Chain Saws

[BullSprig@Work]

make your reccomendations

USE:

Firewood @ deer camp (up to 20" logs)
Tree trimming @ house
Shooting lane clearing @ deer camp
would like to stay <$400

 

[Rusk]

you need one of those big *** turbo charged ones they have on ESPN2. nothing else will be able to handle the job.

 

[wannawinit]

Stihl or husquavarna!!!! I reccommend Husquavarna just on word of mouth alone.
But I have had a Stihl for like 7 yrs and its is one tree cutting SOB. Those Polans and Mgregors and whatnot will vibrate you to death. The Stihl is so smooth and quick. My neighbor let me use his Polan when mine ran out of gas with about 4 cuts left on a fallen tree and a damn near wanted to throw it in the pond after I used it. I take mine to ranch also to clear deer shooting lanes trim fences and roads and at home I have a pond with 30-40 willows all around so I can't afford to have a POS chainsaw.....$400 will get you in a Stihl.

 

[pevodog]

In reply to:

---

---

 

[ArrogantAssclown]

Growing up in East Texas I saw many idiots and some very experienced/knowledgeable people injure themselve using chainsaws. It was a power tool that required your complete attention at all times back in the day.(I thought I would streer clear as I tend to make a few mistakes myself) A guess with all the safety features added in the last twenty years they are a lot safer now. I have also been thinking about purchasing a small one for limb cleanup and dead tree removal but I do not have a clue about who is quality and who is not.

As far as non-professional models or home use models back then it always seemed to be Stihl, Poulan and Mcculloch that most people had. I see that John Deere has introduced a line of chain saws also. I would also like peoples ideas about what features to look for or must have, such as:

Safety features
Motor CCs
type of engine
good bar length
chain recommendations

 

[MrPhlegm]

The John Deeres are made by Homelite. I got a 16" reconditioned one at Home Depot for $110. The saw I got goes for about $300 retail new. Works great.

What you want to watch out for is that the saw dosen't have one of those little priming bulbs that is made out of some kind of clear silicone rubber. I have one of those little bulbs on a weed eater that my wife had and that damned thing leaks and has to be replaced constantly.

I had a live oak blow down and was looking for a saw to cut it up and every saw I looked at that was in the price range that I wanted to pay had one of those damned bulbs, McCollough (I had a McCollough before and if you tried to give me a free one I would turn it down), Poulan, Sears, Homelite, all of 'em.

.

Then as I was walking out of the store by the inside display of JD lawn tractors there they were and I opened one of the boxes up and lo and behold no bulb and they were made by Homelite (I had an uncle that had a 40 year old Homelite saw that worked perfectly

so I bought it, took it home and it wouldn't start, took it back and swapped it out for another one which started right up and I have been a sawing fool ever since. The saw came with a 16" bar but it will take up to a 20" bar.

Stay away from the bulb, the saw dosen't need it cause if you need to prime it all you need to do is pull twice on the cord and then turn the ignition on and it will be primed.