olyeller
ArboristSite Guru
Stihl MS 390: Cuttin’ with a pooch
Some people say the Stihl MS 390 is a real woofer, but somehow it did manage to slice its way through some rock-hard seasoned oak at the ranch this weekend that was as big as 20+ inches in diameter. However, the dogs were really giving me a hard time: “Come on, man, hurry up! If you had a pro saw we could have been out chasing rabbits 4.7 seconds sooner!”
That hard wood was tough to cut, but it took even more time to load the wood, split it and stack it than it did to cut it. Yes, I’d sure like to give a MS 460 a run through this oak, but until that day comes, I guess you’d have to say that the lowly MS 390 can get the job done, and was very cost-effective in the process. Critics bang on the 390 because it’s not a lightweight saw (a 460 is?), but once it’s in the cut the weight doesn’t really matter, does it? And for a couple truckloads of wood, the vibration isn’t really a big deal; maybe you wouldn’t want to put up with that all day every day, but I’m no pro cutter, just a guy who likes to sit beside big campfires. Which I did, with a cigar and fine spirits when the day was done.
Some people say the Stihl MS 390 is a real woofer, but somehow it did manage to slice its way through some rock-hard seasoned oak at the ranch this weekend that was as big as 20+ inches in diameter. However, the dogs were really giving me a hard time: “Come on, man, hurry up! If you had a pro saw we could have been out chasing rabbits 4.7 seconds sooner!”
That hard wood was tough to cut, but it took even more time to load the wood, split it and stack it than it did to cut it. Yes, I’d sure like to give a MS 460 a run through this oak, but until that day comes, I guess you’d have to say that the lowly MS 390 can get the job done, and was very cost-effective in the process. Critics bang on the 390 because it’s not a lightweight saw (a 460 is?), but once it’s in the cut the weight doesn’t really matter, does it? And for a couple truckloads of wood, the vibration isn’t really a big deal; maybe you wouldn’t want to put up with that all day every day, but I’m no pro cutter, just a guy who likes to sit beside big campfires. Which I did, with a cigar and fine spirits when the day was done.