Regardless of the saw you choose. I get all of my chainsaw supplies from Chainsaws, Outdoor Power Equipment and Tree Care Supplies from Bailey's. Bars, chains, and just about every logging tool you'll every need. Most prices are significantly cheaper than the local saw shop. The only problem is that their business strategy targets professional users so they mostly carry Pro type saws and supplies. Still a great site and the absolute cheapest place to buy chain of any type you can imagine. A visit to the site is actually educational to the novice.
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Chain Saw Recomendation.
- Thread starter Alphacowboy
- Start Date
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I have two Mc Cullough's (both pretty much POS's) and a craftsman I bought about 2-3 years back on clearance. It ended up costing me less than $70 out the door. It was a floor model, but nothing was missing.
It's been running fine for me. It started up on the 3rd pull the other day after sitting all winter. Even with last years gas in it. I dont use mine much so it made sence for me.
Dad is much harder on his saws, he's had husky, jonsurend,(sp?) and stihl. He likes stihl the best. He dont... ahh shall we say "over maintain" his stuff.
It's been running fine for me. It started up on the 3rd pull the other day after sitting all winter. Even with last years gas in it. I dont use mine much so it made sence for me.
Dad is much harder on his saws, he's had husky, jonsurend,(sp?) and stihl. He likes stihl the best. He dont... ahh shall we say "over maintain" his stuff.
Ive used Stihl, i like them pretty good. Ive been a little disapointed with the Husqavarnas. they seem a little over priced, in comparison to an Echo, id go with the Echo... i really like them. I have yet to use an Oregon, but ive heard many glory storys from guys that have used them. they make some big boys.
A couple years ago, I replaced my Poulan with a Stihl - wow, what a difference.
Not to hijack the thread, but my wife had been using a Weedeater brand 'weedeater' for years, and I had purchased a Stihl 'weedeater' and kept it hidden from her for a few months. One day she ran out of string for her Weedeater and I let her use the Stihl 'weedeater'. She was mad at me for not letting her use it sooner. I was afraid that she would hurt herself due to all the power the Stihl has.
BTW - I bought a Stihl leaf blower a couple months ago too!
Stihl tools are dependable and powerful!
Not to hijack the thread, but my wife had been using a Weedeater brand 'weedeater' for years, and I had purchased a Stihl 'weedeater' and kept it hidden from her for a few months. One day she ran out of string for her Weedeater and I let her use the Stihl 'weedeater'. She was mad at me for not letting her use it sooner. I was afraid that she would hurt herself due to all the power the Stihl has.
BTW - I bought a Stihl leaf blower a couple months ago too!
Stihl tools are dependable and powerful!
Leaf blower..
I found a sweet leaf blower, it is a Makita four stroke. It starts first pull, it will idle all day, and I do not have to mix gas and oil.
I found a sweet leaf blower, it is a Makita four stroke. It starts first pull, it will idle all day, and I do not have to mix gas and oil.
JJ, the only way my wife would use a weedeater is if someone put a Versache or Coach label on one. :-laf
husqvarna hands down that's what real loggers use in the pacific northwest stihl comes in second there both extremely great chainsaws
Dl5treez
Super Moderator
husqvarna hands down that's what real loggers use in the pacific northwest stihl comes in second there both extremely great chainsaws
Depending on what region of what state you're in, Stihl & Husky swap the top spot up here.
Stihl. I've had around 20 of them over the years. Pro models only. Not as heavy as a Huscavarnah, outlast a Jonsered, Don't have to crank them till the get warm to start them like a poulen or a mcCullough , and not junk like a homelight. yeah I've had one each of all the others and never again. There is a reason all the fire depts and Utilities have Stihls. Mine sat out on the highway in pouring rain after the tornado 3 years ago idleing as nice as you please while I pulled cut up trees off the road waiting for me to pick it up and saw some more. what other saw will set there and idle with rain pouring on it? Always starts 1st or Second pull.
We bought some property about 10 years ago. It had a few standing dead so I bought a craftsman saw. It did fine at first. Then a few years ago the area got hit with a massive pine beetle outbreak. Killed 90+% of the pines trees in the area(fortunately for us we have a fair amount of cedar and juniper as well so it doesnt look like a clear cut, in fact aside from opening up the views considerably it seems like it is much healthier). In March everything looked good. In October 70% of our pines were dead. By the following October 95% were dead. The craftsman just couldnt keep up, it wore out quickly. I bought a Stihl 360 pro. Holy crap that thing cuts. I couldnt believe the difference. It was definitely a different class of saw. The stihl has cut down well over 3000 trees ranging from a few inches to over 3 feet in diameter. It has cut them down, limbed them and then turned into firewood. Still runs great which is good as I have approx 2000 to go. I have gone through a couple bars and more than a few chains. It is tiring to use as a limbing saw. It is a bit heavy for that but only time that is a problem is if a cut a bunch down then limb them all at once. Found it best on me to cut down, then limb and then move onto the next.
If it does ever bite it I will have no problem spending $ on another one. Though I have little experience with other brands I am 100% satisfied with my Stihl.
If it does ever bite it I will have no problem spending $ on another one. Though I have little experience with other brands I am 100% satisfied with my Stihl.
Chipper?
Hey Barry,
Did you buy a chipper to? I have a bunch of small stuff to get down this year, 2" stuff, got to clean up this stuff, give the healthy growth some room. Got lucky with the beetles, only lost twenty seven trees. They say once they are infected, they are gone, but I have had a few healther trees overcome the beetle. We got lucky had two good years after the initial infestation, good moisture, they out sapped the beetles, they seem healed up pretty good. I am using a sevin mixture for spraying, and even hitting ground around bases with granular stuff. I am looking for a good chipper though, sure makes quick work of limbs and trash. Went up yesterday, and had lost one more to beetles, awful dry right now. It seems we got hit two, three years ago, they have migrated north, it is heartbreaking to lose old growth, I have quite a few Ponderosas, three four feet across I have sprayed and prayed for...
An old boy up there gave me a tip, move all your cut infected timber to one area, it will draw the beetles according to him. Wait till fall and spray the heck out of it, then burn it when you have conditions to do so. Don't transport it home for firewood, it will just spread those nasty little buggers...
Hey Barry,
Did you buy a chipper to? I have a bunch of small stuff to get down this year, 2" stuff, got to clean up this stuff, give the healthy growth some room. Got lucky with the beetles, only lost twenty seven trees. They say once they are infected, they are gone, but I have had a few healther trees overcome the beetle. We got lucky had two good years after the initial infestation, good moisture, they out sapped the beetles, they seem healed up pretty good. I am using a sevin mixture for spraying, and even hitting ground around bases with granular stuff. I am looking for a good chipper though, sure makes quick work of limbs and trash. Went up yesterday, and had lost one more to beetles, awful dry right now. It seems we got hit two, three years ago, they have migrated north, it is heartbreaking to lose old growth, I have quite a few Ponderosas, three four feet across I have sprayed and prayed for...
An old boy up there gave me a tip, move all your cut infected timber to one area, it will draw the beetles according to him. Wait till fall and spray the heck out of it, then burn it when you have conditions to do so. Don't transport it home for firewood, it will just spread those nasty little buggers...
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CF:
No I didnt buy one but I did look at them. When I found out how much they cost I had to forget about it. I have rented one a few times. I was getting an 8" for 200 a day which wasnt bad had to tow it 60 miles each way. 8" worked good for anything under 5" it would take 6,7 and 8, but it would start bogging down. That little diesel IIR was 60hp. They have now switched to a 6" for the same price and its gas to boot. 6" is just too small. I need a 12 or 15 inch but there arent any close by. Farmington United Rental says they have 15" for 350 day but when it comes down to it they dont, they have to ship it in from out of state. You get to pay for shipping, 1800. 00 each way#@$%! I dont think so. Found one here in Castle Rock 12 inch for 250 a day but have to tow it 350 miles each way, and lose a day gettin it there and another one getting back in travel time. The even bigger problem is what do I do with all the chips. There is so much of it that I could easily cover the entire 10 acres several inches deep. The times I have rented them I have spread it out later and have found due to the quantity that just isnt gonna work out. Down in the southwest corner of the state those chips dont breakdown and disintegrate. Just to darn dry. So I have done my share of adding to global warming by burning all of the slash and anything above about 4 or 5" goes to firewood. I give that away to anybody who needs or wants it. Unfortuantely I have to haul it up here as everyone down there has more than enough. Have looked at hauling them (the chips)off to the local landfill. 25 a ton to dump them.
No I didnt buy one but I did look at them. When I found out how much they cost I had to forget about it. I have rented one a few times. I was getting an 8" for 200 a day which wasnt bad had to tow it 60 miles each way. 8" worked good for anything under 5" it would take 6,7 and 8, but it would start bogging down. That little diesel IIR was 60hp. They have now switched to a 6" for the same price and its gas to boot. 6" is just too small. I need a 12 or 15 inch but there arent any close by. Farmington United Rental says they have 15" for 350 day but when it comes down to it they dont, they have to ship it in from out of state. You get to pay for shipping, 1800. 00 each way#@$%! I dont think so. Found one here in Castle Rock 12 inch for 250 a day but have to tow it 350 miles each way, and lose a day gettin it there and another one getting back in travel time. The even bigger problem is what do I do with all the chips. There is so much of it that I could easily cover the entire 10 acres several inches deep. The times I have rented them I have spread it out later and have found due to the quantity that just isnt gonna work out. Down in the southwest corner of the state those chips dont breakdown and disintegrate. Just to darn dry. So I have done my share of adding to global warming by burning all of the slash and anything above about 4 or 5" goes to firewood. I give that away to anybody who needs or wants it. Unfortuantely I have to haul it up here as everyone down there has more than enough. Have looked at hauling them (the chips)off to the local landfill. 25 a ton to dump them.
Walkways and mulch
We rented a 8" for a day after spending two days pulling all the slash out with our fourwheelers, had a pile eight foot high. Pretty good pile of chips afterward, used it for walkways, driveway edgeing, patio for the fithwheel, and mulch.
Don't dare burn right now, everything is so darn dry.
We rented a 8" for a day after spending two days pulling all the slash out with our fourwheelers, had a pile eight foot high. Pretty good pile of chips afterward, used it for walkways, driveway edgeing, patio for the fithwheel, and mulch.
Don't dare burn right now, everything is so darn dry.
CF
So right on the dryness. Down there I only burn in the winter and preferebly after there is snow on the ground. Generally you cant burn down there after about now until mid-late October due to there usually being a burn ban in place. So I go down in the warmer months cut and then go down in the winter and burn. What I need to do is rent the thing for a week (better price) get 5 or 6 guys (a couple of which need to be able to pull a trailer), rent a tractor and a dump trailer. Go down for a week or so and haul the chips to the landfill. I just cant seem to find anyone, much less 4 or 5 who want to take a week off from work to go vacation like that. I just dont understand why not:-laf
Though that would probably finish it up and put one heck of a dent in my wallet at this point it is just a dream. So in the meantime I just plug away at it.
So right on the dryness. Down there I only burn in the winter and preferebly after there is snow on the ground. Generally you cant burn down there after about now until mid-late October due to there usually being a burn ban in place. So I go down in the warmer months cut and then go down in the winter and burn. What I need to do is rent the thing for a week (better price) get 5 or 6 guys (a couple of which need to be able to pull a trailer), rent a tractor and a dump trailer. Go down for a week or so and haul the chips to the landfill. I just cant seem to find anyone, much less 4 or 5 who want to take a week off from work to go vacation like that. I just dont understand why not:-laf
Though that would probably finish it up and put one heck of a dent in my wallet at this point it is just a dream. So in the meantime I just plug away at it.
I went with the Husky 455 Rancher last year. What a great saw. First project was a 3' oak that fell in the yard. No problem at all. I ran both the Husky and the Stihl at the firehouse. I liked the Husky for the ease of starting. To me it always seems like the Stihls are very difficult to start, but still a great saw.
Picked up a Stihl MS290 Farm Boss today... . I like it alot! Looking forward to hacking down a bunch of dead trees and cleaning up the live trees. I was tossing around the 280 or 260, but finally decided on the 290. I trimmed up a couple apple trees tonight, and wow, very nice! Got it for $340. 00 out the door!
I like it alot! Looking forward to hacking down a bunch of dead trees and cleaning up the live trees. I was tossing around the 280 or 260, but finally decided on the 290. I trimmed up a couple apple trees tonight, and wow, very nice! Got it for $340. 00 out the door!
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Issue 128 – Digital Version
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Renew
Subscribe
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