Electric Chain Saw

[Dave Fritz]

I have a cheap Harbor Freight chain saw that works ok fora short time. The trouble is the thumb switch on the top has to be held all theway to the top and the trigger squeezed to work. My hands are a bit arthriticand I lose the ability to keep the top thumb switch engaged so I'm starting andstopping frequently.

I have a couple of questions: has anyone by passed the thumb switch on theHarbor Freight saw?

My next question has to do with other saws. Since dealers around here don'thave electric saws on hand I can't really take a look at how they operate. I'mthinking of Stihl, Husqvarna, or Makita. Do any of you have these saws and howhard are they to operate?
I have a large number of bowl blanks to work with andneed a good dependable electric saw so I can do them in the shop where it’swarm and comfortable.
Thanks so much for your help.
Dave Fritz

[Thom Sturgill]

I am in the market too. I have to sell my gas Stihl saw as I now have an implanted defibrillator and they tell me to stay away from running gas engines. The spark plug can interfere with the defibrillator and trigger it.

I will say that I have heard good things about both Stihl and Makita. Both are expensive, but the Stihl much more so. If you buy the professional model rather than the 'homeowner' model, the Stihl MSE220 is sometimes available but sells for over $500. Amazon carries the Makita 16" for half of that price. the 14" is cheaper at $213 and looks to have a slightly more powerful motor (15a vs 14.5a). Husqvarna also has an electric 14" 13a for about $300.

I have always heard that the Stihl and Husqvarna saws sold through dealers were better than the ones sold through big box stores. I would assume that also applies to the electrics, which is why I can not find the Stihl 'homeowner' electric at any dealer to get a price...

Having burned out a cheap electric, I am interested in reviews by other turners....

[Bob Hamilton]

I first bought a Poulan 16" electric and it worked fine for crosscuts and branch trimming, but was pretty much useless for ripping. As soon as the cutting angle with the grain started producing shavings rather than chips the shavings would clump up around the drive sprocket and pop the chain off. It gets old really fast when you have to stop and put the chain back on every 2 or 3 minutes. I bought a Remington 16" and it worked much better for cutting with the grain but the brushes burned off the motor after a very few hours of cutting. I did repair it and still have it but I only use it for trimming corners or crosscutting. I finally bit the bullet and bought the Stihl MSE220 and the difference is like night and day. The Stihl makes the other two saws feel like toys. It is far heavier and more powerful, sporting a 20" bar. It uses the same bars and chains as the gas powered Stihl saws and has the same automatic chain oiler mechanism. The one thing you need to watch for is that you keep an eye on the chain oil reservoir. Since you are not stopping to top up the gas like you do with a gas powered saw it is extremely easy run it out of chain oil inadvertently.

Take care
Bob

[Roger Chandler]

I have friends who own the Makita electric and swear by it.........a couple of others who have the Stihl electric and swear by it........both good saws and high on performance........either will be great for a turner who cannot use a gas saw or needs to use one indoors.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I have the Makita and love it. If I had had the money, I would have gone for the Stihl, but I have no complaints with the Makita with the 16" bar on it.

[Michelle Rich]

tape the switch down?

[Ted Calver]

I've had the Stihl for several years and would buy it again. I had a cheepo, can't remember the brand, but drove it into the ground in a hurry. The Stihl can do some serious work. Not as much power as a gasser, but a heck of a lot quieter and I can use it inside my garage out of the cold when necessary, to trim blanks on the lathe.

[Al Weber]

I haven't looked closely at the electric chain saws but I would think that most, if not all, would have the two stage start mechanism for safety purposes. Oregon also makes a battery operated one that I have looked at and may purchase later this spring. It has a built in sharpener that you actuate while the saw is running. You have to replace the sharpener when you replace the chain itself. Otherwise, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the top names. In general, the electrics are not professional quality as they wouldn't find use in the woods.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

Stihl is ONLY available from a dealer, not a big box store. In my area, there is an Ace Hardware that is also a Stihl dealer.

the MSE-220 sells for about $549. It uses the same bar and chain as my MS440 - so I have been looking at buying one. I have read of another turner that placed a 32" bar on his MSE220 (although not recommended for that size bar) - and he said it works fine.

I have used a friends MSE 220 and it cuts very well.

I also have the HF electric saw. It works fine around the shop and driveway and doesn't disturb the wife or my neighbors, but it is a bit inadequate for processing logs. For trimming up blanks, it works fine. There is no way to "tape" the switch...but maybe it could be moved to it's forward position and held in place with a hose clamp? I've never tried.

Safety switches are there for a reason, and I don't usually bypass them

[Dave Fritz]

I took the HF saw apart and the switch in question was spring loaded and only blocked the trigger until it was up and out of the way. I took it out and taped the hole with good old duck tape.

I still have the same trouble Bob mentioned with the long strings plugging up the saw and since the inside gear is plastic I'm a bit worried about tearing it apart.

Has anyone used the smallest Stihl, it's the MSE170 and costs $320 with a 16 inch bar.

Dave Fritz

[Bob Bergstrom]

I've had the16" Makita for about 4years and cut a lot of blanks down to turning size with it. Only one better would be the Sthil, but for the price off Amazon it's hard to beat. You might pick one up used at Home Depot. They have them in the rental dept. You could rent it and try it out for a few hours.

[Bill Blasic]

I did an article for Woodturning Design Magazine on electric chainsaws. Four saws were a Craftsman, a Husqvarna, a Makita and the Stihl (MSE-220 as they have three different saws). There is no comparison between the Stihl and the other three, it is a professional saw that will do anything you ask of it and you do pay a price for that type of service. Of the other three the Makita ran rings around the other two. I liked the Makita and it is a good choice for the $250 price range. If you are just going to cross cut branches they all worked fine on the small stuff but when you are doing cutting for woodturning with bigger and tougher timbers that is where the better saws show their metal.

[Bruce Lewane]

Having spent an entire summer ripping logs into siding for a cabin I was building I learned that a crosscut chain is ground at different angles as a ripping chain.
Makes a big difference.

[Roland Martin]

I purchased a Makita 16" last year and really love it. The Makita gets more use than my Husky gas saws now. I've owned a couple of "lesser" electric saws (Wagner & Craftsman), but the Makita is undoubtedly in a different league. I would certainly recommend the Makita without reservation if budget allows.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Anyone know anyone who has tried the Worx electric chainsaw? It seems to get tremendous reviews on Amazon, less that 3% 1 star ratings. Only 9 of 355. At 100 bucks and free shipping, you get a couple in case it dies.