Newbie with saw questions

[Noisemaker]

mustangmike - no apology reuired, I appreciate you doing some of the legwork for me - I appreciate the offer to come out and see the saw - I'd love to see one of these run and cut and give it a handling before I drop a chunk of cash on it.

We tried to keep the baptism small, but it managed to jump to 30 people, so our house is going to be crammed... hope its nice out so we can kick people outside onto the deck. He's our first, and pretty darn awesome, although hes louder than my saws some times... congratulations on the Granddaughter; is she your first grandchild?

 

[MustangMike]

She is #3, her brothers are 5 & 7, nice age. I'm busy at times, but I'm semi retired, so let me know when you have the time and I'll let you run my saws. I think the 044 will impress for a non ported saw.

I would not "sit" on this, the saws on e bay seems to have dried up, and we still have daylight till about 6:30, let me know when U are available and I will PM U directions and phone #.

I'm very close to the intersection of 84 & 684.

 

[Noisemaker]

Thanks again Mike, I'll definitely PM you and set up a time.

 

[7sleeper]

Definately wrong time of year for used saws! Prices are at a premium!

As has been mentioned the echo 590 is MUCH better than any of the plastic body models you mentioned!

Just a general comment, your 5020 saws are perfect for your needs and should have no problem whatsoever with a buried 18inch bar! As you already remarked the real problem with them seems to be the user...
Cutting from both sides of a tree is absolutely normal for the rest of the world, only in the us the people believe that a big bar makes a big saw...

Besides the very good recomendations sofar, don't exclude a dolmar 6100 or the 7900 line of saws. The 7900/7910 usually go for less than a top brand but will whip any saw mentioned sofar into oblivion...

Good luck!

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[MustangMike]

I ran a 7900 at GTG, nothing negative to say about it, but I also did not think it supported your comment. It may not have been broken in yet, so I'll keep my eye out for them at this upcoming GTG.

 

[Noisemaker]

I ordered a 16" bar for the 5020, and a couple LGX chains - I feel like the 20" bar was too much for it - I'm not against double cuts, used to do it all the time, I just think it was too much in that configuration for that saw (20" bar, low kickback chain, me using it). I tried to get stuff locally but nobody stocks anything anymore. I can't find a replacement 20" bar for my saw that will take the 70 link chains I've already got, so I might end up buying an oregon bar with a couple 72 link chains. If I end up just doing 10 cord this year, I'll try to hold off until prices drop on used saws and fight through it with my 5020's, but if I end up doing the extra 4ish cord I may bite the bullet to speed things up, at least get another bar and couple chains so I can have both saws going at the same time and get my father in law to give me a hand; doing this stuff on nights and weekends doesn't leave me with much time to spare; as is I'm going to miss this weekend because my gear is all out of commission and I can't get anything locally.

As for dolmar/makita - Apparently there is a dealer not too far from me, I'll have to go check them out.

saws I'm considering
Stihl 044 or ms441
husky 372xp
johnny 2172
dolmar 7900 or 7910

general consensus has been that they are all decent saws that will be more than adequate to do what I need, and I've got dealer support close for all except the husky, which isn't too far if I need it; I'm just going to skip right over the "pro-sumer/ranch" area and just get a pro saw.

You all have been a great help... just wait; this time next year I'll have more saws than I know what to do with and still be trying to buy more.

 

[MustangMike]

Your on the right track. Let me know when you have time and I'll let you run all my saws so U know what the differences are. All the saws on your list would be great, but that 10 mm for $350 seems like a great deal to me, as long as your not looking for a beauty queen.

I'll tell you right now you will get a lot more done with any one of the saws on your list, in the limited time you have, than you will with what you are using.

Good Luck, and talk to you soon.

 

[MrGiggles]

Some Jonsered dealers are offering a 75 dollar trade in on any old junker towards the purchase of a new saw, and you say you have a dealer nearby. Get an old junker saw from craigslist for free or 10 bucks and trade it in..

A 16" bar with good chain will certainly speed that saw up a bunch. A 20" is really taxing for any stock 50cc saw, and they really scream with a 16". I prefer an 18" for the extra reach though. Then you can use that saw for limbing and have a 70cc for the big wood..

Keep your eye on the trading post here, it's the most trustworthy place to pick up a used saw.. You never really know what you're getting from a pawn shop or craigslist, most of the guys on here are pretty knowledgeable about what they're selling.

 

[Noisemaker]

Just thought I'd post an update here; my 16" bar came in, and after some initial issues with a bad batch of chain, my dealer set me up with some carlton chains. The B&C combo rips and is what the saw should have come with. I finished my required cutting for the season, and had a marathon split day on Sunday- split and stacked about 7 cord in 14 hours, with help obviously. I think I'm going to be able to hold off on a bigger saw until next year. For now anyways "wood season" is just about over for me, got a couple loads to bring back, and if the electric company takes stuff down I'll have to deal with it, but I beat my deadline by nearly a week.

 

[z71mike]

will a 460 rancher, ms311/ms391 do the trick for me or should I just suck it up and buy a pro saw?
if pro saw - will the 2166 j-red do the trick or be too much saw?

It is theoretically impossible to have "too much saw".

Ever.

 

[z71mike]

I think I'm going to be able to hold off on a bigger saw until next year. For now anyways "wood season" is just about over for me, got a couple loads to bring back, and if the electric company takes stuff down I'll have to deal with it, but I beat my deadline by nearly a week.

The winter is the perfect time to buy. Prices drop and it's a good time to work on a project saw. Take your time to rebuild it properly. You learn the saw and learn what will break it, and how long it takes to fix it. That'll stop you from running a dull chain any more

 

[Noisemaker]

The winter is the perfect time to buy. Prices drop and it's a good time to work on a project saw. Take your time to rebuild it properly. You learn the saw and learn what will break it, and how long it takes to fix it. That'll stop you from running a dull chain any more

I'll be watching for a deal this winter - as I mentioned before I've got two 50cc Poulans right now, this winter will be maintenance on the working one, and once I get the other back from warranty repair I'll be going through it as well, I'm pretty sure it could use a plug & filter - it would be awesome to start next season with the two working poulans, and a bigger saw whether it's a jonny, husq or stihl doesn't really matter much to me. I've got so many winter projects already that I don't know if I want to pick up another one (i.e. a saw that needs real work). I've got to finish my guitar build by mid-December, my keezer build by New Years eve, and some interior house painting before the wife takes a chefs knife to me.

 

[ethar]

A Mcculloch 610 is a good all round bucking saw. Can usually find for cheap. What I keep around are a small 35cc for limbing and climbing a 60cc for bucking and general tree falling and an 80cc for the big stuff. All Macs. You'd be surprised what a Mac 160 can cut.

 

[Noisemaker]

A Mcculloch 610 is a good all round bucking saw. Can usually find for cheap. What I keep around are a small 35cc for limbing and climbing a 60cc for bucking and general tree falling and an 80cc for the big stuff. All Macs. You'd be surprised what a Mac 160 can cut.

I used an MS310 the other day; the power gap between my 50cc and a 60cc saw wasn't big enough for me, I'm looking at 70cc and bigger; my general plan is to keep the 50's for small-medium stuff, the 70 for big stuff, and pick up some kind of climber; the 50 is just too awkward to climb with. I appreciate your input though. I did see a jonny 920 which is 87cc, but the price was too high and the lack of compression release bothered me (I'm 5'9 and a "soft" 170lbs ala desk job), that and the saw is likely as old as I am.

Nothing against the MS310 though, it was a good runner, obviously stronger than my saw & had a better anti-vib system, there just wasn't enough of a gap between my 50 and the 60 for me to merit getting one.

 

[Full Chisel]

I'd be looking hard at a 372xp if you're gonna jump on the 70cc Pro bandwagon.

 

[Noisemaker]

I'd be looking hard at a 372xp if you're gonna jump on the 70cc Pro bandwagon.

The 372 is what I keep coming back to (or the jonny 2166 or 2172). we will see what deals this winter brings.

 

[7sleeper]

Get a 365xp brand new and convert it yourself to a 372xp!

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[treesmith]

No such thing as a saw too big here. Some will you tell that you need to prune a rose bush in a suit of armor with a ported 3120xp and a 72" bar.

That's just complete nonsense, a ported 3120 doesn't need any more than a 24" bar

Now then....

 

[MaddBomber]

Get a 365xpbrand new and convert it yourself to a 372xp!

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Or find used Jred 2065/2165 and convert that to 2071/2172. He says he likes Jred and has good dealer support. That's what I did.

 

[Chris-PA]

Somehow I missed this thread, so I was catching up on it. I cut about the same amount of wood, mostly with cheap homeowner class saws. One thing that struck me: A bigger saw might well be helpful and faster, but nothing you described in the use of your 5020 should have harmed the saw in any way. I have bucked quite a few trees of that size with small bar homeowner saws, where I needed to cut from both sides. It's slow but the saw doesn't mind at all. And it's never appreciably worn a bar either.

Broken chain brakes, damaged bars - these things are likely due to things like pinching the bar, worn chains, etc. It would be well worth the effort of reading up and refining technique, as an expensive saw can be damaged pretty quickly too.