Shopping For 20" to 24" Saw

[SawTroll]

A outboard clutch would have the sprocket on the outside next to the chainbrake cover? I'm a little confused on the orientation.

No, the outboard clutch has the sprocket inside of it, pretty inconvenient occationally........

 

[SawTroll]

Pick a dealer you like and buy whatever brand saw he sells.

As for 60 or 70 cc, how much large hardwood will you really be bucking up? I would think if you are bucking tops from your logging operation that most of what you'll be cutting will not be more than 14-18 inches.

I bought a 361 this spring and run a 20 inch bar with RS chain. It breezes through the hardwood tops on my place. It pulls the 20 inch bar just fine even when buried. I don't think for my application that a 70 cc saw with a longer bar is needed. I cut a lot of hickory, and some of it is 24 DBH, but most of my time is spent on smaller wood. Those big rounds are har d to put on the splitter.

You sure are right, I believe, but 24" in hardwood is definately 70cc + work!

..and you could split that large rounds with a saw, from the side, at an angle to keep the "noodles" a bit shorter.

 

[mini kahuna]

Dolmar 7900,very strong saw will pull the bar sizes you want without over working the saw,good price
Husky 372 xp,lots of power will also pull those size bars in hardwood all day,Bailey's still has them listed on their site.
can't go wrong with either saw.

 

[Andyshine77]

DGG I'll be using it as firewood. It only took me about 30 minutes to buck the whole tree. The picture only shows the lower 1/4 of the tree, the top 3/4 was much smaller.

daemon2525 The thee fell over in a spring storm, the base of tree was filled with ants, and the hart wood was a bit soft from the ground up to about five feet, the outside of the tree looked 100%. I have some cherry trees a bit larger than that on my property that I would like to harvest for something other than firewood.

 

[DGG]

Nice work! The cherry I felled also had ants and rotten heart wood where it split. It is a shame some good woodworker couldn't use the wood for some nice furniture, turnings, etc.

I will not to drop a bundle of money buying a big, clunky, heavy chainsaw. If tree cutting was my primary source of income I'd probably get the biggest, fastest, puppy there is, but it's not. I like a "middle-of-the-road" saw that is good for many uses, doesn't weigh a ton, and yet is still well built and will last a long time. For me the $400, 12 lb, 4hp Husky seems to be it.

 

[Woodie]

2165 or 2171:greenchainsaw:

 

[Lou]

Nice work! The cherry I felled also had ants and rotten heart wood where it split. It is a shame some good woodworker couldn't use the wood for some nice furniture, turnings, etc.

I will not to drop a bundle of money buying a big, clunky, heavy chainsaw. If tree cutting was my primary source of income I'd probably get the biggest, fastest, puppy there is, but it's not. I like a "middle-of-the-road" saw that is good for many uses, doesn't weigh a ton, and yet is still well built and will last a long time. For me the $400, 12 lb, 4hp Husky seems to be it.

I agree my 359 is a great saw but lets be completely honest. Add $50 to whatever price you find on a new saw. ALL new saws (USA) have a catalytic muffler that needs to be replaced. Cat mufflers may(?) pollute less but run ~HOT~. It is like trying to cool your saw while it's in an oven. Just doesn't compute!

 

[NYH1]

All I've ever used on my 365 is a 20" b&c. I don't know how it would run with a 24" b&c. I know a place that still has 365's. The 362XP is still available. I'm not sure what the difference is between the 362XP an 365. spike60 would be the one to talk to about that.

This is 20" Maple. No problem at all!

 

[farmerjim]

Dealers

I would recomend ths Stihl MS361 it will handle both size bars.

You really need to look at what kind of dealer support you have in your area.
STIHL,Dolmar, Shiny, and (gulp) Huskie

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm definitely considering an MS 361. They're priced at $599 around here. We have mainly Stihl & Husqvarna dealers in my area. Only 2 Dolmar dealers.

 

[SawTroll]

..... The 362XP is still available. I'm not sure what the difference is between the 362XP an 365. spike60 would be the one to talk to about that. .....

There is a 2.6cc differense, but the 362xp runs at higher rpms.

There is no differense to speak of in the max power or max torque.
Both have been offered with different sets of "features", at different times and markets.

Both will add more weight and bulk, than they will add performance, over the MS361.

 

[Andyshine77]

Like I said before the 361 a fine saw, but it's not going to cut very well with a 24" bar in hard wood. The 7900 is only a little more money and a bit more weight, and it will walk all over a 361.

If you have have a good dealer and your set on buying a Stihl I'd opt for the 440, 441 or a 460.

 

[farmerjim]

Thanks for all the great advise!

I live near Canton in NE OH & have oaks, maples, fir, ash, cherry & poplar to cut. There is an ample supply of dealers within a 1/2 hour drive that sell Stihl, Husqvarna, Dolmar, Echo & Jonsered. By the way, what's a "shiny?"

A pawn shop told me that they have a Stihl MS 440 with a 25" bar for $425. He said they might negotiate a little on the price. I haven't looked at it yet so I haven't been able to take a compression reading or seen what condition it's in. I also don't know if they'll let me start it there or take it out for a test cut. It would be nice to have a 70cc 5.4 hp saw for $400 but I want to be sure it's not damaged or wore out. I saw a new MS 440 @ Amick's for $725.

Only found 1 used larger Husky for sale at a Jonsered dealer, an old L85 for $300. Most of the dealers around here don't seem to sell used saws.

It would be nice to find a good deal on a used saw but if I bought a new one at least I'll know that it's not over half used-up. :deadhorse:

By the way is 1/2 of the price of new about right for a good used saw?

 

[Lou]

One more possibility that hasn't been touched on. PHONE your local Home Depot rental department. See if they have any used Makita (Dolmar in blue jams) 6401s for sale. Their saws are well maintained, after a couple of years usually sell for $200 - 300, and for a very small additional investment can become 7900s. Use the search function to bone up on what to check in a used saw before buying anything not warrantied.
Dolmars I think have outboard clutches.
Stihl is the only one I know of with inboard clutch.
I have removed the power head from a bar and chain pinched in a tree on both Pioneer and Husqvarna saws (both outboard clutches)... It ain't easy but can be done.

 

[DGG]

I live near Canton in NE OH & have oaks, maples, fir, ash, cherry & poplar to cut. There is an ample supply of dealers within a 1/2 hour drive that sell Stihl, Husqvarna, Dolmar, Echo & Jonsered. By the way, what's a "shiny?"

It would be nice to find a good deal on a used saw but if I bought a new one at least I'll know that it's not over half used-up.
By the way is 1/2 of the price of new about right for a good used saw?

farmjim-

Here's my 2 cents in response to your question about price of a "used" saw.

1/2 the cost of a "new" saw is a good price for a "used" saw if it is in like-new, excellent condition, and it comes with all the original instructions and accessories.

For any other condition just remember you can easily spend 1/2 of the cost of a "brand-new" saw for repairs and accessories (chain,bar,sprocket,filters,oiler, etc.) to make the "used" saw run as good as a "new" saw would.

And, after messing around with the maintenance and upgrading of the "used" saw, what you will end up with is a "used" saw with older technology, older heavier parts, no warranty, no dealer support to speak of, for the same price as a "brand-new" saw.

I have purchased three "used" saws with success. They were in super condition (clean, chain sharp as new, and the bar was hardly scratched). They had seen very little use and the owners maintained them well. They were also were saws that are current models being sold so getting parts, if necessary, was easy. Even though "used" they had all the latest features of the latest chainsaw model.

I think I paid less than half the price of a "new" saw but not by very much (maybe 40% of new). I had to spend time looking at many saws to find them. Once I bought them I had to check them out and spend time making sure they were setup properly and functional. This involved tearing them down somewhat, checking them over thoroughly, and reassembly. I'm a semi-gearhead so I enjoy this sort of thing and have the tools to do it.

Does this make any sense to you? Thoughts?

http://store.baileys-online.com/cgi-bin/baileys/5342

 

[Wood Hick]

Well farmer, I am always one to save a buck, but in your case I would go ahead and buy a new saw. Sounds like you have some serious cutting to do for a few seasons. I think in your shoes I would like a warranty and not have to worry about the saw. Being a Stihl fan, I think you can't go wrong with an MS440. That saw will do all you want and more, and Stihl is the exception for resale. In a few years if your place is cleaned up and you sell it you will get almost all your money back. If you keep it, you will have a tool on the farm that will pass on to your kids if maintained well. Also, if you farm for your primary income you can depreciate the saw on your taxes, every little bit helps! Oh, Shinny is slang for Shindaiwa saws, they are decent but no Husky or Stihl!

 

[2000ssm6]

Well farmer, I am always one to save a buck, but in your case I would go ahead and buy a new saw. Sounds like you have some serious cutting to do for a few seasons. I think in your shoes I would like a warranty and not have to worry about the saw. Being a Stihl fan, I think you can't go wrong with an MS440. That saw will do all you want and more, and Stihl is the exception for resale. In a few years if your place is cleaned up and you sell it you will get almost all your money back. If you keep it, you will have a tool on the farm that will pass on to your kids if maintained well. Also, if you farm for your primary income you can depreciate the saw on your taxes, every little bit helps! Oh, Shinny is slang for Shindaiwa saws, they are decent but no Husky or Stihl!

Well said!

I vote the 440 or 441 If you get the 440 go ahead and buy the dual port cover, part #1128 140 0801. Remember to adjust carb also....

 

[mini kahuna]

in my earlier post I forgot to mention the stihl's
the 361 is an awesome saw,but cutting on stuff that big all the time you would be working it pretty hard,it will do it....just take a little longer.
440/441 chassis is probably the most worked saw ever,loggers run them,kick them,beat the tar out of them and they go some more.
441 would be a great choice,don't let the price scare you,they hold their value for years.

 

[farmerjim]

Used Verses New

Thanks again for the excellent input. I'm going to see that used MS 440 today & taking along my compression gauge. They said I can fire it up to see how it runs. If it's nice with a box & paperwork, I'll see how low they'll go. If not I'll shop around some more.

By the way, I was wrong. My friend's Husky 575 xp has an inboard clutch.

 

[Cut4fun]

One more possibility that hasn't been touched on. PHONE your local Home Depot rental department. See if they have any used Makita (Dolmar in blue jams) 6401s for sale. Their saws are well maintained, after a couple of years usually sell for $200 - 300, and for a very small additional investment can become 7900s. Use the search function to bone up on what to check in a used saw before buying anything not warrantied.
Dolmars I think have outboard clutches.
Stihl is the only one I know of with inboard clutch.
I have removed the power head from a bar and chain pinched in a tree on both Pioneer and Husqvarna saws (both outboard clutches)... It ain't easy but can be done.

Wrong! my Dolmar/Makita 6401-7900 is inboard.

 

[Lou]

Wrong! my Dolmar/Makita 6401-7900 is inboard.

I stand corrected, made mental note, thanks