Im thinking about getting this saw, does anyone own one? My usage is pretty light duty. Like to get some thoughts before I pull the trigger.

thanks


http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/chainsaws/435/

Link doesn't work for me.

My guess would be its a husky ranch. They are good saws but heavy and lack the power for the weight.

http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/chainsaws/435/

try this.......

Heavy and lacks power. However if they is your price point then it's good.

A better choice lighter and more power would be a 346XP which has been replaced by the 550XP. But now you are into it for $550

Dont want to spend that much dough, for the little I use one I would like to keep this in the 250 range. I dont need em much bit when you need one, ya really need one.

Then that is a good fit for your needs. I would pull the trigger.

For the price not bad. Not knowing exactly what king of cutting you will do make it herd to give real opinion.

I have used Husky saws and Stihl and have both in the farm but I will reach for my Dolmar every time.

Compare this saw with the one you are looking at. More saw for less weight and quality all the way.
http://www.dolmarpowerproducts.com/productcatalog/chain_saws_gasoline/ps-420/index.html

I got one of those for my old man for christmas about a year ago. He has used it several times for light duty work but he has never been so clear as to how much he dislikes...ahem hates the thing. He says it lacks power and is tough to get started especially in the cold.

After hearing that I personally got a stihl MS271 which is more than you are looking for but I cut wood to heat my house in the winter so I needed a bit more. I wouldnt hesitate to buy one of the stihl homeowner models for a smaller saw. I am very happy with the stihl and I ran it this winter when it was 10 degrees just to see if it would start and it fired right up. That is my experience others may have had different experiences. Also you may be able to work a deal of some sort with a stihl dealer. I was able to get 1/2 off chains and a case when I bought mine.

Dolmar are decent saws. But that is about another $50. To me not worth the extra cash.

[quote=nomad_archer]I got one of those for my old man for christmas about a year ago. He has used it several times for light duty work but he has never been so clear as to how much he dislikes...ahem hates the thing. He says it lacks power and is tough to get started especially in the cold.

After hearing that I personally got a stihl MS271 which is more than you are looking for but I cut wood to heat my house in the winter so I needed a bit more. I wouldnt hesitate to buy one of the stihl homeowner models for a smaller saw. I am very happy with the stihl and I ran it this winter when it was 10 degrees just to see if it would start and it fired right up. That is my experience others may have had different experiences. Also you may be able to work a deal of some sort with a stihl dealer. I was able to get 1/2 off chains and a case when I bought mine. [/quote

Good info, thanks

I have a stable of Husky's all start fine. I run 3 Stihl MS200T's. The only saw Stilh owns the market on is the MS200T.

After calling around a bit this saw might work too, bit more but I think it is more saw. Local dealer has them with an extra chain free this month too.

Thoughts?

http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/homeowner-saws/ms250/

If you get a Husqvarna order one of these. Dealers aren't allowed to sell them and they don't come with the saw. Was also told(by our local Stihl dealer)that Stihl will be going the same route. THANKS EPA.

http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Poulan-Weedeater-530035560-Adjusting/dp/B000P8GKO2

the stihl 250 over the husky. think chisel chain whichever route ya go...

If yer gonna cut anything bigger than a matchstick then ya gotta have a 900HPturbosuperchargedracingsaw , nothing less is worth a [bleep].

Mike

I like a little more displacement in my saws, and I have a 61 cc Husqvarna. I got it used, and used it more.

Find a used saw with a little more power at a discounted rate.

Funny you bring up that saw, 61 Husky, there is a pretty nice one on our craigslist for $225 IIRC. Fair price?

Hard today without seeing it, running it, and checking compression.

Hey passport, what are ya gonna use it for?

I don't want to muddy the water further but...

Have you ever used a top handle saw? My dad has been a pro arborist all his adult life and I think his fav saw in recent years is a top handle climbers saw. I kind of raised my nose at the sight of it some years back when he insisted on bringing it along on an elk hunt for firewood. long story short, it didn't take too long and I was also a big fan of the little saw.

I'm mentioning this because you can get into a T435 for another 25 bucks or so and it's a pro level saw that uses 3/8 chain, and it's nearly 2 pounds lighter than the homeowner 435 you originally posted.

Guys have been known to run 16" bars on these but I'd stick with a 14, otherwise what's the point in owning a compact saw?

Personally I'd love to have one of these for limbing or packing onto an atv, climbing etc. Would be a very handy camp saw and I would thing it would serve well as a homeowner saw as well.

just a thought.

http://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/professional-chainsaws/t435/#specifications

I know I am gonna get ripped here, but my last poulan lasted 11 years and I just bought a new one BUT I don't cut firewood, I just bust trails to the deer stands and clear shooting lanes.

I start my saw every month and let it run, while I run the boat motor in the yard at the same time.

We must be neighbors, practically. No surprise you need a saw right now after all the wind lately!
I bought the $260 Husky at Family Farm & Home on Plainfield, where they also service them, a few months ago. They matched Lowe's price for me.
I'm a backyard/homeowner-use type as well.
I had an oak with a 16" diameter base fall over. Though the saw isn't the most powerful one around, it made short work of limbing and cutting the tree to 16" lengths.
Use only alcohol free fuel (you can get it at the Mobil station at 10 Mile and Algoma), and buy the good chain/bar oil, not the recycled stuff.
PM me if you want to talk more.
Tony
(Near the high school)

Husky makes the worst top handle saw you could buy. But if you want one I have a 338XPT lightly used $325 to your door. The MS200T rules the professional top handle market.

My use is clearing down trees on my hunting ground, clearing shooting lanes and matiance in ther woods around my home. I live on an oak ridge and Im always cutting back something but usually nothing big, most of the big stuff is handled as I have re-lanscaped the place over the last 2 years. The biggest tree I cut is maybe 16 inches in diamiter.

Think about this one, lighter and quieter than and Stihl or Husky ever built and is in your price range. I have one and use it for lighter work.

SAW

That's the one my old man has lol!

I love that saw!

Thanks for the heads up on husky lagging in the top handle world.

$309 msrp... Like they say, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is! lol!

I have used saw's all my life.Made a living with them.Husky was my choice as a sawyer/logcutter but Sthil is bullet proof.I own 4 now from the 46 to the little 171...Great saws and the new auto carbs that adjust to altitude,are amazing and work well.

If I had my choice now not sawing logs for a living,the Sthil is the only saw I would buy.I even use one on my Lewis chainsaw winch....

Jayco

Missing is the two 395XP's one is being rebuilt the other my father is using to make some lumber out of logs I gave him. I have ran pretty much every professional saw out there. Husky is number 1 except for top handles Stihl owns that market.

Notice the location of the handle on the MS200T. It is centered and lower then that of the 338XPT. Nothing balances better in the hand then the MS200T and for a little motor she puts out power all day long.

I see 3 stihl top handles there, one husky, it doesn't compare huh?

Not even close my friend.

I'm just a casual user, like I said, so please educate me on the advantages of different handle locations.
I do plan to clear a building site on the hunting land one day for a small cabin...

Good to know, I almost snatched up a TH jonny red a few years back..

2135T I think... but I didn't buy it


been kickin myself for not buying it, maybe i should stop kicking.

My little Sthil 170 truck saw is a cutting son of a gun and it has a wrap around bar.I would never own a saw without one for what I use saws for....

Cut many a truck load of wood with this little saw.

sourmash the MS200T feels like a well balanced extention of your arm. Very important when you are a climber. The Husky feels bottom heavy in the hand. This is due to the handle being higher up from the engine and also set back slightly from center.

Echo has copied the Stihl design and I know Husky had something in the works as a knockoff too. The MS200T has been replaced now by the MS201T which doesn't have the balls the MS200T does due to EPA crap. A brand new if you can find one MS200T sells for about $1K yes that is $1,000.00. Any of the three MS200T's I own I could sell for right now within five minutes for $600 to $650. All three I have been rebuilt twice.

Logcutter the MS200T will cut circles around the 170. Is easier to handle, is lighter, and has more power. And that is without doing a Muffler mod to the MS200T.

Check the price difference....I wasn't looking for a hot saw,just one to carry in the truck/atv for firewood and cost was important...If I want a better/faster/harder cutting saw,I'll use my O46...I use an O36 on my winch which works well.

I have some 40,000 hours on chainsaw's and now so I don't pay much attention to the new saws like I used to.Mine work just fine...

Used to be yoou could get a saw to cut logs logging for $600 tops,now,double that in a production saw.

My sons best friend is the Sthil dealer here and the new Sthils with the auto carb for altitude are interesting,to say the least.He says he hasn't got one back yet...Good sign.

Jayco

Its not a "Hot" saw. Of course it cost more my point is that you get what you pay for. In the MS200T you get a compact, powerful, well balanced saw.

All of which are imporant features for both climbing and as a pack in saw.

When it comes to rear handle saws HUSKY, HUSKY, HUSKY. 346XP now replaced by the 550XP, 576XP, and 395XP are the kings.

The op stated he didn't want to spend for a professional saw so that leaves the home owner/farm saws. I feel husky owns that market right now anyways. Or possiably shares that market with Dolmar.

The old Stihl 066's and 088's were great saws. I have no loyalty to any company. My loyalty is to my wallet. When you make a living on them you learn fast its just a name until you see a performance difference.

Whatever you do don't buy .058 bars or chains for Husky's.

I LOVE my Dolmar. It cost forty bucks more that the same sized Stihl and out preforms both our Stihl and Huskys.

Really..I can take a low cc engine saw and out cut a higher..Saws are saws unless you grind your chain or know how to sharpen correctly and most don't...

Jayco

I don't see where Scott said what size any of the saws are. But yes a lower cc saw can out cut a larger in some cases. If mods have been made, if bar is smaller then on the larger cc saw, skip tooth, also a full cheisle can give you the upperhand.

I wasn't aiming my reply to Scott...Most or atleast a high percentage of saw users have no idea how to sharpen a saw correctly,making it cut less than it could....Round file users that no what there doing can do a fair job but nothing close to a grinder.

Many buy those fieasco guides,but then again,you have to no when to quit or keep going.Rocked chains are another thing....

My point is,someone with a sharp chain done right will out cut someone with an okay chain and a larger cc engine.....

Jayco

In my opinion thru experiance grinders suck. All that is needed to keep a chain sharp is a few file strokes ever time you fill the saw with gas.

Running a Husky 346XP and a 359. I love that 346XP--hurts buying it but worth it...makes light duty, quicker...

Sell a couple of knives to get there and you will never be sorry...:)

You evidently have not used a sharp chain much.Being a sawyer using my saw 8 hours a day and very good with a round file,it doesn't even come close to a ground chain...

Then the rakers,when to whack 'em and when not to.If your getting sawdust when cutting wood,your saw is not sharp.If your getting fine wood chips 1-2 inches long,your saw is sharp.

If you can hold on to your saw with one hand and it eats it way through the wood without any force,your saw is sharp.

I could go on but I'm going fishing.....

Jayco

Your right I only make my living with my dull saws!

If you let your chain get dull to the point you need a grinder to get them sharp you are in over your head. Which I already know you are lost in this discussion.

Now tell everyone how many trees you have had Barber's Chair on you!

I really don't know anything about chain or sharpening it. I only help design and make the machines that assembled and sharpened chain, took part in testing kickback, and made comparison cutting tests for nine years. What would I know?

Scott

Why are you taking this personally?I never once mentioned your name and you not knowing how to sharpen.What I did say was the majority or most,not Scott...

This is the fire where the Chain/bullet/270 Win/Kimber and everything was invented or someone was part of..

I click on the poster above and do not aim my post at anyone in particular unless I start it with there name,like this one.

Easy little fella...Take a pill or something and get snotty when someone is in your face which is not me...

Jayco

For light duty like pruning trees and cutting firewood you can't beat it. German and Swedish saws have a lot of rubber bushings to counteract vibration (white fingers). They last a long time. Keep it sharp and keep it revved and you will be happy. Use the best lubricants you can find. Don't let a small saw bog down, and don't overwork it.

Didn't see your second post. Looked like it was addressed to me. I apologize.

But, real saw chain can only be sharpened wit a flat saw file and a real saw man knows how to use it.

Scott don't give logcutter any clues, he will only end up hurting himself.

A lot of folks here have more time on a saw than I do. I am just the lone Dolmar groupie.

And I am betting I have been around more chain in my life than anyone else here. Help design and build assembly machines and the only machines in the world that sharpen chain from as they come from the punch press to dead sharp after assembly in hundred foot lengths. Have built the machines the break chain into loops and the machines that make the loops. I have done metallurgical study of chin parts and studied failures. 3/4 pitch failures were really fun. Probably the only guy here who has made an air driven gun that shot saw chain rivets through cinder blocks too.

I like the Dolmar's just not many places around here deal in them. That shouldn't matter much to me as I order all my parts on-line. At this point I have a lot of money vested in the saws I have so hard to stray unless there is big reward in doing so.

One of the reasons I went with Dolmar was the two saw shops within fifteen miles of me that were full service dealers. So far I have not needed them.

One of those dealers even carried Carlton chain.

I have never run Carlton Chain.

I run Stihl Super L Klassic

RSLK on my 346XP and 562XP

RSLFK on my 576XP

Edited as ran the wrong parts on saws the first time.

I run carlton chain. 3/8, full chisel, regular sequence.

I have not tested chain in years but in my day Carlton and Oregon were neck in neck for the best. One test Oregon would be a few points ahead and on the next it would be Carlton. Stihl had problems in heat treat and chrome adhesion. Their chrome just would not hold up and their chain would dull much faster than either Carlton or Oregon. Windsor was at the bottom of the list. That was the big four in my day. Today Omark owns all but Stihl. If your saw shop carries Carlton try a loop or two. You might be surprised.

If you don't have a golmar dealer close by you can buy the relabeled makita which is really a dolmar.

I run Oregon chain on the big saws 395XP. I don't like Husky chains.

I like full skip on big bars.

Husky does not make chains. Not sure who makes them for Husky but it could be Oregon. for a lot of years Carlton made McCullough.

Jesus [bleep],you are a clueless dumbphuck!

Carlton is a [bleep] joke and the notion of it being viable,is as hilarious as the muse that it's "sharp". I'd really love to hear about your version of how it is possible that you can "know" so incredibly [bleep] little about saws and it's chain and yet feel compelled to "answer" questions?!!? For certain,this is the funniest [bleep] schit I've ever read and you are routinely a clueless [bleep] idiot of repute and the ease in which you talk out your azz is impressive. Congratulations?

Do tell a leetle sumptin' about your "findings" in regards to burying saw bars of various length,upon various powerheads,in various types of wood and just which file you Imagined to use in your Pretend? Laffin'! Feel free to use your Imagination to Pretend pics about same too. Re-laffin'! I know..I know..."all" your pics are under lock & key at bigsqueeze's house and Magnumdoosh is the bodyguard and Jeff-O runs herd on the cardboard box for extry security. Re-re-laffin'! Mebbe quip on "all" the money you "made" with Carlton and Dolmar,as the melding slapped everything else around in your Imagination. Re-re-re-laffin'!

Where do you clueless dumbphucks come from? Texas?!!?

Wow +P+++.

The only way to top this schit,is if a Waste Water Technician,Dabbles into the "particulars" of "Reloading" for his SuperSoaker.

Instant CLASSIC and thanks for the [bleep] laughs! Your "best" never ain't not an absolute [bleep] hoot!










MCH,

I hear good things about 75CJ .063" 3/8" and the manner in which it arranges greenbacks.(grin)




(Addendum)

Slow day and you'd think Castin' & Blastin' would grow old...even on a Hookie Day.


It don't.(grin)


CJX sucks heavy azz and cain't begin to hang,when burying bars for a living. Especially sucks in working loaded wood(wether Bucking or Falling),hurts RPM and don't begin to cover as much country nearly as fast as CJ. The "sanctity" of the wider kerf is a grandiose ruse,which is counterproductive to dollars and cents. Far more control is afforded with CJ and it tracks better to boot...while allowing better gas mileage and bd ft per tank.

Win/win.

Hi Stick, how is life treating you.

I run 75CJ and have run 75CJX.

Whoever makes the Husky stuff I don't like it much.

What is it you don't like? Soft, stretches, dulls like there is no tomorrow? Just curious as I have no clue who makes it.

streches and doesn't hold an edge long. Hickory and Oak are hell on it.

I just bought a Stihl 250c out of the classifieds here, still in the box never been assembled. I don't do much cutting 3-6 hardwoods a year maybe. I paid $280 shipped for it and figure it was a decent deal.

Since we have a few guys here that have tons of saw experience I'd like to ask what kind of chains I should be using. I'd like to buy a few spare to have on hand.

Thanks.

I hate to say it but is sounds like Stihl. It might be Windsor as they never made good chain.

Its not Stihl or if it is its their bottomline junk.

It surely isn't even close to the Super L Klassic.

What size bar you plan to run?

Thinking of running an 18 most of the time and keeping a 16" for if I have lighter /trim work to do.

Oak and pecan and hickory will be my primary cuts, use it for BBQ wood and firewood

Then it could be Windsor. I left the industry in 1995. A lot has happened since then. Ray Carlton died and Carlton was bought by Oregon. Ray would be doing high RPMs in his grave if he knew. He started Carlton after quitting Oregon as one of their head engineers. He was a good man and a great boss. Those of us who knew him well are saddened by what happened to his once great company.

Full cheisle skip seeing your cutting hard woods. A little less wear on the powerhead in my opinion. But Boxer or Scott may have a different opinion.

Works for me. just make sure you keep it out of the dirt. Chisel will not stand dirt.

I have yet to find any chain that stands up to dirt.

Been looking at this chain'

http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/ps3/

It didn't say full chisel but by the description I think it is.

Yes, that was lesson number 2 I got from dad when first learning how to use a saw.

http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/rslhk/


I would look more at this.

metal buried in trees is hell on chains too.

Hell on chains try cutting lots of dried hedge

I don't do hedges that sounds like a landscapers job to me.

hedge osage orange much different than your yard hedges , we got some around here that is up to 3' thick and they are hard and get harder every day they dry our , hedge never rots it just kinds shrinks away , that is what most wooden post are in my area , after its been cut like oh 10 + years sparks fly off a saw chain when cutting it

In that case don't let them dry out!

What about when "the (Yukon) River runs through it"? Red logs are okay, silvery grey ones not so much; lots of fireworks and file work.

Is that from embedded silt?

Seems women are simpler than saws...

The chain is too small on a stihl ms200, or 020. Those saws are really designed for arborists, not ground cutting.. A top handle saw has no reach. I have run the 338's also, but prefer a 339 husqy.

Not sure I would recommend a 555 to regular people, but, they are FAST.

Although someone answered this question, if you don't have a pretty good idea what you're doing when running a saw, you might want to stay away from a top handle saw due to a compromised ability to handle kickback.

To the original poster, I always liked Stihl and thought the 025/ MS250 like in one of your links was a pretty ideal homeowner saw. However like all the other chainsaw threads here have said, if you don't have good product support within a reasonable distance, you might want to go with another brand.

Not to hijack this thread too much further.. But on the subject of top handle saws, I too have a Stihl 020T with a 16" bar and love it. I run the yellow labeled "high kickback" factory chain and get told I'll "cut my head off" running that every couple years when I buy another one. (I've moved a lot and haven't really developed a relationship with one dealer until pretty recently.)

Here's me and my 020T in my back yard, about 3 or 4 years ago, taking down what was about a 30" maple. (I used my MS361 for the bigger stuff.) At the start...



Near the end...



Although I'm not in the industry anymore, a few years ago Stihl came out with a slightly smaller version of the 020T (now the MS201T) at a much cheaper price, I just looked it up and they're calling it the MS192. Anyone know how they're working out?

Why are the 020t's so much more? never could figure it out. I went with an 011 25 yrs ago and lasted a long time. Not quite the same feel but half the price.

I always thought stihl never cut their price on that 020 until husky made the 338 so much cheaper. I still have my 020t but nevr use it because of the 339, that .325 chain. It works top to bottom
on big Pine.

I have this exact saw. I only use it for cutting up a poplar tree now and then when one tips over in the grove. It starts, idles and runs very good. The only knock I have on it is that it has leaked bar oil from day one so you have to watch where you set it down for storage.

If I cut wood for heating, I would probably go with the Husky XP550. That is supposed to be a badazz saw.

No flies on inexpensive saws...there is a great deal of satisfaction in running the XP for "light duty" if you don't mind parting with some xtra change....

Like driving a corvette over the family car...:)

I had an 020 and the last time I saw it a little [bleep] about 10-12 yo was running back to his home in the projects with it (it was a school day). I had left it on the tailgate of my truck and was up on top of a roof drying in a Habitat for Humanity house (working for free of course). That was the last day I contributed to that "neighborhood". [bleep] 'em.

Yep. Wood that has checked even a little bit gets the fine grit in every little crack and crevice.

The timber salvage after MT. St Helens blew up was a real problem. They often could not complete one cut. Chisel was out, had to use "C" or "S" style cutters.

Here is a little secrete the chain manufactures don't want you to know. Cryogenic treating chain makes a HUGE difference in chain life and how long they stay sharp in harsh cutting conditions. Sand blasted mesquite has the same problem.