What Chainsaw? Recommendations?

[countrryboy]

It will say 550 XP II on the pull starter cover. The "II" is the crucial bit. Also mk II's don't have a decompression button, I'm pretty sure the mk I's did. Most dealers however will only be selling the mk II and if you're going to buy this level of saw I wouldn't buy a used one. Professional saws generally get worked into the ground before they're replaced.

Must admit i couldn't tell u about the sticker never looked that closely, but the new 550 mk2';s don't have a 'girl' button/decompression switch like the mark. 1's
So pretty easy to tell if u look for the button on top, no button mk2, button mk1.

For a hobby user i'd not discount some other makes, jonserd, mittox, efco, echo, makita and looking for a fairly straight forward basic saw with no bloody autotune which most pro grade huskies and stihls will have nowadays.
I have a wee efco which is a cracking wee saw for the money
Plenty pro users are now moving away from husky now to other brands

I'd go to a decent local saw shop with a decent 2 stroke mechanic and ask wot they sell and reccommend as if they're servicing it they're not going to sell rubbish as they have to fix it.
Different story with ur big shops that only sell saws and dont fix them, they can sell any shite as will never have to face the comeback

Buying a 2nd hand saw really is a lottery, possibly more so than any other engined tool, a saw may have done bugger all and be immaculate nick but if some numpty has ran it with neat petrol or stale or badly mixed 2 stroke it could **** a good saw in a couple of mins.
While forestry saws are ran hard for long periods of time and generally look in a shite state they say arb saws can have crank seal problems due to siting about idling a lot due to the nature of there work.

Despite having a van fairly full of oranage saws not a big fan of modern huskies at all, and have said numerous times i'll never buy another 1 ( and bought 3 since then, price right 2nd hand X2 and a new 550 as couldn't source a stihl after 6 months on a waiting list)
The 2 yr pro warranty and past reputation is the only thing still selling huskies, if u get 2yrs out of a 5 series u are doing fairly well.

My other tips would be either run on aspen or similar or if normal 2 stroke buy good quality 2 stroke oil, don't mix too much at a time as goes off after 1-3 months, and empty tank if ur going to store it for a length of time and start saw again and let it run dry and conk out.
Also buy a decent chain and decent files to sharpen it and replace files often.

In grand scheme of things the extra costs decent chain, 2 stroke oil and files costs bugger all for hobby use and well worth it

 

[countrryboy]

So I think I've whittled it down (excuse the pun!) to:

Husqvarna 346XP
Stihl MS261
Husqvarna 550XP (Mk2)

Any others? I must admit I'm leaning toward the first two as they sound more simple and easier to work on than the latter. The 50cc semi pro level seems about right, plus a reasonable weight too. Thoughts? Have I misunderstood anything? Any others?

If u find a new 346 u'll be very lucky ( 353 also a cracking saw) seemingly husky still make them to sell in africa and america but not in europe, seemingly emissions!!!!

Nowt wrong with either the stihl or husky u mentioned but both are auto tune and both full pro models, be looking 700 odd quid including the vodka for either of them.

Wot does ur local dealer sell??
They are some decent more budget brands out there
F r jones are always thought to be the cheapest place to buy saws but surprisng how many local dealers will match or beat there prices.
I'd always advise to buy local, handy if owt breaks down and also for spares etc

 

[flatliner]

Has anyone any experience of the 455 Rancher?

 

[Oly]

Wot does ur local dealer sell??

Stihl. I'm a husky fan though! Hence the quandry!

Has anyone any experience of the 455 Rancher?

I'd be keen to here that too. Seems that the farm/ranch saws have some pro features, generally 55cc, but heavy

 

[Pete6.5]

Whatever you get if you are a occasional user make sure you don't store it with fuel in. I always empty it out the start it and let it run out after each use.

 

[Craigard]

If you want a saw that will last forget the domestic / garden variety, they are almost "disposable" start looking at professional saws . My Husqvarna 61 is 20 + years old but very heavy so have just replaced it with Husqvarna 550 Mk 2 that weighs 5 kg and should last another 20 years even if I don't.

 

[Oly]

I run Stihl saws.

I only run stihl chainsaws,I’ve got 5, the 261 is the most used as its light and good power,I have a ported 341 with a 361 head,now that is a beast for its size, any Stihl or husky medium size pro range will do for your needs

Had a 242 for the Christmas trees over in Denmark, was a great workhorse. The two I have today are the husq 346xp and the Stihl M362C.

Do you rate the MS362C? Reliable and well built? Does it essentially have the same features as the 261?

I'm wondering whether the 362c as a one saw household would do the job or will the extra weight be a pain?

 

[Freeforester]

Do you rate the MS362C? Reliable and well built? Does it essentially have the same features as the 261?

I'm wondering whether the 362c as a one saw household would do the job or will the extra weight be a pain?

Tbh i aye preferred the 346xp which is of course, lighter but the 362 has plenty of grunt too. I’m not a great fan of the electronic injection in principle, but once mine got a new solenoid fitted it was and is still going great. I tend to use it mainly for bigger logs that get pushed on to the overflow table when at the firewood processing, but I’m happy with both saws in terms of available ’zip’. That said, there’s not so much that the 346xp cannot handle in day to day use, a mate has a couple 272’s which can handle the bigger stuff.

 

[countrryboy]

If you want a saw that will last forget the domestic / garden variety, they are almost "disposable" start looking at professional saws . My Husqvarna 61 is 20 + years old but very heavy so have just replaced it with Husqvarna 550 Mk 2 that weighs 5 kg and should last another 20 years even if I don't.

Sorry to say ur living in dreamland if u think ur 550 will last anywhere near that length of time. Be lucky to get 3 or 4 years out of it
U'd be better of getting ur 61 refurbed i'd put money on it outlasting the 550

Just dont make saws like they used to, esp husky there new saws are terrible for lasting ( great to work when new thou)

I still have a 254 in shed that almost runs god knows how old that is. Could be 30+ years and worked professionally for some of them.
Still heaps of other 2 series saws going about and still nice to use

The lad that fixes my saws is a husky qualified mechanic but still cuts professionally and runs a squad of ancient 3 series saws he has refurbed , he has had some 5 series but thinks there total junk, but too much of a died in the wool husky man to buy a stihl


Does ur dealer onyl sell stihl no cheaper makes??
For a hobby saw u want to last i'd want to go back to a old fashioned carb rather than these autotune crap stihl and husky are selling now,
i think husky has realised this bringing the 365 back and i think the new 3/595? is meant to have a normal carb on it.

Some of the other makes still work with normal carbs.
For hobby use likes of makita, echo, are decent saws i know a few pros singing there praises now, plus likes of efco and mittox

I've got an an 20 odd year old 362 that still was doing a job never had any issues with it, i've heard some folk slagging the newer versions on that saw, dunno if they just had a fri afternoon version?
The new ms400 is a 60cc saw so similar cc and meant to be more powerfull and lighter than the 362, sure more expensive too, that will be my next saw when its time to replace 1.

Wot size of timber are u usually cutting?
A 50cc will run a 15" bar all day in any timber or even an 18" althou if in hard hard woods might struggle if doing it all day,
A 60cc ur really only getting a saw that is comfy on an 18" but begins to struggle on a 20"+
Cutting from both sides u can ring up a fair size tree with a 15 or 18" bar.
If u go down a 2 saw route a 50 and 60cc are too close together ur better making the step up to a 70cc saw for the 2nd saw

 

[Alantoo]

Has anyone any experience of the 455 Rancher?

For firewooding, mainly cutting rounds ready for splitting, I replaced a 30-ish year old stolen Stihl 010 AV Quickstop 14" bar with a Husqvarna 445 and use it with a 20" bar.

Underpowered for continuous or professional use with the 20" bar, but you don't have to use the full length of cut all the time and it is just useful when you need it....longer between sharpenings, and it saves your back bending over if cutting up stuff on the ground...and enables you to cut a wider stack of cordwood held in horns down to wood burner length.

Alan

 

[Skogsmannen]

Regarding the echo saws, we do have a few at work (around 10 or so from 26-80ish cc) as those in charge thought that they would be less unreliable than new huskies. I stood my ground and haven't had to endure them yet but the general consensus is that they are quite old school (including levels of vibration), prone to breaking plastic bits and parts are often very hard to get hold of (so far). There's also 2 sat in the queue under the bench that have nipped up already (sub 2 years old).

For what it's worth, if I could onlybhave one saw it would be a 60cc class saw of some description, probably with a 15" bar most of the time and an 18 if i had to. Might be a tad heavy for some stuff and a tad underpowered for others but would cover most bases. On the whole though, I'd rather be looking at a bit too much power than looking for it - nothing more soul destroying than slogging a little saw through bar length logs all day.

Otherwise, like Countryboy says a 50 and a 70plus.

 

[willyroe]

Do you rate the MS362C? Reliable and well built? Does it essentially have the same features as the 261?

I'm wondering whether the 362c as a one saw household would do the job or will the extra weight be a pain?

I have an MS362 arrived next week. To plug a workload gap created by storm Arwen.

MS251 (18 inch bar) - very light.

MS362 (20 inch bar) for trunks, offering more torque than the above, helpful.

MS400i (25 inch bar) - anything that needs 25 inches.

 

[Kalahari]

If you are going to be doing a reasonable amount you pretty well need two saws or am I the only person who has ever had a saw pinched in because I read the stress wrong. May just be me though.

David.

 

[Skogsmannen]

If you are going to be doing a reasonable amount you pretty well need two saws or am I the only person who has ever had a saw pinched in because I read the stress wrong. May just be me though.

David.

You aren't the first and definitely won't be the last. If you do get stuck and only have one saw, just unbolt the side cover and leave bar and chain in the stem and fit a spare bar and chain. Sometimes you might even be able to sneak the detached bar out leaving just the chain.

Not that I've ever been in that predicament............














......today at least!

 

[User00035]

If you are going to be doing a reasonable amount you pretty well need two saws or am I the only person who has ever had a saw pinched in because I read the stress wrong. May just be me though.

David.

Everyone's done it, especially clearing fallen timber.
I've done worse. I ran over my 365 with my truck. Needed a new bar, chain, handle and damping spring but otherwise survived to tell the tale.
Unlike my Oregon helmet with was reduced to shrapnel, and a good thing too because it was crap anyway. (At least Husky still make one of the best low cost helmets).

 

[willowbank]

Everyone's done it, especially clearing fallen timber.
I've done worse. I ran over my 365 with my truck. Needed a new bar, chain, handle and damping spring but otherwise survived to tell the tale.
Unlike my Oregon helmet with was reduced to shrapnel, and a good thing too because it was crap anyway.

Ok here’s a serious question for you, what makes a good helmet and which brand do you favour?

WB

 

[User00035]

Ok here’s a serious question for you, what makes a good helmet and which brand do you favour?

WB

For my limited needs, a good helmet has to be safe with effective ear defenders, good visibility and face protection, durable and all-day comfortable. The basic Husky is just that. There are more sophisticated ones out there and I wouldn't be using the base Husky if I was a climber. But I'm not and I don't need to wear one all day, so for me the Husky is ideal. It's cheap, well designed, the ear pieces clamp your ears tightly, it is comfortable enough to wear for several hours at a stretch and mine has kept going for years without falling apart.

The Oregon one I had was awful. The slightest brush from a twig pushed the ear muffs off your ears, the headband was fiendishly uncomfortable and was padded with foam rather than suede across the brow, so it soaked up sweat and was horrible to put back on after you'd stopped for a break. Visibility through the visor was poor, it didn't lock very positively in position and when brush cutting schrapnel always seemed to find a way past.

 

[Skogsmannen]

^ can't argue with that.

Standard husky helmet but go for the 'clear vision' visor - its still mesh but somehow sheds water better than the standard square mesh. Just flick it up when it gets bad and flick it back and it's usually clear again.

If you can find the helmet in white (getting harder now) it is definitely worth it as I find it's not quite as hot in summer as the orange one.

 

[User00035]

Is the clear vision one the one with the gold coloured fine mesh? That's the one I've got. It seems much brighter than the courser black mesh I had in the Oregon and haven't noticed any loss of visibility in the rain.

In fact, I often get wetter wearing it because I don't notice how hard it's raining. I can't see it or feel it on my head and I only realise the drizzle has turned to hammering down and I'm drenched to the skin when I take the helmet off.

 

[gixer1]

For my limited needs, a good helmet has to be safe with effective ear defenders, good visibility and face protection, durable and all-day comfortable. The basic Husky is just that. There are more sophisticated ones out there and I wouldn't be using the base Husky if I was a climber. But I'm not and I don't need to wear one all day, so for me the Husky is ideal. It's cheap, well designed, the ear pieces clamp your ears tightly, it is comfortable enough to wear for several hours at a stretch and mine has kept going for years without falling apart.

The Oregon one I had was awful. The slightest brush from a twig pushed the ear muffs off your ears, the headband was fiendishly uncomfortable and was padded with foam rather than suede across the brow, so it soaked up sweat and was horrible to put back on after you'd stopped for a break. Visibility through the visor was poor, it didn't lock very positively in position and when brush cutting schrapnel always seemed to find a way past.

I agree, the husky basic ones are good.