first saw, words of wisdom, want to keep for life

Treestuff
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Roster

Roster

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Hey everybody,

I am just graduating from college and in the process of accumulating the essential equipment and looking towards a saw. I live in town in oklahoma currently and want to cut some firewood and clean up some woods (apprx. an acre) the next few weeks. I have been using a family saw a ms180ce and it is just not the right saw for all purpose use. My pops also has a ms291 but it stays on the farm. I have fairly small trees here and not a lot needs splitting to give you a rough idea of the diameter but I also have a small farm of my own with 30 or so acres of woods in iowa I hope to develop as my own in several years, maybe build some buildings with the available trees on the property with the saw's help. so it will be used for a broad range of applications, which makes me hesitant to put $300 into a new saw like the ms250 and need more saw later

right now my local shop has a ms271 for a slight discount as it's been run and got dusty, $360+tax, would probably end up being close to $400. and theres a $299 deal on the ms250s. But theres also a dolmar dealership around an hour trip out, and lastly what i am leaning towards now is a ms261cm on craigslist, clean like new. case, $500

I am just looking for a few opinions, I am thinking that the 261 will last and be easier to fix and keep going a long time down the road as I'm looking to buy the saw for life. It would be capable, but the other saws like the 271 would probably be just as much so, but my dad has a 291 with a smidge more power and same weight, and I would only have to consider getting a bigger saw in any case if I ran into much bigger stuff that needed it?

So basically i'm between a theoretical dolmar saw new, a $390 ms271, or a $500 slightly used ms261. I like the idea of not paying tax on the 261 but $500 is a substantial price point to consider other options even if it does seem to be the perfect saw right now.


Appreciate your thoughts
 
i thought i might as well post another beginner sort of question in here at the same time, i'm looking for a new chain for the small ms180 that might have a little more bite than the one is on it, the one that came on it has probably gotten hot also. but im not really familiar with full vs semi chisel
 
Husqvarna 372xp or 365 or the Jonsered equivalent. Stihl 460/461 or the big 7901 Dolmar. I almost said Echo 590 but it sounds like you could get into some bigger wood and need a 24-28 inch bar. Also sounds like you are going to mill with it. "using available trees on the property". I bought a 60 cc saw as a 1 saw plan and ended up selling it and buying a 70cc.

The only reason that 346 is in my sig is because of CAD. If I absolutely had to have 1 saw it would be a 70cc~ saw with a 20/24/28 inch bar. If you are serious about using your available trees for boards you may need a 90cc + size saw actually you WILL need a 90cc + saw.
 
Roster said:
i thought i might as well post another beginner sort of question in here at the same time, i'm looking for a new chain for the small ms180 that might have a little more bite than the one is on it, the one that came on it has probably gotten hot also. but im not really familiar with full vs semi chisel
Click to expand...
Depends on the size but if it"s 3/8x 1.3 050 lo pro Stihl PS Full chisel no safety ( yellow chain ) would be the way I would go. But then again if you're cutting " Mucky" wood a semi chisel chain is preferred maybe A 63PMM if you are a stihl user
 
Words of wisdom, as I once was in a similar situation.

Get a second hand Stihl Farm Boss now. MS290/310/390 don't get much love around here but they are perfectly suited to the job you have to do right now and to start out in the other farm.
They are reasonably priced, Stihl sold millions of them, so everything that could go wrong is well known, aftermarket spares are ridiculously cheap and you can work them for years with no issues and just basic maintenance.
Once you are better off down the road and you have decided what you want to do with with that wood of yours, you can trade your Farm Boss for whatever will be available then. There will always be a market for these saws and as you are buying it used right now it has already taken a hit in depreciation.
 
Conquistador3 said:
Words of wisdom, as I once was in a similar situation.

Get a second hand Stihl Farm Boss now. MS290/310/390 don't get much love around here but they are perfectly suited to the job you have to do right now and to start out in the other farm.
They are reasonably priced, Stihl sold millions of them, so everything that could go wrong is well known, aftermarket spares are ridiculously cheap and you can work them for years with no issues and just basic maintenance.
Once you are better off down the road and you have decided what you want to do with with that wood of yours, you can trade your Farm Boss for whatever will be available then. There will always be a market for these saws and as you are buying it used right now it has already taken a hit in depreciation.
Click to expand...
Good plan. The MS 290, 310, 390 have cheap parts galore. The 271, 291 don't have much in after market parts. And all these benefit from easy muffler mods. Whichever, keep chain sharp, keep tuned and use good fresh fuel and oil.

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk
 
I thought i mite pipe in, i bought brand new a ms 271, at the time it was 80$ or more to get the 291 and the horsepower ratings were very close, the price to horsepower wasnt worth it to me as i had a multitude of muscle saws. But im really happy with my 271, it came with a 20" bar but its in .325 pitch so it pulls it fine. The spring av mounts are very smooth. I give a thumbs up to the 271, then later add a 70+ cc saw. A three saw plan i think is about right for most small limber ,50cc and a 70cc. Personally i go for the 60+ saw plan, but i have a CAD problem.
 
People Are not goin to agree with me, but the ms250 will do the trick for the small trees you have.... I have a ms362 and a ms461 now, and I still take the ms250 in the woods.... as a matter of fact I hadn't used her in awhile, so a few weekends ago I took her along on a solo trip to get some shagbark hickory.... I don't know how much hickory you cut but it is a HARD wood.... anyway, I had her 18" bar buried a few times and with good sharpening skills and a light hand, she cut it up no problem....my point is, if you won't be using the saw every day, as others have stated the ms250, ms271, and ms290 would be fine for you....

Now on the other hand if you would want a ms362 (or husky/dolmar that's the same pro-size saw), pro-saw that can handle a 25" bar for the rare occasion, yes it would be a good investment...really depends on what you want to SPEND right now....

I will close my ramblings with the pic of the ms250 and her load of hickory, I still love this saw for some reason!!!!IMG_1199.JPGIMG_1201.JPG
 
Oh and I have a few ms170/ms180 I have rebuilt that have the RM3 chain with the safety humps on it.... I took a 4-inch angle grinder and filed them off....did it make a difference, i believe it helped the saw cut better....

I should add for some reason I hate buying a non-runner saw to rebuild that has the damn safety chain on it, I hate safety chain LOL....:cheers:
 
Your young, probably won't be your one and only saw in life. Buy what you can afford.

My dads always had Stihls, I bought an CS-590 based on reviews and price. In many ways it's better than his 034, but longevity I can't speak to. I still got many years to buy a 700-800 saw if I need/want to.
 
Sounds like you're not cutting anything big enough to justify a saw over about 60cc right now, and would probably be fine and a lot happier with 45-50cc.

If you really do want to mill some later on, you're going to want a big saw. Even if you get a 70cc now you won't want to mill with it.

If those are your only options, I'd probably look at the 261 and see if he'll come down a little bit. I keep a 45, 60, and 80cc with me when I'm cutting, and find myself using the 60cc the most unless wood is smaller than 5" in diameter, then the 45cc shines because it's so nimble. I don't normally run the 80cc unless I'm using the 32" bar. A 60cc will do fine with even a 24" bar, just don't be too heavy handed.
 
Makita DCS642120 64CC Easy-Starting Half Throttle Lock Chain Saw.
Best saw for the money.
This saw is Dolmar PS 6400. Made by Dolmar.
I own one and is a super good saw.
 
DeckSetter said:
Sounds like you're not cutting anything big enough to justify a saw over about 60cc right now, and would probably be fine and a lot happier with 45-50cc.

If you really do want to mill some later on, you're going to want a big saw. Even if you get a 70cc now you won't want to mill with it.

If those are your only options, I'd probably look at the 261 and see if he'll come down a little bit. I keep a 45, 60, and 80cc with me when I'm cutting, and find myself using the 60cc the most unless wood is smaller than 5" in diameter, then the 45cc shines because it's so nimble. I don't normally run the 80cc unless I'm using the 32" bar. A 60cc will do fine with even a 24" bar, just don't be too heavy handed.
Click to expand...
Wow I accidentally clicked your avatar and seen you are from Albany... I live in Yorktown... you are closest person to me that I have noticed on this site!!!
 
DeckSetter said:
Ha! Hey neighbor!
Click to expand...
Do you cut for a living, or do you heat with wood.... I heat my water and house with an OWB, but I don't do tree work full-time.... just obsessed with working on, using, rebuilding, and sharpening chainsaws LOl
 

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