Chainsaw Opinion - Long

Love my Husqvarna

ChuckS

>I have the Husqvarna 353 with the 20" bar & it works great, but probably overkill for you. If memory works, look at the 350 or the next model down. Lowes sells them if you don't want to deal with the local dealer.

ChuckS

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

John Lucas

>Raymond

I think I payed around $250 for my Husky. It's probably up to $300 or so by now. I don't know the model number but it had a 16" bar. I added the 20" bar and just take my time sawing. It's worked well for me but you do need patience for cutting up big stuff. I cut some blanks out of a 24" Pecan tree with it the other day. That's about as tough as you get.

I sharpen the chain often by hand.

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

JL work

>Buy the best you can afford. I like the Husqvarna 55 Rancher. It typically comes with an 18" bar. You can get aftermarket bars and chains that will help you out.

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

Les Robison

>I purchased a Stihl 14" saw about a year ago. I don't remember the model number. It "burned up" in 9 months. Scored a cylinder, the carb. failed, etc. Stihl didn't want to stand behind it until I wrote the CEO of the company. They gave me a new 18" saw after waiting 3 months and lots of customer dis-satisfaction. I also had another Stihl years ago and it was a workhorse. Just stay away from the lite weight saw. It is not designed for use in chewing up logs like we need to do in the preperation of turning blanks.

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Raymond, EVERYONE will have their own opinion on this matter. Chainsaws are very personal for some reason.

My opinion is that you will never regret buying the best product that you can afford, even if it hurts a little. If on the fence between one model and a slightly more powerful one - you will never regret buying the stronger saw, or the longer bar.

I bet we have a hundred guys here who bought their first saw and almost immediately found it wanting, but less than one who thought it was too good for them.

I won't even go into the Stihl vs. Husqy, vs. Poolan debate, because the top offerings of those first two, in each price category, will bring good things to you.

My lathe will only take a 20" swing, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to cut up much larger trees. With my saw (Stihl 360Pro), I can pretty much cut anything that falls my way. That goes a long way towards offering me every opportunity to find and cut my own lumber as the largest trees around here rarely top 40" wide, and most are much smaller. With my first saw (a homelite something), I could barely get it through 16" trunks. My present saw isn't a huge one like Bill G has, he could cut through an Abrams, but I can't lift things the way he can, he is 3x my size.

It is unlikely you will want only one bar. If you buy the bigger one first you can use it for smaller stuff, and the follow bar purchases will bite your wallet less than buying a bigger one. And if you're stuck with a small bar you can't cut larger trees, you can cut smaller with larger, you just need to be a little more careful.

I have 3 bars, a 16", 20", and 25", and 2 chains for each. Each bar is like a different saw!

I would try to consider how much weight you are comfortable and able to and can safely move around with a blade running at psycho speeds, what types of trees are available to you, (not just what size you can use), how readily available service is for your saw, and your wallet. Then buy the one that hurts your wallet more than the other.

Best price on a Husqvarna 55 Rancher

Ben

>Hi Raymond,

This site has the best price on a Husqvarna 55 Rancher chainsaw that I have found.

$285 with a 20 inch bar

http://www.iwantagenerator.com/

A friend of mine, who cuts trees for a living recommended this saw for me, your needs sound very much like mine.

Nice thing about this web site is that you can get it with a 20 inch bar. Most stores that carry this saw have an 18 inch bar and you have to buy the 20" later.

Oh yeh looks like shipping is free now and you don�t have to pay tax.

I bought my saw from this site last year, no problems. It�s a great saw.

Ben

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

Jerry Whitaker

>No one ever seems to mention the Echo brand of chainsaw much but I have found it to be an extremely reliable saw. I bought the one with the 18 in bar. To be honest, it probably is not as good as the Stihl or the Husqvarna but is definitely worth consideration and more than a "step" up from the Poulan. Buy the best you can afford. I had a Craftsman made by Poulan and when I could not keep it running, I took it back to Sears and they quoted me a flat-rate price for repair of $98.00 no matter what the problem. Problem is if it is a minor problem, they come out way ahead and you still have a saw, possibly with many hours on it for a repair price close to a new one on sale. At that time, Sears was running new ones on sale for $129.00 so I bought a new one.....never took it out of the box so I later returned it and opted for the Echo.... a good move.

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

Joe Millsap

>I have a stihl with a 29 inch bar. The model is 38magnum and it has all of the power that a human would want but it is heavy and akward to handle when trimming. Will never wear out. Ask Jerry whittaker

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

MP Wall

>I agree with buy the best you can. 23 years ago my dad bought a top of the line McCullogh, their pro model 10-10s. It wasn't cheap, had a 22" bar and was a little tricky to start compared to lower models. He hated it, I loved it, so I "borrowed" it one day. It is a champ, 23 yrs later.

So any top of the line saw is probably a good choice. I have wan't to look at ECHO as we have some of their weedeaters and sawblade trimmers and they are great machines, always wondered about their saws.

MP Wall

Look at the Ratings for hours usage

Jerry Hall

>I understand that the industry has gone to a rating system of "hours" of expected use, and a distinction between "pro" and "handyman" I was told that some brands have moved toward the "handyman" side of the rating with less expected hours. Husqvarna was an example of this that he carried along with Echo. I bought an Echo 18" with a high hours rating and have been very happy. It wasn't cheap but somewhat less than a Stihl with a "pro" rating. Look also at the length of warrantee and LOCAL service of that warrantee. I think if you look at warrantee, local service and expected hours it will be a good guide to quality. I was influenced that my local service shop featured Stihl and Echo, and we are in an area with lots of lumbering and serious chain saw users.

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

Leo Van Der Loo

>Hi Ray, this is the same as " do you need a $20.000.- as opposed to a Yugo(nowhere) car".

You never hear people complain that they bought the best.

You only hear the ones that try the cheapest get away, and always get caught. (WHAAAAA WHAAAA WHAAA).

Don't have the money ? wait till you have saved some more.

Have fun and take care.

Leo V

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

Raymond Overman

>Thanks for the information guys. I'm well aware of the Yugo analogy that Leo pointed out and that's why I didn't ask if I could get away with a $139.00 saw from the big orange box. I also didn't save up for the Mercedes when I went to buy a car because I had an immediate need to drive to work. My 95 Wrangler gets me there reliably though.

It looks like the Stihl MS250/MS260 or Husq 55R/350 is going to be in my price range and some of you are pleased with yours. I'll probably go the small dealer route rather than the big box so I'll have one person to deal with any warranty or maintenance problems.

Thanks again. I'll post pictures of my first cuts Bill Grumbine style! :-)

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

Darryl Hansen

>Ray now that you have heard form so many and decided which way to go. I bought a Husky 353 from Norwalk Power Equipment Co.www.nepco.com. Cost about $339 and they threw in two additonal chains. It makes my Poulan pro look sick. By the way the Poulan, Husky and another popular one ( don't remember the name) are all made by the same company the old electrolux vacuum company.

Keep poo pooing POO-lan...

BubbaBob

>...but mine cuts 10-12 cords of firewood/yr, does storm cleanup, and takes care of prepping blanks...and it hasn't been in the shop in 5 yrs.

The Husky I got a couple months ago, however, is in the shop for the third time.

BubbaBob

Just my experience...

Peter Teubel

>I went thru 3 Poulan 295 saws in just one year. They are (IMO) a use-it-only-on-the-weekends-for-one-hour saw. I had two very large trees felled on my property and I borrowed two saws from friends (since my latest Poulan died) to buck up the wood. One was a Husky 395 with a 36" bar (95cc monster). I used that for cutting up the trunk (30" diameter). The other was a Stihl 290 (58cc) with a 20" bar which I used for the "smaller" stuff.

I absolutly fell in love with the Stihl. Smooth, easy to handle, professional features galore, etc. After doing a bit of research, I purchased a Stihl 390 (64cc), which weighs exactly the same as the 290 but has more power.

I was out cutting some walnut in CT a few weeks ago and my friend with the 395 was there also. The people who invited us to the cutting saw both saws in use (the Stihl and the Husky). They were very inpressed at the ease I was able to cut and rip logs with a "smaller" saw that they ended up purchasing a Stihl themselves (460model, 76cc).

All I can advise you to do it try a Stihl saw for yourself, if possible. You'll be hooked immediately.

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

Chipster

>I take it by the limited mention of Poulan, that they are not a quality chainsaw?

There are so many options and features, it's really hard to pick one. That is unless you use the "what can I afford?" approach.

Re: Chainsaw Opinion - Long

John Lucas

>I went to my local chainsaw repairman who sells Husqavarna and Stihl which are the 2 saws all the lumberjacks in my area recommend as the best. I couldn't afford a new one so I asked if they had any rebuilt ones. They did and I bought it. I figured one that was rebuilt by the people who do warranty repairs would be better than buying a cheap chainsaw from another brand. I've used it for 6 years now with no problems.

Raymond, I have some wood

Wayne Cooper Charlotte NC

>Raymond & others

I saw your question on Wood Central about the chain saws. I am not sure what part of SC you are in. If you are near Charlotte you are welcome to some wood at my place. We live on the West side of the Charlotte airport, just off of I-485. I built a 5 acre lake and saved the large trees. They have been laying there for about 3 years. Should have good spalting. I just started wood turning after getting a Jet-mini VS for Christmas. I have a Husky and a couple of Poulans.

All the best

Wayne Cooper Charlotte NC

Shhh, not so loud :-)

Raymond Overman in SC

>Thanks for the offer Wayne. Be careful though, There's a fairly large group of turners that will be knocking on your door before nightfall here in Charlotte. You know we hunt for wood in packs and chainsaws have some sharp teeth.