Advice on 60cc+ chainsaw to use with a Lewis winch

[kody]

I'm new to this site and while seeking advice on chain saw s in general and their sharpening ,which I need a lot of info for, I had a situation come up where I might have to get a Lewis winch. The winch people say to get at least 60 ccs to have sufficient power to save on clutch failure. I don''t have any use for the really big saws and could use some experienced input . From all the reading of the chainsaw posts I see that there's a lot of that experience right here. Any suggestions? Ken

 

[HILLBILLYREDNEC]

There is always a need for a 60cc saw If it is dedicated soley to winch duty then you could get a older saw and set it up for winch duty only. Tho have a newer pro class 60cc saw would allow you the chance to cut big wood. The newer Dolmar 6421 are fairly cheap and well respected around this site. Another god saw for dedicated winch duty is a Efco 165.

 

[Log Splitter]

Welcome to the site, Kody.

I don't post much anymore, but did not want your thread to go unanswered.

I watched the Lewis Winch videos, and they look like chainsaw torture to me. I'd pass on the winch.

 

[Steveo_supremo]

You want a saw with an inboard clutch so You can direct mount the winch. A decent used Stihl 036 or Husqvarna 365 should fit the bill nicely, with the 365 having a bit more power. The Makita 6401 or Dolmar 6400 would be good choices also.

 

[Mad Professor]

Lots of good running Homelite XL 12s and Super XLs still out there cheap.

Reed valve motors with lots of low end torque, also no mushy AV mounts to worry about on a winch setup.

 

[SawTroll]

There is always a need for a 60cc saw If it is dedicated soley to winch duty then you could get a older saw and set it up for winch duty only. Tho have a newer pro class 60cc saw would allow you the chance to cut big wood. The newer Dolmar 6421 are fairly cheap and well respected around this site. Another god saw for dedicated winch duty is a Efco 165.

Yeah, a relatively cheap 65cc saw with a mag case sounds like a good option - but an old model would probably do as well.

 

[Cantdog]

If you are going to use it on a Lewis winch...get the BIGGEST saw you can find....60cc will just depress you if you are trying to pull anything. A good running 90cc-100cc Mac, Homlite, Dolmar etc will just make the grade. Preferable a dedicated saw so heavy and slow you won't be tempted to cut wood with is what you need to have the power and stamina to run a winch. 60cc is atleast 40cc short of what you need. I ain't lyin!!!!! I say 6 cube or stay home!! (quote from Randy Mac!!) LOL!!!

 

[kody]

Responding to all of the responses

Thank you to all of the respondents to my chainsaw winch question.i was amazed at just how far behind all of that I am. I had a list of 4 possibles ; Husqvarna, Stihl, Jonsrud and Echo. I had bad vibes on Stihl, Jonsrud was hardly mentioned and Echo didn't have many models to choose from. I had heard little about Makita or Homelite and nothing at all about Dolmar and Efco . Poulan was a bad word. One irksome problem for me in researching different makes and models is the inability to judge 60+ cc models by their stated model number . Some are quite obvious and others are just the opposite. Stihl described their 368K as having a couple of thousand fewer RPMs than similar sized models . Good or bad for my planned usage? Then my green condition was brought home when you hit me with "inboard clutches[ where are they found?] ,reed valve motors for low end torque capability, [where are they found?],mushy AV mounts[same question] then, get all the ccs you can and finally "don't use a chainsaw winch! I am going to try to learn about the unknowns and I'm sorry ,I have to use a chainsaw winch ,it's my only option. I am going to use it short term to pull down an 1888 era ,15 room hotel on my property in two stages over the next two years and I can't afford a commercial deconstruction.Thanks again for the help and the latest lesson on just how much I don't know, very humbling. Ken

 

[2dogs]

Lots of good running Homelite XL 12s and Super XLs still out there cheap.

Reed valve motors with lots of low end torque, also no mushy AV mounts to worry about on a winch setup.

Mushy AV mounts eh? How do you think a Lewis winch mounts to the saw, by strapping it to the handle? AV mounts, of any type, don't come into play at all. The winch mounts in place of the bar. If you don't know anything about the Lewis winch then why post?

A 60cc saw will not perform well at all. The winch will not pull its maximum with such a small saw. You can use it of course just don't expect it to pull hard. A 95 cc saw will allow the winch to perform to its maximum pull and will do it faster than a small saw. If you buy a Lewis winch (on sale right now from Bailey's) I would suggest cutting the supplied wire rope in half to help prevent a bird's nest when you spool out the rope.

A Lewis winch will not pull and hold like a truck winch and does not work well where the load is secured by friction or other causes. Could you use a truck mounted winch? Warn has new models that are quite cheap. The VR 10000 (10k lbs line pull-first wrap) is less than $600.00. You could pull the load and leave tension on it unlike a Lewis winch. (I know what you wrote in your post BTW, just trying to give you another idea).

The Lewis winch is a great tool and easy to sell if you have no other need for it after the hotel. Hook it up to a Stihl MS 650 or MS66o and pull away! Don't forget to post pics!

 

[aquan8tor]

If you are going to use it on a Lewis winch...get the BIGGEST saw you can find....60cc will just depress you if you are trying to pull anything. A good running 90cc-100cc Mac, Homlite, Dolmar etc will just make the grade. Preferable a dedicated saw so heavy and slow you won't be tempted to cut wood with is what you need to have the power and stamina to run a winch. 60cc is atleast 40cc short of what you need. I ain't lyin!!!!! I say 6 cube or stay home!! (quote from Randy Mac!!) LOL!!!

+ 1



Having used a 60cc AND a 94cc saw on a lewis winch, you will be VERY disappointed with what the 60cc saw can pull, if you don't burn out the clutch first. I couldn't pull a 1000 lbs log up a hill with a 60cc saw, but the 394XP pulled a 24" and larger logs 12 feet long up a 45 degree slope without batting an eye.

 

[Log Hogger]

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but I will, to save you some trouble and money. Don't buy a 60cc saw to run a Lewis winch. Just don't. My neighbor got a winch to use on his 70cc saw, then had to come get me when his tractor was stuck in mud. We mounted it on my 066 (92cc) and it finally pulled him out, but not easily, and we both agreed that the 066 would have lacked the power to pull him out if the mud was a bit deeper.

I wouldn't bother with a Lewis winch unless I had a 100+cc saw, and I definitely wouldn't buy the winch and then buy a saw to run it. It'd be cheaper and more convenient to spend the money on a good electric winch. Just my two cents.

 

[zogger]

Thank you to all of the respondents to my chainsaw winch question.i was amazed at just how far behind all of that I am. I had a list of 4 possibles ; Husqvarna, Stihl, Jonsrud and Echo. I had bad vibes on Stihl, Jonsrud was hardly mentioned and Echo didn't have many models to choose from. I had heard little about Makita or Homelite and nothing at all about Dolmar and Efco . Poulan was a bad word. One irksome problem for me in researching different makes and models is the inability to judge 60+ cc models by their stated model number . Some are quite obvious and others are just the opposite. Stihl described their 368K as having a couple of thousand fewer RPMs than similar sized models . Good or bad for my planned usage? Then my green condition was brought home when you hit me with "inboard clutches[ where are they found?] ,reed valve motors for low end torque capability, [where are they found?],mushy AV mounts[same question] then, get all the ccs you can and finally "don't use a chainsaw winch! I am going to try to learn about the unknowns and I'm sorry ,I have to use a chainsaw winch ,it's my only option. I am going to use it short term to pull down an 1888 era ,15 room hotel on my property in two stages over the next two years and I can't afford a commercial deconstruction.Thanks again for the help and the latest lesson on just how much I don't know, very humbling. Ken

madprofessor up above advised an old xl12 homelite, and there happens to be a running one for sale in the classifieds here for fifty bucks plus shipping.

With that said I have zero experience with one of those winches, so no idea if that would work or not.

I do have a lot of experience deconstruction, but never used a winch....for the grunt work we used sledge hammers and prybars mostly. that was both wood framed and masonry. Steel beam framing obviously needs to be cut.

Heavier stuff was always moved with machinery of some sort, smaller jobs just a generic backhoe works good.

A big trackhoe can just take bites out of the thing and load dump trucks if you aren't saving anything from the tear down.

Just depends on what you are doing. You may well have some pretty valuable old big beams in there if they aren't all eat up with rot or bugs. Pretty slick stuff for neighborhood bars, building mantles, stuff like that. Furniture, construction in new designer homes,etc. Some of the wood they used way back was just excellent stuff.

 

[Aussie Boy]

+ 1



Having used a 60cc AND a 94cc saw on a lewis winch, you will be VERY disappointed with what the 60cc saw can pull, if you don't burn out the clutch first. I couldn't pull a 1000 lbs log up a hill with a 60cc saw, but the 394XP pulled a 24" and larger logs 12 feet long up a 45 degree slope without batting an eye.

Hi, I've just found this page, and this conversation. I have a Lewis winch and a 394XP but they aren't compatible!! How did you fit yours to the winch?? I've got the spacer unit to go with the winch, however the clutch / gearing is back to front and the damn sprockets wont fit. Went to the local Husky place in town and there's only a few saws in the range that have the right layout to put the sprockets on to connect the winch. If there's a trick to fitting it to the 394... I'd love to know please!! That way I can use my old saw for the winch and buy myself a nice new one

 

[moondoggie]

Responding to all of the responses

Thank you to all of the respondents to my chainsaw winch question.i was amazed at just how far behind all of that I am. I had a list of 4 possibles ; Husqvarna, Stihl, Jonsrud and Echo. I had bad vibes on Stihl, Jonsrud was hardly mentioned and Echo didn't have many models to choose from. I had heard little about Makita or Homelite and nothing at all about Dolmar and Efco . Poulan was a bad word. One irksome problem for me in researching different makes and models is the inability to judge 60+ cc models by their stated model number . Some are quite obvious and others are just the opposite. Stihl described their 368K as having a couple of thousand fewer RPMs than similar sized models . Good or bad for my planned usage? Then my green condition was brought home when you hit me with "inboard clutches[ where are they found?] ,reed valve motors for low end torque capability, [where are they found?],mushy AV mounts[same question] then, get all the ccs you can and finally "don't use a chainsaw winch! I am going to try to learn about the unknowns and I'm sorry ,I have to use a chainsaw winch ,it's my only option. I am going to use it short term to pull down an 1888 era ,15 room hotel on my property in two stages over the next two years and I can't afford a commercial deconstruction.Thanks again for the help and the latest lesson on just how much I don't know, very humbling. Ken

Rent this,!! Or sub it out.

 

[moondoggie]

Oops..... Just responded to an old old thread