Lets talk chainsaws

now that you have the saw, you could get a carbide blade for it as an upgrade when you need to replace that one. my buddy has a tiny stihl with a carbide blade and it kicks ass, and you don't have to sharpen it.

 

Funny, because one of my buddies from high school is the manager of a local John Deere dealer, that's where I got my info from. He said John Deere won't put there name on anything they won't stand behind, and all units are made to the same specs regardless of where they are sold. His techs even have to go out to the box stores to assemble the tractors because the company demands it. My JD is from him, but my neighbors is from a box store, and we both get our parts at the same place

 

I might get flamed for this but if you are using it close to home then I would go electric. I think you would be surprised by the power, they are light weight, require less maintenance, and they are quite. If you need gas then look at the farm boss series. Get some chaps too...I've seen a chain bury itself in a dudes leg!

 

You know after I made my post, I got to thinking, he NEVER said they were different. Maybe he don't carry the parts because he knows those units were not bought at his establishment. I was suprised to find out that several of there mowers had Kawasaki engines, and some Kohlers as well.

 

Yeah, any of the 3 series and up have Kawasaki engines, the 1 series have Briggs&Strattons in them.

 

Mine had a 3 cylinder Yanmar diesel, something you WON'T find at the big box store. but I thought we were talking about chainsaws

 

Hmmmm doesnt seem like I can win right now... So the first saw I took the bar/chain cover off and to my suprise it looked like the guy that set it up derailled the chain when he first started it up torn up under there and the chain catch did its job. Well took it back to the dealer and they exchanged the saw and gave me a new chain. The old one was fine as well. My guess is the guy that screwed up changed the chain. So cool I thought I was set and got a new chain out of the deal.

Go to look over the saw this morning because I was a little short on time yesterday and notice that the saw housing is cracked just above bar oil cap. wtf I cant seem to win. I really wanted to buy another smaller saw as well. I was trying to convince my wife she needed one. Ohh well im sure it will get taken care of but just a little irritated that i've had the saw for two days and I have been back two times.

 

Personally, I think you should have went with the 390(I think that is the model, its the biggest before you get into professional.) Saying that, I got the 441 mag. Awesome saw. I cut about 10-20 rick a year and it is great. Bought the 28" bar as a spare and have used it several times already. I think if you are going to be using a saw a lot, like you will if that is your heat, you need a large and small saw. One for felling and trunks and another for limbing. IT gets old toting a large saw around for all of that.

One thing you might think about if you find yourself short on torque, switch out to a bigger sprocket. Cost you about 7-8 bucks, but will make a big improvement if you are bogging down much. Also, not using the max size bar will help.

Hope they fix you up good this time.

 

country - i hope they take care of it so I can start using the saw instead of taking to the shop. I do want to get a smaller saw probably something with a 12-14" bar to make limbing alot easier and I still will have the big saw for felling and bucking.

 

I have a MS 460 that I seldom use except for really big stuff and the MS 290 (16") I may drop a tree with the 460 but then use the 290 for every thing else. The 460 is ungodly powerful but way heavy and weight is a major factor if you cut a lot of wood so don't buy a big saw because you think you need it because most often you don't. You can drop a big tree with a 16" chain. I do 12 cord or a year half for me and half to sell the MS 290 looks like shit but still runs as well as it did years ago.

 

sthils are awsome saws but are expensive. i use husky, people seem to think less of them cause they sell them in big box stores, but they are the homeowner models. they make a professional line of saws also. you can get some good deals on them on the web, the professional ones.

i would look at the specs of the sthil saw before you got it. they are sold only through dealers and have fixed prices, no internet sells. if you are not careful you will end up paying more for a sthil through a dealer, and could have less power than a saw you got at a big box store. sthil makes homeowner saws as well. i just remember when i looked i got more saw for the money by getting a husky.

i have 2 a 359 with a 20" bar, is a monster, and a 339 with a 13" bar can run it all day, is a chain sword. lol

 

Well they got me all fixed up this time. They upgraded me to the MS271 for $60 and threw in an additional cabide blade and eye and ear protection so in the end I ended up with an MS271 and 2 free chains and eye and ear protection so I guess it worked out. Turns out the MS271 is only .3 less horse power than the MS290 but it weighs a lb less and has a nicer motor with anti-vibration system on the saw. That made a huge difference. I dont think I am going to miss the .3hp or the extra 1 pound fron the MS 290

 

When shopping for a stihl, call all the places that carry them in an area. I saved $60 by going to another town. They are required to show the MSRP, but what they actually charge depends on the store. So, only the advertised price is fixed. I tried to get the local place to get close to save me a trip, but they would only drop like 10-15 bucks. So I just went and visited my uncle and picked it up there.

I'd like one of the really small ones or possibly an arborist saw. I do a little tree climbing when I have to and carrying my 441 up a tree is a pain.

 

My old Husqvarna 61 had been extremely reliable for me over the years

 

my garden store sells and services three brands.

stihl, husky..and ECHO. i kid you not..echo cost half of the other two brands. at least for my saw. my saw kicks ass!! i love it. i meet some coworkers every once in awhile on some property to help out and get free firewood. they both have stihls. my echo is every bit as robust and fast as their saws. they are all built on this high reving double piston ring thing that rocks.

you cannot go wrong with any quality saw. i got the echo, because i am a home owner, not a lumberjack. i took the savings and got other tools..like a stihl line trimmer that sucks.

 

Sweet! That's what I'm saving for. Best saw for the homeowner in my opinion.

I also have a small Echo and it's a great saw that has never given me any problem in 8 years, but I need something bigger with more power and I'm set on the Farm Boss. All my other yard tools are Echo and I love them. Years of service and no issues.

 

Wallygater, checkout the MS271 "Woodboss" thats what I ended up with since there was a few issues with the two MS290's I had in three days. The 271 has just about the same power .3 bhp less then the ms290 is 1 lb lighter and has the anti-vib system. With that you dont feel anything when cutting its pretty much great and worth the few extra stones. I have it pretty well and broken in I have spent the last week dealing with two very large pines and a massive maple.

 

Will do thanks. Sounds like you are liking that thing. I was at Ace the other day and they had two Farm Bosses there. They were $20 different in price but I could not tell a difference and the info on the sign said they were exactly the same.

One of them must of been a Wood Boss. I didn't ask about it cause the cheaper one was $379 and they don't come off that price at Ace. That's too much. A friend of mine got one for $350 from a local hardware store. Thirty bucks is thirty bucks, especially these days.

 

The difference was probably the bar length. The Suggested retail goes up 10 bucks for each bar so the 16" bar was probably $379 and the one that was 399 had a 20" bar on it. It was the same saw the MS290 just with a different bar on it. The dealer I bought my saw from the 379 price on an ms290 was for whatever bar 16-20" that you wanted. I ended up with the MS271 which was $60 more. The place I bought mine was the second dealer I went to. The first was charging the suggested retail price.

 

Did you go to the same Ace Hardware. I think you are right. Didn't notice the bar length but they were both ms290's. I will check out the Wood Boss before I buy. Even though it costs more it sounds like it's worth it. Thanks for the tips.