Best Chainsaw

[StBarnabas]

I have a rather ancient McCullough? chainsaw purchased in the orange place about 10 years ago. I have recently (after 3 1/2 years of negotiating) finally bought about 2 acres of land around StBC. There are numerous trees that need tidying up etc and of course, I want to do without coal next winter (this winter was unsuccessful in that the wood had run out by late January). The old chainsaw is OK but seems to blunt very quickly and is not up to more substantial trees etc.
In short I need to upgrade to something more substantial. Does anyone have recommendations? There is some stuff on the FORUM but it is now a few years old.
Sean

[Nickthegreek]

Stick with Stihl or Husqvarna I reckon. I know you pay a bit for the name but after trying a "lesser" brand thats where I am heading next!

[roys]

Huskavana (not sure of the spelling) or Stihl are the best, IMHO.  although the chain that came with my new Stihl was rubbish and blunt quickly, bought a good chain, which in the grand scheme of things was not much more expensive and it transformed the Stihl into a marvellous machine.

My Stihl has a 14" bar and is easy and light to use, the Husky I have is big and a monster to use, it is good but does build up your arm muscles.  There is a guy on e-bay called papko selling ex MOD huskies model 281 and 181, same as what I have.  I would say I use the Stihl 90% of the time as most of my trees are on the small side.

Hope this helps Steve
PS don't forget to get some PPE

[Justme]

Having used Mac's for the last 6 years & just having bought a new sthil I would say go for the Sthil.

They have more power per cc than the cheaper ones.

Sthil chains are fine. If it went blunt early you either hit some thing with it or was forcing it & over heated it & dulled it. It should sharpen out so no new chain was needed. You need to touch up the saw about every fuel fill or two or it will go dull & need a good session with the files.

Get well fitting & comfortable PPE to go with the saw so you actually use it EVERY time you start the saw.

If you are not experienced consider a course.

[renewablejohn]

St Barnabas

If your McCullough runs alright why not replace the bar and chain with professional quality. You will be amazed by the difference

[Contadino]

St Barnabas

If your McCullough runs alright why not replace the bar and chain with professional quality. You will be amazed by the difference

What RenewableJohn said, but if that's no good, I can recommend Zenoah chainsaws.

[guydewdney]

<yawn>

I too have a monster Husqvarna (465 special) which is 80ish cc and has a de-compressor to make starting easier - 21 or 22" bar . Plus a tiny stihl - 021 with 14" bar.

The husky uses a lot of wood to cut, if you see what I mean. I think its cuts faster (chain speed is higher).  i only use it to cut really big stuff - the rest of the time I use the 021.

get the saw serviced PROPERLY - get them to check the gullet, the bar straightness, the nose wheel etc. If it has a front sprocket, you (without being silly) cant over tighten it. The test an old boy who only does chainsaws (and has all his life) - he picks up the saw by the middle of the chain. You should be able to see under three links.

Is the oiler working right on your Mukky? You should get through about 1 tank of fuel to 1 tank of oil

[Rooster]

I'd agree about the Huskys and Stihlls, have one of each and they're excellent.

However as suggested a new chain, and perhaps bar, would probaly do wonders for you. Whatever saw you have the chain needs to be sharpened correctly or things don't work very well!

If a new saw is needed I noticed the navitron one http://www.navitron.org.uk/product_detail.php?proID=338&catID=109 .....



....... looks pretty much identical to the older Husqvarnas, perhaps someone bought the pattern?, wonder if they're as good as the originals? If so they represent good value.

[welshboy]

After a chainsaw has been sharpened quite a few times although it the blades/teeth may be sharp the depth gauge ( Next to the blades/teeth) need filing down a bit too allow the blade/teeth to cut the wood instead of being held up by the depth gauge above the wood. Believe me it can revitalise an old saw.

[billi]

I have a big stihl one  , but Husqvarna are good , Sachs Dolmar is an alternative ,

But was using a tree surgeons one hand Stihl saw  , not to fell trees , but to make firewood out of  smaller trees/branches  and pruning big trees
so light in one hand and one hand free ....http://uk.catalog.stihl.com/katalog/produkt/INT83/MS_200__Carving.htm

Small is beautiful    so perhaps upgrade your existing  and use a powerful lightweight , if you think of small diameter

Saves a lot of breath

Billi

[Amy]

It still has to be a stihl.

Sorry.

[County 4x4]

The Husqvarna vs. Stihl argument will run and run for as long as there are trees to be felled - and neither side is likely to give any ground to the other. My preference has always been Husqvarna for what it's worth - just seemed like a nicer more ergonomic saw to use - we had just about every saw in the range from the 133 through 266 and 288 to the 2100 with a 36" bar. Working as a forester I never used any other makes on a day to day basis, though I've used a lot on courses and at college and so on.

Other makes.

Jonsered make a very nice saw and most of the parts are the same as Husqvarna, who now own Jonsered (and they're all owned by Electrolux) Used several of these and always impressed with them.

Sachs-Dolmar - very good quality saw if you can get one at reasonable money - they seem to have acquired something of a cult status recently and often go for daft money on ebay. Very smooth and powerful saw to use

Komatsu-Zenoah are pretty well thought of. Zenoah have pretty much got their act together with small high performance engines and have been making them for years. I seem to remember that the Husqvarna group were looking at buying them out at one stage - don't know if this ever happened though.

Echo have been fairly recent newcomers to the pro market and their saws have been well received.

The orange Navitron saw. Appears to be another Husqvarna rip off and probably a Chinese import I'd guess. Loads of them on ebay going by various obscure brand names. Comparing one with the real thing is like comparing camembert to sea bass - you just can't. The difference in quality is glaring all over it - but for just over 100 quid, is that so important? I use one at home for cutting pallets etc - but I wouldn't take it to work in the wood.

It all comes down to how much and what sort of work you're going to be giving the saw. For odd jobs here and there pretty much anything will do. If you're doing heavier work, or regular work for days at a time, then you'd be better buying quality and buying once! A good saw is just so much nicer to work with when you're using it all day. Don't buy a monster saw if all you're doing is a bit of small felling and firewooding as it will just tire you out - I'd go for something around 60cc for that sort of work. Don't go for the longest bar it will take either - 15" is plenty for most day to day work. Don't be tempted by the top handled tree surgeons saws - these should not be used on the ground.

Justme gave some very good advice regarding sharpening and PPE. Learn to sharpen a chain properly and your work will be so much easier. A dull chain just makes both you and the saw work harder. It only takes a few minutes to touch up at each fuel stop. Don't over tension the chain - you should just be able to pull it round with your fingers when the tension is correct - too tight will wear the bar and sprocket and it will get hot as well! You can get some very simple and basic tools to check bars for guide rails being level and square. File the burrs off the guide rail edges and clean out the bar groove regularly. You can get a little filing guide for depth gauges that sits on top of  the chain and you just use a flat file to take the top of the depth gauge off - doesn't matter how sharp your cutters are if the depth gauge is keeping them out of the wood!

Have fun shopping and let us know what you get!

Cheers,

Andy

[billi]

Nice read county 4x4 ....

Sachs-Dolmar - very good quality saw if you can get one at reasonable money - they seem to have acquired something of a cult status recently and often go for daft money on ebay. Very smooth and powerful saw to use

But i thought sachs-dolmar would be a better price range  then the other two favourites  (in Germany  its the more reasonable alternative )

Billi

[Stuart]

I have a old Stihl which is bomb proof, but very heavy and you start to feel it when cutting up fire wood.
I keep it sharp with the files, and stay off damp dirty wood.
Was told always buy a stihl ending in a even number as they are the professional models?
Used a Husqvarna a few times and there very light and seem ok only problem is the start switch, which flicks the opposite way to a Stihl.
Although that did cheer the rest of the lads up as I was trying to start it for ages before i looked at markings.

Have recently fixed a McCulloch (oddly a Itallian make who are actually owned by Husqvarna), and got it running.
They dont seem to support old models very well. where as there is better aftermarket support for Stihl and Husqvarna.
And way cheaper guide bars and chains from Oregon.
There was a new spear and jackson Argos special i had a look at, after it gave up after 1/2 hours use, but I couldn't get it to run properly and he took it back.
Cost him £80 where as my second hand stihl was £100

lots of info here about chainsaw models
http://www.arboristsite.com/
and of course lots of Husqvarna vs. Stihl  

If there's any ash up there i'll give you hand  

[Justme]

Was told always buy a stihl ending in a even number as they are the professional models?

Dont think that holds now. Most end in 0 IE MS 240 is Arb MS250 is Farm / Utility.

The MS240 cost lots more than the MS250 but is a much smaller CC saw & cutting bar.