I am looking into using a chainsaw mill. Mr. Stu Ablett had some great advice on some of his earlier posts describing his experience in Japan with his chainsaw mill. One of his recommendations is to find an older, heavier chainsaw that has the older engine style with a longer stroke and more torque. I do not know that much about chainsaws so when I am looking at advertisements via the web/classifieds, how do I know if the saw I am looking at has the older style engine or the newer. Is there a date that manufactures switched to using a faster rpm engine with a shorter stroke or is each model number specific to a particular style engine? I will only be using this mill occationally so I was thinking that I would look into getting a medium sized saw with just enough power to manage an 18" diameter cut. Someone recomended to me a Stihl 051. Is this a good choice or is there a better value saw out there? I would appreciate any input. Thank you.
Nathan