1 saw plan???

[Lionsfan]

Thanks for all the input guys. Not certain which way I'm going yet, but I've narrowed it down to a couple different options.

 

[huskihl]

Yeah

You were already on the list. Send it and I will have it done

 

[bwalker]

Will Sugar Maple last 2-3 years in the weather without rotting?

Not in my expiereance. It starts to go punky pretty quick. Oak on the other hand will last. Along time.

 

[Pat Burton]

The logging crew is done in our woodlot, and I've got a 2-3 year project ahead cleaning up tops. It's all Sugar Maple for the most part, and most of it is under 20". If you were limited to toting 1 saw for this type of work, what would it be???

My choice..50 cc range. Echo 490, Stihl 250, etc. Strong enough but also light enough to pack around.

 

[ace4059]

I think some of these replies are great advice.
I wish I would have 1.) found this site sooner and 2.) asked a few questions before buying my saws.
I consider myself tight with money in a sense that I hate wasting money and only buy things I see that I need to quickly complete a job. The right tools make all the difference. My wife thinks otherwise.

I am the type of person that buys quality one time and maintains that tool so hopefully it will last me a lifetime. I don’t ever sell anything because I have the mindset that you never know when you will need that tool or item again.

I’ve used four cheap chainsaws and had nothing but problems. They were low quality and underpowered. I borrowed them from family members that bought them to use one time and then they sat. You had to work on them 1/2 a day just to use them 20 minutes.

When I moved a few years ago, my (new to me) house is now only heated by wood. I knew I wanted the best chainsaw. I went with a MS 261 CM and a MS 400 CM. I love the 261 for general use and I wanted a larger saw to cut faster so went with the 400. I was disappointed in the 400 because it wasn’t a big jump in power I was expecting. I stepped up to the MS 500i and it’s a nice saw, but a little big for my needs.
If I would have done more research, I would have went the route of a 261 and a 462 and would have been done.

My advice is to buy the best you can afford. Buy something with enough power, and lightweight where it is easy to use. Use the proper equipment and be safe.

 

[D Kitchen]

I own the husky 550xp Mark ii and have used it for over two years now. I call it my little screamin demon. I also have a 20 inch bar on mine. I'm not a professional arborist. I use mine on my acreage at home. I have a wood burning stove and use it to fell and buck mostly red oak trees here in western NC. I believe you'd NOT be disappointed in the performance and weight of this saw. I'm in my upper 60's so I really like having a lighter saw that still has plenty of power.

 

[ZeroJunk]

What's an HT131?

Yeah, pole saw. You can hang it on your shoulder and cut that little stuff without bending over or having to walk up in it.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Wandering around a bit I know, but I have gone through quite a bit of that little limb stuff with an HT131.

I'll second that, for smaller stuff swinging a pole saw is very fast compared to moving your body and a saw.

 

[Lionsfan]

Yeah, pole saw. You can hang it on your shoulder and cut that little stuff without bending over or having to walk up in it.

Not gonna mess with that little stuff, cut it off and push it into a pile.

 

[Trailsawyer]

I've used an axe to free a saw before. No fun.

Having to chop out a saw in big wood will teach you a valuable lesson about using wedges!

 

[fields_mj]

Having to chop out a saw in big wood will teach you a valuable lesson about using wedges!

It was on a 18" black cherry that was blown over and hung up. The tree was that way when I bought the house, so a few weeks after getting moved in, I started cleaning it up. Pinched the bar on the first cut. Back then, the only saw I had was an 024 and I didn't know anything about using wedges. I didn't learn about using wedges on stuff like that until several years later. I'm pretty sure I would have been able to free the saw up with a wedge. Live is tough. Its tougher when you're stupid, and that was a rather tough day for me

 

[DP425]

I’m going to go ahead and vote on three options:
#1 (lowest price and light weight) - MS261
#2 (more costly, light weight, extra power) - worked MS261 (maybe order brand new 261 direct from mastermind)
#3 (more costly, medium weight, even more power) - MS400

I think #2 is probably the best option if you’re concerned with keeping weight down. However, cost will come out very near that of the MS400. The upside to option #2, is you can special order the arctic version, with heated grips if you’re cutting in cold weather.

Option #3 is the best option if you’re not worried about weight, and don’t care about heated grips.

Option #1 is straight economy- economy of weight and dollars. But it’s still plenty capable of what you need it to do. I cut that size wood for many years with an 026 Pro, which is the 261, a few generations older, with less power. I’ve used my year old 261 with similar wood and been very happy.

Slogging around in the woods, limbing and bucking a max diameter of 20”, I would myself probably gravitate to the modded 261 with an 18” light bar for maximum weight savings.

I love my MS400, but it is a noticeable size increase, both dimensions and weight over the 261.

Someone recommended an MS500…. No thank you. I have a 500, and for what you’re doing, that’s more saw than needed- at least with all the limbing- just bucking, okay, sure. But limbing with a 500 and 25” bar feels kind of clumsy.

I really don’t pull my 500 out that often. My 400 and 261 are about tied for use, with my 241 coming in third, and the 500 in last place (well, 193T is actually last place, but that doesn’t count as it’s totally inappropriate for your use). She’s also a thirsty *****.

 

[huskihl]

I’m going to go ahead and vote on three options:
#1 (lowest price and light weight) - MS261
#2 (more costly, light weight, extra power) - worked MS261 (maybe order brand new 261 direct from mastermind)
#3 (more costly, medium weight, even more power) - MS400

I think #2 is probably the best option if you’re concerned with keeping weight down. However, cost will come out very near that of the MS400. The upside to option #2, is you can special order the arctic version, with heated grips if you’re cutting in cold weather.

Option #3 is the best option if you’re not worried about weight, and don’t care about heated grips.

Option #1 is straight economy- economy of weight and dollars. But it’s still plenty capable of what you need it to do. I cut that size wood for many years with an 026 Pro, which is the 261, a few generations older, with less power. I’ve used my year old 261 with similar wood and been very happy.

Slogging around in the woods, limbing and bucking a max diameter of 20”, I would myself probably gravitate to the modded 261 with an 18” light bar for maximum weight savings.

I love my MS400, but it is a noticeable size increase, both dimensions and weight over the 261.

Someone recommended an MS500…. No thank you. I have a 500, and for what you’re doing, that’s more saw than needed- at least with all the limbing- just bucking, okay, sure. But limbing with a 500 and 25” bar feels kind of clumsy.

I really don’t pull my 500 out that often. My 400 and 261 are about tied for use, with my 241 coming in third, and the 500 in last place (well, 193T is actually last place, but that doesn’t count as it’s totally inappropriate for your use). She’s also a thirsty *****.

I think he’s going with option #4.
A 550 XS
In the end it’ll get the job done quickly

 

[huskihl]

The upside to option #2, is you can special order the arctic version, with heated grips if you’re cutting in cold weather.

Difficult to find a Canadian dealer that would ship an Arctic saw down to the states.

 

[Sidecarflip]

Plus, when I pinch a saw, I have the 2nd saw to get me out. I run into this a fair amount when I'm dealing with tops. I never go into the woods with only 1

My sentiments exactly and I always have 2, usually my ancient Stihl 028 and my limbing saw, my Echo top handle. Nothing worse than a pinched bar in a cut, especially when other sawyers are nearby.

 

[Minelli]

My go to for this is an 026/260/261 with a 20” bar. The bar length is just so I don’t have to bend down as much (yes the saw is nose heavy but I’m cheap and didn’t splurge for the lightweight bar). Yes you could cut up to 20+” but it’ll take a while.

My Dad has a 201 with a 16” bar and it is very light. As I get older I use it more and more.

 

[Hermio]

A quick story about powerheads and weight. Last week I went down to Clarksville to help with some cleanup. The group I was going with said that the county had asked them to come back because they (the county) didn't really have much of the equipment needed for the cleanup. Silly me, I thought this ment that they were dealing with some bigger trees. Turns out, they just didn't have much in the way of moving limbs out to the road where their track hoe could reach it to put it in the dump trucks. So, with this information, I opted to bring my 036 and my G660 with 18" and 28" bars respectively, but I left my 026 at home. When we got there, we were mainly dealing with a LOT of cedar trees. Nothing bigger than 16". I regretted my tool selection choice before I even started my saw. Within the first hour I was really feeling the consequences. Thankfully, one of the guys I went with had brought his Echo 310 (9lbs, 30cc). He messed up his knee the night before we left, so he drove down and ran errands for us. He offered his little saw, and I gladly primarily ran it for the duration of the trip.

The reason I share this is because having the right tool for the job makes a big difference. Typically, I hate running anything that has less than 3hp because it is such a waste of time. However, there were very few cuts that I made on that trip that were over 6" in diameter and that little 30cc saw did just fine, especially since it was 100 yds down hill back to the trucks meaning it was 100 yds uphill to get back up to the work.

For firewood, I cut most of the limbs off flush with the trunk so I'm making a wider cut, and I'm often essentially cutting through a knot in the process. I deal with everything in log form until I get it back to the house, and I don't take anything home that's much less than 6". When I'm in the woods, I use the 026 remove most of the stuff that I'm not going to take home, but my 036 still gets used to cut pretty much everything that I'm keeping. Plus, when I pinch a saw, I have the 2nd saw to get me out. I run into this a fair amount when I'm dealing with tops. I never go into the woods with only 1 saw. I may not ever start the 2nd saw, but if I need it and don't have it, I'm hosed. I've used an axe to free a saw before. No fun.

You don't really need a second saw to get you out when you get pinched. All you need is a second bar and chain. A big spud bar can help, too. I have one that is 6 feet long, and it can usually pry the kerf apart enough to free up the saw.

 

[fields_mj]

You don't really need a second saw to get you out when you get pinched. All you need is a second bar and chain. A big spud bar can help, too. I have one that is 6 feet long, and it can usually pry the kerf apart enough to free up the saw.

Agreed. I just find that it's more convenient to store the extra bar and chain on an extra powerhead