chainsaw?

[Rex Guinn]

I have a 40 year old Echo and it still works great for my needs, but I only cut blanks no firewood. There was a tree service cutting a large oak last week next door. I was talking to the owner and he would only use stihl has tried them all over the last 25 years and stihl is the only one that hangs in there and just works.

[Richard Jones]

Depending upon the year, the 55 can be a great saw. Have you priced a repair/rebuild? What's the problem with the saw now?

I run a 20" bar on my 2003 55 and it does a great job with whatever.

Rich

[Chris Burgess]

You can also check Craigslist. I picked up a Stihl Farm Boss 18" with 2 extra Stihl chains for $150. What a steal. I chose Stihl becasue there are dealers and shops all over and it is much easier to get them repaired.

[Roger Turnbough]

I have 2 saws. A Husky 455 Rancher, and a Stihl MS460. The husky has a 16" bar on it and is a fine limbing saw. Nice and light and you can tote it around all day long. Right now it has an unknown chain on it that I will file before we go to cut tomorrow. At around 55cc, this saw does just an OK job at halving rounds. It does an acceptable job at bucking.

The Stihl MS 460 is in a whole different class. At 76cc this thing is a wood cutting beast. I run a 24" bar on this saw, with the Stihl safety chain. I looked at prices at the dealer last week and this saw will set you back a little over $1000. This saw is heavy at around 15lbs, and will wear you down over a long day of cutting wood. With a nicely sharpened chain, and with the power band this saw has, you just cannot slow this saw down.

As a general recommendation, I would consider no saw that has less that 55cc. You will be much better off with a saw in the 60-70cc range. More power, higher rpm's= less time in the wood, and a little heavier saw absorbs the vibrations a bit better than a light saw. Consider a Stihl MS361 or a Husky 372XP. Both saws are in the 60cc class, and fully capable of running a 24" bar.

Buy from a dealer, not a big box store, run the recommended Mix oil and keep your chain sharp. Your saw will last you a long long time.

Roger

[curtis rosche]

the problem with the current saw was it needs a new carb and is rusted pretty good. we kept it in the shed which has ooen windows and didnt always shut the door to,,,, the new saw will be better taken care of.
part of the reason for this thread is to concinve my mother we need a good saw. she knows we need a saw but she said "why dont i just get the cheapest one down at the hardware store" and i knew that wouldnt cut it for the amount of work we put it through. so thanks for helping to justify the sticker shock a little bit

[Ralph Lindberg]

Depending upon the year, the 55 can be a great saw. Have you priced a repair/rebuild? What's the problem with the saw now?

I run a 20" bar on my 2003 55 and it does a great job with whatever.

Rich

Good point, my old (first) one I snapped the shaft. My dealer told me it would be cheaper to buy a replacement then have him repair it, so I did.

It's been said there are only two brands of Chainsaw worth buying, both are Orange

[curtis rosche]

so i have one suggestion to stay away from craigslist adds and one saying to go for it. which is better? if i find a stihl on craigslist, can i take it into a dealer and have them check it out for me before i buy it? and will they suport the product even though it wasnt bought directly from them?

[Jim Heikes]

This is beating a dead horse but I would only buy Stihl chainsaw (and ONLY from a Stihl dealer). My Farm Boss is pushing 40 years and still runs like new. Upfront cost is well worth the money............

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

I have 3 Stihl saws all of them were bought new in 1980 & all see regular use & at 31 yrs old all 3 still run like new.
That said save up & buy a New Quality saw. That way you know exactly how it's been taken care of. Use a premium quality 2 cycle oil mix ( I only use Stihl oil mix ) & keep your gas fresh & run the saw dry or empty the gas from the saw after each use & enjoy it for many years to come.
Be leery of used saws even the name brand ones unless you can really trust the owner. It's amazing how many people know how to totally trash a new saw in on time at all.
Take a look at ebay & see all of the good looking Stihl saws that are listed as for repair or parts only...
Buyer beware.

[Hilel Salomon]

Curtis,
Lots of people have had good luck with McCullough, Poulans and even Homelites which they bought many years ago. Lots of people have had luck with saws that they bought at Lowe's or HD. The trouble is that lots of people have had very bad luck with recent models of the above names, and mixed luck with the DIY saws. Furthermore if a saw you buy at Lowes or HD goes bad, they won't fix it. Dealers will fix saws that are under warranty, but how do you prove that to them if you bought it through an ad. If you know a good deal about saws, you can have great success buying through Craig's list or from private persons. If you are going to use a saw a few times a year, you can definitely do well with a mid range saw. If, on the other hand, you'll be depending on your saw for firewood coming out of ten acres, you really need a good, professional saw. I have Stihl in 036 pro, in 66 pro as well as their 200T and 190T. They're excellent, very heavy duty professional saws (the last two being limb saws). They're also heavy. In Husqvarna, I have two 372X's and a 365. They too are great saws. My experience with the 45 , 55 and some other Husqvarna's has been mixed. I would not recommend them for heavy, continued multi-year use. Stihl makes excellent saws and their dealers tend (though I know of one exception) to be very reputable. I also have a Makita (Dolmar) and a Solo for light to medium use. They're pretty good. Believe it or not, I also have and really like Echo's mid range saws for light to medium use and for trimming bowl blanks which I can't get onto a BS. The Echos start like charms.
If you have a friend who knows a fair amount about saws, maybe you and he/she can look at used ones for sale. Otherwise, stick to a local dealer and stick to a brand that has a good reputation. One caveat about anything but Stihl, Husqvarna and Echo is that you may not have dealers who can service them. There is, for example, no dealers in Columbia who service the Dolmar/Makitas and few dealers who service the Solos and Shindaiwas.
Luck,
Hilel

[Mark Levitski]

My wife and I have 45 wooded acres and own two Husky 372XP's. We also have a smaller Stihl. Our recommendation is to get a Husky--we have not had as good of a time with the Stihl. Spend the money on a bigger saw. It will last longer, cut better, and will be worth more money used if you ever need to sell it. The 372's are really nice--light for their size, powerful, and they always start with three pulls for us. Between firewood and turning, your most important tool besides the lathe would be a good chainsaw.

[Josh Bowman]

Get a stihl, you might be a candidate for a farm boss model.

[Jacob Reverb]

I like my Stihl 361 a LOT.

Open up the exhaust with a muffler mod, and richen up the carb, and she'll pull a 28" B&C.

[Nathan Hawkes]

Get a stihl, you might be a candidate for a farm boss model.

Unfortunately, these days you get what you pay for. The current farm boss is at the lower end of Stihl's product line, and is consequently one of the cheaper-made models. My father's saw, a brand new "farm boss" Stihl, just came out of the shop, after the switch broke THE FIRST TIME HE USED IT. I've since heard of several of the same incidents. Look at ONLY the heavy duty or professional models if you are going to use your saw a lot. If its only several times a year, go for the farm boss; if you plan on using your saw to cut several cords of firewood every year, then you should do a cost/benefit analysis of how much you want to spend, then factor in the repair costs that you're going to pay if you get a homeowner grade saw. FWIW, one of the saws I own is an older Stihl the "wood boss", probably bought sometime in the early to mid 80's. I let it sit too long with gas in it, and needs a carb rebuild, but until then, it ran great!

Edit; when purchasing a Stihl, look for the "white handle" saws; they are the mid and professional grade. The orange handles signify those saws not meant for demanding use.

[curtis rosche]

i bought the farmboss from a very good local dealer. it runs great, maybe i will get some pictures up later this month