I would guess it’s a little less than 45 but definitely greater than 32 for sure. Ballast helps but also moisture level in the soil “type” cane either benefit or hamper what you are doing. Safe travels.Hope that helps, Ric

Yep can’t complain about ours! Carb adjustment is a normal thing with fuel and air temp changes, humidity and the like. Other than that no real issues at all with ours. I actually sold our 872 at the beginning of this year to a neighbor and he just uses it for slabbing . To my knowledge he is still on the same chain(I make our own chains) as far as I can tell. That is a great all around saw in power and weight. More than strong enough for cutting big wood but small enough to sling around when you need to. Best thing about it is the price! I had to renew my sawyer certification with the USFS in November and was the only sawyer with a non oem saw. None of them could believe how good these saws run, or the price. Kinda cool. All the best and happy sawing, Ric

Yeah bud I rather enjoy the challenge of handling this big beast while also trying to keep the chain oiled, but hey, there are many less fun things to do! Thanks for the tips! Ric

Well this may take a minute for you to digest. I’ll start with the 80/20 rule. It states the round part of the file should be 20% above the leading edge and 80% below(in the gullet). Now this is a good, very safe, rule of thumb. This does not consider soft hard or rotten wood, also does not consider full comp skip or full skip tooth, nor does it consider cutter angle for either cross cut groove or for milling groove (slabbing or planking cutting with the grain). Having said all of this , this is my opinion and mine only and I am giving you my own sharpening techniques that I use on 3/8s and .325 chain from .050 to .404 gauge chain. First, Depending if you are cross cutting I use a file then file my cutters as equally as possible, then I file my depth gauge to either .002 to .003’s of an inch depending if it is soft or hard, if it is soft wood it goes to .003’s, hard woods go to .002’s of an inch. I prefer to hand file round first and then file depth gauge after as some teeth will be slightly shorter than another but generally they are very very close in length as I have done my fair share of sharpening short or long hoops. I have an electric bench sharpener but rarely use it unless I have some loops greater than 30 inches. The bench grinder tends to temper the chain harder and makes it difficult to sharpen in the field as it has tempered harder from the extra heat of the wheel. Now on to file size. 3/16 (4.8mm), 13/64(5.2mm) and 7/32(5.5mm). I try to emphasize the gullet and the cutter tooth then the point. I only use a full chisel chain. By using the full chisel the number one factor is that it is the most safe and as long as you are careful it cuts well all day long along with it is best for safety with chaps. Back on the cutter and gullet. To small a file will not sharpen the gullet or cutter ramp well, to large will restrict the tooth from cutting smoothly. To large a file will remove to much material and cause consumables to go up with little use. With an .050 to .058 chain you can get away with a 13/64 filing both the gullet and the cutter edge/ramp very well. With a .063 or larger the 7/32 works very well but is only slightly to large for the gullet and the cutter ramp. With practice I have been able to file .063 with the larger file and be proficient and spend less time to accomplish the same with the 13/64 file. The 7/32 does it quicker you just have to be patient to not remove to much material or you will spend more money on loops because you file to much off. Having said all of this I enjoy hand filing simply because it is very rewarding when you get it right. Besides this you still must ensure your bar is in great shape. I routinely flip my bars and dress the rails when they start to round or develop sharp edging. Doing all of this makes for an outstanding cutting saw. Hope this helps, Ric.

@CornucopiaFarmstead Got it. 80/20 I've always follwed. I'm just curious what your process was. Sounds like something you could do a whole video on. Something to lay out, show, and explain in detail step by step for novices.

. I think I would prefer the 13/64, since I don't mind a few more strokes if it means filing the gullet better , and an overall better edge for that size chain. I think Stihl recommends it as well, but making it quicker with a 7/32 is quite common.

Good morning. Yeah, ya know there is always a better way and that applies to everything but not everyone can be proficient in that better way(2&1 files or maybe bench grinders). Process is process and what ever one is most proficient at the way I look at it is generally best, at least it works for me which is what I try and go with lol,

Exactly. As we become more proficient, by proxy we save time in the long run. Depending on the chain conditions you may do something different every now and then but I am sure you will see that as it comes. Regardless, leaving room for error and not removing more than you need too, this just shows how good you can be, that is an award you can share with yourself often too! Enjoyed the conversation, happy sawing bud, stay safe! Ric

I generally grease them when I clean them which is no more than every two days, if it is spinning freely then it needs a shot of grease. Ric

Not sure if anyone makes a full wrap bar for it but possible an ms440 bar could fit, not sure though. Personally I like the versatility of a full wrap and only dislike the full wrap when cutting at ground level. Ric

Maybe but this was just for 🤩

Yeah, I see and hear many good things about that saw. People are loving it for sure, probably more than the 892/660 clone. Honestly I have preferred how the Husky saws run better and the ergonomics too. Eventually I’ll end up with an 895 but not likely soon. These 90+cc saws are a real handful, especially if you are brushing out a tree. Felling or rounding they are pretty predictable, brushing out man it would be easy to get in to trouble. I typically keep at least. 24/25 inch bar or greater on my larger saws. I prefer a 28 as it makes it quick to transition from one site to the other or just reach out to the other side for a limb cut. Having said that, if someone isn’t accustomed to running these big cc saws it would be very easy to lose a body limb. Anyway these things are getting better and better and thankfully they are still affordable! Ric

I would say based on all the things I like I would go with the 380, but for me it is based one the ergonomics and overall size. The 380 fits me better, the 372 feels bigger to me. I’m 5’5, if I were 5’8 or taller I’d go with the 372. The 372 has more power runs stronger and has more torque too. Plus it sounds really cool anywhere in the rev range. You probably have more or a larger variety of parts available for the 372 given its pedigree also. As long as you care for them they will both last a while, my 372 is in NC in the hands of a forestry worker being used right now along with an 892, I haven’t heard anything bad from those guys and they have had them for 3 + weeks now, I’m sure they are used all day every day. Anyway that’s my two cents, hope it helps . All the best, Ric

Hey there JB. This saw was the first Neotec we got , I think, can’t say for sure now but it has been a while. I had used it for milling at the beginning of 2024 a friend saw it setting on the bench and asked if I would sell it the way it is(mill and all), I ended up selling it and he kept going with it. Saw was never modded and had the original bar still in place. Couldn’t complain. Anyway to answer you second question the pocket knife. If you go to Walmart or even on line, you can find the folders and sometimes full tang short blades for less than $5 bucks sometimes even $4. They are always super sharp and surprisingly durable too. Plus you don’t fret to much if you lose or misplace it. All the best, Ric

@@CornucopiaFarmstead it was a push button I saw Ric you used pocket knife and that knife I could not buy for 5.00 it's like 5 or 6" blade? Thx Ric.

Yes , that was actually a knife that came with a Milwaukee sheet rock saw. I remember it now. It was great when new but not so much as it aged. The blade is a very hard steel and is not the easiest to sharpen. It had decent hand holding ergonomics but once it became dull it was very hard to get to a nice edge again. I eventually stuck it to a grinder and put a feather edge on it which made it better to sharpen but did mean it would dull quicker. It came in a bundle during Christmas years back and really doesn’t get used hardly at all anymore, unfortunate. A Milwaukee disappointment. Ric

Happy to hear that bud. We don’t have the 895 but I would love to run one and eventually own one but since we have so many I can’t really justify buying another saw. I’m curious how well the 895 runs against the 660 clones. We typically don’t run the 90+cc saws unless it is a lot of big wood rounds, having the sawmill is nice for milling too though. I can’t really complain other than the chain adjusters the saws and bars are great, the FT saws aren’t bad but the FT bars I can’t say are that good at all. Rails are pretty thin, bars are thin too. Over all, still can’t complain over the entry price! Thanks for commenting! Tic

They are two different companies. Both of them make parts for basically all types of outdoor hand power equipment. Neotec is a newer supplier than Farmertec but they basically make the same or similar equipment, some prefer Neotec some prefer Farmertec, we use them both and give a slight edge to quality for Neotec. I recently sent 3 saws to NC for the cleanup and these saws were already a couple of years old. They are still using them today and will stay with the community for community work in Black mountain area. They are a great alternative for someone who wants the power and good quality but not having to pay the oem prices for the same saws. Most people call them trash and for someone who doesn’t take care of there equipment , anything can be trash. I like them and unless I hit the lottery I’ll never pay the crazy costs for a fancy oem.

I agree, fortunately after a couple of years it wears pretty well but surprisingly the graphics and the has have held up very well.

It does the job very well and thankfully economically too. A little cold natured but once it warms up for a minute or two it runs very well. This little saw is still in use today and has only used fuel, bar oil and several chains. Surprisingly it is still on the original bar and even though it has been filed several times it is still holding up very well.

You know, I have a Chinese lineage. Frankly it is very offensive when people like yourself make comments like that. Maybe someone can be offensive to your and your families heritage and find it mysteriously humorous? Good luck with that jimmy. I’m done with people who want to be “online bullies” .

Thanks bud. We are doing about as best you can during the current time I suppose. With the state of society in general and normal everyday life, sure is challenging to have a positive attitude most of the time. My wife and I never have been people to act one way and be another. I suppose that is in how we grew in to the people we are. Maybe one day societies and social media will be less trivial and people can enjoy it again without being so offended. For my wife and I, some of our kids, sure does make it easy to have less and less screen time in any way. Happiness truly is what you make it. All the best and thanks for commenting, hope you are doing well too. Ric

Actually no I haven’t ran the 872i, but from what I gather the parts upgrades are well worth the added cost. Having said that the 872 does the job very well. Any time you have better response and less throttle time you are saving money and time along with consumables while cutting. As for the second question NT and FT are two different companies. NT at one time supplied parts for FT but somewhere down the line they stopped supplying them. At that point they just started selling complete and kit saws. This was around 2020 I believe. If you search around a bit and get some other opinions I think you will see they both have a strong fan base for each other equipment, some like NT some like FT. One thing I think you will see most is FT sure does try and duplicate what NT is doing, you will just have to read between the lines there….. Hope this helps and thanks for commenting, Ric.

Yeah, it is unfortunate that little things like that can happen but they do. We haven’t had it happen yet but I am sure one day it will. I have had them stay open which is a pain! If I remember right on the 892 they sent a plug if you wanted to delete it also? Fortunately it didn’t cause a lot of harm to the saw, I’m sure it still runs strong even with a groove or two, good oil mix does help seal some grooves. Thanks for commenting and keepm cutting! Ric

The bar is resting in a gun rack made to be mounted on round tubing. It is also used to hold various tools such as shovels and whatever else we use taking care of our farmstead. The atv is a much more useful tool than a Utv as it is more capable in precarious situations and much easier to keep from rolling over you in hilly terrain. Utvs are great on mostly flat or slight incline but they are generally too bulky in most situations. The atv is used daily and generally has more hours used on a day to day basis than my daily driver truck. Thanks for commenting! Ric

The round I was cutting was a decent round, a little punky here or there but still good wood for the most part. Neither of the two saws were ran in under load, they both had been heat cycled a few times but that’s it. If I remember right while we were making the vid I had to keep tuning the 660 clone several times, the 070 clone to this day I haven’t adjusted the carb on it. But you aren’t incorrect in the cutting prowess of the 660 clone for sure, they all for the most part needed some break in time and all need a fair level of tuning if you want to be in the top end of cutting performance, otherwise the will just cut rather than saw. Thanks for commenting, Ric

Very true, but we still needed to cut our fire wood. We don’t always cut healthy trees down unless it is needed and when harvesting firewood we always prefer to harvest deadwood since it is a hazard anyway! Thanks for commenting! Ric

All I can say is you just have to try them if you want. We make nothing nor receive any monetary support for giving my opinion on Neotec or any or equipment we use. When I started using the blue saws it was because I couldn’t afford to purchase the name brand oem I wanted to and still can’t for that matter. If someone needs to do a job one or more these clone saws and equipment let it happen for a lower cost of entry. Just like when you set your lid off in a used low dollar car, no difference here, if it breaks or is destroyed at least the value to replace it is low too. We still use all of our clone saws today and hopefully will for as long as I can lift them. All the best, Ric

Thanks for the kind words! With everything it takes to make things happen, we do the best we can which is how I personally believe things should be done always. Work in to it with the saw and enjoy the milling, awfully hot for milling. The bees get us pretty good when we are milling and it is even worse when it is hot. They find the water from the lube system on the sawmill but not so much on the chainsaw mill. Stay safe and hydrated, all the best! Ric

Tough decision for sure! For the oiler yes I was overriding the auto oiler. Some folks suggest running it until the chain smokes at which point I would not be happy anyway as it would cause damage to not just the chain but the bar seals and other assorted rotating bits that I don’t want to replace prematurely. So having said that I’ll hit the oiler a little more and not worry about it. I think when it comes to deciding which saw to purchase you really just need to look at a few factors. Weight- the 070 is heavy and is more so the longer you wield it, the 660 clone is slightly less weight. Ergonomics- the 660 is typical for most chainsaws only larger, the 070 will take some getting used to if you are slightly built like me but likely fine if you are 6’ or taller. Power- they have totally different torque and power curves. 070 runs slower with more torque is less db’s, 660 higher revving higher db’s higher chain speed which in my opinion and experience causes fatigue faster. Consumables- the 660 is going to run through everything faster, chain oil fuel, you name it, it leaves faster. Having said that you must consider time savings here which will reflect your cents per hour for run time along with time working on a job. Big consideration here. Lastly Fun factor- hands down the 070 clone is the funniest saw I have to operate. It sounds cool looks cool is cool to operate, the squirrels pay attention when you start it up, your wife gives you extra points for throwing it around, that is priceless too. Hopefully this helps with your decision bud. In the grand scheme of things I could never and still can’t afford an oem saw from husky or stihl, these saws though not perfect if you take care and maintain them are almost as good as the oems at a fraction of the cost. When you can’t afford to pay a tree service but you can get in to one of these and do the same job then keep the saw at the end of the job it is a win win situation! Hope this helps and if you decide drop a line back and let us know what ya ended up with! Thanks for commenting and all the best, Ric

Yeah I hear ya bud, it is a great little saw and is probably the most cloned saw out there ((Zenoah)). Ours is still running great but is pretty wore from all the use. Handle bar is stock and bends easy , plastic is wore out and discolored other than that just put a new loop on it when the teeth are gone and keep cutting! Thanks for commenting! Ric

Well really if you are serious about ground hogs you might get deep enough but I can’t say for us we have been able too. The entry and exit holes(usually 5 or more as they typically have one primary entrance and exit and the rest are just pathways to different areas, less important). Groundhogs have fairly large and frequent litters around here. We have better luck with live traps that are baited with cantaloupe as it is a favorite for them. Even when we remove a family another will soon reuse and reopen the old passages. They are a massive problem abound a large diverse garden. Good luck! Ric

Coons yotes strays opossum, cycle of life… it happens!

You probably need to adjust the oil delivery screw on the bottom of the saw. You will see where it has an arrow that directs which way to turn for more or less oil. It is also possible the vent hole for the oil tank could be blocked or clogged. Usually this is the only other problem. Though it is possible I doubt the clutch drum is off the oil drive ring but this could be possible too. Good luck! Ric

I recently sold this saw and a plank mill with it. I had a fella that needed to mill a fair amount of wood and rather than let him borrow it for an extended period of time, he just decided to make me an offer on it. Saw still runs great and is still in great condition. Gonna miss it as the ergonomics on that saw work really well for my stature. I’m pretty sure he is going to mod the saw but that’s fine as it is his now. I can’t complain about these saws blue or orange, for people that need an alternative they sure do fit the bill well. Thanks for commenting, Ric

Yeah the 872 is a great running saw. I used ours for almost 2 years and just recently sold it to a fella who is going to use it for milling. Most folks get these for the exact reasons you mention plus for just one time storm clean up. At the end of the day they are very close, maybe within 75/80% of the oems depending on the actual head you get. We haven’t modded any of our saws but I have seen and ran many that have. Most folks alter the timing(flywheel) or they change the port timing numbers, install the oem ignition coil(probably the best and quickest for the most power). If you did all of these to the 372 clone you are still less than half the cost of the old 372 or even greater less than the new 572. I can tell you our 872 even when I sold it is a great running saw and rock solid reliable for us, not that they all will but still for the cost, it is hard to beat! As for comparison other than some older 600cc and less oem saws we don’t have the larger nor could afford them. It would be nice but just isn’t in the cards! All the best and drop a line when you run your new saw! Ric

Actually we have several blue saws also too. I believe the Neotec has an edge on them with overall fit and finish, to say all of the saw heads or other equipment they make is far better would be a stretch for sure. Do I think they are better, yes. The quality of materials is the biggest difference I believe. In talks we have had with the people who are actually responsible for building and design it revealed what the clone makers do. They use expired patents but they are still limited in how close they can make the clone. That is to say they, frankly none of the clones are exact clones of the equipment they are copying. Though the parts will interchange they aren’t the same as oem. I know this as the owners of Neotec have explained what they can and can’t do when reverse engineering equipment. Having said all of this, Neotec and Farmertec have in the past worked together in supplying parts to one another, they no longer do that and I can only say quality is the reason why. The cost is low on these machines because the quality of metals isn’t the same and yes you could say it isn’t as high of quality on that end but is still as best quality you can have for the cost. I believe the oems have better tolerances for sure, maybe the best materials overall but it comes at a great cost. If a person wants to modify this is a great way but likely not the best thing to do. I ran a saw for a week at over 1000 rpm higher than it should have, almost 14k rpm. I blew it up, I didn’t want to but man that saw would run. The tolerances were only slightly to loose and it deflected enough that it caught the side of the case shaved enough aluminum and then grenaned the crank and rod. Great running saw before that happened, lots and lots of power for a little saw and sometimes you just run a little saw. Anyway, I hope this helps, this is what I consider when running equipment. We maintain our equipment very well, none are modified and other than the 1 , we have had little issues at all with any of our equipment. Thanks for commenting, Ric

@@CornucopiaFarmstead Thank you so much for the quick response and very valuable information. Do you think I should sell my holzfforma and buy Neotec?

@nicholasblohowiak29 if it isn’t broke, you know that old adage…. Seriously if it isn’t broke I would just keep up the maintenance. If it ever lets you down, try a Neotec for sure. We still have most of our blue saws , haven’t sold them all yet! At the end of the day if you have the opportunity to acquire a backup or maybe reaffirm supply that isn’t a bad idea either. Lessons learned from supply chain issues is how we got where we did, we didn’t want to pay exorbitant prices and be left out in the cold. Given the climate that is brewing, do what you need or can do to stay and be prepared. Tariffs are coming back so supplying countries will begin to penalize the US again. Here we go again! All the best, Ric

I don’t disagree with you on that. But know that most of the plastic polymers and additives used in plastics come from china India and a couple other countries. Most come from china though. I can tell you this little top handle is use every(7 days) day of the week most of the time. It sets in the sun most of the time unless it is stored for the day. Though some of the plastic is showing “uv” degradation, the important plastics are holding up just fine. I use some not friendly to plastic/rubber chemicals when cleaning and other than the rubber, the plastic is fine. For the consumer who doesn’t have the funds for the oem saw these make great options especially if they aren’t used in a commercial sense. We use them commercially and they still suit us just fine. Thanks for commenting, Ric

Check the Neotecworld website or you can contact through the facebook page for them also.

I would check there website , Neotec world.com and or the Facebook pages the have. Seems to be how everyone else makes it happen. Ric

They work great for sure and are perfect for those jobs where small amounts are needed. Thanks for commenting! Ric