Looking to buy a new chainsaw. How do the low end home owner type Stihls hold up? I'm not normally cutting firewood, but it seems a few
75 foot trees close to the house have to come down each year so I can sleep at night. Lets say I cut down about 5 trees a year with diameters from 12" up to 18", up to 75' tall. Is a low end model with an 18" chain enough? I'd definitely like one with the newer easy to adjust chain.I have been using a crapsman/paulon? and the only thing I hated from the start was adjusting the chain. I bought it for $50 about 10 years ago at Sears as a refurbished unit someone returned. It always starts in
1 or 2 pulls no matter how long it sits. I'm going to spend > $18 on a new clutch part, the side with the chain sprocket is worn. It'll be nice to have as a backup for when I screw up and let a chain on a new saw get pinched.If anyone remembers I asked about fixing the crapsman recently when the bolts that hold the bar and chain started pulling through the plastic case. I fixed that problem and I'm happy with that fix. Two bolts to remove the muffler was all it took to gain access to the bar bolts and for my repair. I got two bolts a little longer than the originals and welded a plate connecting the two bolt heads together (spaced properly so they would fit in again). It seemed to tighten up nicely but was in the way of the muffler, so I then heated the bolts and plate to where the plastic case was melting and snugged the bolts up again. It worked GREAT and it's possibly stronger than new!