View Poll Results: Which chainsaw for under $400?

Voters
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  • Stihl MS251

    30 45.45%
  • Husky 445

    10 15.15%
  • Dolmar 421

    3 4.55%
  • Mods here are shit

    15 22.73%
  • Some other saw

    10 15.15%
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Thread: LittleLebowski's big inspirational chainsaw thread

  1. #1

    LittleLebowski's big inspirational chainsaw thread

    I don't have a ton of experience with chainsaws but I have some. I have mechanical aptitude. I understand that I'll need chaps, gloves, and safety glasses.

    I have 5 acres and lots of trees. I am on a budget and am happy buying used. Eyeing a local Stihl 41 Farm Boss for $200. Usage will be felling a handful of trees a year and cutting up dead trees in manageable portions.
    Last edited by LittleLebowski; 02-27-2016 at 09:48 AM.
    #RESIST

  2. #2
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Sierra Nevada Mtns, CA
    I love chainsaw and running a chainsaw probably as much or more than shooting. I know I run a chainsaw a lot more than I shoot.

    What size trees?

    The farm and ranch series of Stihl saws will probably meet your needs really well. I am a Stihl fanboy though. I find Stihl just a little more refined and a little nicer than the Husky. I would stick to those two brands and buy my saw out of a chainsaw/small motor shop (not a big box store) or serviced by a nearby one. Buying used is fine if you can find a saw in good condition. That is where you will find everything you need and support from folks that should know saws or have the used saw looked over by them.

    In my area a brand new MS 271 Farm Boss is running $409. It is hard to tell what vintage the Stihl you are looking at is but I would be looking around for something used with the 100 sort of designator: 261, 271, 362, 441 etc. I am just stating some numbers, the new saws will be more efficient and just nicer to run. I might stay away from something in the 1980's or 1990's vintage just due to finding parts and advances in chainbrakes and starting and the like.

    Baby crying....

  3. #3
    Not terribly large trees, most are 8" or less. Understood on something more modern.
    #RESIST

  4. #4
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    S. E. Oklahoma
    I don't know what is worse, running a chain saw or trying to start a chain saw. They just wear me out cause of the weight or pulling on them. I use a sawzall for all my cutting chores. Much lighter. If it's too big for the sawzall then I use the chain saw. With a long wood blade you can cut some big things. I've cut down some 6" trees with them. I use a cordless one and I'm good for about three batteries and then I'm worn out. For a lot of cutting I did get a power converter for my pickup to run a corded sawzall. I have a cordless dewalt and a corded black & decker. When I was in construction I used a Milwaukee. All them are good tools. I hope this helps.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    Texas
    Sharp chains are the key to easy cutting. I have a Garret Wade electric chain sharpener that is good enough, if you're a sharpening perfectionist it would probably not be a good choice. I can get a sharper chain by hand but the electric sharpener is much faster.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by pablo View Post
    Sharp chains are the key to easy cutting. I have a Garret Wade electric chain sharpener that is good enough, if you're a sharpening perfectionist it would probably not be a good choice. I can get a sharper chain by hand but the electric sharpener is much faster.
    Definitely not a sharpening perfectionist
    #RESIST

  7. #7
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Dunedin, FL, USA
    I suggest the Stihl MS 251 Wood Boss, which is one of the homeowner's (light duty) lines sold by dedicated Stihl dealers. The distributor suggested retail price is $330. It is designed to handle up to 12" trees and is designed to run 2-4 days per week. If you shop carefully, you can find it new for less than $300. I rather spend the extra $100 on a new unit than take my chances with someone's abused discard.

  8. #8
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    Sierra Nevada Mtns, CA
    Quote Originally Posted by pablo View Post
    Sharp chains are the key to easy cutting. I have a Garret Wade electric chain sharpener that is good enough, if you're a sharpening perfectionist it would probably not be a good choice. I can get a sharper chain by hand but the electric sharpener is much faster.
    Happiness is a sharp chain. It is hard to describe the joy of putting a fresh chain on and the feeling of butter and nice big chips flying. People tend to get hurt and frustrated muscling around dull chainsaw. The more you can keep the bar from hitting the ground or cutting on dirty wood the better off you are.

    I have 12 chains for each saw and just rotate through them. When they are all dull, I take them to the saw shop to get sharpened. I am on the never hand file, not worth my time extreme. Having one or two extra chains around is a great idea.

    With 8 inch trees, a 16 inch bar should be fine. I would avoid a 12 inch bar, a little extra reach is nice and a saw running a 12 inch bar would bog down in an 8 inch tree.

  9. #9
    Hillbilly Elitist Malamute's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Northern Rockies
    I'm a Stihl fanboi also. If not terribly neglected, it isn't that hard to start. I've left them a year or two, with no sta-bil or anything else, and they started without much drama.

    I only have a half dozen chains, and usually sharpen them with a small electric sharpener that I can run off a car battery if in the field. Chain saw is my favorite carpentry tool. Havent been able to run one for a while, but hopefully will in the future again. There have been some clever electric start modifications done to saws.

    Half the fun of log work is using the chain saw.

  10. #10
    Three years ago we went from living in an apartment in the suburbs to buying 6 acres on the border of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in the foothills of the Cascades. We heat primarily with wood in the winter. For the past two years I've gotten a wood permit from the Forest Service, good for 4 cords, and split it with my neighbor, so we each haul out two cords a piece. I've also felled several trees on my property. I still have all my limbs.

    Until we lived here, I had never even held a chainsaw. We bought a Husqvarna 440 and I have been very happy with it. It will easily cut the 8" trees you referenced and bigger. It bogs a little bit on some of the really big downed logs I've cut, but it doesn't matter since they are already on the ground and I can take my time. It's light enough that I don't get worn out slinging it around when bucking wood or limbing, but powerful enough for my needs.

    I also purchased chaps, gloves and a helmet. If I am cutting wood, I wear this gear. The chaps have a pocket that will hold a scrench and a tourniquet.

    I found this book very helpful.

    I purchased two extra chains by Husqvarna and their sharpening kit, and have found it pretty easy to sharpen the chain. They make a kit with an extra spark plug, air filter and fuel filter. I buy one every winter and swap everything out. Its overkill, but it's a cheap kit and I've had zero issues with the saw.

    I keep the extra chains, sharpening kit, a second scrench, extra filters and plug in a tool bag with some wedges, and my protective gear in a plastic tote, so I have everything for the saw all in once place. That came in handy when we had a tree come down across our road. I could just grab my kit and the gas can and didn't have to go hunting shit up in the middle of the night.

    Hope that helps.

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