Shindaiwa poll

[joe25DA]

Hope you have a fast recovery!
My 345 was a great little saw. It had a 16'' bar and 3/8'' lp and that saw cut great. Very good build quality.

 

[Modifiedmark]

Rich, I'm glad you got that bit of good news! Now take care of yourself.

As far as those saws that I cant spell there name, no I never hardly ever seen one around here, and the only one I had in my hands some guy out west snapped up away from me. LOL

Looked like a good saw though and I would be more then willing to try one out.

 

[FarmTough]

Good to hear that your doing better.

Here are the two Shindaiwa's that get used here.

 

[alderman]

Good to hear that your doing better.

Here are the two Shindaiwa's that get used here.

How's that 300 run for you? I bought one but sold it to my brother before I got a chance to run it. He got a free fuel tank with the recall and so far he has been happy with it doing little chores around the house.

I'd like to get a chance to run a 575 at some point. I'm thinking they'd run about like the 577 which is plenty of saw for me.

 

[FarmTough]

It's a good running saw with the 12" bar, never mounted anything bigger. Good for trimming things up and taking on hunting trips. The 575 wears a 20" bar and has always been a reliable piece of equipment. It cut many loads of wood back in the day for heating the house.

These are the only two Shindaiwa saws I've run but if I came accross some others at a good price I would buy them. Use to have a couple of dealers nearby but one shop went to Husqvarna and Dolmar while the other has pretty much closed shop.

 

[roncoinc]

I wish mine ran,two 345's in nice condition and niether have any spark

no ignitions available,, so goes the shinny world..

 

[procarbine2k1]

Ive seen one or two, but never used one. They kind of remind me of an Echo in the cosmetic/ construction department. Nice looking saws for the most part, and appear to be well built.

 

[Oldsawnut]

I used to have a 757. Good saw. Better than the echo's for power and weight. I prefer the 044 or the 372 to it any day of the week tho. If I owned a tree service I would use them because they do perform well and have a lot less chance of getting stolen

 

[alderman]

they do perform well and have a lot less chance of getting stolen

Good point:

 

[biggenius29]

Just got word from the surgeon and all the tests on my lymph nodes came back negative so hopefully they are done cutting on me for awhile.

Thanks for the good thoughts

Prayers are with you and your family.

That is some nasty stuff.

We just got done doing a benifit for a friend last night who was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer that spread to her liver, lungs and her lymph system. She got all this news on her 50th birthday in June. Thursday they just signed with Hospise and found she wont make it to Thanksgivving. Their youngest daughter 16 and two boys in college. I helped with a benifit for her and her family last night and it was a great turn out.

It sure hit home with me. It gives me a whole new outlook on life.

Hang in there Alderman.

BTW, I never ran a Shinny, I dont know anyone who has one, and wouldnt even know were to find one. But, if givven the chance, I would run one.

 

[Eccentric]

Just got word from the surgeon and all the tests on my lymph nodes came back negative so hopefully they are done cutting on me for awhile.

Thanks for the good thoughts

Great news Rich! Hope you're on the mend.......and that you bring some of them Shinny's (and the old Homelites) to the PNW GTG next year. Gonna keep buggin' you until you commit!




OK on topic for a sec....

I have a 1984-ish vintage 'Stihl' FS80E brushcutter that is actually a Shindaiwa. I put the ' around Stihl here because of the true origin of this machine (or of its design anyways). Inherited it from my dear deceased Grandfather (who had bought it new to clear brush and weeds around the trees and such in his 24 acre Central Ca orange grove) in 1987 or so.

I ran it HARD for years as a teenager doing brush clearing jobs and such. Paid for the dirt bikes, and later part of my 66 Bronco with the money made with it. My riding/racing buddy happened to also have a 'Stihl' like mine that he bought used from our grade school when they replaced equipment. His was tired back then, and was consequently a bear to start. Not the fault of the machine...

Other than being HEAVY (like all real brushcutters from that time period), it performed well. Good power for the relatively small displacement (around 24cc IIRC). It has basicaly been trouble free.........but it's getting tired, and parts are mostly NLA now. I also have an even older (points ignition) Shinny Green Machine that I bought for 5 bux (dead) at a yard sale. It has donated a few small bits to the 'Stihl' to keep it going. Never owned or ran a Shindaiwa chainsaw, so I have no input there...

 

[BaDONK]

Shindaiwa's

I have not posted much but have been a memeber for a while. Great site BTW. Shindaiwa's are kind of popular in my house as you can see. I also have a great wife who enjoys the outdoors and the smell of 2cycle as I do lol.

ALL of my trimmers have been excellent, my t230 broke once since 1995 when I bought it...Changed the plug in 2007, and it went back to work..must have been faulty.

My 488 is tough as nails, always starts and is smooth as glass. Sadly my Dolmar ps401 will almost cut as fast as it...but I still like it.

I tried to talk my wife into buying a Dolmar 350 or 420. She was hell-bent to get a Shindaiwa (she likes the reliability and easy starting she has enjoyed with them). She bought the 352S after much arguing..and believe it or not it is a hot little saw,cuts like a banshee. I was definitely not expecting that.
Very well balanced and starts first pull hot, maybe 2-3 cold. I never thought I would like it over my Dolmar 401 but it definitely is nice. Dual air filtration, larger oil fill(biggest complaint on the 401) lighter weight than the Dolmar 350.Cuts are only slightly slower than the 39cc 401.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Eccentric]

My old Shindaiwa built Stihl brushcutter is an FS80AVR-E.......not an FS80E like I had posted above. Noticed the badge on the brushcutter yesterday in the garage. It's too late for me to edit my post above....so I'm making an 'amendment' here...

 

[randyize]

A big thumbs up!

When my next door neighbor decided to retire from his general contracting business 10 yrs ago and chose to give me his used Shindaiwa 377, my first thought was 'what kind of a piece of Japanese junk is this?' It sat on the shelf of my garage unused for the next two yrs but, when I finally got it out to slice up a huge maple which had blown down in my yard, I was overly impressed with its performance. I currently do volunteer cutting/brushing clearing trees from WI troutstream banks undergoing restoration. I currently own six Shindaiwa saws, 2-360's, 1-377, 3-488's and one lonely Stihl. I've felled and bucked up 500-1000 trees for each of the past 4 yrs and have not had a single problem with any of the Shindaiwa saws. Outside of the original 377 given to me by my neighbor, the other saws were all picked up used on Ebay as parts saws with $90 being the top price which I paid for a 488 with a bad piston/cylinder and the others needing just ignition/carburetor work to get them operational. I love the 360's for their power/weight ration when it comes to all day cutting and you can't beat a 488 for powering through some of the larger trees I come across. I've got 20" bars on all of the Shindaiwas just for the reach. I've got a 32" bar on my big magnum Stihl which I only fire up for the really huge tree I occasionally come across. I thank my neighbor to this day for putting me on to Shindaiwa.

 

[alderman]

Pretty much the same thing I've been saying all along

 

[Poley4]

I'm still using my 488, although not as much here lately. I did take all of my saws out the other day and drained the old fuel and put in new. All of the saws started with the exception of my newest one, the MS250. The reliability of Shindaiwa is second to none!

 

[Nardoo]

Hi Rich, glad to hear you are doing well.
I have had a Shinny leaf blower for 13 years and it has never let me down. Found a little 377 recently that needed some repairs and finally put it to work yesterday doing some limbing and pruning. I was very impressed with it internally when I pulled it down and also impressed with its willingness in the cut.
Also, not sure if they come with the same mufflers in the US as the Oz ones but this does not need a mod at all. The outlet is BIG for a saw this small and it is very loud. Very well built little saw and nice anti-vibe. Really touchy on the carb adjustments compared to my Stihls but once tuned was very reliable.
Al

 

[alderman]

The smaller saws are real handy for small jobs. I got a 345 last year and I think that old saw stays right with the 360 and 377. The 416's are capable but I think with the addition of some extra weight. The 377 would be the one small saw I'd keep if I had to make a choice.

 

[Bowtie]

I have only run the 488, and it is rock solid reliable, and its fun to run. Its a good saw to take to the woods. It always starts easy, never needs adjustment, and a muffler mod helped a lot.

Its not the lightest, fastest, etc, but it is a damn good saw that is made very well, and I appreciate quality like the Shinny 488.

 

[meatwagon45]

I have 4 shindaiwa weedwackers, 2 backpack blowers, a pole saw, extended hedge trimmer, brush cutter, sweeper, and a 16" saw. (forgot the model number). All work real well and have great power. When I first started burning in my stove 5 years ago, I cut about 5 cord with the little saw and it still runs like new. I use it more as a spare/back up/rescue saw when I go out into the woods