Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire tell me about chainsaws

Rollin', here........

Stihl, Husky, or Jonsered. The last 2 are easier to work on as
they lay flatter on all sides. It makes it easier to work on any side of the saw. Off-season, drain the gas tank, crank it, and let it run dry. This will extend the life of all seals, jets, and diaphragms. I always use fresh gas or gas that has been treated.

Tip: A sharpened saw with properly filed drags will cut twice the wood with half the work. Otherwise, you'll cut half the wood with three times the work and twice the risk of injury.

If you are considering a 455 Rancher, do yourself a favor and compare it to its better sibling, a Husqvarna 359.

Song about a "Logging Dad",

"one day workin' in the old growth, on nearly verticle ground,

we'd fire them up in the timber,

they'd come sliding right back down,

I was busy changing my chain, He picked up his old Stihl,

Says "She's not layin' right, this looks like a fight,

I'll have to cripple her up just so,

Well Dad was a cuttin' and chips were a flyin, than he got into a wreck,

His bar was jammed and the cripple shifted, the whole thing started to roll,

He was OK, everything was alright, 'til a stump got in the way,

.....That piece of precision West German engineering turned into an Orange spray,

I held my breath, almost laughed to death, than I just had to say,

"It doesn't really matter if now and than they splatter, there's a LOT more where they come from"

All due apologies for Mutilating / misquoting a fine logging song by "Craig and Terry".

Song's called "One More Mick"

GTC

I run a NOBLE, POWERFUL and VERY old Jonsered.

....but than, I know WTF I'm doing.

Traded my way into it, and acoutrements, long ago, North of the Medicine line.

I'm still amazed at what a well run S&W Model 57 would trade for, in the Canadian Bush......back than.

GTC

I use a smaller Stihl with the top handle and a 14" bar as well as an Echo with same. They both give good service. When training a teenager, do yourself a favor and buy a couple of Poulans for him to ruin. The smaller Stihl and Echo are the saws that I take up the tree with me. They hang from my tree saddle (only one at a time), and I use them for topping and limbing as I rappel. When you are hanging from a good piece of rope, it's easy to walk out on a limb to trim, because if you have a mis-step, you'll only fall back to the main trunk. Both lmbng saws are adjusted so that if my finger goes off of the trigger, they automatically shut down. This minimizes the chance that a spinning chain might cut my rappeling rope or my pigs tail or tie off in half (Not to mention my jewels. ) I wear all safety gear;helmet with face shield, chaps, etc. I use ascenders and descenders when clients don't want spike cuts in their trees, but usually, I use time-tested knots to tie off. I use a rope ratchet for my tie off strap, as it allows quick adjustments as the tree gets bigger when I am coming down. I have been know to trim unreachable limbs with a 22 rifle (Anshutz with a leupold scope) and this has even gotten me nice cash tips from some city folks.

My equipment also gets me a lot of roof repair work on steeper roofs as I can get a job done in half a day when the competition would spend a day setting up scaffolding and toe boards, etc.

I don't work much. I don't want too. All I have is paid for, and I have mucho savings in tangibles. I like hunting, fishing, scouting, and camping a lot more than work anyway. I build rifles for fun, and shoot plenty. I built my own range in the mountains, but can only shoot out to 500 yds. I only work for people that I have come to like and trust, and I do what I please the rest of the time. Life is good. My kids are healthy, my wife adores me, and God has promised me a future.

I am starting a new house for my wife near the Blue Ridge Parkway, as she has always loved that neighborhood, and where we are now is growing too much with furriners. We don't buy into the multi-cultural crap.

I have a wood furnace that also heats the water, so I have cut a lot of wood. Been selling firewood and doing tree work for 35 years. I am training my youngest son as a climber now, because , at 55, I'm only going to last another 20 years or so at climbing.

So you are saying that you shoot a .22 rifle up into trees to cut a branch you can't reach, in the city....

That's really....cool.

I had two Stihls for 20 years, felled timber enough to build a home, cut firewood enough to heat it. One recently crapped out. I bought a Husky to replace it. Haven't used it much but it seems like a fine machine.

mmm, chainsaws....

Jonsered 2165







Cut heap big wood, make heap big fire!

With only an occasional use for a chain saw nowadays, I gave my trusty old Stihl to my Son, to use on his farm.
I bought a small 18" ECHO, and for three year now, it has performed well. I am no longer doing heavy duty chain saw work, just a bit around the house.

There are 6 Stihl saws in my work shed.
019-046 and the 026 gets the most use.
It has a 16" bar and that is all you need for firewood.
It is easy to put a 20" bar in the dirt or on a rock.
The 26 is light enought to not tire you out and pleanty of power for firewood.
Check the weight and balance before you buy.

Coach

Bar length depends on what kind of wood you have available. Around here, much of the wood is lodgepole pine which never get as big as 12". A 16" bar is plenty and a lot of guys only have 14's. Bigger trees require bigger saws.

Stihl's are very reliable.

I still use an Echo 550EVL I bought new in '85. It cuts my firewood for the year plus does any odd jobs that pop up for extra money. NO problems with it at all. I did drop down to an 18" bar yrs back.

Just bought a 20" Poulan Pro and the thing cuts very well and it's a very solid saw.

For many years I've used a Stihl 038 Super with a 20 inch bar and Stihl chisel tooth chain. For most tasks I've found the 20 inch to balance well, and most trees I go after are less than 36 inches across at the base.

I usually leave the chain on until it's worn out, and I sharpen with a 12 volt grinder with the small cylindrical shaped stones...works very well. You can hook to the truck battery or if in the shop use a battery charger to run it. I carry a hi-lift jack along with some log chain and a splitting maul, and I've had to use them at times. I am looking at getting a smaller, lighter Stihl for easier limbing work, though.

I have a Husqvara 51 that I like a lot. If it ever wears out I am thinking about trying out a Stihl.

For years I ran a 610 McCulloch with 20 in bar. Made a lot of firewood and it always served me well. Starts right up even when iti's cold out and will sit and idle until out of gas if I leave it.

Decided a while back I wanted something a little lighter, give the shoulders and lower back a break, and save the 610 for big cuts only. I used a friend's 350 Husk and liked how light weight it was, great for knocking brush off a tree and for cutting most of it to firewood length... but not really very powerful at 52 cc. Thought I better check out Stihl before buying. Glad I did. Having a larger saw already in the shed, I bought the 270 with 16 inch bar. The power difference surprised me, even at 2 cc smaller engine than the Husk, it's definitely got more umph. Anyway, the thing that has surprised me the most is that the 610 has become a dust collector. Me and that little 270 woodboss get along famously and I really like the tooless chain tightening. I honestly believe I'm getting just as much wood racked per hour as I used to with the 610 and only 2 or 3 times have I needed the extra bar length. And my lower back and shoulders thank me.

YMMV...

As stated above, keep it sharp. 4 or 5 strokes with the file after every second tankfull of gas only takes a few minutes and keeps ya cutting smooth. Takes a lot of the work out of it, preserves your equipment and makes the job much safer. I'm in hardwood country and have no experience with SPF woods to speak of. You might be able to go 3 or 4 tankfulls ??? At any rate, keep it sharp. I have only 2 chains and that's only in case one breaks. I take the chains in once a year for professional sharpening just to get the angles right. Keeping an edge on them with a file, I tend to get them a little cock eyed after a few dozen sharpenings and the saw doesn't track strait going through a log. Hardly notice if I get the professional job once a year.

One thing not stated above, unless I missed it, is snow and ice will dull a chain just as fast as dirt and sand. Hit very much of anything other than wood, grab the file, it only takes a couple minutes.

If I was going to own just one saw, just for personal firewood and clean ups, expect good performance/reliability, and be the right size without being too big, I'd get a Stihl Farmboss. But I must repeat, my surprise was that that little woodboss has become my "go to" saw for pretty much everything.

Stihl's and Husky's are both good a long as you stick to the pro models with metal crankcases.
The new ranchers and the stihl 290-390's are crap compared to the pro saws.
As for size of saw. Here in Upper MI I cut mostly Rock Maple which really requires a 70cc or better saw. I run a pair of Husky 372's that have ported cylinders. I typically run a 16" bar as this will handle would up to 30", but have 20 and 24's also. I also have a ported Husky 346 for small stuff.
In the past I have owned Stihl 036,361,440 and 460's. All were good quality saws I just prefer the local Husky dealer and the fact that in general Husky's cut faster, vibrate less and have better air filter setups.

On the subject of chainsaws, do any of you guys feel that premium gas is a good idea in order to avoid the ethanol mixtures in regular? It's not always prudent to drain saws as they are often used sporadically and would be a pain to fuel up for small quick jobs now and then. Does the gas/oil mix counteract the ethanol?
I have a tendency to use premium in all my small engines since I found out they start easier with it.
Just a thunk about the subject ...