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Post by lymanl3 on Mar 7, 2011 15:05:46 GMT -5
Any recommendations? Im in the market for one.
Lyman
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Post by swilk on Mar 7, 2011 15:11:23 GMT -5
The two kings of the hill are Husky or Stihl.
Got a buddy who cuts about as much firewood as is humanly possible and he just bought a new Jonsered saw. He owns a few Huskys already.
He really likes the Jonsered.
Personally I have a Husky 350 and really like it.
How much $$ ya wanting to spend? What kind of wood ya looking to cut? What size wood?
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Post by lymanl3 on Mar 7, 2011 15:15:29 GMT -5
It wont get used much. Food plot stuff, firewood, and some cherry trees. Nothing huge. Ive seen the Husky's, but cant remember the name of one that has a metal housing? Id probably spend around 300-400
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Post by swilk on Mar 7, 2011 15:28:15 GMT -5
Husky Rancher 455. Under $400 I believe.
Im not sure if that model still has the metal housing or not but Derek has a couple of them and beats the living hell out of them and they still work. 20" bar is big enough for most work and they still have plenty of power.
I run a 20" bar on my 350 and I really have to stay on top of the chain sharpening or itll run out of oomph.
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Post by throbak on Mar 7, 2011 15:29:21 GMT -5
on the wildfire details I went on,,,, the stihls went first
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Post by lymanl3 on Mar 7, 2011 15:31:06 GMT -5
Sounds good, I will check them out. I believe lowes has Husky....I personally have never owned one and now need to haul some cherry out soon. As long as I dont have to work on them Im good.
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Post by swilk on Mar 7, 2011 15:36:24 GMT -5
My husky is several years old and is an easy starter. Of course your experience may differ.
I used to borrow a stihl from a buddy to use and that thing was the hardest to start cold. It wasnt my saw so I didnt tinker around with it to much.
Honestly there isnt much to one. Good fuel, good plug and proper adjustment of the mixture screws and it should start easily no matter the brand.
Id check out the stihls as well ..... I believe Vincennes Industrial Supply is a stihl dealer. Kind of like anything else .... hold a few and see what feels good to you.
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Post by hunter7x on Mar 7, 2011 15:48:38 GMT -5
I'll probably get laughed at for this but about 15 years ago I bought the cheapest saw I could buy, an 18" homelite. That little saw has been the most reliable 2 cycle item Ive ever owned. Just yesterday I got it out to clean it up for the spring and it fired up on the 2nd pull and ran like a champ.
I use it for cutting wood for bonfires and clearing my little food plots, cutting up the odd tree that fell in the winter. Not excessive use by any means, but it does get used every year with several tanks of gas ran thru it.
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Post by speckle on Mar 7, 2011 15:57:50 GMT -5
The old homelites were awesome, the new ones are junk now. Get a stihl or husquvarna
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Post by evolutionsthunder on Mar 7, 2011 16:19:56 GMT -5
stihl and husquvarna in the same sentence ouch go with stihl,they will last forever
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Post by duff on Mar 7, 2011 19:14:41 GMT -5
I have two husky's my neighbor has two stihls, all four get it done. My dad has an old stihl that has only seen light duty over the years but it still wacks em up with the best of them.
Just make sure you keep a sharp chain, keep the oiler full and good gas mix the motors should hold up just fine. Be carefull cutting bigger trees they can kill you fast or cripple you. I know one guy that was killed felling a tree and an uncle that got a broken hip when a smaller tree ended up on top of him.
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Post by steiny on Mar 7, 2011 19:20:35 GMT -5
I've got Stihl everything; three chain saws, weed eater, brush trimmer and a leaf blower.
You can't beat Stihl stuff for reliability, and there is typically a good dealer in most communities.
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Post by gundude on Mar 7, 2011 19:45:17 GMT -5
yep
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Post by retnuhreed on Mar 7, 2011 19:55:52 GMT -5
I would suggest buying a used stihl on craigslist.
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Post by raporter on Mar 7, 2011 20:15:19 GMT -5
Got a stihl for the heavy stuff and an electric for the small stuff near the house. If you live anywhere near Dinky's auction they always have used saws and they start them.
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Post by danf on Mar 7, 2011 20:31:21 GMT -5
Stihl or Husky you'll be fine either way. I own a Husky 372 XP, arguably one of the best mid-to-upper sized saws made in the last 20 years. I've used both brands and my personal preference is for the Husky for one simple reason- the anti-vibration features. Run a Stihl for a couple of hours and your hands will still feel like the saw is in them hours later. A Husky won't do that to you. I think some Stihls now have vibration dampening, but I'm not sure which models.
Like has been said, most important is keeping the chain sharp, good gas and oil. Clean the air cleaner as often as you can.
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Post by Russ Koon on Mar 7, 2011 20:41:52 GMT -5
I second the electric option for around the house. Mine is a cheapie electric Remington and the lowest power but it gets the job done fairly quickly, and there's nothing better than just letting off the trigger to clear the cutting area or haul away some of tthe wood, and starrting instantly by just picking it up and pulling the trigger again. Also helps with safety, as there's no temptation to keep cutting when laying the saw down to clear the area is called for.
I also have a small 10" Homelite that is a workhorse for its size, once I get it started and run a tank of gas through it. Takes about that long for it to settle down to a decent idle and start again when warm. That little puppy is great for trimming and such. You can one-hand it safely if needed. It handled a BUNCH of railroad ties during a major landscaping project and with my wife helping with the electric, we cut up four pines that the power company dropped across our front yard, that averaged about 22" diameter near the base.
Neither would be the kind of saw you'd want for LOTS of cutting over a period of many years. For that, it would be worth buying the best.
For trimming stuff around the yard and an occasional larger and tougher job, I'd be very tempted to buy the more powerful electric and a generator if I had to work beyond the reach of my extension cords. The generator would be good to have for power outages anyway.
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Post by danf on Mar 7, 2011 21:04:58 GMT -5
Russ, I will dispute that statement until I am blue in the face. The smaller saws are actually more dangerous than the big saws when used one-handed. That being said, one-handing a chainsaw is a practice that should NEVER be done, regardless of the size of the saw.
The saw may not have bitten you yet, but eventually it will.
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Post by lymanl3 on Mar 7, 2011 21:15:14 GMT -5
Got a stihl for the heavy stuff and an electric for the small stuff near the house. If you live anywhere near Dinky's auction they always have used saws and they start them. Where is Dinky's auction? Got it...about 30 min away! |
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Post by dadfsr on Mar 7, 2011 21:56:04 GMT -5
Russ, I will dispute that statement until I am blue in the face. The smaller saws are actually more dangerous than the big saws when used one-handed. That being said, one-handing a chainsaw is a practice that should NEVER be done, regardless of the size of the saw. The saw may not have bitten you yet, but eventually it will. And I'll back him up when his face gets too blue!!! I've seen one too many "hamburger noses"  I know there are a couple of people on here that have been on arboristsite.com There is a thread on that site that is devoted strictly to injuries and fatalities...stop in and take a look sometime-it's a real eye opener! |
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