Craftsman 5.2/30 poulan 5200

[Peno]

Hey. This is my fist post here but I have been reading the site for awhile since I got into a job where a saw became my main tool. Well long story short I have been looking at getting a 60+ cc saw for occasional use. Occasional being I would need it 1-2 days a week for logs around 20" and below. Well I ended up with what seems to be a good running craftsman equivalent of a poulan 5200. But the person before me managed to get a .325 chain on a 3/8 bar and sprocket. Well needless to say it now needs a now clutch bar and chain. My question is if this saw would be worth putting a 24" bar on and using it. Or should I be looking for something newer. I don't mind the weight. And I would rather not have to waste money on a newer saw if all it means is carrying more weight around. I do have 2 other smaller saws that i use. I just need a saw for days we get bigger trees to cut. Thank you for any helpful input. And I hope I'm putting this in the right place. -Peno

 

[farmer steve]

hi @Peno .welcome to AS. i have a poulan 5200 with a 20 inch bar. the best place to get some good answers and some help on locating parts is in the chainsaw stickies/poulan thread here is the link. http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/poulan-thread.98495/ good luck with getting that saw up and running properly. they are a beast of a saw.

 

[Peno]

hi @Peno .welcome to AS. i have a poulan 5200 with a 20 inch bar. the best place to get some good answers and some help on locating parts is in the chainsaw stickies/poulan thread here is the link. http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/poulan-thread.98495/ good luck with getting that saw up and running properly. they are a beast of a saw.

Thank you! I will move this over to the chainsaw forum!

 

[Streblerm]

That is a great saw! At 85cc it is more than enough displacement to run a 24" bar. It would probably handle a 30" without complaint.

My concern is that it is close to 40 years old. There are more than a handful of potential problems (age related failures, parts availability, lack of safety features) that could make relying on it for your livelihood...problematic. I'm not saying that you can't use old iron to make a living but you have to be committed to it. At some point it might make more financial sense to buy a newer saw. Especially if reliability is in question. The Echo 590 comes to mind as a relatively affordable replacement.

Again, great saw.

 

[wap13]

You could always sell the craftsman (to me) and use that money towards a newer saw.

From what I can tell ebay seems to be one of the best places to find parts the problem is its hit or miss.

Good luck

 

[Peno]

As of right now I'm either going to sell it as is. Or if I keep it I would want to restore it and paint it it's poulan green and try and get ahold of some decals for it. It does appear to be a good running saw

 

[hseII]

As of right now I'm either going to sell it as is. Or if I keep it I would want to restore it and paint it it's poulan green and try and get ahold of some decals for it. It does appear to be a good running saw

What would you take for it?

 

[DrewUth]

Yea post up some pics and a price you have in mind?