Chain Saws?

rt014

rt014

Joined
Jun 21, 2001
Messages
2,861
I've got lots of land and lots of trees to contend with.

Someone told be that Stihl is the hands down leader.

Opinions?

Thanks
 
Mine has done nothing but run. Starts easy, runs good. Haven't needed to tinker with it for the eight years I have had mine anyway.
 
I have an 075 AVE Sthil that I bought in 1978. I have worn out many chains and three or four bars and have rebuilt it twice. It just keeps on cutting-111cc engine and cuts anything, even ironwood.
 
Now that's what I was hoping to hear. I now have a 'hand me down' Homelite and spend more effort yanking the cord that actually cutting timber.
 
I have heard nothing but good things about Stihl chainsaws. I have never used on myself though, so I can't really recommend it from personal experience.

I can tell you that I did landscaping for about four years, and got some experience using different chainsaws. If you are looking for a smaller saw, for trimming mostly or cutting smaller trees, I am able to make a great recommendation. When I was cutting trees my main climbing saw was an Echo CS-300 or CS-340, both are top handle saws. I had no problems with these saws, and they were just abused and abused. I can remember running one under water, in mud, and dropping it out of a tree. Still ran without trouble, in fact when I dropped it about 20 feet out of the tree it didn't stop running.

The owner of the company was not really one for mainting his tools properly. So these saws were run with dull chains, and forced to cut wood way to large for it. Still no problems with the saw. What eventually did happen probably after 1000 hours of use and ABUSE is the bar cover on one saw melted. That meant that we had to get the clutch so over heated it could just melt through 1/4" plastic quickly. After putting on a new cover the saw ran good as new. I can't recommend this saw enough, for private use it should last a lifetime.
 
I have a Husqvarna that I really like. I doubt you'd go wrong with any of the names like the ones recommended here. I'd probably base my decision on which dealer was closest/most helpful.
 
I've asked the same thread on other forums. The Husky's are good but, the overwhelming response was for Stihl. You pay more then Homelite and some of the other brands but, you get what you pay for.

The Stihl doesn't vibrate like a lot of the other saws so, it is much kinder to your body. Power to weight is good to. It is a quality built saw so, it isn't the lightest but it isn't heavy either. Expect a very long lifespan with normal maintanence. Great reliability and easy starting with normal maintanence. By normal maintanence, I mean drop it off at a good Stihl mechanic for the hard use part of the season starts to get it tuned up, oiled, etc. as appropriate and then use the hell out of it for the next year.

Husky's has a similar reputation but, in my part the woods there is no service or dealer support so, I'm a Stihl man all the way.

In the yard trimming tools like you see at a golf course, I would check out Echo in addition to Stihl as both make a similar level quality tool.
 
Bought a Stihl 025 about 3 years ago. I used it to cut my lot to build my house (we brought down about 30 cords). I've been using it ever since to cut up firewood.

My father in-law and brother in-law both have top notch Husquvarnas. I had no trouble keeping up with them, and we all agreed that we had 3 great chainsaws.

I'll be buying a Stihl brushcutter pretty soon.

Guy
 
Stil and Huskey are tough to beat, i used Stil's for several years rttrimming and removing trees. I have a Huskey now, and a Poulan PRO. The PRO is a tough machine too.
 
I've had good results with Stihl, Homelite, and Poulan Pro. Stihl was the best out of the three though.

Chris
 
Stihl is still the best!.:D. I live in an old logging-town, and I still see more Stihl saws in the back of pick-ups than anyother brand.
 
Stihl rules! I purchased a FarmBoss 20in bar during our Oregon Flood of 1996, where about every one of our trees got destroyed. Thoughful design and nary a problem. It's still running great!!!
 
Thought I'd swing this full circle and tell you that I bought a Stihl 310 with a 20inch blade this weekend and it cuts like...'butta'.

Thanks for all the feedback and replies.
 
rt014:

Great choice, I am sure you will be pleased with it.

What I am about to say is obvious, but any chainsaw is only as good as it's cutting chain. Do youself a favor and buy at least one extra chain, two is even better. There is always a chance that you can run your blade into some kind of imbedded metal object when you are cutting. Maybe an old fence that the tree has grown around or who knows what. But when it happens the chain goes dull fast, and a spare chain is a lot handier than stopping to sharpen your chain.

Your new saw came with a nice book about chain sharpening. Lots of good stuff in it! (yes, read the directions!) With extra chains you have the luxury of waiting until you get to your vise to hold your saw while you sharpen the chain. Much nicer than doing it on a pickup bed. (use the blade lock to hold the chain steady while working on a tooth.) There are some pretty fancy sharpening devices/jigs available, but I just use the appropriate file and a file guide, since I have enough spare chains to wait until I get to the shop.

I have a friend who has a electric sharpener that you hook up to your vehicle's battery. He does all of his sharpening on his tailgate with this unit and to each his own. Of coarse he trims for a local orchard and I suppose I would have one too if I did that.

Like I said, stuff you probably already know, running a chain past dull is hard on both chain and saw. Happy sawing!
 
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