meburdick
Platinum Member
I have a Husqvarna 435 with a 16" bar that I bought new about two years ago. I used it for some very small branch cuts at the house and then took down a 30' pine. Seemed to be cutting fine.
I then took down some sort of "shrub" type thing and that's where everything went off the rails. Cutting the trunk down close to the ground didn't go well as this thing was like cutting through stone. Definitely overheated the chain / bar.
When I went to take down a 40' maple in the back yard, I absolutely could not get the saw to cut straight across the trunk. Every cut I attmped resulted in the bar "tracking" toward the left-hand side (when viewed from the top of the bar) and created a curved cut.
I took everything apart and realized that the bar had some odd wear - one side had been been worn a bit and was allowing the chain to flop to one side on an angle. I replaced the bar with a brand new one and had the chain sharpened.
It still cuts with a curve, although it may not be as bad.
I have a MS290 already that I use for almost all cutting, but having a saw with a 16" bar could definitely be useful when having to do a lot of limbing (not a frequent occurrence).
I'm wondering if I should replace the chain on the Husqy (and what the odds are that it will fix the problem), trade the saw against a new Stihl with a smaller bar (16"), or just sell it outright and use the Stihl for all of the cutting I do.
Thoughts?
I then took down some sort of "shrub" type thing and that's where everything went off the rails. Cutting the trunk down close to the ground didn't go well as this thing was like cutting through stone. Definitely overheated the chain / bar.
When I went to take down a 40' maple in the back yard, I absolutely could not get the saw to cut straight across the trunk. Every cut I attmped resulted in the bar "tracking" toward the left-hand side (when viewed from the top of the bar) and created a curved cut.
I took everything apart and realized that the bar had some odd wear - one side had been been worn a bit and was allowing the chain to flop to one side on an angle. I replaced the bar with a brand new one and had the chain sharpened.
It still cuts with a curve, although it may not be as bad.
I have a MS290 already that I use for almost all cutting, but having a saw with a 16" bar could definitely be useful when having to do a lot of limbing (not a frequent occurrence).
I'm wondering if I should replace the chain on the Husqy (and what the odds are that it will fix the problem), trade the saw against a new Stihl with a smaller bar (16"), or just sell it outright and use the Stihl for all of the cutting I do.
Thoughts?