List of Pro Saw Models - References

[North by Northwest]

Craftsman is tricky because they don't make anything....everything is subbed out In tools. They've had MANY subcontractors make them tools over the decades. As far as their chainsaws, I never asked around who was making them. Should be pretty straight fwd just looking at them.....who made them.

Kevin

Craftsman is the MTD of chainsaw retailers brother , Heinz 57 at best most recently !

 

[North by Northwest]

I got a cheap homeowner saw and it is closed dual quad port.

Yeah , however 70% of yours is a "ferrari" designed Kioritz , Zenoah or Redmax clone from the land of the rising son brother . Solid engines technology , that Echo relies on today !

 

[North by Northwest]

Cheap Saw?

He can do it Bob ! lol.

 

[North by Northwest]

N by NW I have 50 series in both open and closed and it is not day and night there. But I consider neither commercial (spelling?). Nor some of the MS.

AH = Advertising Hype.
MH = Marketing Hype.
Then come the bosses, ranchers, and all that BS.
IMO they would all do better in marketing by segregation.

What does MS stand for?

I consider a lot of this as hype but fun to talk about.

Give me your 2 examples of open / closed port saw configurations in the 5 Series that can make chips equally in the same cc class !

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

Nothing wrong with a Saturday nite special saw , with a purge bulb for one to twice a week or year trimming or lite bucking . However even my daughter could identify a 445 or 445e as a weekend warrior saw at best !

Those poxy little 445s go ok. Plenty grunt for a homeowner or even a casual firewood guy. Once you hand him a proper saw he will be ruined however.

Careful with the 268 there's two 268s the homeowner/prosumer/ farmer 268 is effectively a 61. It moved through the times borrowing whatever case was being made basically. Now I'd call the 61 66 or 268 non xp a true "pro sumer". It's got an open port top end which is cheaper to produce and can be passed on to the consumer. The saw construction however is every bit as durable and professionally built as the pro saws on same chassis

Craftsman is the MTD of chainsaw retailers brother , Heinz 57 at best !

Craftsman used a lot of poulan stuff and the 5200 being 1 model and that's certainly a pro saw

 

[Real1shepherd]

Don't need Spike to advise me , I have run most of the legendary saws , I was there , and so were you oldtimer. . However , your correct the man knows his saws without question , as do numerous much younger individuals on site . I originally stated there were numerous individuals onsite that could & should contribute to these discussions , to assist Nate in this massive endeavour . Especially , within today's more modern units . There are at least 4 world class saw builders on this site & another half dozen bike & sled engine builders , which is where I learned life's lessons . Although , I have only ported one 357 xp , I have repaired & torn down numerous saws for routine repairs & general mtce . In closing Kevin your absolutely correct , that you get what you pay for much more often than not brother !

Nobody knows Husky and Jonsered(s) like Bob(spike60)....I don't care who they are and how old they are/aren't. His advantage over me as an old user is that I was inclined to always buy big cc commercial saws....wherein he not only sold and worked on those, but all the other models down to puny homeowner stuff. My range of saw knowledge is limited to older big cc Husky and Jonsered(s). There wasn't ever a need to buy anything else in my situation....I worked them hard, not collected them. Although I did buy a 'smaller' Jonsered 621 for my fencing work.

Folks can watch his vids with buddy Walter as he goes over older Husky/Jonsered(s) saw models. 'Hilltop Video' I think is what they are in YouTube.

Kevin

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

Nobody knows Husky and Jonsered(s) like Bob(spike60)....I don't care who they are and how old they are/aren't. His advantage over me as an old user is that I was inclined to always buy big cc commercial saws....wherein he not only sold and worked on those, but all the other models down to puny homeowner stuff. My range of saw knowledge is limited to older big cc Husky and Jonsered(s). There wasn't ever a need to buy anything else in my situation....I worked them, not collected them. Although I did buy a 'smaller' Jonsered 621 for my fencing work.

Folks can watch his vids with buddy Walter as he goes over older Husky/Jonsered(s) saw models. 'Hilltop Video' I think is what they are in YouTube.

Kevin

Saw college. Very handy videos for keeping those old saws alive

 

[Real1shepherd]

Those poxy little 445s go ok. Plenty grunt for a homeowner or even a casual firewood guy. Once you hand him a proper saw he will be ruined however.

Careful with the 268 there's two 268s the homeowner/prosumer/ farmer 268 is effectively a 61. It moved through the times borrowing whatever case was being made basically. Now I'd call the 61 66 or 268 non xp a true "pro sumer". It's got an open port top end which is cheaper to produce and can be passed on to the consumer. The saw construction however is every bit as durable and professionally built as the pro saws on same chassis



Craftsman used a lot of poulan stuff and the 5200 being 1 model and that's certainly a pro saw

I was gonna venture that Craftsman used Poulan a lot, but left that to someone who knows more about it than I do.

Kevin

 

[Real1shepherd]

Saw college. Very handy videos for keeping those old saws alive

LOTS of tricks and parts substitution ideas. He's great at that having worked on them since the early 80's.

The cool thing about the orignal Jonsereds is that they usually shared many parts in their lines. One of their more endearing qualities.

Kevin

 

[5155]

I said to your reply, "N by NW I have 50 series in both open and closed and it is not day and night there".

Thought I did this once I'll try once more then defer.
I have and had several 51s and 55s
both open and closed port
none were "night and day different".
This from experience not what I read on internet.

Was just trying to participate is all.

 

[North by Northwest]

Those poxy little 445s go ok. Plenty grunt for a homeowner or even a casual firewood guy. Once you hand him a proper saw he will be ruined however.

Careful with the 268 there's two 268s the homeowner/prosumer/ farmer 268 is effectively a 61. It moved through the times borrowing whatever case was being made basically. Now I'd call the 61 66 or 268 non xp a true "pro sumer". It's got an open port top end which is cheaper to produce and can be passed on to the consumer. The saw construction however is every bit as durable and professionally built as the pro saws on same chassis



Craftsman used a lot of poulan stuff and the 5200 being 1 model and that's certainly a pro saw

5500 was another fine Poulan as was the Pioneer / Partner / Poulan 7000 unit . The 655 BP ( Boost Port) was my personal favorite though . Electrolux in Shreveport I believe was still the manufacturer on most of these Pro-grade saws . Nate is got a lot on his plate . Somebody get Spike to help out if you can , I agree he lived & worked through all the pertinent saws lol.

 

[North by Northwest]

I said to your reply, "N by NW I have 50 series in both open and closed and it is not day and night there".

Thought I did this once I'll try once more then defer.
I have and had several 51s and 55s
both open and closed port
none were "night and day different".
This from experience not what I read on internet.

Was just trying to participate is all.

Yeah the old school pre Rancher series , yep . They were a different breed low rpm lots of grunt , ran them all as a young man . I never really focused on their engine design just cut wood with them . Sturdy 50 cc class firewood saws , however not sure wether they were top tier professional tier like a 50 cc 346 OE or NE became around the same era . I remember plastic brake flags rather than metal . I think they fall into the professional wanna be category . However will defer to others experience with them , since I did not have a lot of run time with them , Thanks for the reminder bud !

 

[North by Northwest]

Those poxy little 445s go ok. Plenty grunt for a homeowner or even a casual firewood guy. Once you hand him a proper saw he will be ruined however.

Careful with the 268 there's two 268s the homeowner/prosumer/ farmer 268 is effectively a 61. It moved through the times borrowing whatever case was being made basically. Now I'd call the 61 66 or 268 non xp a true "pro sumer". It's got an open port top end which is cheaper to produce and can be passed on to the consumer. The saw construction however is every bit as durable and professionally built as the pro saws on same chassis



Craftsman used a lot of poulan stuff and the 5200 being 1 model and that's certainly a pro saw

I was referring to more recent cheaper plastic Poulans bud , your absolutely correct within the 5200 , Sorry !

 

[North by Northwest]

Craftsman is tricky because they don't make anything....everything is subbed out In tools. They've had MANY subcontractors make them tools over the decades. As far as their chainsaws, I never asked around who was making them. Should be pretty straight fwd just looking at them.....who made them.

Kevin

They did sell some rather potent Rebadged Poulan all magnesium models now that I think back ! 5200 , 5500 , 5700 etc . Good point Nate , they would be a consideration most definately , silly me !

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

I was referring to more recent Poulans bud , your absolutely correct within the 80's early plastic saws !

Curious where the poulan 4000 fits in.

Rim sproket. Chain brake available. Mag cased 64cc. Yes open port. The 3400 definitely aimed at the homeowner the 3700 hmmm dunno.

The 4000 is a lovely saw to run. The open port saws tend to have a big fat wide midrange powerband vs the more peaky higher chain speed closed port saws of same era. Against my 162se and 266xp the huskies definitely got it 20 inch bar buried but.... the 4000 pulls a 24 buried much better it has the grunt in the middle. Also the poulan can pull a more aggressive chain. If I set it up for a 20 with a chain to suit its power the difference would be minimal.

 

[North by Northwest]

Curious where the poulan 4000 fits in.
View attachment 1031273View attachment 1031274
Rim sproket. Chain brake available. Mag cased 64cc. Yes open port. The 3400 definitely aimed at the homeowner the 3700 hmmm dunno.

The 4000 is a lovely saw to run. The open port saws tend to have a big fat wide midrange powerband vs the more peaky higher chain speed closed port saws of same era. Against my 162se and 266xp the huskies definitely got it 20 inch bar buried but.... the 4000 pulls a 24 buried much better it has the grunt in the middle. Also the poulan can pull a more aggressive chain. If I set it up for a 20 with a chain to suit its power the difference would be minimal.

I would vote it in , nice balanced saw with some grunt as you have indicated ! Some of these are head scratchers , I would love to run it against my 11-60 , 59 cc reed valve Pioneer with it 20" roller tip Carelton B&C lol.

 

[Real1shepherd]

5500 was another fine Poulan as was the Pioneer / Partner / Poulan 7000 unit . The 655 BP ( Boost Port) was my personal favorite though . Electrolux in Shreveport I believe was still the manufacturer on most of these Pro-grade saws . Nate is got a lot on his plate . Somebody get Spike to help out if you can , I agree he lived & worked through all the pertinent saws lol.

I've heard really good things about those pro Shreveport Poulans....simple, indestructible, lots of power etc.

Kevin

 

[Captain Bruce]

If memory serves me right from posts in the past no one knows what the SE on Husky saws stands for not even Saw Troll.It is not special edition because the heated handle bar ones were sg.
Most of the early 266 XPs had SE and XP stickers on various parts.
Kash

Another oddity is the labelling of a 450 Rancher. Several guys have inquired as to IPL's given the 450 model, does not show up as a Rancher in OEM literature. Not that theres any difference; just labelling gone round a corner......again.

 

[CDElliott]

N by NW I have 50 series in both open and closed and it is not day and night there. But I consider neither commercial (spelling?). Nor some of the MS.

AH = Advertising Hype.
MH = Marketing Hype.
Then come the bosses, ranchers, and all that BS.
IMO they would all do better in marketing by segregation.

What does MS stand for?

I consider a lot of this as hype but fun to talk about.

MS stands for Motorsäge (chainsaw in German), and MSA means it is a battery chainsaw, while MSE indicates it is an electric chainsaw.

 

[Real1shepherd]

I fell into Jonsereds by happenstance. I was loggin' up in the mountains of the western slope of CO. Somebody stole one of my 2100's. Desperate for a backup saw again(you're an idiot if you don't have one, working scale), I raced down to Montrose to the saw shop. He had a used 2100 fortunately and we haggled a deal. Nice used saw, still have it today....lol.

While there, another young guy like me(I was young once!) working there said he'd logged on the west coast too. We had to commensurate about the differences in west coast versus CO loggin'(what a hoot!). Anyway, he said they had just gone completely through a Jonserds 80 and spared no expense. It looked a little worn(I was only used to buying new saws), but had a lot of new OE parts on it. I took a chance and bought it too. Saw shops in those days never had the bar & chains I wanted, so I always just bought the power heads. And....it's still going to this day. On YouTube at least, I've never seen another run like it. Has the bottom louver muffler and aluminum full wrap handle. Used a 28" .058 bar with .404 skip-tooth chisel. Was a force of nature in smaller timber. Never gave me a dime's worth of trouble, although you had to park it hot, in the shade if you wanted to restart it.

I'd heard of Jonsereds of course, and Scotsco in Portland, OR sold them. But unlike Husky where back in the day guys were 'dealers' out of their garages, Jonsereds had either Scotsco of Portland or Tilton of MN for parts. It's a shame too, because they were fantastic saws. They were incredibly popular back east and had many dealers....sometimes multiples in a geographical area. I have a story about the Jonsereds 910e too....but I've talked enough.

Kevin