what is the best built saw?

[REJ2]

Red,white,and blue pretty darn American to me!! Go Homelite. REJ2

 

[cjnspecial]

Best built = Stihl 460.

 

[BIGBORE577]

Tough question to answer. Sorta like the Blond, Brunette, Redhead, Big Knocker, Small Knocker, Brand New, Broke In, Tall, Short, VS..... They all seem the best at the moment. Some last longer than others and others are easier on their user. All in All, they're all good in one way shape or form!

 

[a. palmer jr.]

For the casual user and for smaller stuff, the little Poulan XXV is hard to beat. Very reliable and super easy to work on.

 

[Eccentric]

For the casual user and for smaller stuff, the little Poulan XXV is hard to beat. Very reliable and super easy to work on.

Poulans of that era were the best top handle saws ever made. Period. Far ahead of any other manufacturers at the time they were designed.

I have issues with 'casual users' running top handle saws though, even though they were a large part of the target market for those saws. I do like a tough little top handle for dense brush and bucket work. The old Poulans are the only top handles I run, other than my arborist friend's trusty MS200T's. Those are overpriced however, and are a nightmare to work on...

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

The 306-245 has to be thrown in here also. Very dependable and easy to work on.

Other than the poulans I'm going with the 046-460.

 

[rms61moparman]

There are a great many extremely well built saws out there and some of the saws being built today will be joining the list before long.
That being said, for me the best DESIGNED saw ever by a large margin was the Poulan 3400-3700-4000 series.

Great controls placed where they should be.
Simple to use, maintain and rebuild.
Outstanding Anti-vibe for the time and still not bad even today.
Reliable as the sunrise, given any care at all.
Still able to run with most of the saws built today given a decent operator.
They "feel" like a chainsaw should feel in the hands. (Admittedly a bit heavy by today's standards but hey, it was 1979)
Not "fuel fussy" at ALL!!!
Darn near indestructible, and last but CERTAINLY not least,
Generous automatic oiling with MANUAL OVER-RIDE!!!
Several saws had the auto/manual oiling and they ALL should still have it, but the one on that series was the best I've seen.

They were (and still are) just an outstanding design. If you have never had the pleasure of running one, get to a few GTGs and try one........just don't blame me if you find yourself perusing the "Bay" looking for one of your own!


Mike

 

[belgian]

The Stihl Contra gets my vote.

Strong, reliable, undestructable, sexy, easy to work on,.... and they have put a lot of food on the table for their owners. Many still run after 50 years. Stihl probably wish to invent a saw like that again.

 

[056kid]

In my eyes, it all comes down to how much wood the saw has cut.

All of the older big cube saws saw their share of work, much more so than smaller saws. there are a ton really, best left to be answered by men that ran saws that cut millions upon millions upon millions of feet of wood.

I see alot of people in the rain forest running big stihls without airfilters. . . that must mean something about their ability to take a beating. .

 

[MCW]

you`re talking only about 066, not the 660 ?

The later 660's have taken a downturn in internal quality. Maybe not reliability, but quality definately.

The MS180 or well one particular MS180

I believe you 100% on the reliability. That smaller series of Stihls are run by the most abusive, moronic crowd on earth - the dreaded home owner. I've worked on and seen a few of these that by all accounts should be dead, but aren't. They thrive on blocked filters, blunt chains, wrecked bars, and old sump oil.

I see alot of people in the rain forest running big stihls without airfilters. . . that must mean something about their ability to take a beating. .

The lack of filter says more about the stupidity of the user than the toughness of the saw. I'm sure other saws would survive just the same under similar conditions but unfortunately those big old Stihls (or more than likely copies) are all those guys have available.


I'd have to give a thumbs up to the old, solid saws for being well built. I can't speculate on all any particular brand but there is something nice about an old saw with no clips or plastic. Until you have to use one compared to a modern pro saw

 

[pele55]

best chainsaw ever built

i kinda went thru here kinda fast but didn't see any Jonsered 70e's mentioned.. i believe that was the best saw ever made. there are still a pile of them being used.. if someone does decide to replace it it is usually because it is an older guy and the saw is getting to heavy for them.. they were bullet proof..there are some other great saws but i do believe this is the best..

 

[Eric Modell]

Husky 2100

 

[tomtrees58]

o46 mag

 

[lone wolf]

o46 mag

Cant go wrong there.

 

[Oroles]

I`d sure like one or two of each saw mentioned here.

 

[kotex]

i realy like the husky 2100 of all my saws the 2100 allways starts and can handle anything

 

[DarkTimber]

Husky 44

 

[Justsaws]

Saws that I can purchase new = Dolmar/Makita 6400 or whatever it is with a cat strapped to it.
Overbuilt, heavy and simple.

 

[MarcS]

Glad to see someone mentioned a 70e. My vote goes to another Jonsereds from the same era, 52e. As much as I like my 041 my old Jonsereds are a lot easier to work on, especially without the lay down cylinder that Stihl was using at that time.

 

[Oroles]

Stihl best modern saw is the MS 361
and what they did with the ..2 series is just pathetic