Makita 7901

[meazlejr]

Anyone have this saw?  I see that it is made by Dolamar.  The makita thoughis under there warenty and service.  I found a good deal on one.  I have been thinking about doing a little cahinsawmilling and this seems like it would be a good saw for that.  So waht do you think?
Thanks,
joe

[ehp]

the 7900/7901 are great saws with lots of power and they have a coil governor so that would be a good thing in my books for saw milling

[fishhuntcutwood]

Never handled one, but Bailey's is touting them as running against the 046 and 385 in their fall sale catalog.

Jeff

[pallis]

I have one.  I'm still in the slightly awe struck stage with it.  It is a great saw, well balanced, with more power than I need, but I don't plan on milling with it.  Just my 02, but If you plan on doing a lot of milling, you should maybe look at some larger saws, closer to the 100cc category.

[rahtreelimbs]

At present the Makita 7901/Dolmar7900 seems to be the saw to beat!!!

Great power to weight ratio!!!

I have 3 7900's and 2 of the smaller Makita 7301. I am not letting them go any time soon!

[pallis]

I should add that I have a 7900 because I watched a clip of ehp running one he modified.  How about giving us a show ehp...?

[ehp]

I donot think I can post video on here ? If I am wrong let me know ok

[meazlejr]

Thanks for the info.  I ahve heard that it can run the  385xp wich seems to be the standard for chainsaw milling.  I can get this saw for less than the 385xp.  I would love to see the video.
Joe

[Jeff]

Ed how big is the file?

[ehp]

Jeff I have hundreds of videos of different saws , let me know how big I can put on , if I use the small video they arenot to big

[ehp]

Jeff I have some as small as 100 kb of single cuts , they are very short about 4 seconds worth,

[Jeff]

Email me some stuff and I'll get them uploaded.

[Jeff]

Actually, let me know what the file extentions are and I will fix it so you can attach them under "additional options"

[Jeff]

I added the ability to attach .mov, .avi, or .mpg files up to 200k.

[ehp]

ok lets see if I can get this to work, I was playing with a gas powered 3120 work/ race saw , the owner wants to work the saw then race it on weekends so here it is on muffler , wood is 17 to 18 inch

[ehp]

ok that seems to work pretty good Jeff, that saw had a 10 tooth gear on it with 3/8's chain, so now I had a large volume pipe and a small volume pipe , first the small pipe

[ehp]

now a the big volume pipe

[ehp]

here is a 361 stihl I ported for Ben Walker, I only had a 16 inch bar with me so I had to go over the top , the 361 is a nice saw to run

[ehp]

I will have to look threw my video's to find some 7900's videos or I will just make so more, I have a couple 7900's here to be ported , plus I donot know how much space Jeff wants me to use but one thing you could do  Jeff just leave the video's on for a short time then delete them to free up spacecause I know it cost money to have lots of MB

[ehp]

here is one of my 3120's alcohol saws, it's a small file

[Bernhard]

really not sure how the new Makita/Dolmar work, but in the past they had a lot of quality probs. We ran a 114 si at our VFD and it was a piece of Junk. I´ve bought a 114 si a few years later for resale and it worked fine.

[ehp]

i have done alot of 7900's , they are a good saw stock or modified, the older models I didnot like the switch but they have changed that and if you donot use the decompressure the rewind hub will let go after a year or so of everyday use but why not use the decompressure ,the 7900 has more compression than the other brandsaws in its league.

[ehp]

here is a 6400 Dolmar cutting 11 inch diameter wood, yes she is a little rich  cause her first run of the season

[Jeff]

Ed can you make my rancher do that? :D ;)

[ehp]

Jeff I would think it would be kind of hard cause you have a smaller motor to start with but anything is possible if you want it bad enough, I built a husky 50 this year that is as fast if not faster than that 6400

[Rockn H]

Is there any in the U.S. that sells the Makita besides baileys?  I've looked around and can't find anyone.  And why don't they sell them with a bar?  It may be a dumb question, but I need to be educated I guess. :D

[DonE911]

 

Ed is that 6400 a race saw or a woods saw??


Home Depot sells the Makita blue....  they don't stock new saws here, but will bring me one in within a week.  They have several rental saws that you can handle and at least here they'll let you take it outside and saw on a 6x6 landscape timber.

[ehp]

yes the 6400 is a stock appearing racesaw , here it is with a 9 pin gear on it

[ehp]

here is a 2100 stock appearing  running a 12 tooth gear, the wood is small cause these saws cut 8 by 8 so I cut wood close to 10 inch in diameter

[DonE911]

 ;D ;D ;D ;D

Gotta love that....

I don't think I'd want to do any racing, but it sure is fun to watch 8) 8)

Can I put in a standing request for a clip on what would be considered a woods saw?

[ehp]

here is a new ported 359

[ehp]

the 359 is a worksaw along with the rest of thses videos.
here is a 088

[ehp]

here is a 357 worksaw

[ehp]

here is a 395 worksaw

[ehp]

the 361 on the first page is a worksaw as well

[DonE911]

 8) 8) 8) 8)

oh yeah.... now I gotta get some of them.

Thanks for all the great clips Ed.

[ehp]

Don most builders will do most guys a great job and stand behind there work with no problems if something goes wrong that was the builders fault, you cannot hold the builder at fault if you forget to put oil in the gas  stuff like that. I will try to get a video of a stock 7900 on here soon , most of my other videos are bigger than 200 kb but I make new ones most days that are smaller now that I am getting better with the camera

[redpowerd]

i bought a new 6301dcs last year from dozerdan, and before i got to run it i had him get it ready for the woods. he had some 74 jugs and put one in and did his regular performance mods.

i wish i had a chance to run it against the 63-7901 stock saws to get a better feel for how fast this saw really is. trouble is its the only saw built by dolmar in the area. i take some ribbing about buying a makita. the jokes stop pretty quick once one gets it in some wood. its a very fast saw, i am amazed how little time i get to run it, seems as soon as i pick it up im thowing firewood into the dumpwagon. dan knows what hes doin and packages a brand new modded saw allmost broken in

it wasnt cheap but it was money very well spent, if i went to my local dealer with the same cash i surley wouldnt have been as happy.

[DonE911]

 :D :D

I had a similar thing happen.  I went over to a friends house to help him clean up some fallen trees on a property he bought. 

I showed up with my makita and he ask why I would spend any money on a gas powered tool made by makita. ( I have the smaller dolmar in blue colors ) He used to work for a tree service and is a stihl/husky guy.

When I started cutting he put down his saw and said " let me see that thing "    I told him who really made it, but he hadn't heard of it.

Out of the box this saw was nothing special, but after a muffler mod it came alive, I can't imagine what ED or Dan could do to it.  I like the blue color better than the red too.

[pallis]

I used my first Dolmar twenty years ago, and haven't been disappointed since then.  The Makita color options are a good twist, but word is they will be limited in the future.

Thanks for the videos Ed.  Can you give us suggestions on modifying the 372xp mufflers?

[redpowerd]

dan may correct me but i think he said the red saws were about 30 bucks more. i like red but not that much.

the only problem i have is finding synthetic two stroke oil.

[ehp]

if you like blue you better get them while you can ,

[redpowerd]

if you like blue you better get them while you can ,

whys that? is makita not badging them anymore or are they gunna be makita red?

[ehp]

Makita is no sure what is going on but from what I have been told they are dropping the bigger sawslike the 7300, 7900, 9010. Not sure on the 6400. Now that Power Source has picked up Dolmar they wil be alot more of them in Canada, now lets see this new 5100 and see if it is as good as the 346

[sawdust]

Had to go look at my blue saw, is a 7901.  This is the saw that I built my chainsaw mill for. Works great! I had never seen one of these saws before, I got it at a log building get together. Makita had donated it to our silent auction. I have never had problems with it so I have no idea about parts or service.

sawdust

[meazlejr]

Thanks Sawdust,
I saw those pics and thought that might be it.  All reports seem to indicatie light and strong.  I think I found a good deal just have to get it by the CFO.
Joe

[jokers]

dan knows what hes doin and packages a brand new modded saw allmost broken in

Must depend on whether or not Dan likes you, or something to do with the lunar cycles. I`ll guarantee that the 346 I bought modified from him was never in wood unless he really does put them in the dishwasher, there wasn`t a speck of dust anywhere on that saw when I got, I mean ANYWHERE, and there wasn`t any soap residue either. Hmmmm... I wonder how he does that? 

Besides, what kind of nimrod would put a brand new assembled saw in a dishwasher or hit it with a Steam Jenny(another of his cockammamee stories) anyway?

Had he ran my 346 he would have known that it was all bark an no bite.

Russ

[jokers]

Jon(redpowerd),

I`m planning another GTG, either late October or early November. I know, that impacts deer season, but I`m sure you would have a good time and get to meet a bunch of people face to face. Then you might find out that Ed, Gypo, Marky, Hoffman, myself, and maybe even Ben Walker aren`t the bad guys that Dan portrays us as. You could also run some different saws, just don`t eat and run like someone else did and you can run any saw I have.

It would also be nice if you would bring your Power Ported 7300 to back up your claims regarding it, but if you`d rather not, I`d be happy if you simply showed up yourself. The experience of a GTG would probably be worth volumes to you so that you could put all of us in the proper context from first hand experience.

Later, Russ

[Minnesota_boy]

There is a recall of certain serial numbers of Makita 7901.  Something about a flywheel coming apart.  http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05265.html

[jokers]

awww...who needs a flywheel anyway? ;D

[redpowerd]

oh, in the heart of harvest season, eh? boy thats a ruff one. bout that time were just warming up the combine. if i got a little window ill try and make it down.

as far as comparing my saw to a factory saw, have any watches been run against a factory 6400 or 7300? new chain, dia. and type of wood? if there were numbers their to race against id have a reason to go out and get a new chain early. "how fast does a broken-in 7300 chew thru 16" of basswood?" for example.

[rahtreelimbs]

oh, in the heart of harvest season, eh? boy thats a ruff one. bout that time were just warming up the combine. if i got a little window ill try and make it down.

as far as comparing my saw to a factory saw, have any watches been run against a factory 6400 or 7300? new chain, dia. and type of wood? if there were numbers their to race against id have a reason to go out and get a new chain early. "how fast does a broken-in 7300 chew thru 16" of basswood?" for example.

If I make it to Russ's GTG I will gladly bring my stock ( except for a muffler mod) Makita 7301 to time against your 7300!

You can even run my PP 7900!!!


Yeah I know we ( especially me as of late ) rag on Dan alot. But this does not come without merit!

We aren't blowing smoke either!

I was the biggest Dan Henry advocate out there.........NOT anymore!

I know of 2 other builders whos quality of work is much better!!!

[redpowerd]

now now now......

send me a factory saw or send me an address so i can send you mine

[rahtreelimbs]

now now now......

send me a factory saw or send me an address so i can send you mine

No...........just attend a GTG!!!

[jokers]

oh, in the heart of harvest season, eh? boy thats a ruff one. bout that time were just warming up the combine.

I understand Redpowerd, we can work something out for another time if you are interested.

I`m sorry for the way this thread took a little turn, I don`t mean to "call you out" Jon, just the way it looks and probably feels. It would be interesting to see how the saws compare, a pp7301 vs a stock 7301 but I don`t want this interest to degenerate into a peeing match or me saying your saw is no good because of who has been under it`s hood. I meant to express my awe at the way things went for me dealing with Dan vs the way things apparently worked out between yourself and Dan.

BTW, Sucker Brook seems to be down near Warsaw.  Weren`t you up near Lisbon at one time, or am I just confused again? If we have our next GTG in Kendall, it wouldn`t be that far for you, I think you would enjoy yourself.

Russ

[redpowerd]

no, sucker brook is running right thru my back yard, looking pretty muddy. and its still in lisbon.

i understand the sitceation a bit better now. i wasnt taking anything wrong or upset about the turn on the thread, just listening and interpreting information as allways. absolutley no harm done.

the first thing i did after running that saw all day was get on here and praise dan.  do you know how pithed ill be to open it up and..................or to find all he did was install a reman'd muffler with a bit of carbon on it. who knows??? or mabie he built the saw faster and better than any saw hes ever built. i havent got a stock saw to compare it to. or mabie im running an overpriced stock saw and just dont know it yet.

tha'd be the cats pa-toot right there!

theres more i need to say on this but gotta go work land, so ill be back.....

[jokers]

Hi redpowerd,

Chances are that if you are happy with the saw the way it works now, you shouldn`t go looking for trouble by inspecting what Dan has done.

As I recall, you`ve got some experience with an 044, a comparable size saw with a good reputation for performance. If your 7300 compares favorably to the 044, then you know it. We can`t say anything about your saw`s performance without ever seeing it and I had no intention of making you disappointed with what you have. I`m sorry that I even raised the possibility that you didn`t get what you paid for. Now on the other hand, you might be impressed if you test drive a few other builders saws, but again, that doesn`t mean that what you`ve got is no good.

Take care, Russ