Brown Ash, some Red Oak ) each year.
The go to saw is now an MS260 with a slight muffler mod (3X the hole ). A 16" bar has worked fine for a few years without bogging in bores. But in cutting some > 30" oaks that also need the butts sliced or noodled for easier handling, the 16" bar is too short.
Anyone use a 20" bar on a 260 successfully ? Will it bog down when buried ?

[Rocky_J]

Back in the days before I upgraded, I used to run the Stihl 260s with 18" bars and I felt that was about as big as I could go comfortably. Then I discovered the Husky 346 which blew away the Stihl 260 in power. I still run 18" bars on the 346s in my stable and wouldn't want to put a 20" on them.

So in other words, no. I would not run a 20" on a Stihl 260 even with an additional 25% increase in power. Not only will it be too slow in the bigger cuts, you will also lose maneuverability and balance in the smaller stuff. If you like Stihl then consider upgrading to the 361 if you want to run a 20" bar all the time. Then keep the 260/16" as a backup and for smaller stuff. The 361 will be lighter than the old 028.

[downeast]

Thx Brian.

[fuzzybear]

I hate to disagree with you Rocky_J.   But I have been running a 20" bar for over a year now and have had no problems with it.  I use a skip tooth chain and it rips through 24" paper birch with no problems.  Just keep the bar clean.

[John Bartley]

I have an 026 with a 20" bar, and I find that as long as I keep it well sharpened it's "ok". I like the 18" bar better for balance, but for pure cutting power (like when you're blocking firewood), there's nothing like a big motor and a short bar. On an 026 that would be 16".

cheers

John

[peterc38]

I have an ms260 w/ 16" bar and .325 chain. I find the saw well balanced with this set up and it doesn't bog even in hardwood.

When I need more bar, I use a bigger saw. I have an ms361 w/ 20" bar and I am in the process of picking up a nice used 371zp too 

[windthrown]

My 026 woods ported with modified muffler will run a 20 inch bar no problem. 3/8 or .325.

Stock? 18 inch is probably the limit.

[joe_indi]

If you really want to run a 20" bar on your MS260, it is very much possible without any strain on the saw.
But, this calls for some major changes of the guide bar and saw chain.
First you got to understand that the MS260 is only a bit more powerful than the home user's MS250.
But it is a pro saw.
And its one of the few stock models(that I know of) which can rev to 14500rpm.
In the cut, with the right cutting attachment that saw can cut faster than its bigger siblings.
So, how is it done?
You will need a 20' guide bar of 0.50 gauge.The solid bar with replaceable bar nose is ideal(20" Rollomatic ES 1.3mm) Part Number. 3003 000 8621
The chain might not be available as a loop you will need to get it made from a reel.
Chain is 63PM of 72 drive links.
To run this chain you could get the 3/8" Picco Rim sprocket kit with 8 teeth sprocket recommended for the MS260. Part Number.1121 007 1040.

What you would  have would be a real mean but light machine which goes  like a hot knife through butter.

I have done this with a 026. Its a real beauty.

Joe

[windthrown]

I do not agree with some of the things you say here. I ran my 026s head to head against my 025s (before I sold my 1123 saws off), and there was no comparison. There is a point that the 025 falls off hard and fast where the 026 continues on. Similar with the difference between the 026 and the 361 in larger wood. I ran my 025s with Picco (low profile 3/8) as well; .325 bogged down too much on those saws. It is all but impossible to get Oregon mini-spline picco rim drives for the small format Stihl saws. I had to use spur sprockets. Picco bars and rims are REALLY expensive (if you can find them) compared to other size bars for the large format Stihl mounts, and rim drives are really spendy as well. The Picco setup for the large format Stihl saws was only designed and sold for the 024 saw (13.5k RPM max), and it was not designed to run on the more powerful 026 or larger saws. Stihl does not sell the picco bars with large formats in the US any more for this reason. LogoSol does sell them though. Picco is comonly used on chainsaw mill saws with larger size Stihl saws (361, 440, 460 and even 660s) and they are typically run with spur sprockets.

As for max RPM, from my Stihl manuals, all of these Stihl saws are set at 14k +/-500 RPM stock: 025/250, 023/230, 026/260, 361, 044/440. There are probably others that rev this high. The 260 will run a tad better with a .325 B&C over 3/8, but it is not noticable enough for me to keep .325 B&C and rims around. I am setting up one of my 026s to run picco with a rolomatic bar, rim and Picco chain. It will run faster, but you have to be careful running the light weight chains out there in the woods and on chainswaw mills. You are at or exceeding the limits of the chain design. 

[Skip]

Skip tooth chain is the way to go, less number of teeth equals less 'drag' to compensate for lack of hp and keeps up HP

[Al_Smith]

Skip chain is generally used on longer bars in the 30 plus inch range .

Now comes a slight problem .The MS 260/026 comes equipted with .325 chain which to the best of knowledge my isn't made in skip comfiguration nor for that matter does 3/8" lo profile  come in skip either .

Face it an 026 is a little saw it isn't an oak slayer .As such it would be okay for smaller stuff but of course would cut anything but that would just take longer is all .

In my opinion just keep a good sharp chain on it and it should do fine for a small saw .No matter what you do to it ,it will never be an 066 .

[fuzzybear]

.325 x .050 skip tooth is available thru Baileys.  It's what I use with 20" bar on my 260.

[WILDSAWMILL]

been running a 20" 325 chain on my 260 for 5 years i like it
true its not like my 064 but the 260 dont break my back

[windthrown]

Skip chain and rims are both good ways to change chain speed and torque. You can also mod the 260 to get significant gains in power.

One point of correction: the 260 comes with either the 3/8 standard ~or~ the .325 B&C&R. They can also run 3/8 low profile Picco. The 260 has the Stihl 3003 large format bar mount. You can run 3/8 standard skip or semi skip on a 20 inch bar (I have run that combination with good results). I have all but one of my 026s set up to run 3/8 standard chain, becasue that makes it easy to swap bars, chains and rims between all of my Stihl 3003 mount saws. You can also run .325 B&C&R on a 290/310/360/361 etc.

As said, the 260s are not 660s, and they are not falling or logging saws. They are great for thinning, firewood, and limbing though. Which also makes them a good firewood and arborist saw. I have a spare PNW side cover from my 066 with the large falling spikes. It also fits an 026. I will set up a 026 with that and a 32 inch bar, and show y'all what a gussied up 026 looks like. Lipstick on a pig never looked better.  No way the oiler would keep up with a bar that long... its just for show. The real usable limit for a 260 is a 20 inch bar. I tend to run mine with 16 or 18s.

[John Woodworth]

I've had my 026 which came with a 20" bar for 13 years now, what a wonderfull saw. I run full skip on it and as long as you respect it's limitations have had no problems at all.

[SawTroll]

Happy New Year ! 
Over the too many years of cutting, I've been dropping down in chainsaw sizes from Stihl 440, 028, to 260.    Still love my tiny 009 for climbing, trail work, light limbing. Most of our Downeast Maine woodlot is mixed 16" - 24", with an odd 36"+ oak left over from when the land was pasture. The harvests have been pulp ( when the market was OK ), some sawlogs, mostly 6-8 cords of firewood ( Red Maple, Paper Birch, Green/Brown Ash, some Red Oak ) each year.
The go to saw is now an MS260 with a slight muffler mod (3X the hole ). A 16" bar has worked fine for a few years without bogging in bores. But in cutting some > 30" oaks that also need the butts sliced or noodled for easier handling, the 16" bar is too short.
Anyone use a 20" bar on a 260 successfully ? Will it bog down when buried ?

Really bad idea imo, get a MS361 before they all are gone!   

[downeast]

Happy New Year ! 
Over the too many years of cutting, I've been dropping down in chainsaw sizes from Stihl 440, 028, to 260.    Still love my tiny 009 for climbing, trail work, light limbing. Most of our Downeast Maine woodlot is mixed 16" - 24", with an odd 36"+ oak left over from when the land was pasture. The harvests have been pulp ( when the market was OK ), some sawlogs, mostly 6-8 cords of firewood ( Red Maple, Paper Birch, Green/Brown Ash, some Red Oak ) each year.
The go to saw is now an MS260 with a slight muffler mod (3X the hole ). A 16" bar has worked fine for a few years without bogging in bores. But in cutting some > 30" oaks that also need the butts sliced or noodled for easier handling, the 16" bar is too short.
Anyone use a 20" bar on a 260 successfully ? Will it bog down when buried ?

Really bad idea imo, get a MS361 before they all are gone!   

Appreciate the advice. Unlike Norge, we have a slight economic downturn here. 
The $$$$ will go for more important items.....food, fuel, ...good single malt scotch. 

Why are so many of you in love with the 361 ?    And why, if it is the cure for all ills  (power to weight, etc...) is Stihl discontinuing the model ?

[567paloggger]

most dealers have sales on the 361 a dealer near me had 80 dollars off the sticker price that he would be compisated from stihl to sell his 361s off and push the 362 i bought both 361s he had how can you go wrong for 500 dollars one has a 18inch bar and i didnt want the 20inch bar so i said give me the 16inch bar and i got 20 dollars off for taking smaller bars most of the hard wood here in pa are all small most of my work is done with a 16inch bar but as soon as i got home i had to go test it out on some wood liked it alot so the second one will be a spare

[beenthere]

Couple weeks ago I asked my dealer for info on the MS362. Was told by him that they were not released yet, and he didn't have any pricing. But he referred to them as a 'cosmetic' change (not his words exactly but to the effect that changes were minor) plus the larger or better air filter and cowling.

And why, if it is the cure for all ills   (power to weight, etc...) is Stihl discontinuing the model ?

Interesting that it is though of as a cure-all for all ills, but I suspect Stihl is responding to new EPA regs and timelines, as this 362 is said to be more fuel efficient (might mean at the expense of something we like about the MS361).

[footer]

I bought my 026 new with a 20" bar with .325 chain, and used it that way for quite a few years (Firewood Cutting). I think it was OK with that size bar, but not great. Then I came across a good deal on a used 034 with a bran new 16" bar and chain. First thing i did was swap the bars, so now i have the 16" on the 026 and 20" on the 034. For me, that is the ideal setup. The 126 seems to like the 16" bar a lot better, and the 134 handles the 20" a lot better than the 026 does. I also have an 084 with a 24", 36" and 60" Bars for the bigger stuff. I still have a tendency to run the 084 with the 24" bar when i want to cut a bunch in a short amount of time