To me, collecting chainsaws and the whole wood gathering process are related and mutually supporting activities. Both of which I enjoy.
Collecting the saws is great fun, and I broke the 100 mark myself this past year. Most of my saws come to me as projects, and I have little money tied up in them. You would be hard pressed to find any other gas engine type hobby with as little cash outlay as chainsaws. The process of building these saws is in itself a large part of the enjoyment for me. Out in the workshop, music on, couple of beers, and tinkering away. Good therapy!
But if there was no wood to cut it would be pointless to have the saws, so the need for firewood lends some purpose to owning them, as well as providing an opportunity to "play with my toys".
Burning wood saves me about $2500 a year in heating costs. And that number will certainly go up with the way oil prices are climbing. Even at $2500, I'm easily saving way more money than I spend on saws every year. Burning wood therefore funds the saw hobby; and how many hobbies can pay for themselves like that? Even if I spent the same amount on saws that I save on oil, the CAD would still be "dollar neutral".
