What saw do you recommend for me?

[Bobosocky]

To start, I don't have a whole lot of experience using a chainsaw. Growing up, I bucked and limbed some wood, felled a few small trees, and split a ton. I recently read "To Fell a Tree" by Jeff Jepson.

The wife and I bought 24 acres of beautiful (if I may say so myself) land in Chenango County NY. About 10 acres is wooded with some really good looking ash, sugar maple, black cherry, red maple, aspen, a few oak, a few beech, and a few spruce and red pine.

I'm planning to pull 1-3 full cords of wood out per year, and that's about it. I have been using this forum to get an idea for the kind of saw I should be looking for. It's kind of hard to find a consensus, especially because it seems like there are a lot of polarizing opinions, and recommendations for a full arsenal of saws.

My budget is around $400, with a little flexibility. I love buying used stuff. It seems like the consensus here is to go with a pro saw, as once the homeowner stuff breaks it's too hard to fix(?).

What about a used Stihl 026? I see those going for $200-250 on craigslist. Wouldn't this get the job done? There also seems to be a huge aftermarket of parts, so I could keep it running forever. Down the line, if I decide I want something bigger, the 026 would still have a use.

I am sure these questions have been asked a million times. I've spent a lot of time searching the forum and it seems like there's not a consensus. Also, a lot of the threads I find are 5+ years old now.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[jrsdws]

A really great option in your budget that is a perfect "do it all" saw from a top notch seller.

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/want-to-sell-stihl-ms360.285163/#post-5527544

 

[computeruser]

A used pro saw 50-60cc would be a great place to start, unless you're going to be in really big wood a lot of the time.

An 026 with a 16" bar and .325" chain would be good. You can cut a lot of wood with that setup, especially if you're not in some ungodly big hurry. If you need more/bigger later, buy a big saw and keep the 026, that way you'll have a reliable and light saw for smaller tasks.

 

[Bobosocky]

Thanks for the advice.

No, I don't need the saw to be super fast. I really don't think it will be more than a week or two of cutting a year. I would rather the big cuts take a little longer than feel like I have too much saw when I'm limbing everything.

Either way, most of the work is splitting and hauling.

 

[Ironworker]

I found out through experience to get the best saw I could afford even if it's over my budget.

 

[blsnelling]

What size wood do you anticipate cutting?

 

[Chainsaw Jim]

You might want to look outside the fence line on this thought. 10 acres at that rate and you'll have a parking lot in four years.

 

[Greny]

Husqvarna 450 , great saws. As I live in Europe I have no idea about prices second hand in the states.


Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[Bobosocky]

What size wood do you anticipate cutting?

Mostly 12-16". There are some real monster 3'+ diameter white ash and sugar maple but I don't have any desire to cut them down. I also don't have the skill or confidence to fell trees that big.

There are some downed aspen that are probably 2-3' at the base, but I figure those things are soft, so it shouldn't be hard to cut through those, right?

 

[nstueve]

I'd go with a light 60cc saw. That Stihl 360 is one of my all time favorite saws if you are planning on just getting 1 saw. It will run a 18-20" 3/8 bar and chain really well and be light enough to not wear you out if your cutting all day. The 026's are a great saw but for a one saw plan it would be my preference to bump to a 60cc saw. The ms360's have a good AM parts following and are easy to work on with good power to weight ratio.

The link above is Ron. Very nice stand up guy and his ms360 is very clean and priced very well. New Pro 60cc saws at Stihl run $600+

 

[Bobosocky]

You might want to look outside the fence line on this thought. 10 acres at that rate and you'll have a parking lot in four years.

I don't want to go off topic on this. I think it will only take 1 cord to heat our house per year. I'm also going to plant black locust hedges for future use. I read that one 22" tree will give me a cord.

 

[blsnelling]

I would target a 60cc saw in your case. Lots of guys like the Echo 590 and 620. I would consider the husky 555 as well.

 

[Ironworker]

You might want to look outside the fence line on this thought. 10 acres at that rate and you'll have a parking lot in four years.

You can get 3 cord out of 1 tree.

 

[Cope1024]

I would recommend the Echo CS590. It's just a few dollars over your $400 budget, and is a 59cc saw. It would do everything you need for one saw.

 

[Bobosocky]

I would recommend the Echo CS590. It's just a few dollars over your $400 budget, and is a 59cc saw. It would do everything you need for one saw.

I have seen the Echo 490 and 590 recommended a lot.

Are these the same quality pro saw as a Stihl or Husqvarna? I understand this is a loaded question. I don't really have any brand allegiance.

If the Echo breaks 10 years from now, will I be able to find parts for it?

 

[Chainsaw Jim]

You can get 3 cord out of 1 tree.

Growing up and living where I do kind of influenced that comment. Some people on the west coast forget there are large trees elsewhere in the U.S. lol

 

[Cope1024]

They are pro quality for less money than Stihl or Husqvarna. I recommended the Echo in spite of the fact that I own two Stihl saws. It's just hard to beat Echo for the money. No worries about parts down the rad, Echo is a well established brand.

 

[blsnelling]

Are these the same quality pro saw as a Stihl or Husqvarna?

IMHO, no. However they are good saws.

 

[Bobosocky]

They are pro quality for less money than Stihl or Husqvarna. I recommended the Echo in spite of the fact that I own two Stihl saws. It's just hard to beat Echo for the money. No worries about parts down the rad, Echo is a well established brand.

Good to hear that. There are so many numbers and brands involved it's hard to know what is what.

So an Echo 490 ($349) is going to be comparable to a Stihl 261 ($600-740 depending on options) ?

An Echo 590 ($399) is going to be comparable to a Stihl 362 ($800-990)?

 

[Yoopermike]

What dealers do you have close to you??? Husky, Stihl, Dolmar?? check out all three and see what you like best. Any saw can cut wood till it breaks. That's how I ended up a husqvarna guy. I went to the Stihl dealer and they were rather a$$holish, just wanted to sell me a saw and not answer my questions. I went to the husky dealer and walked out with a brand new 350 due to their friendliness and service. That was the turning point in my life when C.A.D. kicked in.. now I have more saws than I can use in any given week. That was back on 2005 and my 350 is still one of my main "go to" saws.