Chainsaws OT

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fleeting

Trad climber

camino ca

Jan 18, 2018 - 10:08am PT

husky hp 372 is a great saw. i professionally employ daily and it's made me rich.

andreas makes a good ms 150 for small, ergonomic saw in the 16" bar range
bicardi makes a good 151 proof

i also swing an ms 200t and 201 t.

the stihl 362 is great. you won't be disappointed.

which ever way your pleasure tends.

fleeting

Trad climber

camino ca

Jan 18, 2018 - 10:10am PT

no chaps.
chaps lead to fatigue, which dulls the senses and then your injured.
chain brakes are only necessary when the saw's idle is mal-adjusted high,
and the chain spins when it shouldn't.

extreme care and hyper-presence are an opperator's best protection.

Dropline

Mountain climber

Somewhere Up There

Jan 18, 2018 - 12:33pm PT

I agree with chaps leading to fatigue. I've never worn them but can see how they might be a good thing for weekend warriors.

As for throttling, it happens. From my perspective there is no downside to the chain saw body on thigh habit, but to each their own.

I've never cut my knee though, or suffered any cut from a chainsaw, in the forty years since I started doing tree work.

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Jan 18, 2018 - 12:35pm PT

Anybody besides me know somebody who auto-decapitated, right in front of their wife?

Dropline

Mountain climber

Somewhere Up There

Jan 18, 2018 - 12:56pm PT

In my hometown a state trooper, I believe, didn't decapitate himself but cut his neck so badly he never made it back in the house before he bled out. He was alone and found later just outside his back door.

martygarrison

Trad climber

Washington DC

Jan 18, 2018 - 03:20pm PT

My cousin has been a Montana logger for the last forty years. Only ever uses a Stihl. I have a smaller Husky that's always been fine.

Q- Ball

Mountain climber

but to scared to climb them anymore

Topic Author's Reply - Jan 18, 2018 - 05:27pm PT

Interesting stuff... Some funny and others fascinating. I am not shopping for a saw, just curious what brands you guys like.

My main rule when I run a saw is when I get sloppy on a cut I stop for the day and just drag trees. Usually just four to six hours of cutting when I can tell I am getting lazy/tired and may make a mistake.

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber

Pomfert VT

Jan 18, 2018 - 05:34pm PT

the new pro jonsereds is all electronic fuel injected. It always knows whatbthe mix is. just has a tiny chipn for a brain. had a hard time getting my bosses steil started???? My saw starts every time :)

JBoone

Social climber

Jan 18, 2018 - 07:24pm PT

Stihl
If you are going to run a chainsaw do it right.

Edit: I am sure huskys run fine as well but the only husky I own is a dirt bike. TE 300

otisdog

Big Wall climber

Sierra Madre & McGee Creek, Ca.

Jan 18, 2018 - 07:38pm PT

Decapitation - I was doing second story layout when a guy was cutting the tag end of the 6 x 14 beam that ran through the middle of the garage ceiling. He was on his knees, leaning over the side cutting, when his St. Christopher caught the chain...I will never forget that sound.

chainsaw

Trad climber

Jan 19, 2018 - 11:54am PT

Stihl 064 with 24" bar is a great combo. The saw can run up to 48" bar, 42" recommended. With all that power on a small bar you can plunge through logs and make great uppercuts after downcutting. This avoids need for wedges and makes bucking up logs easy. You can cut 48" of log with 24" bar. The short bar is in some ways better than a long one. The grain of wood can twist and warp a long bar going through a big cut. Not the shorty. With all that extra power, the 24" cuts straight and gives superb accuracy. Also, with the additional power, binding of the chain and kickback are less of a problem, although since the bar is short and light, when it does kick, beware. With the dogs burried in the log, it is easy to lever the saw with a short bar too. I prefer a semi-chisel chain that is double edged. Hard to find. Not as fast as cutter chain but stays sharp. Not as bouncey as chipper or chisel chain. Stihl only sells it by order or at certain logger shops. I buy chissel or cutter chain and customize it myself. Also, with a short bar there is no reason to run skip chain. A full complement of cutters is awesome.

To avoid the "knee nick" when walking, always point the bar to the left behind you if you are running right handed. I alway tell anyone working with me to stay at least 6' away and do not wander around behind me as thats where the bar points when Im not cutting. Running a big Mo like an 084 which I use sometimes, there is no room in my head to worry about what other people are doing. Basically stay out of my way!

Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber

Old and Broken Down in Appalachia

Jan 19, 2018 - 12:35pm PT

Recently I decided that I needed a small chainsaw for my woodworking shop, to cut big slabs of wood into smaller blocks that I can process on my jointer/planer.

I went with Stihl after a lot research, despite the gay color scheme. (Orange and white? Really?)

Got a Stihl MS 180 "homeowner chainsaw." That thing is a joke. Good for cutting down spider webs, not much else. Wish that I had picked a bigger Stihl.

My cousin has been a Montana logger for the last forty years.

Impressive beast, he's got there. I worked for a friend, who was an arborist. He gave a huge chainsaw like that one. Scared the f*#king sh#t out of me. Maybe that is why I subconsciously chose the wimpy chainsaw that I did.

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber

Pomfert VT

Jan 19, 2018 - 02:34pm PT

I would not trade my Jonsereds for any stihl or Husky.

tradmanclimbs

Ice climber

Pomfert VT

Jan 19, 2018 - 02:40pm PT

The guy at the Jonsered and Stihl dealer told me that unless you go for the semi pro or pro models you are better off going with a poulan as the husky, jonsered and stihl homeowners models are no better than the poulan but they cost more. I went with the full time pro saw vs the part time pro... Jonsereds and husky make pro models in 36 and 50cc as well as the bigger felling saws.

ionlyski

Trad climber

Polebridge, Montana

Jan 19, 2018 - 04:25pm PT

I currently run Stihl MS261's, have 3 small bar sizes 16, 18 & 20 I think. What Sula said above, get a pro saw even if you use it once a year. I smoked a home & ranch series saw in a day.

But I always look toward a Husky with a bit of envy, so I may go that route next time.

Q-Ball, I hear you on the sloppy/tired syndrome. I didn't have my chaffs on one day, lower back was getting sore while limbing and I lowered that thing down right onto my thigh. Holy Crap did that cut through me like butter.

Arne

mucci

Trad climber

The pitch of Bagalaar above you

Jan 19, 2018 - 06:05pm PT

I run a American made Stihl AV011 16". Prolly 25 years old.

Bomber.

Got a big crew at my house right now taking down a 200' row of eucs.

All running stihl, and have a variety of models of course.

I like to stay hyperfocused, and square up on every cut.

Gotta have mental alarm set for when you start getting sloppy for sure.

BTW that is a nice thigh vagina upthread. Ouch

Dropline

Mountain climber

Somewhere Up There

Jan 19, 2018 - 08:30pm PT

I lowered that thing down right onto my thigh. Holy Crap did that cut through me like butter.

See whatta mean?

chainsaw

Trad climber

Jan 20, 2018 - 12:05pm PT

I used to use poulans for pruning because of the easy handle. I also used stihl 019 because of the handle also. Then I switched to echo 028 then echo 341 with longer bar. I really liked the 341. But the latest models 3400 and 3401 have issues. The crankcases leak and thus they run lean and dont power up. Often have to run with choke pulled out a bit. For the price they were good. Then came California regulators. The smog people made it illegal to adjust your own carburetor! Then they charged shops a huge fee for "licensing and annual training." Many saw shops went out of business and those that didnt now charge a fortune. Many people who do alot of pruning usually remove the chainbrakes because they engage at the worst times when topping a tree during removal and cause "barberchairs." Last time I took my saw to a shop they installed a new chainbrake on my saw without asking. They said I couldnt get my saw back by law unless I paid for it. They refused to return the saw in its original condition. So I paid the $90. When I got home and ran the saw on a job I discovered the aftermarket chinese brake they installed dragged on the clutch flywheel and overheated the saw. Smoke went everywhere. Just like California fuel containers. Another money scheme by cali govt to create bureaucracy and enrich certain industries (smog) at the expense and inconvenience of others. I would like to ask Jerry Brown to fill a chainsaw on his desk where he signs these laws with one of those "spillproof" gascans.