Need advice on a larger chainsaw for an older guy.

[geoffleach]

I'm 58 years old and I'm in decent but not excellent physical condition. Average strength I would say.

I am not a chainsaw guy. In other words, I've been using decent consumer Stihl chainsaws all my life but I don't know anything about cc's, chain types, tuning, modding etc etc. Primary use has been yard and property cleanup as well as cutting firewood. I have the proper safety gear and a solid understanding of basic chainsaw safety.
(snip}

I have a Stihl FarmBoss/271. I'm cleaning up after a fire .... a lot of cutting. I took it to the dealer, who, upon hearing what I was doing, said, "You have the wrong saw for the work you are doing. The 271 is for occasional work." I bought a Stihl 261, and it works like a charm. In addition, it has a compression-release button!

One more thing. The bigger the tree, the sharper the chain. I hate stopping in the middle of a cut, but I've learned to change the chain when the cut slows down.

 

[Hoho223]

Husqvarna Rancher 460 with 24” bar. Compression release, easy start. Have a sharp chain and cut anything. I’m 73

 

[4570Man]

Sounds like your chain not the saw. Get your chains professionally sharpened. That saw should be good for what you’re doing

You’d be better off to throw it away and get another one. 99 percent of so called saw sharpeners can’t make them even half way decent.

 

[barts]

I've used a venerable 029 Farm Boss w/ a 20" bar occasionally for 20+ years... good saw. Now that I'm living full time in the Pacific Northwest on 10 acres of 80'+ conifers and pines, and dealing w/ windfalls, root rot, etc. I finally took a chainsaw course. Interesting, and learned a lot about felling trees, taking care of saws, etc. I would get ahold of "To fell a Tree" by Jeff Jepson; lots of good techniques, esp. on felling difficult trees, w/ a bar << tree diameter, etc. The other thing is to learn if you don't already know is how to tune your saw. Proper carb adjustment w/ a chainsaw tach can really make a saw sing. This has helped with milling cedar logs w/ an Alaska mill; some are large enough to bury the 20" bar so I have to get the butts from both sides. Keeping the chain sharp is key to using one of these mills.

My brother bought a 261 pro saw some years back - very nice, and definitely seems lighter and somewhat more powerful than my 029. The standout feature for me, though, is the compression release for easier starting.

The other thing to do is keep active/exercising during the off-season.... as we get older (I'm 63) the muscle disappears faster if we don't use it.

 

[EdinLa]

I agree with prior posts on there not being one saw that fits all occasions.

A 72 cc saw with compression release starting comes very close to all your goals. ....I'm 69 and find that ease of starting is more important than saw weight. ...If saw weight becomes an issue, I use a lighter saw.

 

[smitty66]

I have a Poulan bow saw for sale.

 

[Hermio]

I am a few years older than you and have been clearing an acre of dense woods this past summer with maple, oak, and pine.
I have 20" Husqvarna so I have been doing similar work with similar equipment.
This isn't what you asked for but this may fix part your problem if you haven't used one before.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HY96EW8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

View attachment 720815

I can do it while on the bar, it is fast and accurate.
I keep a small vise mounted on a table to clamp the bar and it takes maybe 5 minutes.
I make about 4 strokes per tooth and it is as good or better than new.
I saw a noticeable difference in how much I could do in a day,

Others can help you pick out a chain saw but I would recommend getting this to help with fatique.
Hope this helps.

Get the Pferd version of that tool. They actually make it for Stihl but sell it for less under their own name. I guess orange plastic is more expensive than blue! (Similar situation with Logrite, who makes the Stihl-branded peaveys, etc.)

 

[Hermio]

To answer the original question of the thread, I highly recommend the Stihl MS500i. It is lighter than any other saw I know of that puts out 6.7 Hp. I find it less fatiguing to use than other saws I have owned. With an RS chain, it should cut around twice as fast as a Stihl MS271. I run a 20" bar, but it is usually sold with a 25", and can handle a 36". With the Pderd tool, it only takes about 5 min to sharpen a 20" chain, and that tool files down the rakers while sharpening the teeth. We have 80 acres of woods, and I put up about 6 cords of firewood per year. I also happen to be 68 years old, and I do work out with weights at the gym to stay in shape.

 

[OzarkChris]

I agree with most that has already been said. But one question comes to mind (that I haven't seen asked yet. Is your sawmill a chainsaw mill e.g., Alaska type? If so, you will need a good ripping chain.

If you are just bucking up into the length you want, I honestly don't understand why you would want anything bigger. A 26" bandsaw mill will, with quite a bit of effort (do you hear a chainsaw buzzing in the background for the off round bits of the log?), saw up a 25-26" Dia log with typical "lumber width" (or between guide width) of 20-22" (which means you cut a full 2" - or more - off each of the 4 sides). Also, when you start felling 26" trunks, be aware you will probably be looking at sharpening after every other cut or every 3rd cut (sorry, I'm old school and my experiences with carbide tipped chains have not been that great - think running into metal while felling/bucking, bye bye $200). Be aware that if you Don't have good curls from the cut wood coming out of the saw e.g., like chips coming out of a planer, NOT large sawdust, your blade is dull (dangerous) and is working much harder than it should be - maybe this is why you believe your current saw won't work for you.

I know many, many folk that "think" if the chain is still going around on the saw its fine and should only be sharpened once or twice a year.

The saw you have is more than enough to work on pines and probably enough to work on most native hardwoods - exceptions would be ultra hards like ironwood. Again though, only if you keep the chain sharp.

If, as you state, you are a newbie feller, please consider finding an experienced professional timberman (not just a tree trimmer), and see if they can help you out on technique - most will be happy to help out if they are any good. The advantage to this is that they will have local knowledge of the trees and things to watch out for.

As far as equipment, at the bare minimum let me suggest a few items. First, if you are planning on a full day's worth of felling/ bucking, consider buying several chains (I take 5 with me for hardwood work). With several chains you can make sure they are all sharp so you can change out in a few minutes, rather than losing momentum by stopping to take 20-45mins, or longer, to sharpen the attached chain.

Second, if you haven't already purchased felling wedges (plastic only!), buy at least 6. If you can find different widths, all the better. If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask the professional timberman. Finally, DO NOT skimp on safety gear, ear, eye & leg protection!

Oh, BTW, if you've never used a bandsaw blade sawmill (or any sawmill for that matter) that isn't hydraulic assist be sure to eat your Wheaties, you'll need it. Sawyers don't have large biceps, etc because they go to the gym!

Hope this helps!

 

[Hermio]

I agree with most that has already been said. But one question comes to mind (that I haven't seen asked yet. Is your sawmill a chainsaw mill e.g., Alaska type? If so, you will need a good ripping chain.

If you are just bucking up into the length you want, I honestly don't understand why you would want anything bigger. A 26" bandsaw mill will, with quite a bit of effort (do you hear a chainsaw buzzing in the background for the off round bits of the log?), saw up a 25-26" Dia log with typical "lumber width" (or between guide width) of 20-22" (which means you cut a full 2" - or more - off each of the 4 sides). Also, when you start felling 26" trunks, be aware you will probably be looking at sharpening after every other cut or every 3rd cut (sorry, I'm old school and my experiences with carbide tipped chains have not been that great - think running into metal while felling/bucking, bye bye $200). Be aware that if you Don't have good curls from the cut wood coming out of the saw e.g., like chips coming out of a planer, NOT large sawdust, your blade is dull (dangerous) and is working much harder than it should be - maybe this is why you believe your current saw won't work for you.

I know many, many folk that "think" if the chain is still going around on the saw its fine and should only be sharpened once or twice a year.

The saw you have is more than enough to work on pines and probably enough to work on most native hardwoods - exceptions would be ultra hards like ironwood. Again though, only if you keep the chain sharp.

If, as you state, you are a newbie feller, please consider finding an experienced professional timberman (not just a tree trimmer), and see if they can help you out on technique - most will be happy to help out if they are any good. The advantage to this is that they will have local knowledge of the trees and things to watch out for.

As far as equipment, at the bare minimum let me suggest a few items. First, if you are planning on a full day's worth of felling/ bucking, consider buying several chains (I take 5 with me for hardwood work). With several chains you can make sure they are all sharp so you can change out in a few minutes, rather than losing momentum by stopping to take 20-45mins, or longer, to sharpen the attached chain.

Second, if you haven't already purchased felling wedges (plastic only!), buy at least 6. If you can find different widths, all the better. If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask the professional timberman. Finally, DO NOT skimp on safety gear, ear, eye & leg protection!

Oh, BTW, if you've never used a bandsaw blade sawmill (or any sawmill for that matter) that isn't hydraulic assist be sure to eat your Wheaties, you'll need it. Sawyers don't have large biceps, etc because they go to the gym!

Hope this helps!

I don't think sharpening that often is necessary. I usually do it every 2nd or 3rd fuel fill-up, or when the cutting speed seems to have fallen off about 20%. I don't wait until it smokes or makes sawdust! With the Pferd tool, it takes less than 5 minutes to fully sharpen a 20" RS chain, and it is sharper and cuts faster after that than with a new chain or one ground with a grinding wheel, though I recommend getting it ground after 3-5 sharpenings by hand just to true-up or "joint" the chain so it cuts straight. I do run into some dirt because I skid the logs out for safety before bucking (less chance of accidents cutting in the field instead of the woods. But for sawmilling, you want to use a log arch or wash the dirt off before milling. Debarking might be a good idea if you can't get the dirt off.