>I am wanting a chainsaw, I do not think I will be felling tree's in the woods, but mostly cutting up pieces that I am given or pick up. I have looked at a few electric saw, Sear's and Lowes, can anyone comment on electric saws and maybe a good one. They say 3.5hp, not sure that is accurate. most pieces will be 10-11 inches in diameter I would guess, is electric my best bet?..I don't want to spend 200 to 300 on a occassional use saw, just want to be able to make a log into bowl/platter blanks. Thanks in advance...Dennis
>Dennis, I have 3 gas powered saws from a 32 in. bar on down. I also have a 16 inch electric saw which I use in my shop to saw bowl blanks. It helps to cut down on noise inside the shop. All of my saws are Huskys, and they perform very well. I understand Stihl is a very good brand also. Before long you will be offered a tree in some place with no electricity, so you will have to make this decision, gas vs electric. If you live very close to a cranky neighbor, the electric will be better. These are some things to think about before you buy.
I have used electric chain saws and have never found one I was happy with. I went back to gas this year. I was offered wood at a tree service storage yard witn no electric around and just could not refuse.
Many will not agree with me but for as often as most of use use a chain saw I could not see putting out big bucks for one. I got a Homelite 33CC 16" bar with a case at Home Depot for $129.00. I removed the anti-kick back tip and can cut a 22" log if need be. The biggest piece I have ripped so far was 22" inn dia. and had no problems. Just remember, gas or electric, to keep the chain sharp! Let the saw do the work, not you.
>I'm a Husky gas saw guy here and love it. Keeping the blade sharp is key on a saw, just like turning chisels. If you go the electric route, make sure to use a heavy gauge extension cord, else you'll choke the flow of electricity to the saw and risk burning up the motor, let alone loss of power.
>Some options for you to think about. First off I have a 16" Remington that I use in the garage/shop for getting the blanks down to size. It does what I need it to.
My other two saws are Stihls, and they work very well, even though I bought them used from my local Stihl dealer. People will trade in their older saws for new ones. These are the saws I bought at half price or better compared to a new one. The dealer does go through the saws to make sure they are up to snuff before they put them on the shelf.
I have an older Stihl E20 electric saw, and have been very impressed with its power. It performs very well. I use it to trim chunks indoors, and with a 50 ft. extension cord, I always use it wherever it will reach outside the shop, since I prefer it to my gas saw. I found it used and in perfect shape at a small engine repair shop, for $ 55.00 with 2 new chains -- one for cross-cutting and one for ripping. If I see another deal like that, you can be sure I won't let you know ;)
My gas saw is a used McCulloch I got at an auction, and it has been a hard starting, generally unimpressive machine. I'll be switching to a big orange Husky in the near future !
>Dennis, I started to get an electric and I am sure glad I didn't. If you are only going to have one saw, I would make it a gas one. Sooner rather than later, you are going to want to get some wood that has to be cut into manageable lengths before you can load it to get it home, and more than likely there won't be a convenient source of electricity. Of course if you know you will want to use an electric around the shop, go ahead and get one, but also know that you will probably need a second saw at some point. I went with a Stihl 250C.
>I had an old Stihl small saw and it got to the point it was hopelessly difficult to start (30+ years old, I'm not complaining) I bought a Remington electric form Lowes for about $90. I liked it, but it had a plastic or fiberglass drive gear and that stripped out when a cut pinched shut on it. They sent me a new gear, but it did not last long. It was out of warranty, and I shopped around and bought a Sears (yes, a Crapsman). It appears to be made by the same people that made the Remington, but I caught it on sale and bought the Sears extended warranty for 412 for two years. They said, you bring it back, we give you a new one. All together I paid about $85. I like it. Enough power, no pulling the starting rope, just plug it in, no smoke, not much noise. I would buy it again.
I also have a new Stihl 290MS gas saw I bought to use felling a bunch of trees. Great saw, close to $450, noisy, smokey (indoors) and still has a rope start. Different tool.
Incidentally, that Stihl Electric mentioned above sells for about four times as much as the Sears or Remington goes for. He's right, If I could have gotten that for $50 I would have bought two. Go to the Stihl site and check it out. It's the REAL deal in electric saws.
I agree with what everyone has said -- it all depends on your needs. My situation is very much like yours. Right now, all I need is a saw to use for halving small log sections and trimming the corners for bowl blanks. I dislike the noise, fuel, smoke, starting, etc., of a gas saw, so I got a 16" Sears Craftsman electric for about $75. (At this price, it's like any other small shop tool I might buy -- if I find the need for a gas saw, I'll buy one then.) So far, so good. It works fine and doesn't leak oil. (That's one of the problems with the poor-quality electric saws -- they may sling and drool oil everywhere.) I'm glad I got it.
>I bought a 16" 3.5 HP Craftsman electric saw about a month ago and have been very happy with it so far. I t does not leak oil. Just today I cut up 8 12"-14" oak bowl blanks with it. It was a little slow going but the saw performed flawlessly.
>Actually doesn't smoke much at all, but my shop is small and connected to my house. I don't want the exhaust indoors, even if it doesn't smoke. Plus, I have neighbors only a few feet away who probably already think I'm insane without running a chainsaw indoors. I try to limit running it in the driveway to daylight hours.
I haven't had the opportunity to try the high dollar electric saws, but I sold a top-of-the-line Craftsman at the symposium this weekend. It's the one that is "rated" at 3.5HP.
When I bought it, I plugged it in and discovered that it had more power than any other electric I have tried. Plus they sell new for less than $100.
Some of the others I've used had a chain brake. I don't recommend that for an electric as there is a certain amount of drag on the motor shaft even when the brake is not engaged. My 2 pennies.
