Chainsaw Repair

Throw your hone away. You don't want to stick it into a plated cylinder.

Just run the 440, it is not finished improving yet.

The Meteor cylinders have worked well.

To get a big bore, you may have to go HiWay?

I have a 52mm "Big Bore" from Meteor. The flywheel side of the cylinder needs clearanced and the holes for the cylinder bolts need to be ground away a little so the 4 bolts from the 044/440 will fit the 046/460 pattern.

Terry Landrum tickled the cylinder for me, but I have yet to install it. I started setting it up, but I decided to port my 044 (I figured I had Terrys kit, so I had nothing to loose, so I went for it) and love the way it runs. The big bore kit is up next.

Did you use a no name piston or something like that in it? I see no reason to go to a big bore when a port job would get you more than a swap to a big bore would. An OEM 460 cylinder would be a better choice than the big bore. Most new rings and pistons take about 2-3 gallons to break in good.

stick with the stock topend. it will make more power everywhere compared to an aftermarket kit regardless of the bigger bore. i'd check your compression tester before coming to the conclusion your comp is low.
another thing to look at is the thickness of the cylinder gasket. too thick will lower the compression.
the 440 after a muffler mod is a smoking strong saw. no need to ruin it with questionable parts. it's worth putting oem on it. and there isn't any reason to question the quality.

another thing to also look at is the piston. it might look fine, but it may very well be out of spec. and letting some comp pass by regardless of rings. if you can't see the 'machine' marks, it's probably time to replace it. these saws like to fit snug.