How to pick a chainsaw

[dennishoddy]

I have a Stihl MS310 I have had for maybe 15 years. Its kind of a farm type homeowner model but I have never had to do jack to it. Just fog the cylinder after its sat for a while choke and off she goes then when I am done I run the tank dry.. Possibly the most trouble free thing I own.
But if I want to really get down and cut some wood, I have an old ancient McCullock super 250 with a 24". Still runs good and that thing will pull you clean through a log if you can hang on to it. But you got to keep getting up on it because if you ever stop and kill it, forget it you won't get it started again after its hot.
That looks like a old bois D' Arc tree you cut down from the wood. Those things are like sawing cement after they are dry.

Bois D'Arc is horrible when green as well. I have several saws the best being the Husky 455 rancher with a 20" bar. Nothing stops it but a pinch. I was at the farm last week cutting a bunch of it to move a deer stand where it was growing. Judged it wrong and got a pinch. Took the battery powered Dewalt with a 10" bar to free it up.
I do have to give a big kudo's to that Dewalt. It's a beast for a little saw. Cut right through the 8" trunk to release the Husky. Yeah, its a hobby limb saw but it came to the rescue.
The Husky's chain finally got dull, generating nothing but saw dust so called it a day.
Bought one of those $29 electric chain saw sharpeners from Harbor Freight on a whim. That thing works really well. Ran a junk chain through it for practice, finally putting the Husky chain through it and it's ready to go back to the field.

 

[Raido Free America]

I have been using Stihl saws for over 50 years even thou i have used other brands at work i prefer the stihl over all of them but everyone has their own preference and i dont try to talk them out of it just like the ford, chevy, dodge debate.

I stretched my budget and bought a new Stihl, 45 years ago, and hasn't regretted it yet! Still starts, runs, and works like a new saw! The truth is it wore, and aged me out, and is still going!

 

[Lineman]

Have a couple older Stihls, 29 and 390 and a new 251C. Never have had an issue with my old saws, new one has maybe 1.5 gallons through it and it’s starting to get harder to start, new filters and plug same. It’s going in to shop still under warranty. I’m not the only one with a newer saw I know of that has had issues with the newer ones

 

[emapples]

Besides weight there is the issue of no safety break. It is what scares me the most with that saw! But man is it a cutting beast! I wore out some poulens when that was all I could afford and only had to chop down one or two.

Yeah I don’t they didn’t make an 031AVQ. I think the 041 AVEQ might have been the first quick stop model they made at lease made in mass quantities. You could by the quick stop kit separately and add it (I have a brand new kit out there never used ) had to quit buying the stuff on eBay I got a little carried away.

 

[VarmintHunter59]

Well, another thread that arrived right on time. I have a large, about 4 ft diameter, forked, lightning struck, pine tree between the house and shop that I need to at least limb so the wind doesn't blow down on the house or shop and I have justified buying 2 new saws and a limb saw. I was going to buy all new Stihl, but I had a new Stihl a couple of years ago that I let the woman I was co-hosting have when we separated because she asked for it and it was becoming hard to start also. It wasn't 2 years old. I have my Dad's old Husquavarna (metal badge, 16" bar) and it runs great but I was thinking these would be all the saws I would ever need. So, I comprised a list from this thread to start shopping pawn shops for. I was going to get a 12", 16 or 18" and the limb saw. Great thread!