Who makes the Best Chain Saw?

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

I have googled it and got more bull than a truck can haul off.

I want a Good Chain saw and have a piece of Junk Poland 14" one now. They have Huskey and Stiel dealers around here. I need the one that will be forgiving for abuse. I will listen to the sales pitches but I want to know about the brand names before picking out the model The salesmen will know the brands , money, and sizes. I'm looking for the differences like a Pinto or a Roll Royce. Duriability is what I'm after.

TURTLE

[J. Chris Tilton]

I can only speak from personal experience, but I have a (sp) Husqvarna. I supplement my heat with 2 wood burners and go thru several cords of wood per year and it has served me well. Nothing major other than normal wear and tear.

I have heard good things about Stiehl, but have never owned one.

[dadiOH]

Stihl and Echo are both good brands. However - like other manufacturers - they make models intended for different uses...homeowner, professional logger, etc. Get top of the line and you should be well fixed.

-- dadiOH _____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[zxcvbob]

Echo. I have a CS-660EVL (big saw) and a CS-3000 (trim saw) and they work great. My dad has a CS-650 that's about 25 years old and he uses it a lot more than I use mine. All three saws are going strong. The

650 and 660 are kind of heavy; newer models the same size are probably 2 or 3 pounds lighter.

Bob

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I bought a Stihl. Why? The dealer sells both Stihl and Husk. According to the dealer, they both cut very well but he tends to see more Huskys coming in for service. Not a lot more, a few more.

[Greg O]

Buy one from a reputable dealer! It is not the brand, but the installation! ;-) I had a small engine shop for a few years. If I were to buy a new saw, it would be a Stihl. Greg

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

The reason I posted here is there is a 36" Pin Oak tree across my drive way after a little wind storm come by. My wife called me and said there is a tree across my drive way and I thought I would just pull out my hand Polock 14" saw and cut it and move it out of the way. Hey that Poland 1 C.C. is not made for adult trees. I cut the limbs out of the way to drive around it but that mickey mouse poland saw had hell cutting the limbs and I did not even try it out on the

36" butt or trunk. I figured it up and i can get about $400.00 worth of fire wood to pay for up to a $400.00 saw. I have a fellow who will come get the tree for nothing but he gets the wood or sell it back to me at $40.00 a Rick or $80.00 a Cord.

Tomorrow i will be checking out the saws and found a [ Stihl and Huskey ] Dealer near here and will be talking to him. I called my brother in law up and he use to work in the logging business and he said Stihl , but Huskey will do for part time use. I can't find any other type dealers around here but Polock and I don't need Mickey Mouse equipment.

I haven't talk to anybody yet but i went to Stihl website and it seems a model MS-250-C or a MS-260 might do but maybe a MS-310 or MS-390 . Do I need to get bigger or is these in the Tuff Boy Stuff ? I was told the bigger horse power saws will not over heat in Git-R-Done Work.

What do yaw'll think ?

TURTLE

[zxcvbob]

I think you gotta be careful when buying Stihl to make sure you get a commercial saw and not a Handyman Special. The commercial saw will cost twice as much as another model Stihl that has similar specifications.

I just looked at the Stihl web site, and the MS390 or MS361 look pretty good. I wouldn't buy anything from the "Homeowner" list.

Git R Done, Bob

[PrecisionMachinisT]

installation!

Most the loggers around here use Stihl, you should be able to pick up a good older saw at a pawn shop or someplace like that--we actually have "saw shops" around here........

If your actually gonna work it and cut big stuff, get the most powerful saw you can afford within reason.......but I suggest you should still keep the little saw for the smaller stuff anyways.

As far as blade length, this somewhat depends on how tall you are--best is short enough so the blade dont touch the ground when your hands are pulled up even with your waist, else you will work yourself to death just packing it around.

If the bar is in good condition and the chain is properly ground, you can easily cut in 1/2 a tree thats almost twice as big around as the bar length if you use the proper technique.

[willshak]

I have had a couple of large trees cut down, or fallen trees cut up, by professionals in the last 5 or so years. These trees were 40-50 footers with trunk diameters of 3+ feet. These guys were not part-time handyman tree cutters. They came with all the safety gear, chaps, and climbing equipment, including large chippers trailed behind dump trucks to haul away the chips. They all had Husqvarna chain saws of various sizes. I have a Poulan 18" chain saw for the small jobs where professionals are not needed, like the trees with less than 1' diameters. It works fine as long as I can keep the chain sharp.

[Brikp]

I think you are on the right track with Husqvarna or Stihl. I will share my experiences.

I own a husqvqarna model 55, bought in 1997. It has seen moderate use, most recently a weeks worth of hurricane cleanup in Pensacola, FL. It has NEVER failed to start (except when it was out of gas). It cuts very well when the blade is sharp. (Learn how to sharpen the blade)

I have never used a Stihl, I had the please of working along side of a chain gang. One of the members of this elite squad of hurricane cleanup guys was a former logger. They put him in charge of the saw. He was using a really nice Stihl. Probably a 30" bar length. He stopped to sharpen every hour or so.

One interesting difference between husky and Stihl. the husky uses a 5/32" file to sharpen and the Stihl uses a 3/16" file to sharpen. I do not know if this applies to all models of Stihl and Husky but I thought it was interesting. Does anyone know if the Stihl has a larger kerf? Will it cut more aggressively, given the same engine specs?

installation!

[Harry K]

Either Stihl or Husky or other brands that make professional saws. While I agree mostly with the other posters, there is nothing wrong with the 'homeowner' saws in either brand. About the biggest you will get for $400 is a Stihl MS310. I don't know about the Huskies but it will be a saw of about that size. Also for $400 you are going to have to buy 'homeowner' types to get a saw big enough. As for the 310 - get a 20" bar, don't let them try to put a 24" bar on it.

Unless you have a future use for a saw this big, let your buddy cut it for free.

Harry K

Harry K

[dadiOH]

I think it depends upon how much you will use the saw *after* doing your one

36" tree. Any you list would cut it up just fine.

In my case, I don't have a whole lot of use for a saw normally. This year we had three hurricanes and a lot of wood down. I needed a small, limbing saw and bought a Stihl MS 180C. It is fine up tp 15" or so and so far I have cut up enough wood to make a pile 250' X 8' X 6'. I've had to adjust the chain only 3-4 times and doing so is duck soup...it is done with no bar tool.

I still have three whole oaks to do. They are only about 24-30" but too big for the Stihl. Fortunately, I have a bigger saw too (in the shop).

In short, I am real pleased with my little Stihl.

-- dadiOH _____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Larry Caldwell]

I own a Husquvarna Model 51, bought in 1995. It will whack through a

2'maple log in about 90 seconds. It starts every time and has provided several cords of firewood every year. I stabilize the fuel, sharpen the chain and keep the nose wheel lubed. I did give it a tune-up about 4 years ago, but then switched to a zero ash synthetic oil. Since then I haven't seen any spark plug deposits.

[BinaryBillTheSailor]

For one tree? RENT a saw.

BB

[ROBMURR]

I would say also to rent a large saw. Get a dremel tool type sharpener also. Your chain will get sharp real quick and easy with this tool. I have only a small Husky 136 that works great. I only use Stihl chains now as they cut better and stay sharper longer.

[davefr]

Stihl's MS260 is one one the best saws they ever made. However it's a little wimpy for 36" oak. You might want to look at MS440 or MS360 unless this size tree is a one time job. (it'll do it, just not as optimal as a larger saw)

Avoid the Stihl homeowners saws (odd numbers). They're overpriced and not that great.

You can also go to Ebay and look for a used Stihl 038. It and it's younger brother 028 are wonderful saws and virtually bulletproof.

Go to

for all your chainsaw reading.

[zxcvbob]

My dad bought a Stihl 009 and wore it out in a couple of months of moderate-to-light use. Stihl replaced it with a new one, and it broke after just a couple of hours of use. So he went back to using his 20 or

25 y.o. Echo saw that's really too heavy (weighs almost 20 pounds including the bar) for normal use.

If the 009's are representative of Stihl homeowner saws, they are crap based on a 2 out of 2 sampling.

I've heard nothing but goodness about Stihl commercial-duty saws. All the tree cutters and the utility companies around here use Stihl (I don't know what model) for everything except trimming and they all use Echo CS-3000's for trim saws.

Bob

[Steve B.]

Its all junk and only as good as the service person you pick so find the best dealer in your area and buy what they reccomend. :-)

We have a Stihl that my dad bought 20 years ago and it has held up very well over all these years. I don't know if they still make it like they used to with everyone selling out to the megacorps though.

Steve B.

[Oscar_Lives]

Stihl or Jonsered.

Expensive to buy and repair. Best saws made.