OT: An old favorite - Chainsaws

[Too Tall]

I know there are some very experienced c.saw folks out there in VSalon land help me buy my next saw pls.
I cut about 3 to 5 cords per yr. and lots of limbing. Also, because we live next to a creek that can get log jams it is IMPERTITIVE that I have a saw that's gas'd and ready to start first couple of tries or we can get in trouble fast.

Currently I've got an echo and it's an real POS. I take good care of it and they are finnicky. Boo.

The saws that seem to fit my needs are Stihl Farmboss MS290 and husqvarna rancher. There is a local repair place that is good with service for both.

Alternately just send me both for evaluation I'll get back in a yr.

[TJ]

Husqvarna's have always served me well for what it's worth.

[WadePatton]

i have plenty of them, no love for stihl (anymore). i'm all about johnny reds and dolmars. be back later with more, but let me skip out with this: go to a "pro shop" do not buy at the home-store. also, johnny red and husky are both owned and made by electrolux--many interchangeable/identical models.

also, the most common modern issue is the crap shit gas that the epa forces upon us...arg.

[dhoff]

A few years ago I went to my local tool rebuilder and asked him whihc chainsaws I sould puchase for several months of continuous work (8 hrs/day, 5 days a week). He rebuilds tools from every major company. I expected him to say either Husky or Stihl, but he said there was only one brand I could buy in the north east that he would personally buy, Makita.

It seems that a few years ago Makita bought out an old european brand, Dolmar, mentioned above as well. He advised me that there was no comparison, from working on chainsaws for the past 20 years, they were by far the best tools currently available. So I bought two of them, one with a 32" bar and one 24". My crew found them lightweight, easy to use and maintain, and powerful. With out a doubt these are the best saws I have ever owned and cannot imagine getting something else. I am now officially spoiled. The old husky was good while it lasted, there are still some good Stihl's to be had, But these are just better, more reliable and easier to use.

There is still two differences between the Dolmar and the Makita. Makita is Blue and Makita parts distributers are everywhere.

[caleb]

No real experience, but word is that the consumer-level Stihls have really been cheapened in the past few years. What was once hard steel is now soft steel, soft steel parts are now composite and plastic. The saws have gotten lighter, but that's come at the expense of durability. Just hearsay, but where would the internet be without it?

If I were buying a saw today I'd probably go for a Husky. The Makita sounds interesting, but the only dealers around here are big box stores (i.e. Home Depot).

[WayneJ]

I have a Husqvarna Rancher 55. I bought it about 6 years ago and cut ~6 cord of wood per year and like you, clear log-jams in the river occasionally.

I have absolutely no regrets with this saw. It came with a 20-inch bar originally, but I kept inadvertently groundiing it and had to sharpen chains too frequently. Switched to an 18-inch bar and all is well.

[Dorman]

I've had an Stihl MS260 Pro and an MS290 for about 7 years now and love them both. I have multiple spruce and pine blow down yearly and the saws have never let me down. I keep them clean and gassed up and they always fire right up even after 6 months of sitting around. The 260 Pro is my favorite as it actually has nearly the power of the standard 290, but is lighter and this helps being a smaller guy.

[Too Tall]

I've also heard that Stihl quality of late is lacking and what a tip wrt the Makita!! Wow.

[ron l edmiston]

dad always had a stihl back on the farm--
now i have a 24" makita --- 3 dog dare ...

ronnie

[mainemike]

jonsered
i've had a 20/40 turbo for 12/15 yrs. light and fast and reliable.

[WadePatton]

newsflash: makita saws are made by dolmar (in germany where dolmar saws are made). dolmar weedwhackers are made by makita in japan).

And I'll use either one as I already have dolmar branded items of both types. I don't know who is the bigger "playa" in the combination of the companies, but methinks "bought out" is a bit one-sided and what i see on the street is not so.

My favorite saw is a Sachs Dolmar--from an earlier generation of the company relationships. Some of us might remember Sachs-Sedisport yo.

Back to the saws. The best deal is going to be a trade-in at the pro shop, where the trader simply needed a bigger saw. The trick to fast starting has more to do with the choke and spark systems than anything. I know just how many pulls each of my saws requires for a cold start. I have two identical JR's and they used to be a bear to start. I changed the coil spacing on one--now it starts better. Fresh mix always. if fuel gets more than a few weeks old, i dump it. I also use the higher octane-hoping to avoid cor-fuel problems. Ethanol flavored fuels can give some grief in the 2-stroke carburetion system-so get straight gasoline if possible. Never run 100/1. 50/1 is fine, I use 40/1 for all of mine. Carb tuning is needed if you change the mix ratio. Too lean kills motors, too rich is sluggish and smokey.

It's most important to match the saw to the work and the only # to look at is displacement. 40cc class is mostly poulan-esqe homeowner stuff, 50cc is middle of the road--where the homowner saws max out and the pro saw lineups get going good. 60cc's and larger leaves all the play saws behind. 70-80cc's is logger beginner saws. (love my 79cc saw). and they go on up to 120cc--which is not going to be toted far and often used for mills and other specialty applications.

Each step up gives you more power, and more weight. Unless you need to bury a big bar in hard wood or work at breakneck speed--mopower isn't always necessary. A sharp-chain wins every race-period. My 60cc saw with the right chain--will cut with the 79cc saw with a standard chain. Proper saw chain sharpening is, like gluing tubulars, a necessary process for ultimate performance.

The Husky/Jonsered lineup has too many saws in it last time i looked. Methinks the 2159 Jonsered/Huskey 359 is where I'd point anyone looking for a professional-level 50cc-class (yeah i know 59cc sounds a lot like 60) firewood whacker. A Dolmar/Makita of similar size would be good too-possibly heavier, but methinks the 6400 can be re-jugged into a 7900 (if you must have more power).

You can hang any bar you want on there, but remember more bar is more chain to pull (consumes power buried or not) and to sharpen. 16" is great for my firewood getting. 18" on my light saw for limbing-gives reach. 20" on my bigger stuff for bigger wood. If I cut more green wood, I'd have a light saw with a longer bar and skip chain, just for limbing operations.

BTW, I wear the chaps and the helmet, no gloves. Gloves have a way of getting pulled into moving things--I avoid them most of the time. I have seen enough saw chain wounds that I wear my chaps now--every time. I got away with no safety gear for dozens of years, I don't seen the need of pushing that luck any further. These are dangerous tools, if it bites it's going to be messy. Also most of these accident happen when two people cross paths too closely.

Stihl is so homeowner crazy these days. They make some good stuff, but the end of it all for me is their stupid little tank caps. It's an over-complicated gizmo that will break if twisted improperly requiring a $10 replacement cap. Can't just change the caps--the mechanism is built into the tanks--even the big pro stuff. My first good saw was a 024 and I still have it. Stihl does make it easy to distinguish the pro saws from the backyard jobbies. White handles on pro-level, orange on the rest.

The price tags are another easy way to differentiate.

Final say: Even though two of my favorite saws were pawn-shop type buys, I certainly do not recommend anyone anywhere buying used 2-stroke powered anything unless you know a good bit about 2-stroke engines.

(yes, folks do still run straight gas in them and ruin 'em. everyday)

also: Bailey's is a good place to get supplies and arboristsite.com has a good section where saws are discussed.

fin

[Too Tall]

Wade, this is great stuff I'm looking for what I need and now to find a Pro shop...in the burbs.
Hey, indulge me. Are you saying I should run the gas out of my saws if I am not going to run them for a few weeks or more? I had been using gas stabilizer.

[caleb]

For you guys who cut significant amounts of firewood, what's your method?

When I was a kid we heated the house totally with wood. My dad used a Poulan that never seemed to work well but always managed to get the job done. November was firewood season. A few Saturdays at two truckloads a day kept the house warm for the winter. When I was really little I remember loading rounds onto the truck and splitting them later at home with a maul during the first cold snap around Christmas. At some point I think my mom put a stop to splitting and the mess that comes with it in the yard, so we started splitting out in the woods. That slowed the operation down a bit. At some point fuel oil got so cheap, the saw got so old, and my dad got so tired of the work that the gas furnace looked like a good option. I doubt the old stove has been lit in twenty years.

I never questioned my dad's method. It seemed natural to cut wood right before winter since it would soon be needed, the ground was usually firm, and the splitting was easier in the cold. Then last year (or maybe the year before) the MN Conservation Volunteer published an article about cutting firewood that suggested my dad had been doing it all wrong. Apparently the traditional method is to cut wood in the spring when the snow has melted but the fields aren't yet ready to be worked. The idea is to cut the rounds in the spring, let them dry over the summer, then split them at Thanksgiving just in time for the winter.

My worry with cutting and hauling in the spring is that unless you're hauling with a tractor and haywagon, the chances of getting stuck or at least digging ruts are pretty high. I suppose you could let the rounds lay until fall, but if you're on public property your firewood might go home with someone else. As for the benefit of the wood drying, I can see it if you have limited timber selection, but if you can select well aged wood I've never thought moisture was a big deal.

Perhaps this is all details, but I'd be curious how you guys fill your woodsheds. It's a nonissue for me right now since I don't even have a fireplace, but hopefully we'll be remedying that within a year or two. When the day comes I want to be ready.

[Too Tall]

I finally found a Dolmar Pro shop about 50 miles from here and they are talking deals on the PS-510 and they will fit an 18" bar for me same price. Looks right.

[Disturbed]

Wade can rite gooder then me. I my old Husky 288 w/24" bar but even I need to man up when I start it.....

I think Huskys line of Pro saws are still pretty good but I wouldn't buy any brand outta a box store.

While it traps you into their 'system' the Oregon Powersharp is a good deal for many people imo......I carried extra chains when I worked in the woods and sharpened at home at night.

PowerSharp sharpens chain on the saw, on the job, in seconds

You guys know me, I'm all about safety but keep your fleckin saw outta your body line, learn how to plunge cut and you'll know what not to do with the tip of your bar. {Darren CT, Relax, that's a saw bar I'm talking about}

We use to drop em, haul em out and block em. We'd split at some later point. Dry wood splits easier and blocked wood drys faster. Now a days I just turn the thermostat up.

I don't use stabilizer in my saws....string trimmer with tiny jets, yes. I don't run em dry either.

[kpomtb]

Why is this in OT? Last I looked a saw had a bar, a chain and a sprocket.

[dhoff]

newsflash: makita saws are made by dolmar (in germany where dolmar saws are made). dolmar weedwhackers are made by makita in japan).

And I'll use either one as I already have dolmar branded items of both types. I don't know who is the bigger "playa" in the combination of the companies, but methinks "bought out" is a bit one-sided and what i see on the street is not so.

My favorite saw is a Sachs Dolmar--from an earlier generation of the company relationships.
fin

It's no question, in 1991: Makita acquires Sachs-Dolmar, a German maker of gasoline-powered chain saws that are subsequently renamed Dolmar GmbH; Makita Corporation is adopted as the new company name.

But all this aside....

+10 on the wearing of Chaps and eye protection. It is incredible how efficiently proper chaps stop a chain saw blade, thereby increasing the odds that a bicyclist will continue to ride without prosthetic limbs.

Do what you do and consider safety.

[WadePatton]

no prob with the technical correction.

stabilizer in the gas is fine, and i don't often run mine dry. i can only count on _not_ using them in the heat of summer. but if I ever let a tank or jug of gas get old-it becomes dandy fire starter or driveway weed killer. i refill with fresh and run it on through.

mof, the last one i let get gummed up is my dolmar branded made in japan weed buzzer. aka the orange makita. wink.

[SteveP]

ill chip in. i got a small c saw at sears when i moved to this hse in 1995.
i use it once a year some years and 3-4 times a year some years.
it always starts on the 2nd pull
i never do anything other with the gas... mix it, leave it etc.
i pull the thing out of the case and it fires up.
i thk its a great little inexpensive tool.

[Too Tall]

Hoff and Wade. I've always used the pre-mix echo oil and keep an 5 gal. can of gas for saw and trimmer. What's your drill? I learn from the cool kids ;)