Chainsaws

[Old Dog]

For household cutting of firewood I bought a Stihl MS 180 about 8/10 yrs ago, it's had very heavy work at times and some years its not used at all. Worn out several chains and 3 bars, so it has had a lot of work. The only problem that I've had with it was leaving small amounts of fuel in it when not used, so had to fit a pick up pipe and carb kit (so long ago can't remember how much it cost but £10/15 seems to come to mind, from Stihl) Keep the chain sharp and run good 2 stroke oil and chain oil (Stihl) and it should last for years, the MS 181 is also a better saw. Run Stihl chains and bars, for the price about the best that you will get. As for the Stihl vs Husqvarna debate, well nothing wrong with either but I don't like the feel of Husqvarna and when using something like a chainsaw feeling comfortable is half way to not having a accident!!! Also a set of chainsaw trousers are a life saver!!!! and the chainsaw helmets are very nice to work in so add that to the costs of the saw as well. If the local chainsaw dealer sells Echo saws they are well worth a look.

 

[pedrobedro]

I have Husqvarna bib and brace trousers and a £12 ebay helmet with visor and muffs from garden hire spares and Screwfix do Site chainsaw trousers for £50 ish well worth a look. You might think you don't need anything like that but I think better safe than sorry. I saw one accident with a saw which needed 17 stitches and the saw was not even running at the time.

 

[Old Dog]

It all ways makes me smile that lots of people are scared of 9" grinders (rightly so, have a funny shaped finger because some one used a cutting disc as a grinder and when I used it, it exploded on me!!) but treat a chainsaw as almost a toy, sorry:- so, so wrong on so many levels, just makes my skin crawl!!!! It's made to cut at least a 3/8" wide 1/2" long slice out of wood!! Oops Chainsaw vs a lump of Oak or soft thigh and leg bone = a bit of a mess! and might sting a little, even a paper cuts makes your eyes water at times. Trousers and boots at least for me I think.

 

[penfold]

I've had saws of both makes come to me broken.

Used and/or broken stihl parts fetch more on ebay though...

That's more to do with Stihl's anal attitude to spares, franchising and discounting; Husky are far less irksome in this respect.

Chainsaw makers don't make oil, would you buy a chainsaw made by Castrol? Buying oil with a saw maker's name on it is a waste of money.

 

[Migmac]

Husky or stihl are the way to go, very reliable and proven. Not much to choose between them really, mainly down to personal preference. I go for husky every time, I like the orange colour! Using a 550 at the moment. It's one of the new range that you need to plug into a laptop to set up. When you start it up for the first time it works out what height above sea level you are and sets the carb up accordingly. Not as good on fuel as my old 357 but I don't buy the fuel so I don't care. They have a fuel gauge which I see as pointless, I fill up when I run out. We got a surprise inspection from the HS years ago and all they cared about was out training, not our PPE. We were all wearing it but they couldn't of cared less if we had jeans on or felling trousers on. Helmets got a quick mention to see if they were still in date, think they asked about boots too but it wasn't a long conversation. Most of the cuts to legs that I have seen are to the back of legs when folk are snedding out and tip the saw to far over and the tip of the bar catches their leg. Training for using a saw is the key, a very dangerous tool in the wrong hands.

 

[tinman123]

New Husqvarna 550 and 560xp have auto carb set up and the new Stihl CM range have as well. They are self regulating and have to be run in big wood to set themselves up and some teething troubles have come up but they are getting sorted with software updates at the dealer done via a computer hook up. There's no fuel injection just constant carb metering and adjusting to ambient conditions and workload. 550xp and 560 have what is called rev boost and they are really on pick up and cut really fast.

sounds like im well out of touch re new chainsaws but is that how far we have came now, that you have to plug a computer into a chainsaw to set it up.
flippin hell eh.

 

[steviec_lj]

Right, to catch up on this one, as I've been trying to get to a laptop as its easier, but phone will have to do..

Spoken to the seller, and he is willing to take the saw back. Quite good really, as it was going back anyway through the ebay protection thingy whatsit....

I'll be buying new, and getting a brief lesson in how to set whatever saw I buy, by the people I buy it off.

As for the protective clothing, I've got the helmet with brow guard and ear defenders. Anti vibration gloves that I can't get on with so tend to wear builders gloves. Trousers, well, I prefer a very thick boiler suit, FIL swears by his chainsaw over trousers.

Got a short list of both Husky and Stihl saws so far, Viking are meant to be good too, so will bear those in mind with Echo too..

 

[mike os]

the newer preset carbs are a pita... you can thank the EU for them though... glad mine are all older models

 

[eSCHEn]

Chainsaw trousers and decent boots are a must mate.

Check out YT to see a pair of them in action and you'll be convinced. Save your leg no bull.

Edit: here's a US one from STIHL, loads of chat but action starts here

 

[mike os]

really important with chainsaws.. they don't do minor injuries and even very experienced people occasionally end up dragging trouser wadding out of the chain

good trousers and Chainsaw boots are an essential... far more important than head and ear protection IME and they are pretty important

for a casual user i would reccomend class C trousers with all round protection rather than class A, but either is a million times better than nothing
Proper chainsaw boots or wellies .... not standard work boots which offer no protection from a chainsaw

 

[tinman123]

Chainsaw trousers and decent boots are a must mate.

Check out YT to see a pair of them in action and you'll be convinced. Save your leg no bull.

Edit: here's a US one from STIHL, loads of chat but action starts here

i see towards the end of the video yer man says that chaps will perform best if they are washed before their first use.
whats the plan there?


i have a pair of hushvarna chaps i bought a few years ago, i would rarely ever do a full days cutting and i picked these as i can take em on and off in a few mins over the jeans but mine are pretty much like a pair of trousers that dont have a crotch or pocket area but still buckle round my waist like a pair of jeans would.
they are a good pair of chaps but the biggest problem id have with them is im full of sawdust in no time.

i bought my pair of chaps after my mate accidentally ( and he is still trying to figure out what happened ) cut his son's arm with the blade, he still has his arm but its like a map with all the cuts on it.
it happened as always in a split second, but to look at the lads arm you would swear he was hacking away at it for ten minutes.
the safety gear is cheap.

 

[Migmac]

Wear all the PPE, trousers, boots, helmet visor and muffs and the proper gloves. The protection blocks the cutters and stops the saw very quickly, nothing else does this or comes close. I would rather be hot sweaty and in one piece than be saying I wish I had............. A chainsaw cut is one of the roughest nastiest cuts you'll get.

 

[mike os]

chaps are OK but i would avoid them personally

 

[eSCHEn]

They're more comfortable with trousers underneath

 

[CornishPete]

what's your budget for the chainsaw Stevie?

 

[mike os]

Gloves are no longer a requirement, but I would recommend them on the ground

 

[pedrobedro]

A boiler suit while operating a chainsaw? Might as well do it nude...

Builders gloves? As much protection as your wife's marigolds tbh. Anti vibration gloves are crap with a saw and worse than nothing because you lose the 'feel' of the grip - get saw gloves with cut protection or don't bother.

I know (well, knew) 3 people who operated saws for years and got killed in under a second - Idgaf what anyone says, you will not out-react a chainsaw.

Nobody wears chainsaw gloves. They only have protection on the back of the left hand and that is covered by the brake handle so most people just wear the gripper gloves nowadays.

 

[steviec_lj]

Chainsaw trousers on order. Sorry

Budget for chainsaw is now down to about £300, once this one is returned and after spending what I did today. So, should be able to get something half decent. Seem to remember a new Stihl 181 was less than £250 delivered.

Personally, I dislike using the chainsaws, they're unpredictable, deadly and noisy. But, I'm not paying for some pikey to deliver wood to my house thats apparently seasoned but won't burn for a ridiculous amount of money to then be burgled days later, when I have access to as much wind fallen wood I can handle.

Bollocking duely taken and understood. Protective kit purchased, and will arrive before a new saw does, so no chance of anything going wrong in the meantime.

Anyway, back to saws...

Husqvarna 236 14"
Husqvarna 435 16"
Husqvarna 135 14"

Those are the Husky saws I've looked at. Apparently the 135 is in someway better than the 236. The 435 is a little out of my price range currently, unless I've not found the right deal..

I'm still looking through Stihl saws at the moment.

 

[eSCHEn]

Good man

Don't be swayed on bar length alone, one of my most favourite saws to use is a wee stihl 12" one; really light and comfortable.

Any local places near you who can do a deal?

 

[dannyp]

just thought have you tryed playing with the mixture screws on the saw you have, if its bogging down try winding a bit on the fast running screw