sruffner
ArboristSite Lurker
I've been lurking here for a couple of months, searching and reading threads on various saws. I'd like to get a little input on a couple of saws.
First, a little background on me: I'm a 'homeowner' user; I grew up using my grandfather's and father's Homelites (don't recall the models), and I had a Mac 10-10 I used for about 15 years. I've recently moved from in-town to "the country" (Central VA mountains) and I need to get new saws to replace the Mac. I found the Mac in the crawlspace under a house I'd bought, with spun bearings, and rebuilt it. That was probably a mistake (not worth what I spent in parts), but it was a strong enough saw to cut nearly everything I needed to cut. I used it mainly for firewood work, and with the fresh chain and bar it worked pretty well. The biggest stuff I cut up with it (16" bar) was some 22" dia. white oak, and it did OK. I got a kick out of the recent Mac 10-10 thread, and yes, it was finding parts - specifically one of those molded rubber gas lines- that made me decide it wasn't worth fooling with anymore. Hard to start, heavy and vibrated like holy heck. I'm sure a 'modern' saw is light years nicer by most measures.
Most of what I need to cut is going to be <18", a mixture of hard and soft woods; every now and then I'm sure something larger will fall where I can't leave it (eg, across the driveway!) until I can get a pro out there, so I'd like to be able to put at least a 20" bar in this saw. I'll have a significant amount of limbing do, so I think I'll really need to get two saws.
I'd like to get a mid-sized saw suitable for general purpose use (yeah, I know from other threads that this is about as broad and impossible to answer a question there is), and then a second, smaller saw for limbing. I'd also like the smaller to be manageable for the GF to use in a pinch. So far, I've bounced around a lot on different saws, but these are the main contenders:
MS260
MS290
346XP
MS361
372XP
and for the small saw
MS180
142
338XPT
I started out looking at the MS290, which seems nice, but the threads I read on here made me feel as if the 290 weighs as much as the 361, and performs no better than the 260. The 346XP seems like a better "all around" saw, but then, if I'm getting a small saw for lightweight work, the bigger MS361 or 372XP seem to make more sense.
The 338XPT seems like it would be awesome for lightweight work; the displacement seems similar to the other two, and yet it's a good bit lighter. Is there a gotcha here?
The Stihl and Husqvarna dealers are about the same distance away from home, but the Stihl dealer is very near my office. I like to patronize local small business (dealer support) but I also do all my own wrenching, so this really isn't critical; if I need parts, I'm likely going to have them shipped to me. I suppose warranty work has me leaning towards Stihl. In any event: I'm trying to buy a nice enough grade of saw that it will last me a lifetime, assuming no abuse, given that it's not going to see the duty it would if a real professional bought it.
FWIW: I have no dog in this Chevy/Ford thing, so a recommendation to mix the purchases is fine with me too.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
First, a little background on me: I'm a 'homeowner' user; I grew up using my grandfather's and father's Homelites (don't recall the models), and I had a Mac 10-10 I used for about 15 years. I've recently moved from in-town to "the country" (Central VA mountains) and I need to get new saws to replace the Mac. I found the Mac in the crawlspace under a house I'd bought, with spun bearings, and rebuilt it. That was probably a mistake (not worth what I spent in parts), but it was a strong enough saw to cut nearly everything I needed to cut. I used it mainly for firewood work, and with the fresh chain and bar it worked pretty well. The biggest stuff I cut up with it (16" bar) was some 22" dia. white oak, and it did OK. I got a kick out of the recent Mac 10-10 thread, and yes, it was finding parts - specifically one of those molded rubber gas lines- that made me decide it wasn't worth fooling with anymore. Hard to start, heavy and vibrated like holy heck. I'm sure a 'modern' saw is light years nicer by most measures.
Most of what I need to cut is going to be <18", a mixture of hard and soft woods; every now and then I'm sure something larger will fall where I can't leave it (eg, across the driveway!) until I can get a pro out there, so I'd like to be able to put at least a 20" bar in this saw. I'll have a significant amount of limbing do, so I think I'll really need to get two saws.
I'd like to get a mid-sized saw suitable for general purpose use (yeah, I know from other threads that this is about as broad and impossible to answer a question there is), and then a second, smaller saw for limbing. I'd also like the smaller to be manageable for the GF to use in a pinch. So far, I've bounced around a lot on different saws, but these are the main contenders:
MS260
MS290
346XP
MS361
372XP
and for the small saw
MS180
142
338XPT
I started out looking at the MS290, which seems nice, but the threads I read on here made me feel as if the 290 weighs as much as the 361, and performs no better than the 260. The 346XP seems like a better "all around" saw, but then, if I'm getting a small saw for lightweight work, the bigger MS361 or 372XP seem to make more sense.
The 338XPT seems like it would be awesome for lightweight work; the displacement seems similar to the other two, and yet it's a good bit lighter. Is there a gotcha here?
The Stihl and Husqvarna dealers are about the same distance away from home, but the Stihl dealer is very near my office. I like to patronize local small business (dealer support) but I also do all my own wrenching, so this really isn't critical; if I need parts, I'm likely going to have them shipped to me. I suppose warranty work has me leaning towards Stihl. In any event: I'm trying to buy a nice enough grade of saw that it will last me a lifetime, assuming no abuse, given that it's not going to see the duty it would if a real professional bought it.
FWIW: I have no dog in this Chevy/Ford thing, so a recommendation to mix the purchases is fine with me too.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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for limbing and the girlfriend. That'd make a great combo as well. I say 260 due to it's features as well and of course can't go wrong with a 361 as most can tell you here.
:chainsawguy: 
