The best *homeowner* saw only costs $298. brand new!
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straight6jeff
ArboristSite Member
The local dealers around here carry the smaller, non-pro saws also. They realized that many people do not have the need or the deep wallet to justify a pro-level saw. Instead of loosing the sales to the internet or other sources, they started to carry the lower end models. The prices at the big box stores are not always the best around. Around here (Salem, NH), places like East Coast Lumber, and Cyr Lumber have better prices on a lot of items. The quality of lumber is much higher at these places. Hardware, i.e. nails, deck screws, etc., are cheaper by about $1 or so at CYR (when compared to HD or Lowes). My point is that you can get a lower end saw at smaller hardware-type dealers (O'Connor True Value, Billerica, MA). They are an authorized Husky and Stihl dealer (yes, under the same roof). Now as far as service goes, O'Connor does have a lot of parts in stock. I have not used the service dept at all, so I do not know how they are. But the parts department has always went out of their way to at least try to help me find parts for my 61 (which pretty much all the parts are listed as NLA from Husky).
I know a few loggers that go to the dealers for service, Husky and Stihl. Down time is money if ya didn't know. Timed cookie cuts?? Are you in professional forestry? I bet that ms170 makes you thousands of dollars each day. Just a small reality check for ya...
The MS170 I got for free from the neighbour where we have our summer house. He bought it new after some Stihl DEALER talked him full of BS. What he really needed was a 350. Anyway, I use it for gardening and cutting the christmas tree.
I would consider myself quite professional yes since I make half of my living from my 300 acres of forest. Glad you confirmed the timed cookie cuts SSM
Now we know that and we won't forget it.
Well, it's a question of definition. Here a truck is 72 feet long ans has a 16liter diesel engine
2000ssm6
Stihl User
The MS170 I got for free from the neighbour where we have our summer house. He bought it new after some Stihl DEALER talked him full of BS. What he really needed was a 350. Anyway, I use it for gardening and cutting the christmas tree.
I would consider myself quite professional yes since I make half of my living from my 300 acres of forest. Glad you confirmed the timed cookie cuts SSM
The cookie cuts comment was me asking you what in the hell that meant...I'm proud of you and your 300 acres. I sure would like to have something big like that to make me look professional. Oh looky I got a 440 and 044:biggrinbounce2:
2000ssm6
Stihl User
Well, it's a question of definition. Here a truck is 72 feet long ans has a 16liter diesel engine
Define Professional logger...
And what would that be besides chains and fluids? Frankly, I doubt the Stihl quality. Thought my 026 was from a Monday but maybe it represents the overall quality of the orange and whites. I would skip the white if I had so much problems. Btw, why don't you use the other saws if one brokes down?
I'd say, always carry 2 saws. But that 2 would fail. It's one in a million.
Sounds really expensive all those trips to the dealer. Maybe it would be cheaper if the dealer was online and your car was DHL?
2000ssm6
Stihl User
I'm just a dumb old smuck homeowner who lives in the woods and needs a reliable saw. I looked at the 350's and decided for an extra $100 I could get a 359 with about 33% more horsepower, a bigger bar, another pound or two of weight, larger fuel tank, etc. There is a dealer not far in case I have issues but my goal is to only visit him for the occasional replacement filters, etc. Baileys has a good deal on the 359.
http://store.baileys-online.com/cgi-bin/baileys/991
the 350
http://store.baileys-online.com/cgi-bin/baileys/840
Here is a story about how I use a chain saw.
Just last Saturday morning I heard a tree cracking and falling, which isn't unusual in the woods behind my house. Something is always falling. Later in the day when mowing the grass it dawned on me that something looked funny at the edge of the lot. A 30" diameter black cherry had lost it's top half which was resting on one of my maples that border the back yard. Now I'm not a fan of hung-up trees/limbs. I got out my trusty Husky 359, my chaps, helmet, gloves, gas/oil, boots, etc. and trucked all the stuff to the back of the lot. I dropped it in the open space of the yard, putting a light offset to the hinge so it would shift off the maple when it fell. The 359 with 20" bar (and sharp chain) allowed me to fell the tree and cut it up in about 2 hours. I would guess the height of the black cherry was about 60-80". Black cherry isn't the hardest wood but with this tree's size and type I'm not sure I could have done this with a 350 with 18" bar as efficiently.
The point of my story is that you should get a saw that fits your purposes and needs. I don't think there is a "perfect" saw. For me, I occasionally have some serious wood to cut and getting a good middle-of- the-road saw like the 359 was worth spending the extra $100.
If I can get 10 years out of it, and I should easily, that only amounts to
$10/year additional cost for a saw that is 1/3rd more powerful saw than the 350.
http://store.baileys-online.com/cgi-bin/baileys/991
the 350
http://store.baileys-online.com/cgi-bin/baileys/840
Here is a story about how I use a chain saw.
Just last Saturday morning I heard a tree cracking and falling, which isn't unusual in the woods behind my house. Something is always falling. Later in the day when mowing the grass it dawned on me that something looked funny at the edge of the lot. A 30" diameter black cherry had lost it's top half which was resting on one of my maples that border the back yard. Now I'm not a fan of hung-up trees/limbs. I got out my trusty Husky 359, my chaps, helmet, gloves, gas/oil, boots, etc. and trucked all the stuff to the back of the lot. I dropped it in the open space of the yard, putting a light offset to the hinge so it would shift off the maple when it fell. The 359 with 20" bar (and sharp chain) allowed me to fell the tree and cut it up in about 2 hours. I would guess the height of the black cherry was about 60-80". Black cherry isn't the hardest wood but with this tree's size and type I'm not sure I could have done this with a 350 with 18" bar as efficiently.
The point of my story is that you should get a saw that fits your purposes and needs. I don't think there is a "perfect" saw. For me, I occasionally have some serious wood to cut and getting a good middle-of- the-road saw like the 359 was worth spending the extra $100.
If I can get 10 years out of it, and I should easily, that only amounts to
$10/year additional cost for a saw that is 1/3rd more powerful saw than the 350.
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Exactly what I said in another thread where someone got a MS290 instead of a 260. You have larger trees than we have here so I agree the 359 must be a better choice for you than the 350. The point is that 100 bucks will give you a a much better chainsaw than a Farm Boss or Rancher. And a chainsaw you keep for a long time. Not like a computer or other electronic equipment.
sperho
ArboristSite Operative
Superlative-type threads are troll threads. There's no universal best anything. 
2000ssm6
Stihl User
Right on Sperho!!
We all know, buy what feels the best.:jester: Just get a few tad bits of info here before buying
Superlative-type threads are troll threads. There's no universal best anything.
We all know, buy what feels the best.:jester: Just get a few tad bits of info here before buying
The MS170 I got for free from the neighbour where we have our summer house. He bought it new after some Stihl DEALER talked him full of BS. What he really needed was a 350. Anyway, I use it for gardening and cutting the christmas tree.
I would consider myself quite professional yes since I make half of my living from my 300 acres of forest. Glad you confirmed the timed cookie cuts SSM
How do you cut a forest??? The biggest saw you got is a 262? Maybe you cut a forest of Christmas trees?
Here, you don't go in the forest with anything less than a 440 and a 28" and sometimes that ain't enough.
2000ssm6
Stihl User
How do you cut a forest??? The biggest saw you got is a 262? Maybe you cut a forest of Christmas trees?
Here, you don't go in the forest with anything less than a 440 and a 28" and sometimes that ain't enough.
LOL, I thought the same thing.
Hey Pete, my ole good buddy Pete, wanna borrow the 440?
sperho
ArboristSite Operative
I know you think that saw is magical, but you tend to treat it like a cheap whore. Give the thing some respect already and stop lippin' about it. (insert appropriate smiley here)
How do you cut a forest??? The biggest saw you got is a 262? Maybe you cut a forest of Christmas trees?
Here, you don't go in the forest with anything less than a 440 and a 28" and sometimes that ain't enough.
Trees (pine) here are very unlikely to be bigger than 36" (18" bar) so the 262 is perfect for felling them. Could have a 70cc also but felling big trees is very occasional. When it comes to "taking down everything" 99,99999999999999999999% is done by harvesters. I mostly thin using chainsaw but many use smaller harvesters there too. I use my 50cc saws most of the time. I would say 75% or more of all chainsaws sold here, are 50cc saws with 13-15 inch bar. Bigger stuff is just extra weight and hence lower production.
Specific brands and chainsaws aside...
What I *try* to do is I will pay more for a quality product, but will not pay for a "label" or "name" just to have the name.
Sometimes like with clothes, you can get good quality without paying for a "name".
With tools and power equipment, certain names are associated with quality. I hear people say "I have had a brand X gizmo and have never had any problems with it." Well I want to buy that product and will pay more for it.
Other names are associated with trouble. I hear many people say "I bought a brand Y gizmo and had nothing but trouble for the get go." I don't want to buy that product.
Then with tools and power equipment, how much am I going to use it? If I am only going to use it rarely, then no need to get a durable professional model. If I will be using it a lot, then top of the line pro model will be well worth the cost. It will last and hold up under a lot of use.
Many manufacturers make "consumer" products which are not designed to be used much, but they also manufacture professional or commercial grade products which are built to stand up to the toughest abuse.
So what chainsaws do I have?
I have a Poulan electric for cutting roots. I only need to cut roots out about once a year - rarely. This wrecks the chain, but I want those roots out. This does the trick safely. I've had to repair this saw twice.
For friends to use when they are helping me, I have a Poulan Wild Thing. This has a safety chain and it is more safe for them to use. My friends have used this saw more than a typical homeowner would. It currently has the pull cord broken and I need to fix it. You get what you pay for. I have a friend who uses the same saw as a typical homeowner would and his saw is working fine. So he is happy with this product, I am not.
For my saw I have a Stihl MS-460 with a 32" bar. I use this saw a *lot* and it is dependable. I had to pay a small fortune for this saw, but I use it a lot. So well worth the cost. I am *very* happy with this product.
What I *try* to do is I will pay more for a quality product, but will not pay for a "label" or "name" just to have the name.
Sometimes like with clothes, you can get good quality without paying for a "name".
With tools and power equipment, certain names are associated with quality. I hear people say "I have had a brand X gizmo and have never had any problems with it." Well I want to buy that product and will pay more for it.
Other names are associated with trouble. I hear many people say "I bought a brand Y gizmo and had nothing but trouble for the get go." I don't want to buy that product.
Then with tools and power equipment, how much am I going to use it? If I am only going to use it rarely, then no need to get a durable professional model. If I will be using it a lot, then top of the line pro model will be well worth the cost. It will last and hold up under a lot of use.
Many manufacturers make "consumer" products which are not designed to be used much, but they also manufacture professional or commercial grade products which are built to stand up to the toughest abuse.
So what chainsaws do I have?
I have a Poulan electric for cutting roots. I only need to cut roots out about once a year - rarely. This wrecks the chain, but I want those roots out. This does the trick safely. I've had to repair this saw twice.
For friends to use when they are helping me, I have a Poulan Wild Thing. This has a safety chain and it is more safe for them to use. My friends have used this saw more than a typical homeowner would. It currently has the pull cord broken and I need to fix it. You get what you pay for. I have a friend who uses the same saw as a typical homeowner would and his saw is working fine. So he is happy with this product, I am not.
For my saw I have a Stihl MS-460 with a 32" bar. I use this saw a *lot* and it is dependable. I had to pay a small fortune for this saw, but I use it a lot. So well worth the cost. I am *very* happy with this product.
2000ssm6
Stihl User
sperho
ArboristSite Operative
How dare you call my saw a cheap whore
Hey Hair Trigger - I didn't call your saw a cheap whore, I said you treated it like one.
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