Best and worst chainsaw?

[D'oh]

I replaced my 034 with an 026 Many Years ago, and still use it today. Smaller but Pro, it isn't a whole lot slower than the 034 was but much lighter.

Come replacement time it would be a 261

 

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Good point on 60cc. Whatever I get will not be smaller than 60cc

Why?
You already have that with the 590. Unless it’s not running well there is no need to duplicate that saw.
You want a smaller, well handling saw.
My recommendations are the Echo 501P, the Stihl 261 or the Husky 545 thru 55 series saws.
No larger than an 18” bar on any of these.
Go to your dealer and handle some.

 

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The ol Husqvarna 460 Rancher got a three hour workout today felling several 60' trees that were hanging over a house.View attachment 1567193View attachment 1567244View attachment 1567245View attachment 1567340

Just a tip. It’s easier if you got in the truck to move it instead of using it like a wheel barrow. They’re kind of heavy to do that with although you do seem to be having success.

 

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Wow, 11 pages. I haven't read past the first two.

I just picked up a Husq 562xp mkii. My Stihl 390 was stolen along with my two Makita 36v.

The Stihl was at least 15 maybe 18 years old. I bought it when my 20+ year old Homelite SuperXL bit the dust. The Stihl was very stubborn if cutting in hot weather. It gave the high rev warning when it was about to run out of gas and you had about 10-15 seconds to kill it before it died. If you didn't, that saw would fight you all the way to get it re-started. I got to be tuned in to the revs and when it sped up I knew to hit the switch. Then, fill the tank back up and start on the first pull.

When I had to shop for a new one, I read all the reviews on the new model 391. I didn't like what I read. Bad customer support from Stihl, always blaming burn't pistons on "no oil in the fuel". BS!. Add to that all the complaints of hard starting cold, not just hot. Add to that, the saw now cost $800 vs the $450 I paid way back when.

So, I started reading up on Husq. Came to the conclusion of getting the 562 xp, but read that had starting problems too. Then deeper dive into Husq message boards and everybody saying get the MKii with the re-designed engine and recalibrated AutoTune. So, I settled on that, another $800 saw. Problem was nobody, nobody, in eastern half of NC had the saw. Everyone said the same thing...backordered. I called into VA and managed to find somebody that had one. Tomorrow will be my first use of it.

One of the small engine techs at the shop l work at calls the 391 a “travesty of a saw”. It has several fatal flaws and Stihl is miserable covering this saw even under warranty stating what you have said about gas mix.
We don’t even display this saw any longer.

 

[eddieirvine]

Husqvarna i have two 16 inch bar and 20 easy to start has primer bulb and have not had one issue with t doing what i want done, One thing i will add most saws will cut fine as long as you maintain your chain in sharp condition, keep at it don't need to remove a lot of material to keep a sharp chain, Just take time to keep it sharp !

 

[Rockbadchild]

I help my friend loading his truck of firewood yesterday we where cutting birch with a 40cc chainsaw and ho boy life is too short for that I can't handle it way too slow and poor thing I spend a full tank without letting it go.

 

[Kernow]

I tried one or two cheaper chainsaws but they didn't work out well for me.

So I bought Stihl and they have been great. Last one was a MS441 CM that was an amazing saw, it was a reliable starter, well balanced, easy to use and had plenty of power.

 

[Oldbinder]

I’ve done about 35 years of firewood work and my favorite saws are a Jonsered 2171 and a Stihl ms260. The jonsered was a big saw a used mostly for bucking logs. It was fast and a bit heavy and would cut fast. It was also very comfortable cutting saw. Used the MS260 for felling and trimming trees and had a 20” bar and decompression valve for easy starting. The Jonsered had a 24” bar and also a decompression valve. The 24” bar was mostly for saw balancing for when I was bucking logs. Cut a lot of oak, maple, ash, cherry and beach up to about 20” dia..

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[bartjoebob]

Stihl is pretty much dominating right now. If you really want a nice saw, see if you can find a German made Dolmar before Makita moved the operations to China. Their 5100 series was a 14,500 RPM saw. There are 60cc too all the way up to 90cc

 

[terraformer]

Do you have unusual sprocket wear with that 36" bar.
Does it stop in the wood if you get too deep at all?

Anything special done to the 390? Muffler/tune to run that bar?
Skip or full ?

Sounds interesting.

I got the long bar to cut up a 5' diameter white oak tree that had died and fell over this summer. I used the regular 20" bar on most of it but wanted to cut up the trunk without having to rip cut it.

The chain is a standard Oregon chain not skip tooth. Echo bar.

It did a good job, never got stuck. Had to cut from both sides So yeah had it all engaged.

Oak isn't as hard as Hickory, it cuts pretty well. Probably took 5 min to get through the trunk.

This was a bonus that didn't want to leave on the forest floor over the winter.

Motor on the 590 is stock and about 12 years old. The saw is more nose heavy of course.

I buck the wood down making about 9 chords a year for firewood. I am not a logger. Just someone who likes to stay warm in the winter. The first year that we were here, 15 years ago, we would cut wood in the day to burn it that night. No desire to do that again.

This was the biggest tree on my property. We now have big chunks of wood that need to be processed. Hopefully will be lighter once they dry by next spring.

I have saved some 3-5" thick slices of trunk. Want to make some rustic tables.