Chain-saws

[Diesel-ME]

If it's a husky make sure it has the metal tag on the left hand side saying it's made in the land of Thor and not an outsourced model!

I HAD to look when I got home..... sure enough - stamped into the case "made in the Land of Thor"... phew

~paul

 

[Youare]

Been cutting firewood for 34 years now and have done land clearing and light logging for 25 years. Over that time I have owned about a dozen chainsaws everything from Homelite to a Wright reciprocating saw. I now own 2 Huskys that are around 8 years old. One saw is for limbing and the other is for bucking and back up. I agree that it is good to have two saws, in case you get one stuck and to reduce operator fatigue.

There are two grades of saw out there with very diferent price ranges. The pro line of saws will be very expensive and the weekend or backyard saw will be less expensive. The difference is usually in the saw case, the pro saws will have metal cases and the backyard saws will have more plastic in them.

Metal weighs more but will stand up to the rigors of everyday use and generally last years longer. If you are going to cut 6 or 8 cords of firewood a year a good you probably don't need to buy a pro line saw. Like tractors the brand you buy should be influenced by a good dealer that will provide service if and when needed. OF the major brands they all will give you good service generally. The type of chain you use and keeping it sharpe will determine how fast the saw cuts. Many times a dull or incorrectly sharpened saw chain is the problem not the saw.

Get yourself a pair of chainsaw chaps to protect your legs and use hearing protection, a helmet with muffs is a good thing too if you are going to be felling trees.

Becareful out there.

Randy

 

[RavensRoost]

Put me in the "two saw" camp as after originally starting with a Husky 51 18" bar, found it was a bit underpowered for serious wood cutting while at same time being a bit heavy for limbing. I now have a Husky 357XP 20" bar (pro saw) for bucking/felling and a Husky 142 16" bar (consumer saw) for limbing and light cutting. Good combo, and the 51 only goes to hunting camp now.

I could happily live with a large/small combo from either Stihl or Husky which I think are the best saws out there.

RavensRoost

 

[moeh1]

My nephew has the 390 stihl which is the bigger piston version of the 290 with a 20" bar. Its pretty good but the neighbor showed up with a 360 pro Stihl nad my nephew wished he had bought that instead...My 2 stihls are over 25 years old and still cutting, I probably replace with stihl eventually but I hear good things about Huskies and Jonsered. Finding a good dealer is key.

 

[WayneB]

I have two husky's just purchased the 455 rancher with a 20" bar. Nice saw, a bit heavy but it certainly cuts great.

I switched to Husky because we have a dealer right in town and almost all parts are always available. Having a dealer is an important issue and not buying from a box store!

 

[J.Walker]

I cut firewood for resale from my woodlot and do treework with a partner.
We use Husquvarna and Jonsered's saws.
After reading the AS site for years, I had my 357xp saw modified for more power. Now I have 3 other modified Huskys too.
My favorite Husky saw is a 17 year old 262xp. Still stock and running great.
I'm just starting to use the new 372xpw and will retire the 575xp soon.

 

[bjr]

What I'm not seeing is how the different manfacturers get to you on parts. Stihl is the worst, couldn't give me one. Echo is seems at least reasonable on replacement parts, but the local dealer is a jerk for service. Just more to owning a saw than intial cost. bjr

 

[Bill Barrett]

What I'm not seeing is how the different manfacturers get to you on parts. Stihl is the worst, couldn't give me one. Echo is seems at least reasonable on replacement parts, but the local dealer is a jerk for service. Just more to owning a saw than intial cost. bjr

I have couple great dealers, lots of parts. Also check out Chainsaws, Outdoor Power Equipment and Tree Care Supplies from Bailey's for parts.
Unless something unforseen happens I'll go for a MS390, I looked at the 361, but sure don't want to go that much money.
Thanks for all the help!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

What I'm not seeing is how the different manfacturers get to you on parts. Stihl is the worst, couldn't give me one. Echo is seems at least reasonable on replacement parts, but the local dealer is a jerk for service. Just more to owning a saw than intial cost. bjr

I have not had too many issues where I needed to buy any parts. You have normal items like chains and bars but unless you are cutting almost every day you shouldn't need to worry about those very often. And like anything, a good dealer is a great thing to have. My Husqvarna dealer is great and I would not hesitate at all to recommend people to visit The Power Shop in Fredonia, NY. Jon is a great guy and will treat everyone with respect and is honest. My only regret is I can't justify buying more from him as I don't need very much more right now.

 

[billbill1]

I am setting here waiting for UPS to deliver a CS-440 Echo that I bought off of Ebay, I got it for $151 including delivery. I have never had anything made by Echo before but have heard good things about them. Have always owned Stihls and have nothing but good things to say about them. Very expensive new is their only drawback IMHO.