jokers
Addicted to ArboristSite
Hi all, maybe someone else can get a chuckle out of this stuff that I unashamedly stole from "the tools". Russ
We recently experienced a hurricane in these parts that left several oak and maple trees horizontal in our yard. The next day my neighbor offered up his 16” Homelite chainsaw and a friend brought over his 16” Poulan. We spent the better part of two days attacking these behemoths with these two saws.
As a result I had several large lengths of green oak and maple, some 18” in diameter, which needed to be cut. Instead of borrowing somebody's saw I decided to get one of my own. I had a high standard – my last experience with a chainsaw was growing up in Ohio, cutting 2 and 3 foot oak for firewood. We had a John Deere with a 24” bar and an engine that I believe ended up in the current Honda Prius.
Having experienced the effort (and lameness) of the two smaller saws, and the fact that I refuse to have any tool with “Lite” in its name, I settled on a minimum bar length of 18”, with brands Husqvarna, Stihl, and John Deere being my primary choices. The rest of the criteria I used to choose the saw are as follows:
1. Name - must be cool, extra points for difficult pronunciation.
John Deere was immediately out as I am admittedly shallow when it comes to points 1 and 2.
2. Appearance - must look like it will eat significant hardwood (or
flesh) with minimal fuss, extra points for leaving the prospective user with a bit of trepidation just before (and immediately after) firing it up.
3. Idle characteristics - must idle with a visible and palpable
impatience, extra points for moving on its own when set on the ground.
4. Sound - must emit an angry yawp at full throttle that can be heard for three city blocks, extra points for inciting fear in neighborhood children.
5. Performance - must turn any choice of wood (tree, deck, framing timbers, etc) into piles of chips no smaller than 1/8th of an inch, and do so at high speed. Extra points for complete disregard of ancillary materials that get caught up in the process (tree limbs, ground, Timberland boots, etc).
6. Fuel/bar oil consumption - I have always considered performance and fuel consumption to vary directly and see no reason to change my opinion. As proof I give you the space shuttle and the Hemi 'Cuda.
7. Kickback potential - the higher the better. If there isn't a reasonable chance of a monster kickback as a result of improper handling, what's the point?
Given these criteria I settled on the Husqvarna Model 55 Rancher with an 18” bar and a 53cc engine. I could have had the 20-incher but in a rare moment of fiscal responsibility I admitted I didn't need that kind of length (if you repeat that in public I'll deny it).
Here's how the Huskie stacked up:
1. Name - I have to admit that Stihl edged out the Huskie for raw coolness but the pronunciation points go the Huskie hands down. It's so hard to pronounce (and spell) that most use the nickname presented here. I grudgingly give the win here to the Stihl, but only because they intentionally spelled it wrong.
2. Appearance - no contest. The Huskie comes in the same orange color as the '69 Hemi Cuda. Size and general appearance work as well, with lines and girth that indicate beginners are not tolerated by this saw - at least not until it removes one of their significant limbs. See #7.
The Stihl was a bland gray - yawn.
3. Idle characteristics - oof. This thing idles just like the Hemi Cuda it resembles. Pure lopey impatience, barely tolerating that fact that it is not at full power buried up to its hilt in a big oak (or a pedophile). Extra points awarded for the stand-alone performance. When I set it on the ground at idle, not only did it move on its own it moved toward the nearest wood. When I stepped forward to pick it up it began to move toward my Timberlands. Seems it didn't care what it cut - wood or flesh. Cool...
4. Sound - admittedly I didn't fire up the Stihl in the store (they
wouldn't let me - musta been the glint in my eyes) but no matter.
After I fired up the Huskie and it was sufficiently warm I walked to the front of the house and immediately pulled the Huskie's trigger for a wide-open throttle test. I coulda used this when I was a cop - I cleared the street of pedestrians and small mammals as far as I could see, with bicycles and scooters thrown askance in the terrified rush for the relative safety of a domicile. Under load it was even better, changing from a high, sociopathic shriek to a murderous roar that could only be compared to a mother brown bear protecting her cubs. The Huskie wanted to be fed and fed NOW.
5. Performance - a true carnivore. It created a pile of ¼” chips so
quickly I was mesmerized, completely forgetting that I had it at full throttle in 14 inches of oak. The only thing that choked the saw was cutting 14” of green maple right above the root line. I had to lay back a bit and let the saw do the work. My first clue was when I pulled it out of the trunk halfway through and the bar was smoking as it burned off bar oil. Again, cool. Limbs/rodents/dirt that I was too lazy to move were dispatched as if squashing a mosquito - minor annoyances. I don't know how the Swedes can make such machinery but if you have ever ridden one of their large dirtbikes you will be a believer - they are basically big chainsaws with knobby tires.
6. Fuel/bar oil consumption - about as expected. It runs out of fuel and bar oil at the same time, after 30 minutes or so of continuous cutting. Since it only has two speeds - idle and wide open - I consider that about average. I'm a bit disappointed it didn't burn more petrol but, hey, I'm felling trees.
I expect the Rainbow Warrior in the driveway at any moment...
7. Kickback potential - the sticker on the top of the saw says it all – “This saw has severe kickback potential.” Sold. It never gave me the “I'm gonna remove 4 inches of your forehead” kickback but it shot straight back at me a few times when I was approaching its performance limits. It only happened when I had the full length of the bar engaged in a cut and pinched it a bit in green oak. As I said, beginners need not apply.
There is only one drawback - it doesn't like a loose chain, which I am in the habit of letting happen. It threw the chain three times, always when cutting sideways and after a pinch and always when pretty loose.
If you use a Huskie keep the bar tool in your back pocket and don't get lazy with tightening the chain. The only damage was cosmetic, the chain always threw down and right, and I only had to do minor filing on the underside of the chain to remove burrs incurred when it was thrown. This problem is easily fixed and requires the most minor of habit
modification on my part.
There you have it folks - the Huskie 55 ROCKS.
There is a large pile of freshly cut timber in the back yard and an orange beast in the garage to prove it.
We recently experienced a hurricane in these parts that left several oak and maple trees horizontal in our yard. The next day my neighbor offered up his 16” Homelite chainsaw and a friend brought over his 16” Poulan. We spent the better part of two days attacking these behemoths with these two saws.
As a result I had several large lengths of green oak and maple, some 18” in diameter, which needed to be cut. Instead of borrowing somebody's saw I decided to get one of my own. I had a high standard – my last experience with a chainsaw was growing up in Ohio, cutting 2 and 3 foot oak for firewood. We had a John Deere with a 24” bar and an engine that I believe ended up in the current Honda Prius.
Having experienced the effort (and lameness) of the two smaller saws, and the fact that I refuse to have any tool with “Lite” in its name, I settled on a minimum bar length of 18”, with brands Husqvarna, Stihl, and John Deere being my primary choices. The rest of the criteria I used to choose the saw are as follows:
1. Name - must be cool, extra points for difficult pronunciation.
John Deere was immediately out as I am admittedly shallow when it comes to points 1 and 2.
2. Appearance - must look like it will eat significant hardwood (or
flesh) with minimal fuss, extra points for leaving the prospective user with a bit of trepidation just before (and immediately after) firing it up.
3. Idle characteristics - must idle with a visible and palpable
impatience, extra points for moving on its own when set on the ground.
4. Sound - must emit an angry yawp at full throttle that can be heard for three city blocks, extra points for inciting fear in neighborhood children.
5. Performance - must turn any choice of wood (tree, deck, framing timbers, etc) into piles of chips no smaller than 1/8th of an inch, and do so at high speed. Extra points for complete disregard of ancillary materials that get caught up in the process (tree limbs, ground, Timberland boots, etc).
6. Fuel/bar oil consumption - I have always considered performance and fuel consumption to vary directly and see no reason to change my opinion. As proof I give you the space shuttle and the Hemi 'Cuda.
7. Kickback potential - the higher the better. If there isn't a reasonable chance of a monster kickback as a result of improper handling, what's the point?
Given these criteria I settled on the Husqvarna Model 55 Rancher with an 18” bar and a 53cc engine. I could have had the 20-incher but in a rare moment of fiscal responsibility I admitted I didn't need that kind of length (if you repeat that in public I'll deny it).
Here's how the Huskie stacked up:
1. Name - I have to admit that Stihl edged out the Huskie for raw coolness but the pronunciation points go the Huskie hands down. It's so hard to pronounce (and spell) that most use the nickname presented here. I grudgingly give the win here to the Stihl, but only because they intentionally spelled it wrong.
2. Appearance - no contest. The Huskie comes in the same orange color as the '69 Hemi Cuda. Size and general appearance work as well, with lines and girth that indicate beginners are not tolerated by this saw - at least not until it removes one of their significant limbs. See #7.
The Stihl was a bland gray - yawn.
3. Idle characteristics - oof. This thing idles just like the Hemi Cuda it resembles. Pure lopey impatience, barely tolerating that fact that it is not at full power buried up to its hilt in a big oak (or a pedophile). Extra points awarded for the stand-alone performance. When I set it on the ground at idle, not only did it move on its own it moved toward the nearest wood. When I stepped forward to pick it up it began to move toward my Timberlands. Seems it didn't care what it cut - wood or flesh. Cool...
4. Sound - admittedly I didn't fire up the Stihl in the store (they
wouldn't let me - musta been the glint in my eyes) but no matter.
After I fired up the Huskie and it was sufficiently warm I walked to the front of the house and immediately pulled the Huskie's trigger for a wide-open throttle test. I coulda used this when I was a cop - I cleared the street of pedestrians and small mammals as far as I could see, with bicycles and scooters thrown askance in the terrified rush for the relative safety of a domicile. Under load it was even better, changing from a high, sociopathic shriek to a murderous roar that could only be compared to a mother brown bear protecting her cubs. The Huskie wanted to be fed and fed NOW.
5. Performance - a true carnivore. It created a pile of ¼” chips so
quickly I was mesmerized, completely forgetting that I had it at full throttle in 14 inches of oak. The only thing that choked the saw was cutting 14” of green maple right above the root line. I had to lay back a bit and let the saw do the work. My first clue was when I pulled it out of the trunk halfway through and the bar was smoking as it burned off bar oil. Again, cool. Limbs/rodents/dirt that I was too lazy to move were dispatched as if squashing a mosquito - minor annoyances. I don't know how the Swedes can make such machinery but if you have ever ridden one of their large dirtbikes you will be a believer - they are basically big chainsaws with knobby tires.
6. Fuel/bar oil consumption - about as expected. It runs out of fuel and bar oil at the same time, after 30 minutes or so of continuous cutting. Since it only has two speeds - idle and wide open - I consider that about average. I'm a bit disappointed it didn't burn more petrol but, hey, I'm felling trees.
I expect the Rainbow Warrior in the driveway at any moment...
7. Kickback potential - the sticker on the top of the saw says it all – “This saw has severe kickback potential.” Sold. It never gave me the “I'm gonna remove 4 inches of your forehead” kickback but it shot straight back at me a few times when I was approaching its performance limits. It only happened when I had the full length of the bar engaged in a cut and pinched it a bit in green oak. As I said, beginners need not apply.
There is only one drawback - it doesn't like a loose chain, which I am in the habit of letting happen. It threw the chain three times, always when cutting sideways and after a pinch and always when pretty loose.
If you use a Huskie keep the bar tool in your back pocket and don't get lazy with tightening the chain. The only damage was cosmetic, the chain always threw down and right, and I only had to do minor filing on the underside of the chain to remove burrs incurred when it was thrown. This problem is easily fixed and requires the most minor of habit
modification on my part.
There you have it folks - the Huskie 55 ROCKS.
There is a large pile of freshly cut timber in the back yard and an orange beast in the garage to prove it.
fred liable to bite the dust too tho. i guess emails are moniterd..
