I laid out $600+ for a Stihl 361 with a 20" bar a couple of years ago. I'll
never go near a Poulan/Homelite/Craftsman/McCulloch/etc. again. There is no
comparison. You get what you pay for. Sometimes. :-) Barry


wrote in message
oups.com...
This is cross posted, as I know between the flat and round side of
woodworking there is a quite a large population that use chainsaws.

I am looking at buying the Husky 460 with a 24" bar for general use
and to use in some of my woodworking endeavors. I want to use it to
harvest some wood for different small projects, but also for bowl
blanks as well as firewood.

In the past I have owned McCullough, Poulan, Echo, and Homelite.
There were OK for what they were (light homeowner saws), but I want
something that is heavier duty and more dependable. I need something
with larger capacity (don't need the 36" bar) and good power. After
using a pro Stihl for a day, you really notice the difference in the
equipment if you are used to one of the above offenders.

Around the house it is hard to beat a good electric, but I may be
coming onto a good deal of mesquite in the future as well as some nice
oak and ash. The electric won't fill the bill for some heavy duty log
sawing I have in mind as the logs I will be cutting are anywhere from
18" to 36" across, and there are a bunch of them. And if things go
well with my harvesting efforts I may be cutting bowl blanks to trade
or sell from time to time in the future, so I will be using the saw
pretty hard, off and on.

I can get this saw to the door for about $410 with three chains and a
bar scabbard. Before the posts start about getting a Stihl,

I'd love to

BUT the same setup would cost me almost double. Yep... double. I
thought I was going to choke to death on that one. You cannot buy
Stihl over the internet (only a private seller such as Ebay has) as
they are protecting their dealers and in fact protecting their price.
Northwestern Power Equipement sells both brands and they were the ones
that gave me the price comparison, but then told me they couldn't ship
the similar Stihl model. They were actually prohibited from selling
certain parts that are shipped as well. I am sure that there are
dealers that will, but a quick phone call to my local Stihl dealer
revealed the same story. No shipping of saws or certain parts.

I am used to repairing my tools, so I want to be able to buy drive
sprockets, OEM pro grade chain bars, primer bulbs, etc., without
thinking I could buy another saw for the same price. So Stihl is off
the table.

The guys at Northwestern told me that Husky was making a serious play
for the US market, and that is why they have improved their saw
quality and doubled their saw warranty to 2 years. Sounds good... but
I dunno. I am hoping the next saw I buy will be the last for the
forseeable future since I have ****ed away enough money buying the
"home pro" saws in the last 10 years to buy the Stihl.

I would love any input on this, even some input on Husky saws in
general.

Thanks -

Robert