Need advice on a larger chainsaw for an older guy.

[Mkoz]

Also, the Stihl sharpener that Root Cause recommended is excellent. I've done all kinds of sharpening over the years and this thing is not a gimmick. It works amazingly and is fast. For $30 you can't beat but get yourself a bunch of the round files as they dull rapidly if you do a lot of sharpening. My personal rule of thumb is that I run the sharpener after each extended use of the saw; that way it's sharp and ready to go when I next pick it up.

 

[solidrockfarm]

Hi. I am 72 my go to saw is a Stihl 261 or 026 , both pro saws. I have 464, 361, 029, 261, 026, 025, but the pro 261 is the lightest, fastest , and most comfortable to use. I do not like using the bigger saws anymore, the smaller saws are fine as long as they are sharp, but no where near as fast as the 261.

 

[lorandroehl]

I’ll throw my 2 cents in. I am 64 years old but have torn both bicep muscles and have some lower back problems so cutting can be a little challenging for me at times.

I have 60 acres of woods which is mainly oak and maple with a little birch, aspen, and butternut. Very little pine. I do very little felling as I can cut plenty of firewood just from wind falls. I burn about 2 cords a year in my wood stove at home. Also a few years ago the county purchased some of my land and clear cut and stacked the timber into 8’ lengths for me. This amounted to about 16-18 cords.

I have a Husky 61 I bought in the early 90’s from a friend and it still runs great. I stopped using it as it just isn’t very safe. No chain break which I don’t like. Also the chain oil reservoir leaks. With a sharp chain though that saw really cuts.

I purchased a Husqvarna 562 XP a couple years ago and love it. 60cc, a shade over 13 lbs, compression release, and plenty of power. This is the saw I use for bucking down trees. It works well for felling also, but I don’t do much of that.

I also have a Husqvarna 141 for trimming and limbing down trees. It’s about 13-14 years old. This saw is 40 cc and about 10 lbs. I find this saw very useful and doesn’t fatigue me much.

I have been a Husqvarna fan in large part because of the great dealer I have in my area.

I like having 2 saws for different uses, 3 if you include the Husky 61. The Husky 562 would be great for limbing and trimming as well but I just can’t handle the extra weight very well.

As others have stated and as you surely know a sharp chain makes all the difference. I can tell quickly when a chain has become dull and I change or sharpen it pronto.

Be Safe!!!

 

[RalphVa]

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.

But now I have ordered a saw mill. It should be here in a few weeks. It can handle up to 26" diameter trees.

My primary saw is a Stihl Farm Boss with a 20" bar. I don't remember which one but it is about 3 years old, bought new and was the larger of the Farm Boss saws. In my mind I'm thinking 350 but it might be a 271. I don't even know if the Farm Boss came in a 350. Anyway, it is a decent saw. I suspect it is a consumer level saw with a "farm" designation for marketing.

This weekend I felled several pines that were around 12 inches in diameter. The Farm Boss was okay but not great. I also recently cut up a much larger oak blow down (probably 25ish diameter) and the Farm Boss struggled a lot.

So I am going to be felling larger trees than 12" pines in the near future. My son-in-law will be there most of the time (we'll own the saw mill together). He has a big tuned pro-level Stihl. He has a good bit of felling experience. But I feel like I need a bigger saw for myself. I'm thinking 25-28" bar.

I'm not really looking for brand recommendations.

What I need to know is what I can get for this job that is: 1) Reasonably light. (Again, I'm 58). 2) Appropriately powered for cutting down large but not huge trees. 3) Reasonably safe for my age and experience and 4) What type of chain for my age and experience from a safety vs efficiency standpoint.

Any basic advice much appreciated.

P.S.: Not too interested in modding or tuning a saw.

When I was 58, I could just barely pull start a big chain saw a time or two that I rented one. Now at 79, I can no longer start one and cannot use a gas powered one because of the ICD in my chest. My wife now does most of the cutting (A LOT, actually) of downed trees and now stumps with her little 12 inch Stihl battery saw. She, of course, cannot pull start a gas one. She wore out 2 Kobalt battery powered ones.

 

[Hermio]

I tend to agree with you, but for new folks, I've seen them take 45+ mins to sharpen a 20". As far as when to change/sharpen, I've found that it really depends on the trees you have. Hard pitch trees can dull a chain fast & my experience w/lob-lollies has been (depending on the time of year and diameter) that they can dull up a chain quite quickly. I'd rather have an extra chain and not need it, rather than wishing I had one more to finish up so I wouldn't have to sharpen the chain. At home I put it in my vise and have a good system (just a round chain file, but the technique is my system) that gets the gully as well as the cutting pitch I like.

Please don't take this as a slam against your method, I just prefer changing out a chain (for me 30-45 seconds) rather than sharpening on the saw.

It actually takes me several minutes to change out a chain; the bar never seems to sit still wile I try to get everything in the groove and sprocket. Maybe I will get better at it! I am in Ohio, so everything I cut is hardwood. Mostly it is several species of oak, with some hickory, walnut, maple and cherry thrown in. BTW, my Stihl 500i goes through a 12" oak round in under 5 seconds and an 18" oak round in under 10 seconds. My previous saw was an MS 441C. I loved that saw, but the 500i is much faster. Oddly, I find the 500i harder to start.

 

[priberc]

At 58 years old myself. Having spent my younger years working with chainsaws for a living. Now after two broken backs ,a stroke ,with some arthritis setting in and a couple of decades of driving skidders cats and log trucks behind me.... I am not in the best of shape either. Yet find a need for flashing up the gas powered skill saw from time to time to do some exacting carpentry work on fences. Or chop up a wind thrown tree that is laying in a hay field. Thought #1 is this. A sharp 50cc/3.06 cu/in with 3.5hp is adequate for your pine even if you double cut to fall them. It will do it but in larger trees it will take a percentage of time longer is all. From my point of view it is adequate as you are not production logging. #2 let the young guy do the falling work. Work smart not harder. Your saw is perfect for limbing and to cutting to length. A 20" bar will have you bending over a lot to trim branches. Buy a longer bar and chain [28" and no double cut when falling? with not so much bending over trimming branches either] Buy a smaller driver on the clutch to make up for some lost power from longer bar/chain. Why spend money if not needed? Give it a try......see if you can make it work. Work together...IMHO competition of any kind in any work place is a root cause of injury. And you are talking about keeping up/doing your fair share. #3 if you find you absolutely have to have a larger saw. Or can not do without one. 60-65cc or 3.66 - 3.99 cu/in will fit the bill for all you have mentioned in your initial post. Hard wood like Oak is just hard to cut/requires a different method of sharpening the chain to speed it up a little. So no bigger than an MS 391 STIHL. IMO anything larger than that will tire you out fast just hanging on to it.....creating another opportunity for injury. Just so you know I have a 365 Husqvarna at 70cc with a 28" bar on it. it was a big...na HUGE down grade from the tuned to the eye balls 100cc saws I made my living with "back in the day". But in all honesty it is far far too big for what I am doing with it these days. Hope my thoughts/suggestions/opinion help. Good luck and be safe

 

[HenryIV]

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

I am just about your age. I have a 20 year old 026 that I bought when I had less land in the burbs and I use more firewood now for heat when I can. My 026 was a fine saw for homeowner use but it made the work take longer. I had been looking to get another saw to help the 026...not buying..looking...ect..then last week the 026 was hard to start despite a tuneup and cutting at an angle, generally being difficult. You know how it is. I'm the kinda guy that drives a 20 year old car, wears clothes till they have holes in them, throws nickels around like manhole covers, I do most of my own wrenching. As cheap as I am, I bought a Stihl 362CM last week. I considered the venerable FarmBoss, but the additional cost spread out over the life of the saw, the lighter weight and more power, I was willing to spend a little more. With the yellow chain, this saw does not disappoint. It is indeed very light, the vibration was noticeably less over the 026. The work is done before it even begins. I do not regret spending the extra money. The 026 will still have a place with a shorter bar and chain for trimming but the 362 is such a joy. I think you deserve it.

 

[dodge man]

I’m not sure how long it takes me to hand sharpen the 18” chain on my MS 261, maybe less than 5 minutes. I’m no expert but I think just doing it over and over for 25 years I do ok. I’ve gotten in the habit of sharpening usually every tank. Usually 2 strokes per tooth.

 

[Root Cause]

My advice on sharpening.
throw away the fancy gigs and learn how to use the appropriate size round file.
I have seen competing guys run a flat file cornered.
but the fancy gadgets fail and break.
There is no replacement for plain old fashioned skill.
And you don’t need power in the woods with just a round file and nice handle.

2nd.
skip and run away from skip tooth chains.
I made a half of a cut that came on my new husky and hung that chain up in the basement.

it cut like a covered wagon with square wheels. On a bouldered road..
beating and chattering.
would vibrate every loc-tite screw loose.

best luck

I would not try to change your mind but unless you have tried a Stihl sharpener, you cannot make an honest comparison.
You may be an expert with a round file but the Stihl sharpener sharpens the cutter AND resets the depth of cut with a flat file.

There is an "Expert" chain saw guy on youtube who had the same opinion until he finally tried one. He hated it as it came out of the package and slowly changed his mind until he had to admit it was as good as he had used. He was honest enough to post the video.

Not trying to stir up an argument and detail the thread but this Stihl doesn't look like it will break and the files can be inexpensively replaced.

 

[newbury]

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

But now I have ordered a saw mill. It should be here in a few weeks. It can handle up to 26" diameter trees.

My primary saw is a Stihl Farm Boss with a 20" bar. <snip>

<snip>I'm thinking 25-28" bar.

<snip>

P.S.: Not too interested in modding or tuning a saw

So young'un you've got about a 50cc saw.
To adequately run a 28" bar with some oomph you'll need more HP.
The Stihl 500i is EXPENSIVE for a chainsaw.
But you can expect to get 661 performance from it.
I've run my 660's quite a bit but my 088 only a little.

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I'd suggest a 500i and an assortment of bars, a 22 to 24" for and at least a 30" for when you need it.
I found my self using a 42" bar on my 60CC saw for limbing, didn't have to bend over.

Now I don't know about modding a 500i but I know modding my 660's really "woke" them up. One simple mod was a dual port muffler, basically a $20 to $30 swap.

/edit - and to suggest you keep your chains sharp is akin to telling you to keep fuel for the saw