I have acquired three felling saws in the last two months for which I am immensely grateful. I would like some advice on whether to buy a used 3120XP(powerhead only needing oiler) or another Makita 6401- but I have an 84mm kit it will receive immediately. The idea here is to have one final backup, that would add something to the stable but still be usable as a primary saw for a few days to a week if necessary.
The saws I already own for felling are:
Makita 6401 converted to 52mm 79cc
Husqvarna 365- early saw but very good compression & power
Husqvarna 575 - newer saw
I would like to have one more saw for my logging project(see below)
The saws I am looking at are owned by a friend who got out of logging after his brother died in accident.
They are:
(1)a Makita DCS6401 that has a 20" bar and 24" bar and 5 chains. He wants $300 for it. I might be able to get it for $275. It is an old Home Depot rental saw, but it is in good condition, no leaks, has a new piston and rings and 136lbs of compression. The bottom end is very solid, no chatter or looseness around the bearings. If I buy it, I have a spare 84mm conversion kit that I will do a mild port on to get the port timing right, and make the saw 84mm.
(2) Husqvarna 3120XP- Wants $400 for it.- period, no less, no negotiation. This saw has a ridiculous amount of compression, looks great inside the cylinder. Plastics are faded, but the saw itself is in great shape- except for one thing. The kicker is that he got into masonry work briefly and he took off the oiler and put on the parts to make it a masonry saw. He used it very, very little, but in a divorce he lost the oiler and the bar and his chains for this saw. So it needs the oiler setup, needs a bar, needs chains. It does not look great but the insides of the saw indicate it is in good condition. It was originally a chainsaw for sure, it was not originally sold as masonry saw.
My reservations about the 3120XP is that I will be walking a lot with the saw, and I have a bad left shoulder(labrum gone, rotator cuff torn). I worry about having to use it for long periods in the event of a breakdown. I think it could be useful with some of the 3- 4 foot OD hardwoods I've found. I think it could also be useful in dealing with stumps.
If I get the Makita, I have an 84cc kit I could put on it. I really like the Makita I've got and I think it has a great deal of power.
Whichever one of these I buy, I want it to be something I can use and not just have for looks. I don't know how much an oiler will be for the 3120xp. I don't know if it will be such a weight burden that I don't use it.
I am leaning towards the Makita because I know I can carry it without bothering my left should, it seems really reliable, and I think it would have good power.
Whichever saw I get has to have the ability that if the other 3 were broken, stolen, out of gas, abducted by aliens- that the saw could be used as a primary felling saw.
The other thing is that I am planning on whichever of these two I buy, to basically be my last saws that I buy.
I have TD6-62 and I am 90% finished on a hydraulic stump grinder, so between pushing out the stumps and being able to grind others, I may not need a stumping saw.
Project Details:
I am working through 20 acres of hardwoods and then 20 acres of loblolly and white pine. I am doing this part time when my machine shop work is really slow. I have gone through 2 acres worth of the hardwoods. I have run into a bunch of species throughout the 20 acres of hardwoods: there is oak, beech, elm, maple, cherry, sweet gum, an ash, cottonwood, redbud. Some of the big sweet gums have huge stumps. Minimum age of most of the hardwoods is 50 years, pine are all 40+ years old.
The saws I already own for felling are:
Makita 6401 converted to 52mm 79cc
Husqvarna 365- early saw but very good compression & power
Husqvarna 575 - newer saw
I would like to have one more saw for my logging project(see below)
The saws I am looking at are owned by a friend who got out of logging after his brother died in accident.
They are:
(1)a Makita DCS6401 that has a 20" bar and 24" bar and 5 chains. He wants $300 for it. I might be able to get it for $275. It is an old Home Depot rental saw, but it is in good condition, no leaks, has a new piston and rings and 136lbs of compression. The bottom end is very solid, no chatter or looseness around the bearings. If I buy it, I have a spare 84mm conversion kit that I will do a mild port on to get the port timing right, and make the saw 84mm.
(2) Husqvarna 3120XP- Wants $400 for it.- period, no less, no negotiation. This saw has a ridiculous amount of compression, looks great inside the cylinder. Plastics are faded, but the saw itself is in great shape- except for one thing. The kicker is that he got into masonry work briefly and he took off the oiler and put on the parts to make it a masonry saw. He used it very, very little, but in a divorce he lost the oiler and the bar and his chains for this saw. So it needs the oiler setup, needs a bar, needs chains. It does not look great but the insides of the saw indicate it is in good condition. It was originally a chainsaw for sure, it was not originally sold as masonry saw.
My reservations about the 3120XP is that I will be walking a lot with the saw, and I have a bad left shoulder(labrum gone, rotator cuff torn). I worry about having to use it for long periods in the event of a breakdown. I think it could be useful with some of the 3- 4 foot OD hardwoods I've found. I think it could also be useful in dealing with stumps.
If I get the Makita, I have an 84cc kit I could put on it. I really like the Makita I've got and I think it has a great deal of power.
Whichever one of these I buy, I want it to be something I can use and not just have for looks. I don't know how much an oiler will be for the 3120xp. I don't know if it will be such a weight burden that I don't use it.
I am leaning towards the Makita because I know I can carry it without bothering my left should, it seems really reliable, and I think it would have good power.
Whichever saw I get has to have the ability that if the other 3 were broken, stolen, out of gas, abducted by aliens- that the saw could be used as a primary felling saw.
The other thing is that I am planning on whichever of these two I buy, to basically be my last saws that I buy.
I have TD6-62 and I am 90% finished on a hydraulic stump grinder, so between pushing out the stumps and being able to grind others, I may not need a stumping saw.
Project Details:
I am working through 20 acres of hardwoods and then 20 acres of loblolly and white pine. I am doing this part time when my machine shop work is really slow. I have gone through 2 acres worth of the hardwoods. I have run into a bunch of species throughout the 20 acres of hardwoods: there is oak, beech, elm, maple, cherry, sweet gum, an ash, cottonwood, redbud. Some of the big sweet gums have huge stumps. Minimum age of most of the hardwoods is 50 years, pine are all 40+ years old.
