modern chain saws

[SPIKER]

I have had pretty good luck with the 2 poulan saws I have the 18" wild thing from wally world, 130 bucks and a close out kmark 54 buck 14" poulan saw. bothy start & run great I got the poulan pro ole saw, reconditioned but it won';t run for diddly, I used a hunk of aluminum 1/4" tubing and filed it slightly to fit onto the carb adjusters, to get it running... still dies if tilted more than 45~50 degrees UP (maybe some sort of safety to prevent cutting limbs overhead???)

anyhow I use the poulan lube and have wore out several bars & many chains, (resharping them often by hand too) I bought it to cut rail road ties (18" wildthing) when I was building a tie wall ~300' long by 4~5' high with a 1/2 circle and multiple direction changes. believe me when I thought i'd ruin the thing sawing ties I wasn't far off, I even left it out int he woods for 18 months and it fired the 4th pull after finding it! that seems to me OK for 130 bucks out the door!

mark M

 

[Robert_in_NY]

We bought a Homelite saw a couple years ago that was reduced down at a small hardware shop. It doesn't run very well and you have to constantly fiddle with it. The old Homelites we have had run great and a couple are still going strong. But for new saws I will never buy another Homelite. We bought a Husqvarna hedge trimmer and Pole saw. Two different units and both are plenty powerful and have worked flawlessly. If the big, old Homelite finally dies I will buy a Husqvarna chain saw to replace it.

I have got tired of buying cheap tools that don't work when you need them. If you don't need a tool very often then the cheap ones will probably work but if you plan on using it any amount spend the money and buy a good machine.

 

[elad]

In 1971 I bought Stihl 020 chain saw with a 12 inch bar & chain. This saw
is probably an exception, but it has cut more than 100 tri-axle loads of logs
in approximate 24 inch lengths. I replaced bar 2 times, many chains. Rebuilt
carb. couple times or so. Replaced plug--?. Fuel line 3 times due to rot and once because of pinched line. Saw still runs & starts like it did new. Even
the pull card has never replaced. Needless to say, I've been happy with it.
Just thought I would tell you about my good luck. elad

PS Don't remember the price; but it was worth it.

 

[txdon]

I bought a Sears Craftsman in May and finally took it out of the box more than 90 days later. It kept dying the first ten minutes and then the pull cord would not wind in. That was a total of about six cuts till it's death.
Since it was more than 90 days since I bought, it Sears would only let me exchange it, but the new receipt says I can get a refund, from the new exchanged saw, If I bring it back in less than 90 days. HMMMM - Stihl

 

[cp1969]

The names Homelite, Poulan, and McCulloch have been ruined by their getting contracts to sell to big retailers such as Wmart, HDepot, etc.

That is why I cringe when I see Husky being sold at Lowe's(?) It is only a matter of time before the price pressure applied by the big box store leads to a decrease in quality of the tool.

 

[shaley]

I've got a '72 031 AV Stihl and it still runs great. Needed a carb kit once. Used it Sat to cut fire wood. The stihl's have a chrome cylinder bore for improved service life. I've never had much luck with the consumer brand saws. It seems they never want to run when I need them too.

 

[schmism]

Ive had a 039 i bought in 1994. About a year old at that time.

Ive serviced it regularly and i can still start it cold on a cold day in about 5 pulls.
I picked up an older 010AV from an estate sale. a little tune up and she runs good also but a bit more stubborn to start. But once running it will cut all day long.

Id buy a $250 entry level Stihl long before i bought 2 or 3 or more junk saws from HD, Lowes, wally world etc.

I consider my saws much like i do my generators. Perhaps they arnt used often, but when you have a need for it, its never a "oh i could use something else, but ill just fire up the saw instead" its usually a must have.

Shure i shop at HF... i buy sockets, and bolt cutters and stuff i dont expect to use but a few times once in a blue moon. The stuff i want/need to work reliably every time i turn to it. Thats when you see me skipping the cheep chit.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

I bought a Husqvarna 460 a couple years ago and love it. I cut at least 10 cords of firewood a year and do other projects as well. The local loggers told me to get the husky. They say that the handle is on a Stihl to push the saw thru the log, the handle is on a Husky to keep it from hitting the ground because they cut so fast.

 

[rtimgray]

I've had three Homelite Chainsaws - we bought a 14" XL model in 1996 and I used it on the farm for 10 years or so and had very few problems. I would usually just finish with it and put it up, no cleaning, etc. I would change the air filter and spark plug occassionally, and put on good chains when needed. I also always kept it inside and dry when not in use. We paid $90 for it from Wal-Mart and got literally 100s of hours of use from it.

The second was an 18" that I got of eBay and it has been worth the money (bought it for about $80. It starts and runs good, but it's too heavy for most of my use, so I don't use it a whole lot. It's probably been a years since I used it at all.

Last year, when the XL finally died, I bought a new 14" Homelite (maybe it's a Ranger or something), for about $100 and proceeded to cut down 80 trees in clearing a fenceline. Since then, it's been used on and off with good luck. I will say that it is a bit harder to start (gotta prime it, full choke, pull 5 times, half choke, throttle lock, pull til start, etc etc), but once it starts and warms up its a single pull to start again. Idles great, easy maintenance.

I've also had 3 Homelite string trimmers and do a lot of trimming in the summer. I've paid anywhere from $60 to $90 depending on if it was the cheap curved shaft (never again) or the longer straight shaft and I get about 3 or 4 summers out of them, so that's about $20 or $30 per year, and I'm guessing about 50 cents or less per hour of use.

Now I have no doubt that if I bought a Husky or Stihl or Echo or any of the other higher brands, I would probably get longer service out of both of these items (chainsaw and trimmer). It's simply a case of "Good" versus "Good Enough". One of these days, I might get a Husky (mostly because they use the same fuel mixture as Homelite - I'm almost positive, correct me if I'm wrong). Until then, I'll probably stay with the "Good Enough" brand that worked for me over the years.

Good luck and take care

 

[Blagadan]

Speaking of McCulloch chain saws, I have a 35cc 14" McCulloch I bought back in 1997. By all accounts I only bought it because it was inexpensive and I didnt plan on using it much. I have to say though, It has far exceeded my expectations.
It is still going strong, has worked countless hours even cutting down large trees. I use it regularly and fairly heavily, and still do not needed to replace it. Yeah, I've fitted a few new chains alright but only had to replace 1 bar.... IN 10 YEARS...!
Sure, its a "man thing" to have a big expensive chain saw but, I paid very little for this McCulloch unit, its light, and it does what I want it to do... Starts on the third pull every time and it idles and runs at full revs perfectly.

I use this little McCulloch in preference to a clean shiney Husquvarna 18" I got as a birthday gift from my FIL. I only use the Husquvarna for big cuts, I find it gets uncomfortably heavy after a few hours of use.

General Advice...
Tallyho8 hit the nail on the head, the 2 stroke oil/fuel mix has to be spot on, and that is the case for a lot of low end 2T machines... Any time I have heard my friends complaining about their crap string trimmer or crap chain saw or crap blower isnt running well, I ALWAYS tell them to be meticulous when mixing the 2 stroke oil. if it says 50:1 on the cap then gosh darn it, make sure its mixed right, not a dollop of oil in the bottom of the can before you fill it with gas... It makes a HUGE difference to the performance of the tool.
I have finally convinced my dad of this (and that took some doing..lol). I was sick of seeing him in a cloud of white smoke when he was out with his trimmer, his motto... "a little extra oil for good measure", darn trimmer wouldnt rev to max, choked by too much oil in the mix.
40:1, 50:1... theres a reason for those numbers on the gas cap... lol.
If I got a dollar for every time my dad brought that trimmer over to me to adjust...
Sure you could tweak the screw on the side of the carb to get it to rev out, but then the low end would run like crap.... Usually I'd just walk into my workshop, drain the fuel, refill with my pre mix and off she'd go, no problems...lol
The only cleaning I ever give the saws is a shot of compressed air to blow out any chipppings buildup and maybe a rub of a cloth if I had nothing else better to do....