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You are a young man at 42. I have changed my mind on 50cc saws now at 66. But still like a 372,572,390 in 24 inch for larger oaks, let weight and power do the work. Sharp chains are best. When I can no longer safety handle a 550mkII it will be time to quit gathering firewood.
 
Grab a Husqvarna 550xpmkII and enjoy cutting! Cost only hurts once.
Love love love my 550, wouldn't take a stihl 250 if you gave me it, had one, if it ran, it did good, but super finicky. Echo seems to be good too, but not as polished as a husky / redmax. The little dolmar is impressive too.
 
You are a young man at 42. I have changed my mind on 50cc saws now at 66. But still like a 372,572,390 in 24 inch for larger oaks, let weight and power do the work. Sharp chains are best. When I can no longer safety handle a 550mkII it will be time to quit gathering firewood.

Not everyone's body is the same at 32, 42, or 66. I agree if you can't handle a 50cc it's best to move on to something else. For myself some days I can swing a 395 around, sometimes a 50cc saw is too much, and my right shoulder is getting near replacement time, too much baseball as a kid guess.:cheers:
 
I’d suggest whatever you go for, make it 50cc +. Most of the time the importance is having a good dealer. Echo, stihl, husky etc are all great in their own way and have advantages and disadvantages. Try and get a few in your hands and see what you are most comfortable with.

One you didn’t mention was an ms 260 / 026. They are so easy to work on, have very good power to weight and are very reliable. Not too heavy for lighter work, but will take a 18” comfortably for the woods you have in the states. The odd larger logs you just come from both sides.
 
It'll be all day buckin' with a 50cc saw compared to a 60 or 70.

why are you guys fixated on a 50cc saw? He said 12-24" wood?

ahhhh, now I get it...he gets a nice 50 now and then finds himself in need of a 70 later when the disease sets in. Brilliant!

ok, find a non-moronic ms261 OakeyDokey. You'll think you've gone to heaven.

ps, Don't get an ms250. It's an overpriced, sort-of-a POS of a saw. Durable and handy but a troublesome and rough kind of a thing. You can do much better for the same or less money.
 
Not everyone's body is the same at 32, 42, or 66. I agree if you can't handle a 50cc it's best to move on to something else. For myself some days I can swing a 395 around, sometimes a 50cc saw is too much, and my right shoulder is getting near replacement time, too much baseball as a kid guess.:cheers:
I'm with you. I'm 57. Spine surgery, lower back problems, shoulder problems, knee problems. I like my 50cc saws too, but my biggest problem is the work that comes after the cutting is done.

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To the OP:

You’ve done lots of good research, but you apparently are not looking at weight. I suggest that you look up the weight of the saws you’re interested in. Weight is usually given without bar so make sure to compare them either all with bar or all without bar. You might even compare by horsepower for its weight. Divide the weight by its horsepower. Weight / horsepower. Most will be somewhere a little more than three pounds per horsepower.

A smaller number is better although don’t use this as your only criteria. The bar and chain it will run, reliability, parts and service availability, etc will also be important.
 
Not everyone's body is the same at 32, 42, or 66. I agree if you can't handle a 50cc it's best to move on to something else. For myself some days I can swing a 395 around, sometimes a 50cc saw is too much, and my right shoulder is getting near replacement time, too much baseball as a kid guess.:cheers:
You are so right on that!:rock: Been fortunate to only have stuck hand in lawn mower at 14, broke hand, hit a semi head on in 1977 shattered my left femur, hung in traction for a month in McLaren, two surgeries later, quadriceps re-attachment, splenectomy, contracted Hep-C from blood transfusions, vein stripping, full knee replacement in 2005, dealt with stasis ulcers on and off for 12+ years, unna boots, hep-c treatment that failed (have to read fine print in drug ads, if virus free for 100 days, you are cured), fractured 9 ribs on right side of rib case T-boned a pipe railing at Bond Falls, dealt with pulmonary embolism and left leg blood clots, Trap-eze filter installed. I can go on with painful things, like threaded rods being removed while awake, or liver biopsies, healing after cancerous tumor removal. Yea, I am in great shape compared to my neighbor who had polio as a child and deals with a non-functioning left leg daily. It's all about one's perspective, I do not cut for a living or go at it 12+ hours a day, get to cut when I feel like it and stop whenever I want.
 
I'm with you. I'm 57. Spine surgery, lower back problems, shoulder problems, knee problems. I like my 50cc saws too, but my biggest problem is the work that comes after the cutting is done.

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That's 100% spot on, the real work is after cutting. I can't/don't like lifting a whole lot after the two hernia surgeries, sometimes I still go too far though, you feel that that the next day. Yes as you age this stuff is just what happens, pacing your self is key.[emoji123]
 
That's 100% spot on, the real work is after cutting. I can't/don't like lifting a whole lot after the two hernia surgeries, sometimes I still go too far though, you feel that that the next day. Yes as you age this stuff is just what happens, pacing your self is key.[emoji123]
Oh, I forgot about my hernia surgery and then there is my heart issue. I'm definitely not the man I used to be. But I am thankful for what I can still do.

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But OakieDokie mentions 16" bundles of twisted together stems..

If honeysuckle is anything like caragana it's really good firewood.?? I forget what honeysuckle looks like. I moved from honeysuckle land to carragana land many years ago..

hedges are pinchy, kicky things.
 
Really think about the bulk of your cutting. Don't focus on easily cutting the biggest log you might encounter. I went many years and a lot of wood with a 50cc Jonsereds 49SP as my only saw and was happy.
You can buy either of the Echos much cheaper than you're listing on Ebay and maybe Craigslist (new saws). I'd lean towards the 490 myself. Based on my (bad) experience with the MS250 (cuts good when I can get it to start but that's always a battle) I can't recommend it.
 
Really think about the bulk of your cutting. Don't focus on easily cutting the biggest log you might encounter. I went many years and a lot of wood with a 50cc Jonsereds 49SP as my only saw and was happy.
You can buy either of the Echos much cheaper than you're listing on Ebay and maybe Craigslist (new saws). I'd lean towards the 490 myself. Based on my (bad) experience with the MS250 (cuts good when I can get it to start but that's always a battle) I can't recommend it.
Same here. I went for many many years with a Husqvarna 50 as my only saw.

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