Chain Saw Recommendations

[GCroyle]

Ah, the smell of a new engine, fresh plastics, clean all over, sharp as scalpels chain links, crisp throttle, tight and right, all of this advice, wow!



Greg, it's only money.



One day I'll get back to reloading, soon as my primer pocket reamer arrives.

 

[GHarman]

Ah, the smell of a new engine, fresh plastics, clean all over, sharp as scalpels chain links, crisp throttle, tight and right, all of this advice, wow!



Greg, it's only money.



QUOTE]



When you are on a fixed income, :{, I might have to start my own Mortgage bank and have the FED bail me out:-laf. GregH

 

[HSpiering]

Maybe just as important as brand name is what you do with the saw and it’s fuel. Don’t use regular gas . Go up a grade, add stabilize, mix only what you need, empty saw and run dry after use if not used for 30 days.

 

[GHarman]

Hey Gary, How about a 5. 9 Cummins with a Getrag, powered "Chain Saw"Oo. . GregH

 

[GCroyle]

I bought a Popular Mechanics or something a while back, some guys in OR or WA compete with a V8 powered saw, weighs about 500 Lbs, takes 2 guys to handle it, somebody could find a link to it. Big chain too.



Only problem, it has spark plugs!

 

[DValentine]

Here is some... .

YouTube - V8-Powered Hot Saw

YouTube - Predator (2. 2 second run)

 

[Gaylord]

I'm a retired Fly Crew Supervisor, Type 1 Crew, for the LACoFD. I'm a certified 212C feller.



We used Sthil 044s w/24" bars on the crews for line construction and had two 046s w/36" bars, skip tooth chain, strictly for falling large trees (snags).



I've also used Huskys and they are a fine saw. My favorite was a Stihl 1070 w/42" bar, ship tooth. It's an older model, slower speed, four cycle saw... . heavy as hell..... but boy can it cut!



I now use a B-51 w/20" bar that was sold by Baileys. I believe it has been discontinued. Here in the High Desert I heat with a soap stone stove and use eucliptusl exclusively..... very dense, high BTU wood.



Great thread!

 

[DValentine]

Gaylord, are you sure the Stihl was a 1070 or 070. I may be wrong but I don't think that Sthil made a saw that was a four stroke at least since the 50's. Have you ever been to Baileys in Laytonville? It's a neat store to visit.

D

 

[GCroyle]

Gaylord,



I thought us DTC freaks had a code-speak! What's this mean? I think I know what the LACoFD is.



"Type 1 Crew, for the LACoFD. I'm a certified 212C feller"



Skip tooth? = every other cutter missing where it could have been?



Scary thing, I have been to Apple Valley and Victorville, off hand I don't remember many "big trees" you have been busy haven't you!

 

[Dl5treez]

Everything You've Ever Wanted To Know...

... About Saw Chain...



Guide Bar & Saw Chain Menu

 

[Gaylord]

DValentine... . Yep it's a 1070. Hasn't been made for about 35 years, but what a power head. I've never seen another.



Yes, I've been to Baileys in Laytonville. I mostly deal with them via the internet now. Great people to do business with.



DCroyle... Fire crews use Type Numbers to designate what they are trained and allowed to do on a wildfire. Type 1 crews have NO restrictions. They can work hot-line and fell trees, maybe, if they have a feller with the proper card for the size of the tree.



212C is the designation for a feller that can drop ANY size tree. A & B are limited to a certain maximum diameter... I don't recall the size limitations off the top on my head, but it's small..... like 8" & 12".



Type 2 crews cannot fell trees.



Type 3 cannot work hot-line



Type 4 are make up crews (they do not work together on a regular basis) and can only do mop-up... . ie No active fire.



This all has to do with safety..... more firefighters are killed by tree falls than by fire. It's serious business & dangerous, but fun IF you know what you are doing. But make no mistake about it... . it IS a YOUNG man's job.



Ha... your right... not many trees in Apple Valley. I get all I want from down the hill.



Thanks D/5treez for the saw chain link. I use "Professional Timber Falling" A Procedural Approach by D. Douglas Dent. He is a professional tree feller from Oregon that trained me. Neat guy & as you would expect from a woodsman, a real character.

 

[Dl5treez]

A 1070? Wow, never heard of one of those before. The largest I've seen is the 090... will have to do some research on this thing.



Madsen's site has chainsaw information overload. Even worse, if you call them they'll talk your ear off..... ask for Warren in the shop for some laughs.



GCroyle,



I work as a field service mechanic by trade but was raised in the logging industry. Still fill in from time to time as a chaser/operator/faller for some friends... my dad still falls timber at 72 years of age, just not full time. He & I do side work for people doing small thinning jobs and hazard tree removal, just not as much as we used to.

 

[GCroyle]

Dan,



I think this post has done more to open my eyes to the breadth of skills in the membership here at TDR.



I bet we could find most any skill, experience, taught or self taught here on TDR.



I'm impressed.



Gaylord, I had no idea, but it makes sense, need to put the right skills on the right tool and job requirements.



Dan, I bet your Dad is a tough guy to keep up with. Hey, Dan, I'm gonna be in Spokan and C d'A ID next week, you on the eastern part of WA?



MS290, OK, got a tank of mid-grade and spent a little time with it saturday, just cleaning up the odd pieces.



I can't wait to get a little more time on it and, let it scream a bit on a bigger log cut, it is a cutting son of a gun.



Take care.

 

[Dl5treez]

Well, I'm in Elma which is about 30 miles west of Olympia and as the crow flies about 29 miles from the Pacific Ocean... in other words, pretty much as far from Spokane to the west as one can get and stay dry... ... otherwise we could get together and swap saw pictures. :-laf



My dad is a firecracker. Just imagine a hot-tempered European immigrant stomping into the woods at Mach 4 with a 066 on his shoulder and a can of mix dangling off a rope in one hand, and a bota bag full of wine with a huge loaf of french bread & some gnarly *** cheese stuffed into a burlap sack in the other, cusssing up a storm about the injustices of the government, how much Obama sucks, how much Gov. Gregoire is a ****, and how much he hates the price of diesel. You can hear him yell over the saw when the trees don't cooperate. It's a crack up!

 

[GCroyle]

Dan we gotta have a picture of "Dad" !!!!! Saw and all, maybe standing on the stump he just made, that's a guy to meet!!!

 

[Dl5treez]

He's quite the character that's for sure.



I have a hard enough time getting pictures of things that would be beneficial to the site, let alone risking my life to snap one of him and get caught. :-laf



I'll try... .

 

[Paddy McMahon]

Another vote for Stihl. both my 044, 064 and my smaller 010's have run flawlessly through the decades and cut many many cords of wood. Also easy to get parts & service.

 

[rscurtis]

The 1070 is a new one to me, and I was a Stihl dealer from 1974 to 2007.

Perhaps it was a model not generally sold in the US. One of the reasons for Stihl's success is the fact that they are a family-owned business, and a very well capitalized one at that. They can design, market and support a product the way it's supposed to be done, and are not governed by the whims of Wall Street, stockholders, or the demands of big-box retailers. Husqvarna, once

an independent manufacturer, is now part of Electrolux, along with Partner and Target-the tile saw manufacturer, not the retailer. A lot of American companies could learn something Stihl Inc. And remember, most of their products up to about the $600 level are made in Virginia Beach.

 

[Harlacher]

Husqvarna 455 Rancher can't be beat at $399 in my opinion.

 

[SuperSteeler]

This is how I get in trouble. Somebody starts a thread like this and the next thing you know this guy shows up on my work bench.



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