On Apr 18, 10:04*pm, "[SMF]" wrote:
On 4/18/2010 1:37 PM, Tony wrote:





Looking to buy a new chainsaw. *How do the low end home owner type
Stihls hold up? I'm not normally cutting firewood, but it seems a few 75
foot trees close to the house have to come down each year so I can sleep
at night. Lets say I cut down about 5 trees a year with diameters from
12" up to 18", up to 75' tall. Is a low end model with an 18" chain
enough? I'd definitely like one with the newer easy to adjust chain.

I have been using a crapsman/paulon? and the only thing I hated from the
start was adjusting the chain. I bought it for $50 about 10 years ago at
Sears as a refurbished unit someone returned. It always starts in 1 or 2
pulls no matter how long it sits. I'm going to spend $18 on a new
clutch part, the side with the chain sprocket is worn. It'll be nice to
have as a backup for when I screw up and let a chain on a new saw get
pinched.

If anyone remembers I asked about fixing the crapsman recently when the
bolts that hold the bar and chain started pulling through the plastic
case. I fixed that problem and I'm happy with that fix. Two bolts to
remove the muffler was all it took to gain access to the bar bolts and
for my repair. I got two bolts a little longer than the originals and
welded a plate connecting the two bolt heads together (spaced properly
so they would fit in again). It seemed to tighten up nicely but was in
the way of the muffler, so I then heated the bolts and plate to where
the plastic case was melting and snugged the bolts up again. It worked
GREAT and it's possibly stronger than new!

Go with a Stihl, or Shindaiwa. *The Husqies are dogs. *Make sure you
get a model that allows you to use a real chain, not the sawdust
creating nail files sold on some of the 18" and smaller "home" units.

As Pete pointed out, the chain is important and most small saws can not
rev up enough to handles an aggressive chain that buzzes through wood
like butter.

The extra $100, or so, bucks you spend on the saw will be worth it in
the long run. *Buy two of the chains that Pete mentioned, and save your
back. - Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I have a Stihl and have no complaints about it. I have two chains so
that when one gets dull, I replace it with the other and take the dull
one to be sharpened.