saw recommendations for river red gum eucalyptus

[crotchclimber]

I'm helping with eucalyptus (E. camaldelensis) removal for the local land conservancy. Most of the red gums were are removing are in the 1-2.5 ft diameter range. After cutting down 5 yesterday, I'm wondering if there's a better saw for this type of work. I was using my dad's Stihl 026 with a 20" bar and .325 pitch .063 gauge Stihl chain. This saw seemed to bog down easily on the heartwood and the chain gummed up quickly and slowed the cutting speed way down. The conservancy has two Husqvarna 345 saws that were working well for limbing and smaller bucking and didn't seem to gum up as quickly. But with only 18" bars they were limited for felling cuts. What's a good saw setup for eucalyptus removal? Someone locally has a used Stihl 361 with a 24" bar so I was considering that. My budget is kinda limited for this do-gooder type of work.

 

[VINIFIREWOOD]

Cutting trees that are pushing 30" in diameter you are better off with a saw in the 70 or even 80cc range. That way you have plenty of power and can run a bar long enough to cut all the way through the tree in one cut.

 

[treesmith]

Aussie gum or US gum? Stock ms361 can run a 20" happily in aussie red gum or 18" with a ported ms261. A 80-90cc with a 24"+ speeds things up some and doesn't bog. On a 30"+ stem we'll use a ported ms660/36" or an 088/30"/42" with 288 and 395 24" for noodling rings into chunks. Most important thing is a sharp chain as red gum can be pretty hard, don't file your depth gauges down too far or you'll have a real bad day

Sent from my GT-I9210T

 

[weedkilla]

I'd agree that anything below 70cc is going to be a chore, however.....

The 361 is a lovely saw, and if it's the right price I'd struggle not to buy it.
But I believe that you'd probably get hold of a stihl 046/064 for less, and be closer to ideal for this job.
There are husky and makita options too.
Just have to decide how much you need a saw that size.

If you think you want a good 60cc saw then a 361 is very appealing, if it's a bit small for this job it may be worth asking yourself how many jobs like this are you going to do. An 80-90cc saw would be great for this sort of thing, but I use my big saw the least, my 50-60cc saws the most. 4 hours on my husky 385 and I'm knackered, all day on something smaller is totally achievable. I doubt you would find anyone who doesn't cut with a big saw all day, every day who doesn't feel the same.

 

[Karl Robbers]

One thought springs to mind immediately.
If you are working, (volunteering), with any group, you really need to examine your position legally as regards being qualified to fall trees. I'm guessing that you are not a qualified faller.
Big fallout if things go wrong. There can potentially be fines with five zeros in them or gaol terms. Probably not so much for you, but for the organisers of said group. Your worry would be more around diminished or even no insurance.
Do yourself a favour and check it out.
As far as chainsaw choice goes. I wouldn't feel too undergunned with a 562 husky with 20-24" bar, but would grab my 394 by choice. A 70-80CC saw would be a good all rounder, preferably of the pro saw persuasion.