What chain saw to buy?

[Matt Ranum]

This is exactly why homeowners need to be aware of the dangers of felling.

Worse is what is known as the barber chair, where a tree is leaning and someone wants to fell it some other way than it is leaning. As the stress in the tree unwinds, the base is often whipped up and the tree spins around.

It is important to understand that professional arborists have educated themselves and understand trees better than the average homeowner, and there are often times when it is better to hire a professional, in the end it can save you money.

This is also why you hear about people that go out and buy a 290 farm boss and the next thing you know they fell a tree on their own house...

Know and understand your limitations, the mistakes that happen when felling trees are not insignificant...

Lucky I don't fell trees very often at all, the timber I'm working with has been felled already. This guy was lucky he didn't do more damage. Look how small the wedge cut is on the opposite side, where he wants the tree to fall! It should be more like 1/3rd to 1/2 of the diameter of the tree. I'm not sure how to embed the video, but here's a link to youtube.

No way I would have attempted that without at least a cable and a hinge point pulling in the CORRECT direction or talk one of my tree surgeon friends to take it down from the top down.

This what you call..... "not thinking things through."

Idiot

[Brian Brightwell]

Phillip Marsh, do you think pros don't use Husqvarna? for their power and weight.
When I needed Stihl parts the dealer was more than glad to order them for me, with Dolmar and Husky I can order them myself. Easier this way if you do your own work.
I don't know of anyone who changes cutter type for green or seasoned wood. Some people do prefer semi-chisel for dirty wood.
The way I see it Stihl Husky Dolmar and Redmax all make good saws. Some people get blinded by brand loyalty. Stihl has Pro saws and Occasional use saws (their words) same with Husky. To get the best saw for a given size, it could come form any of the manufactures.

[Mike Cruz]

Ok, everyone. Tempers have flared (yes, I admit, mine too) and opinions gave been given; accusations made, and loyalties shown. How about remembering what the OP wanted to know: what is a good chainsaw to cut up felled trees for turning?

This thread has become a "pick sides" between those who do some cutting and love their saws, and those who are cutting experts and are downing on those who "think they know, but don't".

Luckily this thread is about chain saws...not table saws. If it were about TS's with this tone and attitude, we would likely lose members.

Isn't this forum supposed to be about helping, advice, and knowledge rather than accusations, snobbiness, and elitism?

Hey, I'm sure those with Sawstops and Laguna TS's love their machines. I'm sure they think their TS's are superior to Deltas, Jets, and Grizzlys. But the last thing I want to hear when I get on this forum is that my equipment is crap, and that I don't know what I'm talking about and that I am a brand buyer for the sake of the brand just because I don't own a Sawstop or Laguna.

Maybe Stihl isn't the best chainsaw brand. Well, neither is Grizzly the best TS brand. But the OP asked for a good brand of chain saw for a paricular application. Many expressed their belief about Stihl, Huskys, and others. And for what the OP wanted, those responses were accurate. Would you tell a person on the Creek that asked about a good brand of TS for occasional cutting that he needed a Sawstop (for quality of the machine, not the safety aspect) or a Laguna? Especially if he had a budget of about $800-1200?

Sorry about the rant, but I am amazed at, discouraged at, and dissappointed with the way some threads go. They start out with someone asking for advice, and end up with name calling.

Hey, OP, get a hand saw and use some elbow grease...avoid the conflict!

[Alan DuBoff]

Mike,

Not to worry, what folks like they like.

It's just a saw, so it is best to use the ones that one feels comfortable with.

I have seen a couple saws locally that would have worked perfectly fine for the OP, an old Mac 10-10 for $20, and a Homelite 240 for $15. Both on craigslist local to me. Some would say not a very good saw, but will chunk up turning stock, as you point out.

These chainsaws are way better than a SawStop, and will even cut hot dogs.

[Orion Henderson]

I've never been impressed with the safety and training publications and gizmos available. Most seem more designed to prevent lawsuits against the saw manufacturer than protect the average user by training him thoroughly.

From my observations, kickbacks generally don't occur cutting what the operator intended to cut. They occur when the bar nose contacts a limb or brush the operator didn't notice or didn't think necessary to clear from the sawing area as a first step. Often compounded by poor footing and an awkward body position because he didn't think to clear those areas either. Hence my comments about haste and storm damage at night.

Notice my falling pics look like they were taken in a groomed park....even those made in the deep woods. The trash and slash around the work area is removed to protect the faller from the saw as well as provide a clean escape from a barberchairing tree.

So I'm afraid it's all self-training. Obviously one crawls before one walks and runs, or Darwin takes over to limit perpetuating those genes. I haven't even touched on the necessity or corked boots for more difficult jobs.

I don't know anything about chainsaws-but these are some darn cool pictures. Thanks for posting them up.

[Alan DuBoff]

Sorry folks, I didn't reply sooner, I was out cutting trees. In my post I did not say the Stihl Farmboss was crap.

I gave one a good look over at the dealer yesterday when I was there.

I won't say it's crap either, but still stand by my comments..."it wouldn't be on my short list", I don't think I would buy one. If I was going to get a Stihl, I would buy a quality saw.

That said, I'm not getting rid of my Huskys...it's very noticeable how much weight difference between Husky and Stihl of comparable models/size. I haven't compared in a while, but VERY noticeable. Of course when I picked up that Husky 385 with a 36" bar on it, I could honestly say...I do NOT need a saw that big...

Got a new 12" bar for my 336...been playing with it today...

[Alan DuBoff]

I found this on craigslist, don't have it running yet, but it fired for a few seconds and stopped. This is the biggest saw I own, 72cc. I might trade it after I get it running.

I paid $80 for it as-is. Has a 24" bar in great shape with a loop of Stihl 3/8" chain that is almost new. Compression is 150-160 psi.

[Allan Froehlich]

I recently pought a Stihl Farm Boss. It was a big step up from my previous saw which was a $125 home depot special.

[Alan DuBoff]

I recently pought a Stihl Farm Boss. It was a big step up from my previous saw which was a $125 home depot special.

Probably is at that! I was just looking at the spec, and Holy Pazoley Batman, that saw weighs 13 lbs. It is just a hair lighter than this 041 Super I just picked up...I will give you one thing though, and that's that you don't have to spend time trouble shooting why the saw doesn't work and/or buy another $75 is parts! lol I wouldn't recommend that type of saw I just got for a homeowner actually, doesn't have a brake. The Farm Boss, OTOH, I guess makes sense for one...

You might have a cord or two of wood cut before I get it running!

The one thing I would recommend, if you don't already, is to learn how to sharpen your chain with a file. It is not that hard and is something that everyone should do, just like any edge tool, chains require sharpening. Even if you get a grinder, or take your chain to a shop to be sharpened for you, make sure you keep a sharp chain. I think everyone should know how to file their chain. My $0.02, offered up for free!

[Damon Marxer]

Stephen:

Your situation sounds very similar to mine. I needed a chainsaw at the start of this year to cut up a number of felled tree's and I also do some turning. I did a considerable amount of research and settled on a Stihl 280 with an 18" bar and it has been more than sufficient. I was also looking at a Husky which I am sure would have been just as good for what I needed.

One item I would suggest is to invest in a pair of chain saw chaps and steel toed shoes and use them at all times. I know how easily accidents can happen, even when being careful, and it is better to be safe than sorry. My wife works in ER so I am always hearing the horror stories from her of chain saw accidents.

Good luck in your search.

Damon

[Alan DuBoff]

I recently pought a Stihl Farm Boss. It was a big step up from my previous saw which was a $125 home depot special.

Allan,

I just bought an 029 Super, was the predecessor to the MS290, I'm not sure of the exact difference.

I bought this for $75. It's a bit plasticy, but not as much as the new ones. Runs strong, wasn't really used too much.

This is what it looked like inside:



The seller said he had never sharpened the chain, and that he thought it would need it...do you think?



After I cleaned it up:





Aside from getting the chain sharpened, it's ready to go back to work.

I still do not know if I'd buy a new one, but if money is not an issue, it's probably not a bad saw. Hard to pass up a saw for $75, at least for me.

As a bonus, the seller sold me this burl table for $20, I actually thought it could have been worth the price of the saw and the table both, he probably paid a few hundred bucks for it.

[Alan DuBoff]

I going to lend this 029 Super to a friend of mine and let him test it for cutting firewood.

I've had some time to look it over, and it is plasticy...but that might not matter for a homeowner that needs to cut firewood, and that would explain the delight from the folks that have bought them new.

Looks to cost about $350 in my area (MS290).

Here's my concern with the saw. If you look at this picture of the cylinder, you can see the crankcase under, but that section is made of plastic. I'm referring to piece 11 in the diagram. The cylinder bolts to that piece and what holds the crankshaft and holds it with the bearings.


Now, if you look at the chassis of the saw in the following picture, and how it fits on the chassis/body of the saw, what encloses and forms the bottom end of the saw is entirely plastic.


The reason I don't like that is that it prevents me from doing too much to that section of the saw and/or just the fact that steel would be stronger most likely. I have heard these are pretty easy to open though, and can be taken apart fairly easily...

In practice the 290 seems to be pretty durable, and a lot of people use them to cut firewood. So, even though a big portion is made of plastic, they seem to be able to take some abuse, like rolling around in the back of a pickup truck. Sure, they won't survive having a tree fall on them, but let's hope that most homeowners don't end up in that situation...that ain't good!

Comparing it to the MS260 which is a pro quality saw, and at which is about $600, I guess these plasticy saws could have a place.

I'm going to drill some holes in my muffler and cut the limiter tabs off the carb adjuster and re-tune it before I lend it out, and I think that will just make it feel like a better saw in general.

I know that most homeowners wouldn't do that, but that is the way to tune them up into a a better tool.

Mine has a 16" bar on it, and I suspect that a homeowner can easily cut 28"-30" trees with it.

And if Smalser would let his Dad use one, maybe they can't be that bad...

[Ed Beers]

A couple of comments about Echo. I see the pros here climbing in trees with them. For bigger saws I mostly see them using Stihl.

The Borg sells Echo but they can't discount off list. My local dealer will take 5 or 10% off if I ask, has a much larger selection, and can offer useful advise.

One big advantage of Echo over the others is that they offer a 5 year warranty for non-commercial use.

[Alan DuBoff]

Darrell, here's an explanation and pics to show what I did to this saw.

First of all, for anyone not comfortable with tuning up their saw, don't touch it and use it the way it is. I am not advocating that people do this. Once you modify the saw, you need to set/tune it by ear, and not a tachometer. By ear is how it should be done, you can get some audio along with an excellent tutorial at Madsens website.

That said, the stock settings from Stihl will not allow you to set the chainsaw properly as the needle that controls the high rev will not allow you to go rich enough. The reason is that the H and L needles have limiter caps on them, so you can't fully adjust them. Stihl makes a tool to get these limiters out, but you can get them out without them...read on...

Here's the carb limiters so you can see them (red adjusters), there is a slot that you can barely see in the pic, about 5:00 on the red limiter, and to get these out you need to line up the tab with the little slot and pull them off/out. I tried using an OptiVisor and a flashlight, and screwed a small screw into the end so I could pull it out...in the end the bezel came out inside the metal flange they are inside of (center silver which is plastic, around the limiters). Once you get them out, just cut the tab off the side with a razer blade. and put it back together. Now you can adjust the needles how ever is correct. I turn the needle all the way in and set H = 1 1/4 turns out, and L = 1 turn out. Factory is 1 turn out on each, and that is where the tabs are set, so the H will not be rich enough in most cases. It is better to be rich than lean, because lean will burn a piston/saw up...



The other thing is that the muffler is extremely limiting on these saws, so it helps to open them up a bit. I think the better way would be to open up the muffler and drill some extra holes in the baffle that separates the inlet and exhaust chambers on the muffler, and add more openings in the exhaust chamber. What I have done here is just allow the muffler to breath, and that is not going to flow entirely through the baffle, so the saw will be louder, most likely. I always wear hearing protection when using my chainsaws, so no big deal for me. I drill a couple 3/8" holes. The 2 small slots below is what Stihl put in at the factory...(i.e., to meet EPA). Hearing protection or not, this will sound so cool it will put a smile on your face when you run it...a tuned up saw is a joy to use...with a muffler mod they just sound cool to me.



Then in order to allow that to breath, I opened up the deflector with a Dremel using a cutoff disc, and cleaned it up a bit with a grinding stone tip. Don't forget the spark screen, it's important to have that there.



Now you can tune it up per the Madsen's page I linked to above.

Lastly, here's 2 pics of the piston on top by the rings, and the bottom where the skirt is. You can see this saw wasn't really used to much, and is in excellent shape. Double ring is good also, the smaller Huskys only have a single ring. They do work well though.

What people do when they port is just grind metal away and widen the port as much as they can to about 70 percent of diameter. So the 029 Super and 290 are 46mm, take 70 percent and measure that along the circumference of the cylinder wall. I'm not touching the ports on this, and not sure you can. They may be as wide as they can go. If you go too wide you risk the chance a ring will push into the port and catch on the roof.

The 029 Super and 290 respond well to just a simple muffler mod, so there is no reason to change too much. Good time to clean up inside the muffler area if you take it off, I did on mine, but have enough pics in this post as-is...