Chain saws

   / Chain saws #21  
Any of the top names like Stihl, Dolmar, Husqvarna and Jonsered would do great just stay away from box stores. My father is a logger and just the other day he told me the Dolmar held up better than any other brand for his crew. I personally have two Stihls (028 and 029) and a old McCulloch.
 
   / Chain saws #22  
Go to some yard/garage sales and pickup their junk saws for change. Many homeowners have a storm blow through, buy an awesome saw, use it a few times, throw it on shelf full of gas, curse it when it doesn't start, and sell it years later. Family had older craftsmans and homelites that were great and all under $20 some even have cases/ spare bars, chains etc. My saw I use was $25. It is an 08 stihl it is old and heavy, but it works great. Cleaned 5lbs of mud dobber nests out (was the cause of the locked engine) put a carb kit in and a chain. My new to me saw is a 040 stihl that was also $25. Chain was on backwards and it is full of putrid gas. 10 minutes it was running well. Give me an hour and a carb kit it will run outstanding. I see plenty of good stuff out there that people just think magic occurs in carburetors so they sell it cheap.
 
   / Chain saws
  • Thread Starter
#23  
Yeah. I've had the homeowner models and they are ok, but when they won't start you just need to buy another. I'd rather get a mid range saw that will be reliable and last a while. Thanks for the comments. Wanted to see what other people were using and perhaps get the no way no how comments on saws with problems.
 
   / Chain saws #24  
For me, the priority is small size, lots of power and reliability. My arms get tired after holding a larger chain saw for more than an hour or so. Years ago, I took note of what some professionals were using to cut some trees close to the house as they climbed around in them like monkeys. The chainsaws were attached to their belts with lanyards and light enough to hold out from your body with one arm but strong enough to cut some big branches. So I bought one. I cut some pretty big trees down with this sucker.

ECHO 14 in. 30.1 cc Gas Chainsaw - California Compliant-CS-303T-14C at The Home Depot
 
   / Chain saws #25  
For me, the priority is small size, lots of power and reliability. My arms get tired after holding a larger chain saw for more than an hour or so. Years ago, I took note of what some professionals were using to cut some trees close to the house as they climbed around in them like monkeys. The chainsaws were attached to their belts with lanyards and light enough to hold out from your body with one arm but strong enough to cut some big branches. So I bought one. I cut some pretty big trees down with this sucker.

ECHO 14 in. 30.1 cc Gas Chainsaw - California Compliant-CS-303T-14C at The Home Depot

Can't buy that saw. Only in CA.
 
   / Chain saws #26  
Stihl MS270C has never let me down. I own numerous Echo products with several years of use. I've never had any engine issues with them ( no other issues either).
 
   / Chain saws #27  
For me, the priority is small size, lots of power and reliability. My arms get tired after holding a larger chain saw for more than an hour or so. Years ago, I took note of what some professionals were using to cut some trees close to the house as they climbed around in them like monkeys. The chainsaws were attached to their belts with lanyards and light enough to hold out from your body with one arm but strong enough to cut some big branches. So I bought one. I cut some pretty big trees down with this sucker.

ECHO 14 in. 30.1 cc Gas Chainsaw - California Compliant-CS-303T-14C at The Home Depot

People would be surprised at how big a tree you can easily handle with smaller saws. It would be interesting to see what the HP is on that Echo....they don't seem to publish it anywhere. It's about the same displacement, and weight as my little Stihl, which is much easier on the back, and arms, as you noted. At 14lbs, my 311 wears me out before too long, and the 460 is only used when necessary.

A side note people forget is that as the power of the saw goes up, they get more dangerous....not that using a small saw on too large a tree would be safe.
 
   / Chain saws #29  
I have always had a small top handle saw, currenty a Stihl. Super handy but you need to be extremely careful, because at most you have two hands on the saw very close together, and as a result, they can kick back easily. The pros use one hand when in the tree, but they are pros. I used to cut a bit professionally and even I keep a closer eye on that saw chain than any other.
 
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   / Chain saws #30  
Always ran Stihl here, until dealer treated me badly, a couple of times, brought my Stihl to a Husky dealer and he worked on them with a smile, when it came time for a new saw, guess what. We run saws a little more than homeowner use, like 20 hrs. a week sometimes but not professionals. I have saws from 30cc to 95cc, mostly pro series saws, Stihl 180, 200t, 026, 036, 361, 045, 460 and Husky 61 Farmer, 266xp, 372xp, 395xp. My recommendation is 50cc to 60cc saw with good dealer, regardless of brand. My 2 favorites are my Stihl 026 pro and my Husky 266xp. The bigger saws are too heavy for more than bucking wood, and I love the 180 for a brush saw while fencing and bush hogging but it just isn't up to cutting heavy wood consistently, I think its the only saw I have that isn't Pro.
 

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