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kevin hetzel

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
Sep 20, 2019
Messages
10
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21
Location
medford, nj 08055
Well, I am newish here: formerly known as wood junky but my handle was closed due to lack of use:

Here I am with no saws after some significant mishaps. Beware of whom you lend your saws.

I am thinking I would start with 462 and build from there thoughts?

Former collection:
440
Dolmar 7900
Ms361 ported.
 
Without knowing how you are going to use it, I would agree with Steve (SVK).

I know Huskies, not Stihl, so MY advice would be 550XP, then something along the lines of 372XP/572XP/576XP, I've been pondering which of those is my best bet in the 70cc class.

A Top Handle is a Handy saw to have around, I Love the little Husky 23 Compact, Top Handle that I have had for 25 years or so.

That would be a Good 3 saw plan for most, if you get into larger wood a 90cc class saw would be a good choice after that, but you haven't really given enough info to give you Good advice, just generalized advice


Doug :cheers:
 
I am a firewood guy that ends up with mostly oak. 50% of the time end up working on a crew for wood. Felling is pretty rare- bucking big oak. mostly.

perhaps the 362 then move on to the 462, and add a top handle. appreciate the advice thanks
Kevin
 
Without knowing how you are going to use it, I would agree with Steve (SVK).

I know Huskies, not Stihl, so MY advice would be 550XP, then something along the lines of 372XP/572XP/576XP, I've been pondering which of those is my best bet in the 70cc class.

A Top Handle is a Handy saw to have around, I Love the little Husky 23 Compact, Top Handle that I have had for 25 years or so.

That would be a Good 3 saw plan for most, if you get into larger wood a 90cc class saw would be a good choice after that, but you haven't really given enough info to give you Good advice, just generalized advice


Doug :cheers:
572 nice smooth saw.
 
"Mostly Big Oak" I'm Jealous:envy:

How Big?? You may want to consider an 80-95cc saw, if you are cutting mostly 36" and larger Oak.

Yep, a 20" bar WILL cut a 36" log, but it is slower, hard on the saw, and you have to cut from both sides, I personally prefer a bit more saw than I need, and like to be able to cut from one side, but you may have differing ideas, of what works best for you.


Doug :cheers:
 
My Dad had a McCulloch Super Pro 60, when I was a kid, so when I bought my first house with a Fireplace, I naturally went shopping for Yellow and Black, by '91, they had been bought by Black and Decker, and weren't the saws I grew up with:(

I did what research I could back then, and had friends that Had Stihls, and others with Huskys, ran Both, thought they were BOTH, EXCELLENT tools, and I just got more saw for my money with Husky, the 266XP fit my needs well back then, and it is still an excellent saw today.

Husqvarna makes a saw for any need I have, and they have been Solid Reliable for me, so I have stuck with them, and have never regretted it.

They had a much better dealer network back then, and I will admit, that is their biggest weakness in my opinion. They lost a Lot of dealers when they started selling through Lowe's, but the Lowe's closest to me has had very few Husqvarna saws on the shelf lately, mostly Crapsman, and Poulan IIRC. I am HOPING that is a Good sign, maybe if they drop the saws, some dealers may come back, I can HOPE anyways.;)

It really sucks, I prefer to deal with a Local, Brick and Mortar shop when I can, but my last 3 saws have been bought from a dealer online, fortunately, I have never needed to use Husky's warranty, so that hasn't been a problem:)


Doug :cheers:
 
I have a local husky dealer brick and motor hardware store but the guy is awful and the stihl dealer is fantastic to deal with. I would consider both Husky or Stihl as comparable saws. the closer for me is the dealer.

Stihl's death grip with their web presence and pricing controls is turning me off and has me considering options. especially as saws are regularly eclipsing the $1000 mark.

Looked at echo yesterday, not I am not considering them as a viable option. Very underwhelmed. Disposable saws.

Headed to the makita factory authorized repair facility on monday to see if there is support/repair/discount -something for my wrecked Dolmar. I have taken some ruined electric tools to the same place and they fixed what they could and replaced at an extremely reasonable price what could not be fixed. Finger crossed.
 
I have a local husky dealer brick and motor hardware store but the guy is awful and the stihl dealer is fantastic to deal with. I would consider both Husky or Stihl as comparable saws. the closer for me is the dealer.

Stihl's death grip with their web presence and pricing controls is turning me off and has me considering options. especially as saws are regularly eclipsing the $1000 mark.

Looked at echo yesterday, not I am not considering them as a viable option. Very underwhelmed. Disposable saws.

Headed to the makita factory authorized repair facility on monday to see if there is support/repair/discount -something for my wrecked Dolmar. I have taken some ruined electric tools to the same place and they fixed what they could and replaced at an extremely reasonable price what could not be fixed. Finger crossed.
I hear you about dealers and Stihl's unwillingness to offer discounts.

What Echo saws did you look at? They make a good saw IMO and prices are great.
 
I was messing the echo 680 and 800, used the 590 in the field and was not impressed- although at the price point its a decent value- but performance wise not comparable to Husky or Stihl or Dolmar.

I like the idea of a bigger motor and small bar- Ie ms361-18"

The longest bar I own is a 25" and only ever carried by the 7900.

So maybe the 550-462- combo? would need to put my hands on one and decide.

Kevin
 
I was messing the echo 680 and 800, used the 590 in the field and was not impressed- although at the price point its a decent value- but performance wise not comparable to Husky or Stihl or Dolmar.

I like the idea of a bigger motor and small bar- Ie ms361-18"

The longest bar I own is a 25" and only ever carried by the 7900.

So maybe the 550-462- combo? would need to put my hands on one and decide.

Kevin
See if you can try each of the models to see what feels best.
 
I have a local husky dealer brick and motor hardware store but the guy is awful and the stihl dealer is fantastic to deal with. I would consider both Husky or Stihl as comparable saws. the closer for me is the dealer.

Stihl's death grip with their web presence and pricing controls is turning me off and has me considering options. especially as saws are regularly eclipsing the $1000 mark.

Looked at echo yesterday, not I am not considering them as a viable option. Very underwhelmed. Disposable saws.

Headed to the makita factory authorized repair facility on monday to see if there is support/repair/discount -something for my wrecked Dolmar. I have taken some ruined electric tools to the same place and they fixed what they could and replaced at an extremely reasonable price what could not be fixed. Finger crossed.
Gonna say a MS 261 and a MS 462 since you say the Stihl dealer is a good guy. I have been able to dicker with my Stihl dealer on several new saw purchases. He cut me close to $200 off on my 462. I have run a fellow members Echo 590 and it is a great running saw but I would not buy one from a big box store. Dealer only. BTW. GTG here at my place end of October. I'm sure there will be all kinds of saws here and I'm sure most of the guys would let you do some test drives.:)
 
I understand about having a dealer that is Good to work with, Sandy Chain Saw in......... Sandy,OR;), is Great to deal with, I enjoy BS'in with Tim while I am there, have even Learned a few things from him, but unfortunately they switched from Husky to Stihl:( before they became my "Local" dealer. I give them what business I can, Tim usually makes a great deal when I buy chain from them, especially buying several at a time, Dayum though, he HATES hearing that I bought a new Husky, but I understand how Husky's decision to sell through Lowe's really HURT their dealers.

If it is just the supplies side of it you need, and he can handle that, myself, I stihl prefer my Husky's, been solid saws for me for almost 30 years now, but if service is a need/issue for you, then, Stihl makes more sense. So far, I have NEVER needed to use Husqvarna's warranty, and after I learned to use ONLY Non-Ethanol gas in my saws, I have extremely few problems, so the service side of it, would be Nice, but hasn't been an issue for me.


Doug :cheers:
 
I’d start bigger if I was going for multiple sizes. It’s easy to do small work with a bigger tool when cutting but impossible to do oversized work with an undersized tool.

I would start mid-sized, which I’ve always put in the 5.5-6 horsepower range, then go from there barring being in really big wood. If you want a Stihl at the moment there’s one choice, the MS462. I like the 572XP Husqvarna better but I also have a penchant for longer bars. The MS462 is a ripper with a 20 or a 25 and will probably blow the 572XP out of the water on speed with shorties.
 
I have been able to dicker with my Stihl dealer on several new saw purchases. He cut me close to $200 off on my 462.
That is incredible, I would definitely continue to support that dealer. When I was looking for a new large saw I looked at the 461 at several places. The guy nearest my house was $30 higher than the guy near my cabin. When I asked him if he would price match cause the other guy was less he became angry and said "THEY CANT DO THAT".

When I bought my 241 it took me 4 or 5 dealerships to find one that actually even knew that the 241 existed. Received "they do not make a saw in that model, you mean 251" twice. Finally went to the guy who had them in stock. Paid full price and they would't even throw in a hat or a pint of oil.
I have run a fellow members Echo 590 and it is a great running saw but I would not buy one from a big box store. Dealer only.
You can get fabulous deals on Echo by buying online. Obviously you are taking a risk if anything goes wrong. The only downside to Echo IMO is that replacement parts are always full price unless you can find someone parting out a saw.
BTW. GTG here at my place end of October. I'm sure there will be all kinds of saws here and I'm sure most of the guys would let you do some test drives.:)
@kevin hetzel if you can hold off on buying a saw for a few more weeks you will probably get to run a number of great saws and meet a bunch of great guys.

I understand how Husky's decision to sell through Lowe's really HURT their dealers.
What happened here...I thought they were going to sell Redmax through big box and Husky through real dealers?

On that note, I normally purchase all of my Husky stuff from Spike60 and my Makita stuff from Millermodsaws. I wanted a small, inexpensive saw so Bob told me to buy a 130 locally.....what a mess as I had to help the dealer actually locate the saw because he gave me the "they do not make such model" line I have heard before LOL. I probably should just have ordered it through TSC.
 
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