Great ol saw! My first job out of high-school in 84 was working in Corey n sons log yard in Port Angeles. I used a 056 for bumping knots and cleaning the hair off the butt to make them look good for the overseas log buyers. Also if the scaler wanted some bucked to take a hook off or something like that. At that time we were still getting old growth spruce and cedar that were huge and if they needed bucked I used a 084! Good old big powerhouse saws!
Got my 021 running and idling. Plus the oil pump is putting out. Today has been a good day. I let it idle to break in that new piston, cylinder and rings. I will run it some more, tomorrow. I had thought I might have to go back to it and clean out the discharge line from the pump to the output hole. So yesterday, I blew some break cleaner into it and today it started putting some oil out. I think I will spray some more in it, just to make sure it is clean. Got a side adjust on it. I hate those front adjust saws.
I was lucky to salvage the 051, as I started out with three boxes 0f used, abused and broken parts. The saws were used in commercial service, then dismantled and all the pieces were stored away for many years. It was a real challenge to make one great running old saw out of all the bits. This was very satisfying to get the saw in excellent operating condition, and getting out doing some hard work with it. Old saws rule !
I have a 051 with a 5 foot bar when in high school for blocking firewood,took days to gain feeling in my hands after running that beast for 12 hours darn near straight every weekend in the fall These old girls have a drinking promblem for sure. These saws are pure torque. I ran mine with 404 full skip square ground,hand filing was no fun. Sure neeat to see some one willing to run these old vibratory power saws,I can do it much any more from running them commercially in logging.
I know my ms 660 cuts at 12,600 because that is where I limited it to. It has a 36 inch bar on it for big wood, but I generally run it with a 20” bar due to its weight with longer bars. The 660 is 92 cc3 and it will flat cut. Its only problem is its weight. It weighs close to 25# without a bar and chain. That 051 cuts pretty good but sounds a little lean to me. I would give it another quarter turn out on the H jet to see if that will make it maintain a constant rpm in the cut. That’s what want my saws to do. The L jet sounds a little rich to me. I would probably lean it out a bit, too, to bring the rpm up a bit at idle.
My original reply to this comment disappeared for some unknown reason. The 051 would slow down at times in the cut because of the huge knots and hard spots the tree had in it. The idle problems on both saw was because the idle screws kept backing off. Since loctited. Both these saws make my microphone go goofy, making them sound like they are warbelling. They don't sound like that when operating them. So I can see why one might think the saws need some carb adjustments to correct the problem. No other saws I have affect the microphone, simply weird.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 it was just my thought. My big Stihl saws generally hold rpm’s regardless of what they hit in the wood. I set them up with a good four stroke as you probably noted with a max rpm of 12,600-12,800. I also try to set them up in the fall and spring so they will be a little richer in hot and cold temps. Temperature makes a lot of difference in how a saw operates. If you adjust it in the summer and run it in the winter it will be lean. If you set it up in the winter and run it in the summer it will be super rich. My guess is there is about a quarter turn difference between summer and winter on the H jet.
I usually adjust the saws carb for each job if the weather changes a fair amount. One reason my old saws slow down in hard cuts is they don't have the horsepower that the newer big saws have.
I was cutting a tree once that at some time in it's life had a tree house in it. I was trying hard to miss the nails,but to no avail. I was using a 925 Homelite, and it had so much torque, it broke the chain. I thought maybe I'd fix the chain and move on, but it had broken some of the teeth off and mangled even more. No mas had to get another new chain.
Unbeleivable work horses, I was lucky enough to get one for €250 last year, has a 25 inch bar with .404 chain, I have a question, I have a 36in Stihl light bar that runs 3/8 chain, is it possible to fit that on the 051 or do I need to change the sprocket on the saw?
Update, I figured out I'll have to change the sprocket, may have to do some finessing on the new light bar too, Now I have another question LOL, 7 or 8 link sprocket, given your expertese would it be able to run an 8?
You will need to replace the sprocket to use 3/8" chain. The drive teeth on most .404 chains is .063", so you will need 3/8" chain with the same width of drive teeth. The .404 chain works best on the 051's, as the saw has the torque to run the bigger cutting teeth, and the saw just has medium chain speed, since the saw is not a high rpm model.
I would stick with the 7 pin, as it works well for cutting all types of wood. An 8 pin might not work as well in hard wood or cutting conditions. Remember, these are really old saws, and working them too hard will hasten their demise.
That 51 is tuned pretty oood. List to how it maintained its rpm inthe cut. That’s how I want my saws to cut. My 660 will cut a good bit faster than that 51. I very seldom have to lay on the dogs on the 660 or the 440, just let their weight do the cutting. The last time I cut with the 660:I had to cut off a five foot hickory stump. It was so heavy it took two of us to push the stump off.
The 051 runs really well. It isn't the fastest big saw I have, but gets the job done. It took more effort to cut with after the chain had been ground with the small teeth that were left on it. The most annoying thing about the 051 is that the idle screw keeps backing out, and then the idle gets too low or stalls. I put on a stronger spring that fixed the problem.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 8-10,000. Thats why they have more torque, but that does not mean they cut faster, even though it may seem that way. That is also why your MAC and Homelites last so long. Heat and speed is what kills engines. When I was managing Federal Buildings we had reciprocal chillers that operated at 750 RPMs and centrifugal chillers that operated at 25,000 RPMs. They both cooled the buildings and our reciprocal chillers gave us more mechanical problems than the centrifugal chillers but the latter cost more to repair when they did. You pays your money and takes your chances, so they say!
So that is Gort? I sometimes put a 36” bar on my ms 660, but usually it totes a 20” bar. My 660 will turn over 12,000, easily. I set it at 12,600-12,800 at WFO.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 8=-10,000. That would give them more torque, but that does not mean they cut faster, just seems that way. That’s why those MAC and Homelites last so long - they turn slow. Heat and speed is what kills engines.
The mid speed saws, 8 to 10 grand don't cut as fast as the real high RPM saws, but a lot of the fast running saws that don't have a lot of torque, run in the 8 to 10 grand when in a hard cut, so I don't see any difference really. The mid speed saws are what I use and they do last a long time as a result.
My guess is that Stihl doesn't sell the side covers any more. I have found used ones on EBAY though. In most cases, Stihl sells very little for the old saws.
I never let anyone touch my chains but me. If I end up with a rocked chain I bring out my chain grinder and screw it down to my big cooking table on the back deck and clean it up. Commercial companies will grind your chain until you don’t have any cutters left. They pick out the worst cutter and cried every tooth to the same length, which makes you end up with a chain with barely visible cutters. A lot of times they grind them so hard they turn the cutters blue. I grind each tooth the minimum I end to restore its correct cutting angle and sharpness - no more. Chain grinders are getting cheaper. I got mine for a little over $100 and it does a fine job. I mounted it to a piece of decking and use deck screws to screw it down to my cooking table. The rest of the time it sits in my office on the floor. I usually use a file for all sharpening but I occasionally need the grinder, I used it a while back to clean up the chain that came with my 024. It was rocked but it cuts like a house fire, now. I cleaned it up with the grinder and then hand filed it.
I have always sharpened my chains by hand, but in this case it would have taken a long time to fix the damaged teeth, so I took it to a pro shop to get it done quickly. When watching the video, you will see the saw cutting much better than other times. The best cutting was when the chain was like new, and the slower cuttings were after the chain had been ground. The teeth are about half the size after the grinding, so less wood being cut. There is quite a bunch of debri in the bark too, so I didn't always have the chain as sharp as I should have. I inherited an old Belsaw chainsaw grinder and just recently set it up. So now I am going through the learning process of how to use it . I will do a video on it when I get proficient at using it.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 this is why I hand sharpen my chains after every use. If not they will get to such a point that you will have to chain grind them. I give them usually 3-5 licks after every use. I check the raker height, too, because I don’t want a bunch of tall rakers, on one side, either. This will make a chain cut crooked because on side of the chain will be cutting more than the other.
I usually sharpen my chains when I see the chips starting to get smaller. I rotate through my saws, so I usually have two or three saws to sharpen at one time when they need it. This way I do a better job on the sharpening.
Great ol saw! My first job out of high-school in 84 was working in Corey n sons log yard in Port Angeles. I used a 056 for bumping knots and cleaning the hair off the butt to make them look good for the overseas log buyers. Also if the scaler wanted some bucked to take a hook off or something like that. At that time we were still getting old growth spruce and cedar that were huge and if they needed bucked I used a 084! Good old big powerhouse saws!
Great story. PNW logging at it's finest, with big saws.
Got my 021 running and idling. Plus the oil pump is putting out. Today has been a good day. I let it idle to break in that new piston, cylinder and rings. I will run it some more, tomorrow. I had thought I might have to go back to it and clean out the discharge line from the pump to the output hole. So yesterday, I blew some break cleaner into it and today it started putting some oil out. I think I will spray some more in it, just to make sure it is clean. Got a side adjust on it. I hate those front adjust saws.
Wow that's a lot Nothing takes down Stihl chainsaw. Thank you for the video
The ol 051 is still earning it's keep ! Big, tough, powerful and torquey.
Keep them great shows comming!
Will do !
Love Me Old Stihl’s 😀😊😀 Mr Obsolete Love Your Saw 😀
I was lucky to salvage the 051, as I started out with three boxes 0f used, abused and broken parts. The saws were used in commercial service, then dismantled and all the pieces were stored away for many years. It was a real challenge to make one great running old saw out of all the bits. This was very satisfying to get the saw in excellent operating condition, and getting out doing some hard work with it. Old saws rule !
That saw ran great...awesome video ....👍🤙
The ol 051 saw is still a real workhorse after all these years since it was made.
Good cutting there Mr. O!
The old 051 is still up to the task of chewing up big ol nasty tree's
I have a 051 with a 5 foot bar when in high school for blocking firewood,took days to gain feeling in my hands after running that beast for 12 hours darn near straight every weekend in the fall These old girls have a drinking promblem for sure. These saws are pure torque. I ran mine with 404 full skip square ground,hand filing was no fun. Sure neeat to see some one willing to run these old vibratory power saws,I can do it much any more from running them commercially in logging.
Great story !
Great saw ! 🪵⛓🪚👍👏🇺🇸 Rick
The saw is old, but still get's the job done !
I know my ms 660 cuts at 12,600 because that is where I limited it to. It has a 36 inch bar on it for big wood, but I generally run it with a 20” bar due to its weight with longer bars. The 660 is 92 cc3 and it will flat cut. Its only problem is its weight. It weighs close to 25# without a bar and chain. That 051 cuts pretty good but sounds a little lean to me. I would give it another quarter turn out on the H jet to see if that will make it maintain a constant rpm in the cut. That’s what want my saws to do. The L jet sounds a little rich to me. I would probably lean it out a bit, too, to bring the rpm up a bit at idle.
My original reply to this comment disappeared for some unknown reason. The 051 would slow down at times in the cut because of the huge knots and hard spots the tree had in it. The idle problems on both saw was because the idle screws kept backing off. Since loctited. Both these saws make my microphone go goofy, making them sound like they are warbelling. They don't sound like that when operating them. So I can see why one might think the saws need some carb adjustments to correct the problem. No other saws I have affect the microphone, simply weird.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 it was just my thought. My big Stihl saws generally hold rpm’s regardless of what they hit in the wood. I set them up with a good four stroke as you probably noted with a max rpm of 12,600-12,800. I also try to set them up in the fall and spring so they will be a little richer in hot and cold temps. Temperature makes a lot of difference in how a saw operates. If you adjust it in the summer and run it in the winter it will be lean. If you set it up in the winter and run it in the summer it will be super rich. My guess is there is about a quarter turn difference between summer and winter on the H jet.
I usually adjust the saws carb for each job if the weather changes a fair amount. One reason my old saws slow down in hard cuts is they don't have the horsepower that the newer big saws have.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 well, that’s true; 7,000 rpm’s will not cut like 13,000. The older saws may have more torque but less cutting speeds.
Yup !
That's a big stick! You have the right size saw for it.
Worked out great !
I was cutting a tree once that at some time in it's life had a tree house in it. I was trying hard to miss the nails,but to no avail. I was using a 925 Homelite, and it had so much torque, it broke the chain. I thought maybe I'd fix the chain and move on, but it had broken some of the teeth off and mangled even more. No mas had to get another new chain.
I have been lucky and never broken a chain, but I have had them ruined by nails and old fencing debri.
Unbeleivable work horses, I was lucky enough to get one for €250 last year, has a 25 inch bar with .404 chain, I have a question, I have a 36in Stihl light bar that runs 3/8 chain, is it possible to fit that on the 051 or do I need to change the sprocket on the saw?
Update, I figured out I'll have to change the sprocket, may have to do some finessing on the new light bar too, Now I have another question LOL, 7 or 8 link sprocket, given your expertese would it be able to run an 8?
You will need to replace the sprocket to use 3/8" chain. The drive teeth on most .404 chains is .063", so you will need 3/8" chain with the same width of drive teeth. The .404 chain works best on the 051's, as the saw has the torque to run the bigger cutting teeth, and the saw just has medium chain speed, since the saw is not a high rpm model.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 thanks so much for the help, love the channel! All the way from Ireland 🇮🇪
I would stick with the 7 pin, as it works well for cutting all types of wood. An 8 pin might not work as well in hard wood or cutting conditions. Remember, these are really old saws, and working them too hard will hasten their demise.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
That 51 is tuned pretty oood. List to how it maintained its rpm inthe cut. That’s how I want my saws to cut. My 660 will cut a good bit faster than that 51. I very seldom have to lay on the dogs on the 660 or the 440, just let their weight do the cutting. The last time I cut with the 660:I had to cut off a five foot hickory stump. It was so heavy it took two of us to push the stump off.
The 051 runs really well. It isn't the fastest big saw I have, but gets the job done. It took more effort to cut with after the chain had been ground with the small teeth that were left on it. The most annoying thing about the 051 is that the idle screw keeps backing out, and then the idle gets too low or stalls. I put on a stronger spring that fixed the problem.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 8-10,000. Thats why they have more torque, but that does not mean they cut faster, even though it may seem that way. That is also why your MAC and Homelites last so long. Heat and speed is what kills engines. When I was managing Federal Buildings we had reciprocal chillers that operated at 750 RPMs and centrifugal chillers that operated at 25,000 RPMs. They both cooled the buildings and our reciprocal chillers gave us more mechanical problems than the centrifugal chillers but the latter cost more to repair when they did. You pays your money and takes your chances, so they say!
great german saw..greetings from germany
Nice to hear from you, and thanks for watching.
in germany you are allowed to use a chainsaw only with automatic security brake, ao old chainsaws only for collechtion..
I sure wouldn't be popular over there, would I !
Nice olde Stihl. What is bar length on that thing
Stihl 051 with a 36 inch roller nose bar. The saw is 89cc.
Is that a roller nose bar on that saw? Haven’t seen one of those for years!
The bar on the 051 is a roller nose . I really like the way they look when running. They are a scarce item today.
So that is Gort? I sometimes put a 36” bar on my ms 660, but usually it totes a 20” bar. My 660 will turn over 12,000, easily. I set it at 12,600-12,800 at WFO.
The only saws I have that run that fast are the 025 and 031. Most of my saws run in the 8 to 10 thousand range, as they are old medium speed saws.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 8=-10,000. That would give them more torque, but that does not mean they cut faster, just seems that way. That’s why those MAC and Homelites last so long - they turn slow. Heat and speed is what kills engines.
The mid speed saws, 8 to 10 grand don't cut as fast as the real high RPM saws, but a lot of the fast running saws that don't have a lot of torque, run in the 8 to 10 grand when in a hard cut, so I don't see any difference really. The mid speed saws are what I use and they do last a long time as a result.
Thanks for the video, I need the side cover for mine, does Stihl still sell them? To my surprise they do for the 090. Vintage is best
My guess is that Stihl doesn't sell the side covers any more. I have found used ones on EBAY though. In most cases, Stihl sells very little for the old saws.
Never had an 051 but i have an 075 with 36in. Roller nose bar .404. Full skip chain
I am going to put my 42" roller nose bar on the 075 next time I get a big tree to cut up.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 yes sir be a great setup
Hello !!!
Howdy !
I never let anyone touch my chains but me. If I end up with a rocked chain I bring out my chain grinder and screw it down to my big cooking table on the back deck and clean it up. Commercial companies will grind your chain until you don’t have any cutters left. They pick out the worst cutter and cried every tooth to the same length, which makes you end up with a chain with barely visible cutters. A lot of times they grind them so hard they turn the cutters blue. I grind each tooth the minimum I end to restore its correct cutting angle and sharpness - no more. Chain grinders are getting cheaper. I got mine for a little over $100 and it does a fine job. I mounted it to a piece of decking and use deck screws to screw it down to my cooking table. The rest of the time it sits in my office on the floor. I usually use a file for all sharpening but I occasionally need the grinder, I used it a while back to clean up the chain that came with my 024. It was rocked but it cuts like a house fire, now. I cleaned it up with the grinder and then hand filed it.
I have always sharpened my chains by hand, but in this case it would have taken a long time to fix the damaged teeth, so I took it to a pro shop to get it done quickly. When watching the video, you will see the saw cutting much better than other times. The best cutting was when the chain was like new, and the slower cuttings were after the chain had been ground. The teeth are about half the size after the grinding, so less wood being cut. There is quite a bunch of debri in the bark too, so I didn't always have the chain as sharp as I should have. I inherited an old Belsaw chainsaw grinder and just recently set it up. So now I am going through the learning process of how to use it . I will do a video on it when I get proficient at using it.
@@mrobsoletesvintagehomestea9156 this is why I hand sharpen my chains after every use. If not they will get to such a point that you will have to chain grind them. I give them usually 3-5 licks after every use. I check the raker height, too, because I don’t want a bunch of tall rakers, on one side, either. This will make a chain cut crooked because on side of the chain will be cutting more than the other.
I usually sharpen my chains when I see the chips starting to get smaller. I rotate through my saws, so I usually have two or three saws to sharpen at one time when they need it. This way I do a better job on the sharpening.