Woodcraft sells Workx brand chainsaw. Anybody familiar with this brand?

[Don Morris]

I happened to be on the Woodcraft catalog site and see they carried the Makita electric chainsaw. I'm certainly familiar with Makita. But it was over $250.00. The several storms that have hit us in the mid atlantic region have made my Craftsman 16" electric now sound like the bearings are going. So I'm interested in the other electric chainsaw brand Woodcraft carried: Workx, but I'm not familiar with that brand. It was under $100.00. I looked at the Workx specs, and it had some features that were appealing. Anybody familiar with them? What about replacement parts? My craftsman has always worked, but to tighten the chain it's a continual PITA and I've had to buy replacement chains after cutting just a few limbs that fall from the several 100' white pines on my property. I'm not going back to a gas operated. Been there, done that. The electrics always work.

[Jay Jeffery]

I hear you on the electric chainsaw front. Small engines and I do not get along well.

The Worx brand seems to be on par with B&D. They are sold at places like Sears and Home Depot. They have a line of cordless electric yard tools like weed eaters and such. I didn't see any reviews up on the Sears website, but there were some on amazon here and here. They aren't as high as the Makita reviews, but the saws cost half as much.

For something like an electric chain saw that will see intermittent use, a brand like Worx will probably be fine.

[John TenEyck]

I would stick with a brand with a track record, like Makita. The $$$'s saved on a cheap saw is quickly forgotten if it doesn't perform well or isn't durable. Whatever saw you buy I recommend you get one with an automatic oiler. Keeping the chain and bar lubed is the most important thing to life. As for having to change chains after cutting only a few limbs, that could be due to lack of oil, but more likely to hitting sand, dirt, rocks, or metal. A sharp chain will cut cords and cords of clean pine wood. One trip through the dirt, etc., and it'll be dull. And a word of warning about electric saws. They will cut right through a pair of chaps. Hard to believe, but true, since electric motors develop maximum torque at stall. Gas powered chainsaws, on the other hand, even the big ones, are easily stopped by quality chaps. Electric chainsaws are very dangerous in this regard. For non-believers, check out Madsens1.com for video comparing the two.

[Don Whitten]

Lowes also sells the Worx chainsaw.
I'll never give up my Husqvarna 142(235) and 455 Rancher. A quality saw is what's needed not another cheap imposter.

[David Weaver]

Worx - heavily marketed consumer brand.

I would go with the makita. I don't know who makes their electric saws, but their gas saws are dolmar and have been for a long time, and they are dandy units (especially the higher end models). If their electrics are dolmars, too, it's very likely that they'll outlast you.

[Don Morris]

I don't live on a large property, just one with several 100' white pines. Every time we get a heavy wet snow, or an ice storm I have to contend with what you see in the photo. My 16" electric craftsman has performed well for a number of years but now sounds definitely like the bearings are going. I know good gas motors. I have Stihl and Echo equipment: an over the back blower and string trimmer. I also have a 24" W dual stage snow thrower that always needs maintenance (yes I put gas treatment in it over the summer). Still, if you don't use the gas engines routinely they have the tendency to have problems starting. I know when I plug my electric chain saw in there is a 99% chance or better it will go, and I can just reach everything with my longest extension cord. The craftsman has automatic oiling and my biggest problem with it was the chain kept becoming loose. The Workx brand in addition to auto oiling has a feature that seems to solve the chain loosening. And being sold by Sears, parts shouldn't be a problem. I could buy almost three of them for the price of one Makita.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Worx - heavily marketed consumer brand.

I would go with the makita. I don't know who makes their electric saws, but their gas saws are dolmar and have been for a long time, and they are dandy units (especially the higher end models). If their electrics are dolmars, too, it's very likely that they'll outlast you.

Ok folks you are going to have indulge me here for a moment.. A past hobby of mine was Remote Control planes, I was heavily into 1/4 and 1/3 scale gas engined aerobatic planes, that weighted in at 20 to 30 pounds.. The gas engine of choice for 1/3 scale aerobatic R/C planes back in the day were Dolmars... The 4.8 cu in Dolmar engine would power a 25+ lb plane such that it would go straight up and accelerate while doing so..

[Pete Bradley]

I'd reconsider gas and buy a Stihl. Always works, no messing with it, no quirks, more capable than any electric. It'll cost you more but you only cry once, instead of aggravating you every time you get it out as the cheapo saws will.

[David Weaver]

Robert, i'm trying to guess which sachs that was - did they have a 66cc and a 77cc or something? One of the guys at my club had a Texan with a big Sachs in it, it would really go, but it wouldn't go straight up (he always said "it's heavy, like lead, from all of the repairs in it").

I flew smaller stuff, but the big stuff was fun to watch, and always a bigger thrill when someone cracked one up or hit a landing light.
Whatever the sachs engines were, they were a lot hotter than the zenoah engines. We had post-mounted landing lights on our field, 55 feet apart on a private strip - they ate a lot of wings, and not many of our fliers had hot planes because they were afraid to fly them there.

I thought that hobby was expensive back then, but woodworking makes it look pretty cheap. Have been out of it 15 years, I would imagine the internet has made information a lot easier to come by than back then, when you pretty much had club members and a tower hobbies catalog.

[Don Morris]

OK, I checked on the Stihl prices. The mid level electric model with a 16" bar is: Hold your hat...$394.00. The same unit also can be matched with the 14" bar for ONLY $329.00. Maybe if I win the lottery before my craftsman completely goes, I'll go that route. But I'm retired on a fixed budget. You know we didn't get a social security increase and the Govt. says there's no inflation.
LOL. That just doesn't fit the bill realistically. I would otherwise agree. The 18" Workx is $99.00 and the 16" model is $88.00.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Robert, i'm trying to guess which sachs that was - did they have a 66cc and a 77cc or something? One of the guys at my club had a Texan with a big Sachs in it, it would really go, but it wouldn't go straight up (he always said "it's heavy, like lead, from all of the repairs in it").

I flew smaller stuff, but the big stuff was fun to watch, and always a bigger thrill when someone cracked one up or hit a landing light.
Whatever the sachs engines were, they were a lot hotter than the zenoah engines. We had post-mounted landing lights on our field, 55 feet apart on a private strip - they ate a lot of wings, and not many of our fliers had hot planes because they were afraid to fly them there.

I thought that hobby was expensive back then, but woodworking makes it look pretty cheap. Have been out of it 15 years, I would imagine the internet has made information a lot easier to come by than back then, when you pretty much had club members and a tower hobbies catalog.

Actually I owned two different Sach-Dolmer based engines, one 3.4 cu in and the other was 4.8 cu in.. I gave up the hobby 20 years ago, so my memory could be off slightly with the displacements.. Basically the company that re-manufactured the engines did was machine off all the extraneous stuff from the chain saw casting, the ignition was electronic using automatic ignition advance retard system.. The power to weight ratio on these engines were outstanding..Guys with Zenoahs and Quadras were in awe of horse power the Sachs based engines produced..

What made me quit was two mid-air collisions of two very pricey airplanes.. Very seldom in woodworking does ones Delta Unisaw get destroyed in an afternoon