When I was home visiting my parents a few weeks ago, I was chatting with my dad about chainsaws. He is a farmer. The whole time I was growing up, and even now, he has heated a big old drafty farmhouse with a Longwood wood furnace. So he has cut quite a bit of wood.
I remember when I was growing up, he always had more than one saw. I think he had a Super XL and one of those top-handle Homelites (XL2)? I believe he owned a John Deere saw briefly, and then probably 15 years ago or so, he converted to Stihl. His old Stihl has held up pretty well; I think he's still using that one.
Now he has two saws: an 026 and a 260 Pro he bought more recently. (He says the 026 seems to cut a little better.) Anyway, his method is to always bring along both saws with sharp chains, ready to cut. Then, if one gets dull, or starts running badly, or runs out of gas or whatever, he switches to the other one and keeps on going.
Most here would say that a 260 is on the small side for firewood. But Dad has way more wood available than he'll ever need. So he doesn't mess with the really big stuff. He says they are too heavy anyway. Instead, he prefers to stick with smaller trees and cut them into longer lengths. (I think the Longwood furnace can accept up to a 5' log.) BTW, both saws have 16" bars.
So what do you think? Two saws with identical specs? Seems like an effective way to keep it simple if you can be choosy about what you cut down.
I remember when I was growing up, he always had more than one saw. I think he had a Super XL and one of those top-handle Homelites (XL2)? I believe he owned a John Deere saw briefly, and then probably 15 years ago or so, he converted to Stihl. His old Stihl has held up pretty well; I think he's still using that one.
Now he has two saws: an 026 and a 260 Pro he bought more recently. (He says the 026 seems to cut a little better.) Anyway, his method is to always bring along both saws with sharp chains, ready to cut. Then, if one gets dull, or starts running badly, or runs out of gas or whatever, he switches to the other one and keeps on going.
Most here would say that a 260 is on the small side for firewood. But Dad has way more wood available than he'll ever need. So he doesn't mess with the really big stuff. He says they are too heavy anyway. Instead, he prefers to stick with smaller trees and cut them into longer lengths. (I think the Longwood furnace can accept up to a 5' log.) BTW, both saws have 16" bars.
So what do you think? Two saws with identical specs? Seems like an effective way to keep it simple if you can be choosy about what you cut down.
