Saw Stolen need a better replacement.

[edwardtacoronte]

Hello to all.
First I want to say I am not biased to any particular brand I just need a good saw.

I purchased a stihl ms290 "farm boss" saw about a year ago and it was stolen by my someone on my contractor's crew. I actually hated this saw however having to spend more $$ on another one kinda sucks. With that being said, I really need to get ahold of a great saw. I have 40 acres and access to an additional 30 for cutting wood. The majority of the trees on my property is Black Walnut, Red Oaks, Sycamore, and some cedar mixed in there as well. Sizes vary but Id say half of the walnuts are 42" or bigger and the rest are everywhere in between. The 290 served decent for limbs however when it came down to bringing down a tree or cleaning up a larger downed tree after a storm it was about the worst saw ive ever operated (my dads junk from walmart ran better).

With that being said I dont want to get a heavyweight (i have spinal cord injury) however I am thinking I may need something bigger or should i said more professional grade that what I had. Could I get away with a smaller/lighter saw and have it ported or do yall think i need to bite the bullet and go for something bigger (in a perfect world i'd get 2 small and large but Im retired and cant afford 2 right now)?

Any suggestions would be great. Oh and I have both Stihl and Husky dealers and I believe 2 Dolmar places within an hour drive. I forgot to add efco however the dealer is shady at best.

 

[Spectre468]

MS 362 C-M. 20" bar. It's awesome.

 

[Four Paws]

 

[fearofpavement]

What was it about the MS290 that you disliked?

 

[wood4heat]

Find a clean ms361. They show up in the trading post fairly regularly. Do the muff mod and have it woods ported. Add a 25" sugihara light weight bar. It doesn't get any better than that! Unless you're a Husky guy...

 

[mad murdock]

Most bang for the buck in a new saw-Makita(Dolmar) or Echo. Something in the 60 or 70cc class. My personal preference is a 70cc saw.

 

[edwardtacoronte]

What was it about the MS290 that you disliked?

I think i may have just gotten a bad one but would take on average 20 pulls to start (since new) couldnt get it to cut worth a darn acted like one with no chain oil just burned wood. Without touching or bumping it would shut down because saftey bar would stick. Changed chains and cutting problem never improved. Just allot of issues that drive you nuts. All of these things happened from new. It didnt really have any gumption to it. on several occasions by the time i got the darn thing running my wife cut a limb with a handsaw and left me standing there looking very stupid lol. Like i said maybe i got a bad apple from the bunch.

 

[edwardtacoronte]

Most bang for the buck in a new saw-Makita(Dolmar) or Echo. Something in the 60 or 70cc class. My personal preference is a 70cc saw.

I didnt realize that Makita was Dolmar saws or am i reading your post wrong?

 

[edwardtacoronte]

I did have a chance to run a 261 the other day and it was a pretty nice saw until it ran too hot and shut down. The saw was pretty abused and did survive being flung from the bud of a truck at 70mph. But again it really was not the best for the larger timber i had to cut

 

[struggle]

what you describe sounds more like a two saw plan. lightweight limbing saw like a MS250/251 and a Stihl MS461 or like of a Huskie 372. If you cutting stuff up to 42" you are in 70cc class easily.

Stihl MS261 is a great saw when tuned correctly.

 

[longbowch]

I'm mostly a stihl guy but in your position and what your needs are I would get a ported 562 from Wicked Work Saws!

 

[cgraham1]

The majority of the trees on my property is Black Walnut, Red Oaks, Sycamore, and some cedar mixed in there as well. Sizes vary but Id say half of the walnuts are 42" or bigger and the rest are everywhere in between. The 290 served decent for limbs however when it came down to bringing down a tree or cleaning up a larger downed tree after a storm it was about the worst saw Ive ever operated.

42" hardwood?!!! That's 90cc territory. That said, in your situation, I'd get a 70cc. Stihl, Husky, and Dolmar all make very good 70+ cc saws. If it's still not enough to get the job done, then get it ported. But IMHO, for wood that big, a 90cc saw would be better.

FWIW, I ran an 029 Super (same basic saw as the ms290) for several years, and it was always very easy to start and never gave me any trouble. I ran it with a 25" bar, and while it was slow and heavy, it always got the job done for me.

 

[broman78]

Since you have hardwoods on your place I wouldn't run an 360/361/362 with a 25" bar. 70cc's + is when you can comfortablely run a 25" bar.

 

[pantelis]

Hello to all.
First I want to say I am not biased to any particular brand I just need a good saw.

I purchased a stihl ms290 "farm boss" saw about a year ago and it was stolen by my someone on my contractor's crew. I actually hated this saw however having to spend more $$ on another one kinda sucks. With that being said, I really need to get ahold of a great saw. I have 40 acres and access to an additional 30 for cutting wood. The majority of the trees on my property is Black Walnut, Red Oaks, Sycamore, and some cedar mixed in there as well. Sizes vary but Id say half of the walnuts are 42" or bigger and the rest are everywhere in between. The 290 served decent for limbs however when it came down to bringing down a tree or cleaning up a larger downed tree after a storm it was about the worst saw ive ever operated (my dads junk from walmart ran better).

With that being said I dont want to get a heavyweight (i have spinal cord injury) however I am thinking I may need something bigger or should i said more professional grade that what I had. Could I get away with a smaller/lighter saw and have it ported or do yall think i need to bite the bullet and go for something bigger (in a perfect world i'd get 2 small and large but Im retired and cant afford 2 right now)?

Any suggestions would be great. Oh and I have both Stihl and Husky dealers and I believe 2 Dolmar places within an hour drive. I forgot to add efco however the dealer is shady at best.

My opinion is that if you cut 42'' hard woods , in the most of cases , first looking for a 90 cc saw , if you go for a new in the box i recoment
stihl 661c-m , husqvarna 390, dolmar 7910.
the limbing put it in second position so you can do the job with something more cheap, also many members here have good small-medium sized saws that they want to sale them, just give a look and i am 100% sure you find something that is absolutely good and warrantied.
I DONT RECOMENT THE FACKBAY ( ebay ) except if you know personaly the seller.
If you think to buy a 90cc used saw I STRONGLY RECOMEND a saw from a AS member even if need to pay something extra.
good luck

 

[Cheesecutter]

Would selling a few of the biggest logs to offset the price of of the 2 saw plan be an option. Let someone with big saws/equipment take care of the huge trees and then a 50/70cc 2 saw plan might be feasible. If I could own only one saw it would be my Husky 562.

 

[whitedogone]

If I had a spinal cord injury, I don't think I'd be wresling 42" stuff. Sounds like you need something in the 60cc range. I have a stihl 362 or a Efco 156 that my wife says I need to sell.

 

[blsnelling]

You need a 390XP for falling/bucking and a 550XP for limbing.

 

[LarryRFL]

If I had a spinal cord injury, I don't think I'd be wresling 42" stuff. Sounds like you need something in the 60cc range. I have a stihl 362 or a Efco 156 that my wife says I need to sell.

You too? Mine wants me to sell the 156 and one of the 132s.

 

[whitedogone]

Ya, that's it.....recommend a $1100+ saw that is over #17 to a guy on a limited budget and has had a spinal cord injury....oh ya add another $600 for a second saw....purfect combo.

 

[Stihl99]

MS 362 C-M. 20" bar. It's awesome.

I agree and this saw came highly recommended.