Chainsaws & loggers

[fbaurley]

Are there any loggeres out there? I am currently un decided on weather to buy a Stihl or Husqvarna Chainsaw. the thing is that I have owned them both, but the stihl was a large saw (041) and the husky was a small saw (240). There arent any shops around the will let you test cut a new saw, so therefore I need advice of somene that could compare the two saws from an equal size stand point. I am interested in the O36 stihl or 359 - 365 husqvarna, any ideas.

 

[Kernel]

Both saws are good. I used to help a buddy of mine log on their farm in the winter time and they used to use Stihl until they borrowed a Husqvarna. Now all they use are the Husqvarnas. The Husavarnas seemed to rev better and cut smoother than the Stihl IMHO. My buddy has a 365. I think the Stihls they had were a 039? Cutting timber always made me nervous .



Scott

 

[illflem]

Both are great saws. Not that you will need it but chose the one that has the most convenient parts and service for you.

I was in the market for one last winter, the only factor that made me choose Stihl was that it was on sale.

 

[fbaurley]

I was also kind of leaning towards the stihl due to the dealer service. The money is not much of a factor the brands seem to be within 20 bucks of each other There is a stihl dealer in almost any small town, my local town has both , but the stihl dealer is more reputable The husky dealer is windy. The old husky dealer I used to due business with closed up shop due to the fact that Husqvarna now wants dealers to carry a full product line , not just saws and trimmers,. he said he couldnt afford that. But then again I havent needed many parts for either.

 

[Todd T]

something you may want to look at is if the stihl has shock absorbsion on the handles and grib. my husky has soft rubber mounts between the grips and the saw. you dont get any vibration through them.



with my old Poulan my hands would be numb for two days after using it to just cut a toothpick in half



I used the husky this weekend in 10degree weather and she performed flawlessly. i forget the model i have it has a 20" inch bar, a 372GPX or something like that??



both very good buys IMO

 

[Kernel]

If your looking for someplace close with service departments then go with the Stihl. I have seen more places that carry Stihl parts then Husk. Back home even the John Deere dealerships carried Stihl. You have to look harder to find a place that works mainly on the Husqvarna. It wasn't hard to find one back home, but of course in a town of 1000 people there were 6 logging companies and the Mead Paper Corp. was about 30min away.



The saws I mentioned my buddy had have needed no work done to them, and they run nearly everyday during the winter and regularly get used in the summer. The only thing that has been done to the Husqvarnas is a better bar from a company named Oregon that sells parts for most saws. Either way you'll get a good product.





Scott

 

[smartineau]

I vote for the Stihl '044' nice well balance saw when you have a 30 inch bar. Not to heavy about 14 -15 pounds.



steve,



PS not a logger but spent a lot of time with them, my dad would not allow me to get into the logging industry. With age comes wisdom I guess; those jobs are gone in Oregon where I grew up

 

[Rob Thomas]

Not only are Stihl dealers are everywhere, but the standard fix in the field are easier on the Stihl's, air-filter, spark-plug, bar/chain adjustments, and recoil, are all easilly accsessed. I belive most Stihl models have the anit-vibration handles, both of mine do.



I have an 015AV trim saw, and a 046 Magnum for the big stuff, both are great, and zero problems. The 046 has a winter feature in the air box, when you close off the opening, it uses pre-heated air from the saw, instead of cold outside air, to prevent carb-icing. Also the 046 has a washable reusable air filter, that is removed in about 2 seconds.



Later, Rob

 

[Gizmo 007]

Growing up in the logging business, we've owned both. Personally, I prefer the Husqvarna. With the severe usage they get, the huskys seem to stand up better to the abuse. Yes, service / parts may be harder to find, but we rebuild / repair them ourselves.



Now, I hate to be one sided about this. If you want comfort, go for the Stihl. They are a little lighter, but on the same token, lighter = lighter duty.



Both are good saws, both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you want comfort, get a sthil. If you want one that will take a hard beating, get a husqvarna. Just my 2¢



Kris

 

[fbaurley]

What is everyones opionion on torque vs speed for instance in felling. From my experince my little husky would out cut bigger saws when limbing, due to more rpm, but in heavier cutting would fall off more. Due stihls have more torque than huskies

 

[Will24]

My little 20" mcculloch works fine at home



On one of the fire companies brush trucks we have a 4 month old 036, VERY nice saw, but $477 with a case and second bar and chain, I consider that to be expensive, but I am cheap

 

[Tim1]

Huskie

If you want to seriouly cut wood, get a Huskie,you will love it. It is fast and will cut as fast as you can feed it. I have had both and now have only huskies. I heat with wood and cut wood for the house although I don't make a living at it, if I did , I might go for a lighter saw. Let your needs be your guide! Good luck! Tim

 

[jtisdale]

I had an 064 Stihl with a 20" bar, and it was a good saw. Mostly used for bucking logs. I never fell trees, just run skidder. Parts for Stihl are expensive though. Husky, I never had one, so I dont know.

I have a Poulan 655 now with the 3/8 chain. This is a saw, its kinda heavy, but fast. I can really cut some serious wood. Thery're cheap to buy, and parts are cheap, but probably not as durable as the Stihl. A friend of mine has a couple of 66 mag Stihls, and I can outcut him six ways from sundown. He used to run Poulan, in fact thats where I got mine at. He would buy two a year. They were pretty well trashed by the end of the year. Now he buys 2 Stihl and gets almost 2 years out of them. He cuts A LOT of trees.

 

[fbaurley]

Ive heard that poulan is now a susidiary of husqvarna or Electrolux the company that owns frigidaire and a couple other appliance companies. I ve heard old timjers swear by them , but I think the new ones are cheaply built from my experience I bought a poulan pro 260 18 in a couple of years ago , because Lowes had a special for $120 regular $179 It ran good ( pretty quick) after the first year and about 30 ricks of wood handle mount broke. and after second year and another 30 ricks of wood rolller nose tip blew out. The carb currently needs rebuilt ( runs bad) I guess you get what you pay for. Ill take reliability any day.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I used to swear by Stihl but now I don't know. Years ago, I had used Stihl's everyday cutting right of ways through the winter for warmer weather road building.



I had sold my saws because I did not need them where I was living but when I bought my present property, I bought an 029 Farm Boss and an FS200 trimmer.



Maybe it's my dealer, I don't know. I was never happy with the chain lube on the saw. Never felt it put out enough but the dealer said it was fine. When the pump went, I may as well had bought new and trashed this one due to labor.



The trimmer? This is a pretty stout trimmer at about 2. 2 horsepower. It would never idle consistantly. Dealer finally replaced the carb out of warrenty at costs of parts since I had had it there several times and in conjunction with the saw problems.

 

[fbaurley]

My dealer recommend the 036Pro or now called Ms360 pro He sais the Pro series saws are easily rebuildable, and easier to work on, even though there 170 bucks more than the farm boss model saws They also have more power and about 1 pound lighter. I think the saw weighed 12. 5 lbs without bar and had 4. 42 hp. out of 3. 75 cu in. It seemed light

 

[daveshoe]

I have a farm boss . OK for light duty, but you get what you pay for. There is too much trading on brand names. Delta faucets bought at Lowes are lower quality than bought at professional supply houses[ different guts]. The expensive Stihls are made in Germany. Sears started this long ago by demanding cheaper prices on motors for power equipment,ut of spec motors were shipped to them and covered by their guarantee. Most customers did not use them enough to wear them out anyway.

An old guy I know wised me up to this when he told me to take my POS Milwaukee Sawzall to a pro plumbing or electric supplier and check the model number against a ''good one''

JMHO Dave

 

[RedRam1]

I had a 262XP Husky for several years until I burned it up in a brush fire last year. I replaced it with an 044 Stihl. My Husky was a 62cc saw with a 20" bar, the Stihl is a 72cc saw with the same bar. The only reason I went with Stihl this time is because of the price, the Stihl dealer would deal, the Husky guy would not.

When I was researching, I noticed that the 62cc and 72cc saws from Stihl and Husky were the same weight, around 14lbs. My guess is that the 72cc jobs are just bored and or stroked versions of the 62cc models. While I am perfectly satisfied with the Stihl, it does not seem to be one bit more powerful than my smaller Husky was. I am curious how the 372XP Husky (72cc) would compare to my Stihl, can't help but think it would be at least a little bit more powerful, based on my experience with my old 262XP.

 

[dseabaugh]

In the las t 30 years we've had several Stihls and I loved every one. My current Model ( don't remember what it is does not make my arms tired using it. My elbows got to hurting so I always had a big saw and a little one. When I couldn't hold up the big one any more I would pick up the little one. Always go for the pro models or the supers. We had mcCullough (hard starting, heavy and crude) homelight ((cheap made lightweights) and a Poulan ( crank it till it got warm to start it and when it gets hot it quits). Every Stihl has been wonderful and when I would sell them I would have people fighting over who got it. Neighbor has 4 Husky's and he alway has them in the shop. He keeps asking when I am going to buy a new Stihl since he wishes he had kept my old one instead of selling it to a friend. He doesn't realize this one is my last saw because the only logs I cut now are when I need to run some logs through the mill to add onto the house. Local park uses Huskies and say they are as good as stihl but parts are harder to find and they weigh more, but they do like them.

 

[drees1]

I have an older Jonsereds, which is basically the same as the Husky. I run a larger drive sprocket, velocity stack, with a foam filter, and tune it to rev. I also cut down the raker teeth. The resulting saw is slower to fell with a 28" bar, and I have to be gentle feeding it in the cut. But, it is an animal on limbing with a 16" bar. I've always liked the high rpm capability of the Sweedish saws, they seem a little easier to control and less fatigue and bouncing around once they are wound up. If you are doing the whole tree, I think it is better to sacrifice a little felling speed for better limbing, it will be more time efficient. Especially if you are not bucking it on the spot. Cutting firewood is another story, however. But you can't go wrong with either saw.