Fishin' Rod
ArboristSite Lurker
I need some chainsaw advice that is above my pay-grade (moderate homeowner level).
Basically, what is the relationship between power (engine displacement) and tree diameter for optimum cutting?
I know I can take down a 30" tree using a cheap box store chainsaw with a 14" bar - but it is going to "waste" a lot of time doing it the wrong way. In my opinion, it is stupid to save XXX dollars buying a smaller saw and then adding tens to hundreds of extra man-hours in labor over the life of the saw. On the other hand, I do not want to be lugging around way more chainsaw than I need for 90-95% of my cutting jobs.
I expect to do much more felling than bucking. I think I want the lightest possible saw that still has enough power to not slow down going through 8-12" trees. Is that covered by a 30cc Stihl or Echo at the very bottom of their power line? Do I need 40cc, or even more?
This leads to an even bigger question (for those of us on tight budgets). How wide of a range of cutting jobs do you expect to cover with a single saw, before you could clearly justify spending the additional money for a second saw based on your savings in effort and labor hours?
Background
I am shopping for a new chainsaw, and am definitely not experienced enough to know where to trade off power versus weight versus money versus convenience features. Hoping I could get some good information from the commentators here!
I am trying to keep up with an old 300 acre farm, but we live 45 minutes away. The farmer-tenant takes care of 100 acres of wheat and 170 acres of native grass. The balance is "forest", waterways, and a nice creek. The main portion of the "forest" is a shelter belt that is about 100' wide and a 1/2 mile long. (I am pretty sure this was a depression-era works project.) Overall, I have about 10 acres of dense trees to manage and 13 acres of moderate tree density to control and thin.
Unfortunately, there were lots of Siberian Elms in the shelter belt planting, and they are invasive on the parts of the farm that are not regularly tilled or mowed. I also have an infestation of Honey Locust trees migrating down a waterway. (These are nasty trees, because the thorns on the lower branches prevent you from even reaching the trunk with your chainsaw.)
I own a Husqvarna 345FR Brush Cutter with an 8" scarlett blade. I have taken out almost a thousand trees with the brush cutter - from twigs to almost 4 inches. Unfortunately, I still have several thousand more trees to cut in this range. [I may be able to add a chainsaw style blade (Beaver Blade) and cut larger trees, but I don't think I could get over 5" - unless somebody has some good brush cutter ideas.]
The next step on the farm is to start removing the undesirable trees that are above 4". Most are still under 12", but everything that is not a cedar needs poison sprayed on the cut stump. I think this will be my largest "chainsaw job", and leads to my first question.
Question #1
What is the best saw recommendation for bending down or kneeling to cut small trees just above ground level - then putting the saw down after every 10 trees to pick up the sprayer and poison the stumps? (52 y.o. man - used to be a decent athlete, but partly "gone to seed" now.) I will have a lot of walking with all of my gear in this "mode". Either through the pasture to the various clumps of invasive trees, or through the old shelter belt where I have to step over lots of downed branches and trees.
If the experts agree that I would be much happier with a small saw for this work, then that leads to the second question.
Question #2
When you step up to a second saw, how big is the "size gap" to your first saw? Or do you just shell out the bucks for the biggest saw you can afford that will be able to accomplish the biggest job you expect to have? [Alternatively for the commentators that own dozens of saws - which two saws do you use the most?]
Once we have figured out the proper size of the saw(s), then the question becomes what grade of saw? I am not sure I will ever put enough hours on a "homeowner" grade saw to wear it out if I purchase from a quality manufacturer. However, since I have to drive 45 minutes each way to work on the farm, I usually try to put in a full day of work. If I can get a lot more work done with a "farm/ranch" grade saw, or even a "professional" grade saw, before I wear out my back or arms, then that is the best bang for the buck.
Question #3
What grade of saw do you consider to be the best "value" for a non-daily user? "Homeowner", "Farm/Ranch", or "Professional"?
I am so far in debt right now, that the "price" doesn't matter all that much. I just need the best "value" possible. If spending the extra bucks for professional grade yields (for example) a much better power-to-weight ratio, and better vibration control, then I may be able to cut a few extra trees every work-day and justify the extra initial expense.
I apologize for the long post, but there are lots of very knowledgeable people in this forum that are capable of very informative answers if they know all of the details.
Thanks in advance, for any of you who choose to respond.
Rod
Basically, what is the relationship between power (engine displacement) and tree diameter for optimum cutting?
I know I can take down a 30" tree using a cheap box store chainsaw with a 14" bar - but it is going to "waste" a lot of time doing it the wrong way. In my opinion, it is stupid to save XXX dollars buying a smaller saw and then adding tens to hundreds of extra man-hours in labor over the life of the saw. On the other hand, I do not want to be lugging around way more chainsaw than I need for 90-95% of my cutting jobs.
I expect to do much more felling than bucking. I think I want the lightest possible saw that still has enough power to not slow down going through 8-12" trees. Is that covered by a 30cc Stihl or Echo at the very bottom of their power line? Do I need 40cc, or even more?
This leads to an even bigger question (for those of us on tight budgets). How wide of a range of cutting jobs do you expect to cover with a single saw, before you could clearly justify spending the additional money for a second saw based on your savings in effort and labor hours?
Background
I am shopping for a new chainsaw, and am definitely not experienced enough to know where to trade off power versus weight versus money versus convenience features. Hoping I could get some good information from the commentators here!
I am trying to keep up with an old 300 acre farm, but we live 45 minutes away. The farmer-tenant takes care of 100 acres of wheat and 170 acres of native grass. The balance is "forest", waterways, and a nice creek. The main portion of the "forest" is a shelter belt that is about 100' wide and a 1/2 mile long. (I am pretty sure this was a depression-era works project.) Overall, I have about 10 acres of dense trees to manage and 13 acres of moderate tree density to control and thin.
Unfortunately, there were lots of Siberian Elms in the shelter belt planting, and they are invasive on the parts of the farm that are not regularly tilled or mowed. I also have an infestation of Honey Locust trees migrating down a waterway. (These are nasty trees, because the thorns on the lower branches prevent you from even reaching the trunk with your chainsaw.)
I own a Husqvarna 345FR Brush Cutter with an 8" scarlett blade. I have taken out almost a thousand trees with the brush cutter - from twigs to almost 4 inches. Unfortunately, I still have several thousand more trees to cut in this range. [I may be able to add a chainsaw style blade (Beaver Blade) and cut larger trees, but I don't think I could get over 5" - unless somebody has some good brush cutter ideas.]
The next step on the farm is to start removing the undesirable trees that are above 4". Most are still under 12", but everything that is not a cedar needs poison sprayed on the cut stump. I think this will be my largest "chainsaw job", and leads to my first question.
Question #1
What is the best saw recommendation for bending down or kneeling to cut small trees just above ground level - then putting the saw down after every 10 trees to pick up the sprayer and poison the stumps? (52 y.o. man - used to be a decent athlete, but partly "gone to seed" now.) I will have a lot of walking with all of my gear in this "mode". Either through the pasture to the various clumps of invasive trees, or through the old shelter belt where I have to step over lots of downed branches and trees.
If the experts agree that I would be much happier with a small saw for this work, then that leads to the second question.
Question #2
When you step up to a second saw, how big is the "size gap" to your first saw? Or do you just shell out the bucks for the biggest saw you can afford that will be able to accomplish the biggest job you expect to have? [Alternatively for the commentators that own dozens of saws - which two saws do you use the most?]
Once we have figured out the proper size of the saw(s), then the question becomes what grade of saw? I am not sure I will ever put enough hours on a "homeowner" grade saw to wear it out if I purchase from a quality manufacturer. However, since I have to drive 45 minutes each way to work on the farm, I usually try to put in a full day of work. If I can get a lot more work done with a "farm/ranch" grade saw, or even a "professional" grade saw, before I wear out my back or arms, then that is the best bang for the buck.
Question #3
What grade of saw do you consider to be the best "value" for a non-daily user? "Homeowner", "Farm/Ranch", or "Professional"?
I am so far in debt right now, that the "price" doesn't matter all that much. I just need the best "value" possible. If spending the extra bucks for professional grade yields (for example) a much better power-to-weight ratio, and better vibration control, then I may be able to cut a few extra trees every work-day and justify the extra initial expense.
I apologize for the long post, but there are lots of very knowledgeable people in this forum that are capable of very informative answers if they know all of the details.
Thanks in advance, for any of you who choose to respond.
Rod