modern chain saws

[johnk]

Try using the plastic wedges when cutting fallen trunks. As the chain goes in push a plastic wedge behind it and you won't need your axe and other saw no more. I have a husky Rancher and a Husky 385 with 36 inch bar I use in my Alaskan sawmill. No problems. I think the biggest problem with any gas engine is not using it often enoygh and the gas going bad.

 

[cp1969]

My problem is not so much the lack of a wedge as it is being smart enough to know when to use it!

 

[johnk]

The answer to that is use it OFTEN..

 

[SnowRidge]

CP,
You aren't too far off on your prediction at all. I posted a while back that my Poulan Wildthing had died and that I got a new Husqvarna. I took the Poulan in to get it serviced (figured I'd use it to cut "junk" wood and in places where I would get the chain and bar dirty). The guy at the shop told me that Poulan and Husky had gone into business together. He said Husky now has 2 different kinds of saws...one made by Poulan with a Husky label, the other, still a genuine Husky.

He said the way to tell the difference is by the metal tag rivited to it. If it has the metal tag, it's a "true" husky, made in Sweden. Those are the one's to look for. The others are Poulans in disguise. Buyer Beware!

Podunk

He didn't tell you half the story.

What is now known simply as Husqvarna owns Poulan and Weedeater, and has since 1986. Husqvarna used to be a division of Electrolux, but was spun off as the mother ship of all the outdoor products. They also own Jonsered, Flymo and others. They also build many, if not all of the Craftsman outdoor power products. In fact, Sears is Husqvarna's largest customer.

They have been on a branding rampage, labeling stuff made by the old American Yard Products group as Husqvarna and selling it in Lowes, TSC, et al. And I don't think any of those Craftsman products are built in the Swedish factories.

Husqvarna's corporate press refers to Poulan, Mac, and other American saws that it either owns outright or has some control over as "hobby saws." You pays your money, and you takes your chances.

Me, I buy Echo.

 

[kenmac]

snowridge, the a/c business is the same way. you purchase brand x because you don't like brand z but brand x owns /makes brand z

 

[Podunkadunk]

He didn't tell you half the story.

What is now known simply as Husqvarna owns Poulan and Weedeater, and has since 1986. Husqvarna used to be a division of Electrolux, but was spun off as the mother ship of all the outdoor products. They also own Jonsered, Flymo and others. They also build many, if not all of the Craftsman outdoor power products. In fact, Sears is Husqvarna's largest customer.

They have been on a branding rampage, labeling stuff made by the old American Yard Products group as Husqvarna and selling it in Lowes, TSC, et al. And I don't think any of those Craftsman products are built in the Swedish factories.

Husqvarna's corporate press refers to Poulan, Mac, and other American saws that it either owns outright or has some control over as "hobby saws." You pays your money, and you takes your chances.

Me, I buy Echo.

WOW

I didn't realize the rabbit hole went that deep! After originally posting in this thread, I did a little googling to see what I could dig up. You are right about the Swedish models and the difference in the American built models being "hobby saws". The articles I read called them anywhere from "economy saws" to "recreational-use saws" to "consumer saws". That being said, the ACTUAL (metal nameplate with "made in Sweden") saws are not any of the above. They are the real deal and are classified as "light industrial", "industrial", or "heavy Industrial".

Another fact that my small gas engine repairman told me. The Poulan "Wildthing" that I brought in had an average useful life of 30 +/- hours...after that he said, "they start breaking". Of course there are exceptions and thus, some people's last longer. He said my Husky 455 Rancher was a 300-400 hour saw.

It's easy to see and feel the difference too. I routinely take them both out when I am clearing/cutting. I use the Poulan to cut stumps and roots and use the Husky to cut the "clean" stuff. They are night and day, but like you said above..."You pays your money, and you takes your chances". I'll add to that: You get what you pay for!

Oh and regarding Echo...
I'm a firm believer in Echo products now. I bought an Echo weed-whacker several months ago. It's the cat's meow and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I really like it and have heard lots of great things about it from people who own them. A+ rating in my book!

Podunk

 

[Wayne County Hose]

I sure like this new husky though. My arms are so sore now!!! It's heavy but I ran it about 12 hours yesterday and had to resharpen the chain 3 times. It's a chain eating work horse.

I wonder if I should start something on the chains being made today. This has been a slow change but my first saw was definitely not an anti kickback chain. That thing would stay sharp forever it seemed and also if you weren't careful take a dive right into your forehead when it bit into something. I miss that old saw.

My buddy at the chain saw shop told me that the new chains arew cut on a different angle, 25 degrees if I remember correctly. The old ones were cut on a 30 degree angle. He told me to sharpen it at a 30 degree angle and be careful, and he didn't tell me that.

I do got one minor complaint about that new husky saw I have. It's a gas hog! It goes maybe 10 minutes and runs out of gas. It holds a quarter gallon too. For the amount of power It's putting out though that's really not too bad. I'd rather have a gas hog that runs than an efficient one that doesn't.

My Husky 460 is the same way. But, my 10 minutes on a tank cuts as much wood on a tank as another saw that gets 20 minutes on a tank.

 

[WTA]

My Husky is the 455 rancher. I sure hope it has the metal tag. I did notice there are two different models of this one in the owners manual. Not sure of the difference but one has an E on the end of the model number. Mine doesn't. I'm gong out to look for that metal tag now.

I guess I got lucky. It has a black metal tag riveted on right above the oil filler. I was a little worried there.

We don't even have any chain saw shops around here. No trees either really. Just on a very few farms like mine. Our other place though in a different state is nothing but old growth trees. I may hit up some of the saw shops up there next time we go and see if I can get a roll of bulk good chain for it.

Speaking of AC's, I was a mechanic at several dealerships after I retired from the service for about 10 years. I just recently gave that up to farm full time and go back to working on military guns for the military, Just like I did while I was in. Anyway, Car ac compressors are the same way. All the brands I am aware of are made by one company pretty much. Some are better than others. Some are pure junk and will start leaking or blow the valves out in a month. I rebuilt the compressor on my truck myself a little while ago when it started leaking. Finding the kit was a major pain! I got lucky and found the parts and pieces separately in my parts drawers in the tool box. They were all ford parts too thankfully. At least I know it is good for at least another 10 years now. I did have to buy an aftermarket dryer though. Hope it doesn't effect anything.
My last mechanic job, I was running the shop at a big used car dealer. I had free reign to buy parts from whatever source I wanted and I tried some aftermarket places. Advance auto parts always treated me right. I like them but their computer is screwy. Ask for a fuel filter for a 97 powerstroke and they give you one for a 2000 model. Just stupid things like that. I pretty much had to give them the part number when I called looking for something. Still they always made good. I did spend a lot more money at the dealer parts houses though. Factory parts work better and longer in almost every case. You wouldn't believe how many times I had to go into the office and explain myself to the secretary when she got the bills at the end of the month. Often the amount I'd spend rebuilding an engine for example would be double what they expected because I used factory parts so much. Hey, it made happy customers. In 3 years of running that shop and working on hundreds of cars needing major repairs I never once had a comeback or an unhappy customer later on. That is all that matters.

 

[kenmac]

Your rancher should be one of the better saws. It's these $100.00 or so saws that are limited use / short life saws. I also own the rancher 55. great saw It's in the $ 400.00 or so range

 

[JRobyn]

They are not very common in the US, but I totally love my little Solo (mod 048). Light, very powerful for just a 48cc, starts and idles perfectly. I believe that they are still all made in W Germany. I take it as a good sign that Baileys has recently started stocking a few of their models. I did have a problem with the chain oiler pump, but their US customer service was excellent and it's all better now, no charge.

- Jay