Chainsaw question
- Thread starter taco_tay
- Start date
Jeremy P.
Adventurer
An 18" bar is a nice length for portability and still able to get through a decent sized tree. You could also get a hard case for it and strap it to a roof rack. Using a narrow kerf bar and chain means less wood to cut so the saw doesn't have to work as hard. I have a husky 350 with 18" bar and a husky 371xp with 25" and 30" bars. The 350 is a nice size to carry along, and less fatiguing to use since it is quite a bit lighter. But the bigger saw is a lot faster, and when you just need to take a large tree down the 30" bar sure is nice...
superbuickguy
Explorer
Everyone starts with a 12" saw, then gets a 16" then an 18" then a 20" Stihl. I have an 18" Poulon and a 20" Stihl and use both, a lot. Were I to do it over again... I'd own nothing but Stihl, they're a better saw.
Short chainsaws dull chains faster (fewer teeth), and overheat quicker than a longer bar. Too much heat and the chain breaks. Consider this - in the time you can whip out a bow saw and chop the branch or log, would a chainsaw actually be faster (pull it out, start it, warm it up, cut the wood, shut down, clean it, fuel it, oil it, stow it)? I carry my chainsaw all winter because of my work in Search and Rescue - I don't in the summer because it's needless weight as anything I do can be done with an ax or a saw.... though in the dead of winter after a few storms, 24" or larger downed trees are the norm for a mission.
Dry wood dulls chains faster than green wood, and, of course, hardwood accelerates wear as well.
About chain sharpening - I get taking your chain to a shop for a yearly sharpen because they'll also look for weak links or failure points. However, if you don't know how to sharpen you saw; you shouldn't use a chainsaw. Here's why: once you learn how a chain cuts and what it takes to preserve a sharpening (no grounding, no overheating the chain by going full bore and bouncing on the cut, no catching/hanging blades), you'll be better at using your saw. Or as they say in parachuting, you pack your own 'shute so you know who to blame if it doesn't open. A chainsaw is ever bit as dangerous as parachuting.
While I understand some reluctance to wearing chaps and a helmet (I had it), just once will make you a believer or dead - if your life is worth less than $100, then avoid the safety gear. Of the two, I think a helmet with a chip screen is the first purchase (and it works excellent for weedeating).
Short chainsaws dull chains faster (fewer teeth), and overheat quicker than a longer bar. Too much heat and the chain breaks. Consider this - in the time you can whip out a bow saw and chop the branch or log, would a chainsaw actually be faster (pull it out, start it, warm it up, cut the wood, shut down, clean it, fuel it, oil it, stow it)? I carry my chainsaw all winter because of my work in Search and Rescue - I don't in the summer because it's needless weight as anything I do can be done with an ax or a saw.... though in the dead of winter after a few storms, 24" or larger downed trees are the norm for a mission.
Dry wood dulls chains faster than green wood, and, of course, hardwood accelerates wear as well.
About chain sharpening - I get taking your chain to a shop for a yearly sharpen because they'll also look for weak links or failure points. However, if you don't know how to sharpen you saw; you shouldn't use a chainsaw. Here's why: once you learn how a chain cuts and what it takes to preserve a sharpening (no grounding, no overheating the chain by going full bore and bouncing on the cut, no catching/hanging blades), you'll be better at using your saw. Or as they say in parachuting, you pack your own 'shute so you know who to blame if it doesn't open. A chainsaw is ever bit as dangerous as parachuting.
While I understand some reluctance to wearing chaps and a helmet (I had it), just once will make you a believer or dead - if your life is worth less than $100, then avoid the safety gear. Of the two, I think a helmet with a chip screen is the first purchase (and it works excellent for weedeating).
Joe917
Explorer
Pretty much says it all. I carry a bow saw for trees on the trail. I use a Stihl 026 (renamed 260 now) for firewood and construction.
Stihl saws are not all professional grade they have a mix of quality in their line up so do your research.
I don't mind the 16" bar (have been using one for 30years)
Learn how to sharpen a chain properly yourself.
Get some professional instruction, a falling branch or kickback can easily kill.
Husqvarna is a good product too.
Mountainhound
Explorer
Ok i'll chim in here, leave the 12" bar alone unless your cutting limbs. Get a sthil, husky, or even echo, leave the poulen and sears stores alone not worth the money. Put a 16" bar on there and you can cut anything you will need to especailly since you are here asking what saw. I cut timber for a living and have cut some very large trees much bigger than 16" with it (big bars is a west coast thing). Also and I can not stress this enough DO NOT FORGET THE PPE (personal protection equipmet) most importantly saftey chaps. Been using saws my whole life and will tell you **** happens FAST. DONT FORGET THE PPE. Learn how to sharpen your saw or carry a couple of extra chains to change over when you inevitable hit the ground or cut through dirty wood, nothing more dangerous than a dull saw. I also recomend anyone taking up using a chainsaw take a class. Chainsaws and tree work is extremlly dangerous kickbacks, and pinched saws not to mention barber chairs and widow makers.
thedjjack
Dream it build it
simply bucking a fallen tree of the road could change your life (and not for the better) or end it... careful around trees under tension... have a plan, have an escape route, have PPE, have training.... especially if you are doing this remotely...
Also adding longer bars to little motors upsets the balance of the saw...
Also adding longer bars to little motors upsets the balance of the saw...
Mountainhound
Explorer
Thanks for posting that. I know I still have legs because of them.
cam-shaft
Bluebird days
Yea that is all we need is the government making laws on what one is required to buy when purchasing a chainsaw. No thanks
Yea learning how to use a saw for the first time on the trail on your own can be a disaster no matter what protective gear you have. Be smart respect your equipment and mother trees because it can bite ya. Cam-shaft.
4Rescue
Expedition Leader
I do... I'm in Oregon/PNW and I like to help keep roads clear in case I have to use them in my "other life" as a Wildland FF. In conjunction with a heavy/good tired 4wd you can do a LOT of work with a chainsaw, know-how and cable/chain/tree-strap. And nothing makes me happier then to see the looks on faces (esp. when I'm out with guys who don;t know me well or I'm just meeting) when a trail run looks like it's hit a "dead end" until I break out the saw and get a few guys to help hook trucks to the blockage and we're on through in No time hahaha. Great way to become "usefull" to the group too aye
Buy a Stihl MS250 or an MS290 "Farm Boss" with a spare "skip tooth chain" (for REAL big stuff to reduce cutting time/bog and increase chain speed and chip clearing) would do everything you could need (I've fallen some BIG trees in both Australia and Oregon/NW with the MS290) and the 250 is, to me, a saw I can run all day with minimal fatigue (the 290 wa 28" bar and the skip-tooth chain can be a real work-out depending on what you're doing) that punches well above it's weight class and will run slightly longer bars as long as you're not cutting for speed and treat your chains well. Hell you could get the biggest "Arborist" model you can find and with patience and know-how you could easily take care of everything short of a fallen old-growth cedar although it would take you time. I'm always amazed, my Dad and I are out cutting wood for the stoves in the winter and I'm going at it with the 290 or the 250 and he's just chugging away with the Arborist (think it's a 190 or a 180???) saw... No, he doesn't get the work I do done, but he's 75, I'm 35 and I'm just always happy to be out playing "tools and tractors" with my dad aye, but he LOVES that saw and the grip design helps it be REALLY easy on your body to run for long periods of time one-handed because of the balance.
Also plan on having a "saw kit" to go with it, extra bar-oil/mix oil, your saw tool/wrench (two never hurts), a nice small wire bristle brush for cleaning out the sproket housing quickly, small can of WD40, spare clear safety glasses (I love the 3M "Terminator style" glasses Home Depot sels for like $3... in fact that's all I wear for sunglasses as well), wedges and a small sledge (or mall hatchet w/a sledge back of the head), files (broad/flat and various round) and a field sharpening jig if you're not comfortable just doing it by eye, at the very least some good ear-plugs if not a good set of cans and a good combo bit-driver/sockets and anything else you can think of that you might need. Should all fit into a fairly small "tackle box". I also carry a usually empty 1gal fuel can so I can make mix on the fly from your Jerry-can stash, unless you don't have aux/ext-fuel I highly recommend chaps too... They don't take much space at all and can be useful for other things plus after several "near misses" (thank you Carhardt and one old cell-phone), not for EVERY cutting job, but certain times, a pair of chaps is just being smart Having some extra lengths of chain or old winch-cable to make "cinches" for pulling stuff around with the truck is a good idea too (even if you have a winch, no sense abusing you cable/rope wrapping it around a tree trunk). Oh and I hate to say it, but I carry and axe (well a Pulasky) too... And a machete/brush-knife. Sometimes you get wood underground on in a spot where you don't want to jam your saw chain into it wondering what's in there waiting to dull the saw into j-cutting uselessness, and with the Pulaski you can cut out roots and anything else you feel like and just file it back to sharp ("steep-angle" sharp so it doesn't stick). I also, despite spending my "paid" time running a wood handled Pulaski, I personally carry a nylon handled version for weight and impact dampening/fatigue reduction.
Common thread here: IMO Buy a Stihl saw... I know I'll get plenty of "Huskys are better" or I like my $99 special/Echo as well as any saw..." flack, and that's fine, if you like it and it keeps working for you, great... BUT I spend and have spent a LOT of my life with a Chainsaw in my hand and used their stuff in the Fire-Department and as a Wild-Land FF/Sawyer and every day on the Cattle Station I lived on in Australia for several years. I trust Stihl plain and simple (I own a Huskvarna I wish I could sell for enough to make it not worth keeping as a "crapper dirt saw") and I've proven time and time again that they're the saws I want to have with me and the ones I trust my live/livelihood with. ALL my Stihl equipment (and I have lots from a blower to a multi-head power tool, trimmer, pole-chainsaw etc.) keeps running year after year and never lets me down plus, IMO it's easier to field service then my Husky was is and never needs work either. Only other saw that's been anywhere near as reliable is my REALLY old "first saw" my Dad gave me which is an old (who knows how old) Johnsrud that I'll let my son learn on some day. Plus it's a ripping little saw
Brand loyalty is what it is, 4wds show us that in an extreme manor, and I am in NO way saying that if it's not a Stihl that it's crap and you should throw it away or never consider buying one by any means. I just believe in Stihl more then the others personally and if you're looking to buy a saw, those are the ones I would recommend. Do some quick homework, cause just like everything else, there's often a real 'sweetheart" of a saw that folks tend to rally around even if they'll fully admit that X brand is "usually" not all that great. "logo's" can make one saw "worth more" then the same saw sold by another brand name nobody knows. YMMV
Cheers and No Worries (oh and sorry if that was all condescending babble - wasn't meant to be aye - about things you already knew... I just get passionate about saws/tools hahahah)
Dave
Buy a Stihl MS250 or an MS290 "Farm Boss" with a spare "skip tooth chain" (for REAL big stuff to reduce cutting time/bog and increase chain speed and chip clearing) would do everything you could need (I've fallen some BIG trees in both Australia and Oregon/NW with the MS290) and the 250 is, to me, a saw I can run all day with minimal fatigue (the 290 wa 28" bar and the skip-tooth chain can be a real work-out depending on what you're doing) that punches well above it's weight class and will run slightly longer bars as long as you're not cutting for speed and treat your chains well. Hell you could get the biggest "Arborist" model you can find and with patience and know-how you could easily take care of everything short of a fallen old-growth cedar although it would take you time. I'm always amazed, my Dad and I are out cutting wood for the stoves in the winter and I'm going at it with the 290 or the 250 and he's just chugging away with the Arborist (think it's a 190 or a 180???) saw... No, he doesn't get the work I do done, but he's 75, I'm 35 and I'm just always happy to be out playing "tools and tractors" with my dad aye, but he LOVES that saw and the grip design helps it be REALLY easy on your body to run for long periods of time one-handed because of the balance.
Also plan on having a "saw kit" to go with it, extra bar-oil/mix oil, your saw tool/wrench (two never hurts), a nice small wire bristle brush for cleaning out the sproket housing quickly, small can of WD40, spare clear safety glasses (I love the 3M "Terminator style" glasses Home Depot sels for like $3... in fact that's all I wear for sunglasses as well), wedges and a small sledge (or mall hatchet w/a sledge back of the head), files (broad/flat and various round) and a field sharpening jig if you're not comfortable just doing it by eye, at the very least some good ear-plugs if not a good set of cans and a good combo bit-driver/sockets and anything else you can think of that you might need. Should all fit into a fairly small "tackle box". I also carry a usually empty 1gal fuel can so I can make mix on the fly from your Jerry-can stash, unless you don't have aux/ext-fuel I highly recommend chaps too... They don't take much space at all and can be useful for other things plus after several "near misses" (thank you Carhardt and one old cell-phone), not for EVERY cutting job, but certain times, a pair of chaps is just being smart Having some extra lengths of chain or old winch-cable to make "cinches" for pulling stuff around with the truck is a good idea too (even if you have a winch, no sense abusing you cable/rope wrapping it around a tree trunk). Oh and I hate to say it, but I carry and axe (well a Pulasky) too... And a machete/brush-knife. Sometimes you get wood underground on in a spot where you don't want to jam your saw chain into it wondering what's in there waiting to dull the saw into j-cutting uselessness, and with the Pulaski you can cut out roots and anything else you feel like and just file it back to sharp ("steep-angle" sharp so it doesn't stick). I also, despite spending my "paid" time running a wood handled Pulaski, I personally carry a nylon handled version for weight and impact dampening/fatigue reduction.
Common thread here: IMO Buy a Stihl saw... I know I'll get plenty of "Huskys are better" or I like my $99 special/Echo as well as any saw..." flack, and that's fine, if you like it and it keeps working for you, great... BUT I spend and have spent a LOT of my life with a Chainsaw in my hand and used their stuff in the Fire-Department and as a Wild-Land FF/Sawyer and every day on the Cattle Station I lived on in Australia for several years. I trust Stihl plain and simple (I own a Huskvarna I wish I could sell for enough to make it not worth keeping as a "crapper dirt saw") and I've proven time and time again that they're the saws I want to have with me and the ones I trust my live/livelihood with. ALL my Stihl equipment (and I have lots from a blower to a multi-head power tool, trimmer, pole-chainsaw etc.) keeps running year after year and never lets me down plus, IMO it's easier to field service then my Husky was is and never needs work either. Only other saw that's been anywhere near as reliable is my REALLY old "first saw" my Dad gave me which is an old (who knows how old) Johnsrud that I'll let my son learn on some day. Plus it's a ripping little saw
Brand loyalty is what it is, 4wds show us that in an extreme manor, and I am in NO way saying that if it's not a Stihl that it's crap and you should throw it away or never consider buying one by any means. I just believe in Stihl more then the others personally and if you're looking to buy a saw, those are the ones I would recommend. Do some quick homework, cause just like everything else, there's often a real 'sweetheart" of a saw that folks tend to rally around even if they'll fully admit that X brand is "usually" not all that great. "logo's" can make one saw "worth more" then the same saw sold by another brand name nobody knows. YMMV
Cheers and No Worries (oh and sorry if that was all condescending babble - wasn't meant to be aye - about things you already knew... I just get passionate about saws/tools hahahah)
Dave