Brandnew to forum... please help!

[Jon Tyler]

hello everyone, my name is Jon and I have looking through these threads for about a week now. IT'S AWESOME!!! finally somewhere to get first rate info from experts!! Alright here's my question...
I currently run a 55 Rancher for my firewood needs... I guess I cut about 10-12 cords/yr. I would like to move up to a better/more powerful saw... just not sure what one. I have some in mind, but whatever I get, I want it at least a step up from my 55rancher. I am considering the following saws.. THANK YOU FORUM so much for any advice!!! So happy to be "one of the family"

Husqvarna 357xp
Husqvarna 372xp
Stihl 440 mag
Stihl 460 mag P.S. any mods available for my 55 Rancher? -Jon:greenchainsaw:

 

[Jon Tyler]

Chainsaw recommendations... Thanks Forum!!!

Hello everyone, so happy to be in the family now!!! This forum rocks!!
I have a question... been running a 55 rancher to cut 8-12 cords of wood... thinking of stepping up to a pro saw. I have a few ideas, but no experience with the following saws... any help would be very appreciated!!!! I def want to upgrade a step (or two) above what I have! Thanks in advance everybody!... I'll be on this site for life! -Jon



Huskvarna 357xp
Husqvarna 372xp
STIHL 440 Magnum
STIHL 460 Magnum
:greenchainsaw:

 

[THALL10326]

Hello everyone, so happy to be in the family now!!! This forum rocks!!
I have a question... been running a 55 rancher to cut 8-12 cords of wood... thinking of stepping up to a pro saw. I have a few ideas, but no experience with the following saws... any help would be very appreciated!!!! I def want to upgrade a step (or two) above what I have! Thanks in advance everybody!... I'll be on this site for life! -Jon



Huskvarna 357xp
Husqvarna 372xp
STIHL 440 Magnum
STIHL 460 Magnum
:greenchainsaw:

Welcome Jon. Looks like both camps are waiting for the other to give you a suggestion before they jump in with their suggestion. The Husky camp is going to tell you get the 357 or 372. The Sthil camp is going to tell you to get the 440 or 460. So whatcha gonna do Jon,LOLOL

Seriously I own 3 of those saws you got listed there, 372,440 and 460. Have used a 357 but do not own one. All four of those saws are quite a leap from your 55 you already have. The 440 is no longer made and is alittle tuff to find a new one now days.

For firewood cutting the 372,440 and 460 can be abit overkill unless your sawing up some good size wood. Your choice of the 357 is about right on as a good size firewood saw. Its more of a all purpose saw weight wise and power wise. I myself have the Stihl counterpart to the Husky 357, I have the Stihl 361. If I were you and I was only interested in sawing some firewood I would narrow the choices down to that Husky 357 and the Stihl 361. The 372,440 and 460 are abit much when you get done the log of the tree and get up in the limbs and start trimming, those saws get heavy reaching up with them zipping off limbs.

So whatcha gonna buy Jon? If you got a dealer near your home that carries either the 357 or 361 I would deal with that dealer. Closer to home always comes in handy in the long run.

 

[SawTroll]

I tend to agree with Tom, but I want to know more about the size of the wood, and how you collect it before I cast my vote.........

 

[computeruser]

THall got it right, and Troll put the finish on the write-up.

If you're only going to be running a 16-18" bar for firewood duty, and if most of your logs comfortably under 20", there is no reason to go any bigger in size or power unless you want to. A 357xp or MS361 will handle this work happily. Bigger saws are nice, and they do speed the process up, but if you're going to be a one-saw man, then you might want to err on the side of portability and lighter weight.

Heck, when I'm feeling strong I'll even cut firewood with a 111cc Stihl 076...

 

[litefoot]

Welcome Jon. Looks like both camps are waiting for the other to give you a suggestion before they jump in with their suggestion. The Husky camp is going to tell you get the 357 or 372. The Sthil camp is going to tell you to get the 440 or 460. So whatcha gonna do Jon,LOLOL

Seriously I own 3 of those saws you got listed there, 372,440 and 460. Have used a 357 but do not own one. All four of those saws are quite a leap from your 55 you already have. The 440 is no longer made and is alittle tuff to find a new one now days.

For firewood cutting the 372,440 and 460 can be abit overkill unless your sawing up some good size wood. Your choice of the 357 is about right on as a good size firewood saw. Its more of a all purpose saw weight wise and power wise. I myself have the Stihl counterpart to the Husky 357, I have the Stihl 361. If I were you and I was only interested in sawing some firewood I would narrow the choices down to that Husky 357 and the Stihl 361. The 372,440 and 460 are abit much when you get done the log of the tree and get up in the limbs and start trimming, those saws get heavy reaching up with them zipping off limbs.

So whatcha gonna buy Jon? If you got a dealer near your home that carries either the 357 or 361 I would deal with that dealer. Closer to home always comes in handy in the long run.

Listen to Mr. Hall. They don't call him The Champ for nothing (Uh, Tom...now, will you send me a free T-shirt)

 

[THALL10326]

I tend to agree with Tom, but I want to know more about the size of the wood, and how you collect it before I cast my vote.........

Good point Troll. He said just firewood use. Around here where I'm at most firewood cutters rarely saw wood larger 16-20 inches, mostly much smaller. Theory being blocks that size or less is so much easier to split and handle. If he's in the same group the 357 or 361 would be my choice depending on the nearest dealer to my house.

 

[THALL10326]

Listen to Mr. Hall. They don't call him The Champ for nothing (Uh, Tom...now, will you send me a free T-shirt)

LOLOL, ok smarty if you insist. PM me your address. I got a Stihl t-shirt here in a plastic bag. Its got a weed trimmer picture on it but if you want it I'll send to ya.

 

[THALL10326]

THall got it right, and Troll put the finish on the write-up.

If you're only going to be running a 16-18" bar for firewood duty, and if most of your logs comfortably under 20", there is no reason to go any bigger in size or power unless you want to. A 357xp or MS361 will handle this work happily. Bigger saws are nice, and they do speed the process up, but if you're going to be a one-saw man, then you might want to err on the side of portability and lighter weight.

Heck, when I'm feeling strong I'll even cut firewood with a 111cc Stihl 076...

Whattttttttttttttttttttttttt. Now why are you using that big saw on that little wood,LOLOL I must admit I do the samething now and then. I was up behind the barn not long ago zipping off 20 inch logs with that 880 of mine. While I was doing it though I was thinking to myself, a man would have to be crazy to use this beast for firewood cutting,LOLOL

 

[trimmmed]

Hi Jon, I think you will want to go to at least a 70cc saw to appreciate the difference from the 55.

 

[SawTroll]

Good point Troll. He said just firewood use. Around here where I'm at most firewood cutters rarely saw wood larger 16-20 inches, mostly much smaller. Theory being blocks that size or less is so much easier to split and handle. If he's in the same group the 357 or 361 would be my choice depending on the nearest dealer to my house.

MS361 if he makes curlies - because of the inboard clutch etc....


You are really modest about your Stihls today - are you going to change brands.......:jawdrop:

 

[huskydave]

It depends on what you are willing to carry as far as weight is concerned. The 60cc saw is a good choice for firewood and will cut very quickly. I have a 372xp and it is an awesome firewood saw but is heavier than a 60cc saw the 440 is excellent I used one before I bought the 372xp and the power is comparable to the 372xp but a little more down low grunt and likes to be leaned on where the husky likes to scream through the cut at high rpms and a steady feed through the wood. I have run a 460 and that is a very powerful saw you can feel the power of it in the cut and it will cut faster than the others but it is heavier and an older but prov design. I think the 70cc saws are the best for cutting firewood but the 60cc is enough for most people and more practical. I would buy what you can get a deal on and buy from the best dealer in your area be it Stihl or Husky. I have never run an 357xp but I have heard good things about them my Husky dealer sells a lot of them. I would add a Stihl 361 and a 441 to your list and pick a saw that you feel comfortable running. There is a pretty big differance in the handle on the Husky I like it but some people don't so check them out and see what you like. The Stihl 361 and 441 and the husky 372xp are very smooth and so are the other Husky saws I could not believe how nice they are to use the vibrations are almost non existant and power comes on strong and very smooth. I feel less beat up at the end of the day with the 372xp than the 044 I used to run.

 

[Slamm]

I vote for the 361, but after awhile, I wondering if it (the 361) isn't just the answer for everything........world hunger.....world peace and cutting firewood these are just some of the tasks routinely accomplished by the 361.

If you modd it, it just gets the work done faster.

My opinion,

Sam

 

[Jon Tyler]

new to Forum reply... you guys rock!!!

Jon here, first of all, thank you so much for all the helpful posts to my question. i forgot to mention a couple of things on my use of a firewood saw and what I need.
i get my wood through a friend who works at a tree service... he has a big truck drop off wood in my yard. (yes it's such a beautiful thing) i sometimes do get 36" round lengths of hardwood with no branches at all. I guess i should have mentioned that in my orig post. I'm thinking that I want to run a saw to make quicker work of these pieces, so that's why my thoughts of the 372 & 460 seem to be overkill. I figure if I'm gonna be cutting, I might as well have ample hp/torque/rpm to work with in case a load of big hardwood shows up. Any mods to make my 55 Rancher run better? It wood seem that I could prob allow it to "breathe" a little better if I could. Thanks Forum!! Not having to remove ANY branches prob helps my descision making too!

 

[cuttinstuff]

The Dolmar PS7900 gets rave reviews on here and if you are going to get into stuff that big it might be pretty handy..

 

[ropensaddle]

Jon here, first of all, thank you so much for all the helpful posts to my question. i forgot to mention a couple of things on my use of a firewood saw and what I need.
i get my wood through a friend who works at a tree service... he has a big truck drop off wood in my yard. (yes it's such a beautiful thing) i sometimes do get 36" round lengths of hardwood with no branches at all. I guess i should have mentioned that in my orig post. I'm thinking that I want to run a saw to make quicker work of these pieces, so that's why my thoughts of the 372 & 460 seem to be overkill. I figure if I'm gonna be cutting, I might as well have ample hp/torque/rpm to work with in case a load of big hardwood shows up. Any mods to make my 55 Rancher run better? It wood seem that I could prob allow it to "breathe" a little better if I could. Thanks Forum!! Not having to remove ANY branches prob helps my descision making too!

Could not go wrong with either or both!

 

[computeruser]

Jon here, first of all, thank you so much for all the helpful posts to my question. i forgot to mention a couple of things on my use of a firewood saw and what I need.
i get my wood through a friend who works at a tree service... he has a big truck drop off wood in my yard. (yes it's such a beautiful thing) i sometimes do get 36" round lengths of hardwood with no branches at all. I guess i should have mentioned that in my orig post. I'm thinking that I want to run a saw to make quicker work of these pieces, so that's why my thoughts of the 372 & 460 seem to be overkill. I figure if I'm gonna be cutting, I might as well have ample hp/torque/rpm to work with in case a load of big hardwood shows up. Any mods to make my 55 Rancher run better? It wood seem that I could prob allow it to "breathe" a little better if I could. Thanks Forum!! Not having to remove ANY branches prob helps my descision making too!

Jump up to a 70cc+ saw if you're going to be spending ANY time in that size of wood. Keep the 55 around with a 15-16" bar for the little stuff.

Stihl 440, 441, 460. Husqvarna 372, 385. Dolmar 7300, 7900. Jonsered 2171, 2186.

I'd rather not do this with a 60cc saw - the 7900 at work:

 

[SawTroll]

Jump up to a 70cc+ saw if you're going to be spending ANY time in that size of wood. Keep the 55 around with a 15-16" bar for the little stuff.

Stihl 440, 441, 460. Husqvarna 372, 385. Dolmar 7300, 7900. Jonsered 2171, 2186.

I'd rather not do this with a 60cc saw - the 7900 at work:

Yes, sure enough - that wood makes the case for the 70cc+ saws........

 

[THALL10326]

MS361 if he makes curlies - because of the inboard clutch etc....


You are really modest about your Stihls today - are you going to change brands.......:jawdrop:

Me change brands, no way man. I just figured since Jon is new I'd try to help him out without any bias what so ever. I see he's posted he has some 36 inch wood to saw up so hell he's ready for some big saws. He's up in MS660territory with logs that big. Can't speak on the 395 cause I'm not familier with that saw. I do know a MS660 loves 3 foot across logs.

 

[JT78]

The Husky 372, the Stihl 460 or the Dolmar 7900 would be good choices. I just went with the 7900 and I can say I am not sorry at all it is one screaming saw. It weighs less and cost a little less depending on where you buy and has more grunt than the other 2 listed above. I can say I like all three but the Dolmar is my favorite.