Best saw for me? Large project

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Richard Stewart

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In this next year I am going to undertaking a large land management project. I will taking out a large number of trees and creating trails and room for cabins.
I am looking for information concerning chain saws. I have owned stihl's, Jonsered's and Sachs-Dolmars. The Sachs-Dolmars were the best I had ever owned. I had worked them hard and I never had to rebuild any part of the engine, like I did with my Stihl's and Jonsered's. I would clean my Sachs-Dolmar saws after each use, once in a while change chains, bars, spark plugs and pull cords.

I understand that Sachs-Dolmar of Germany was bought out by Makita. Now there is a line of Dolmar and a line of Makita saws that look exactly the same. Can someone answer for me the questions of, who is Dolmar of today, where are the Dolmar saws made, are they the same as once before German, or are they being made somewhere else? If Dolmar is no longer German, then who is manufacturing the Dolmar Saw and is the quality still there?

The reason I am asking so many questions about Dolmar is because I had owned 3 Sachs-Dolmar saws in the past and they never failed me ever, whether in hot or below zero cold, wet and rainy, or your basic dry. I am currently running several Husqvarna's which so far are impressing me. But the litmus test for me is the test of time. Each of my Sachs-Dolmar saws remained bone stock except for the chains and bars for over 10 years of heavy use. That impresses me.

Finally, just out of curiosity, is John Deere really making their own chain saw, or are they farming that out to someone? If so then who? What kind of reviews have the John Deere chain saws received?

Sincerely,

--- Richard Stewart
Holyoke, Mass
 
Sorry I cant help you about Dolmar, but John Deere does not make their own saw to my knowledge. It is from a company in Italy (not Olympyk).
 
I own a Makita DCS401 (Dolmar Sachs) and it's a fantastic saw. I think your getting a far superior saw to the equivalent priced Stihl.

The Dolmar comes with compression release, adjustable oiler, cold air carb capability, dual stage air filter, and a more user friendly choke and resevoir caps. It's also lighter weight, more powerful, yet has less vibration than the equivalent priced Stihl.

The problem is they are extremely hard to find locally. Makita tool dealers and mass merchants rarely stock the chainsaws, yet outdoor equipment dealers seem to be in bed with Stihl, Echo, or Husky. Makita has a major distribution problem with their outdoor power equipment.

I've never used or even seen one of the larger Makitas, but my experience with the 401 is sure positive.

I have 4 Stihl's, 1 Echo, and the Makita and prefer to use the Makita over the others whenever possible.
 
Makita owns Dolmar. Dolmar remains in germany in the same factory as before they were bought out.
They build good product. Check out their web site. go to www.mychainsaw.com and go to manufacturers links.
John Deere bought Homelite and their small saws are built in the Homelite factory. The new selection of larger saws are built by Oleo-Mac in Italy. Oleo-Mac build good units. Oleo-Mac and Olympyk are the same company but they had so stop using the Olympyk name.
Dr. John
 
Hi Richard,

I agree with all of Dr. John's reply. I like the Makita electric power tools I own. But their chain saw distribution and dealers are so sparse in my area that I would never buy one.

My recommendation for the project you have proposed would be a Husqvarna 372XP. You can buy it new for $585 delivered to your door with a 20" chain and bar. When you consider quality, performance, ease of handling, and dealer/parts availability, I think this is the best deal going.
As a concession to the other readers of this forum, I think the Stihl 044 is a fine saw. But, I doubt you could get a new one, delivered to your door with chain and bar, for $585.

Please post your findings if you do decide to go with a Makita. Good products, especially this brand, need exposure.

Good Luck,

Carroll
 

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