# Best Chainsaw for bucking and limbing



## Str8781 (Jul 20, 2009)

Okay, so you guys live for these types of topics.  I am just looking for a list of chainsaws that would be good for bucking and limbing.  Here are some vital bits of information:
A)  I plan on cutting 5-10 cords of firewood a year (maple, ash, oak, pine)
B)  The saw is intended to be used by a 5'11" 155lb 28 yr. old male (in good, but not peak shape)
C)  Would also be used by wife (wishful thinking) of similar build and shape (so err on the side of lightweight >10 lbs)
D)  Longevitiy is a concern as I will hopefully use this saw for its lifetime
E)  Ease of use is key as I will be fairly new (but not totally inexperienced) at woodcutting
F)  I am cheap, but understand that a good saw will outlast cheaper versions with less headaches and safer operation

So....have at it.


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2009)

stihl ms 260 10.6 lbs starts very easy and built proof!


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## JeffRey30747 (Jul 20, 2009)

I would look at a 50cc class saw w/ a 16-18" bar & compare based on price, weight and rated HP. If you aren't a hand on DIY type, delaer support is also going to be as critical if not more so than any of the previous three characteristics and will probably limit you to either Stihl or Husqvarna depending on your situation. Pro grade saws are a plus but will cost more.
I noticed an Efco deal in the local Northern Tool flyer for a saw this size under $300. The ad mentioned "limited to stock on hand" like they were closing them out. The same saw goes for nearly $400 regularly.
Myself, I use a Husky 51 for limbing and some of the bucking and feel like it fits the application well but I'm sure a newer, more powerful saw in the same weight class would do better.


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## HittinSteel (Jul 20, 2009)

You'll find nothing up to the task of cutting 5-10 cords a year of hardwood under 10 lbs.


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## SolarAndWood (Jul 20, 2009)

My wife likes the Jonsered 2152 and it works well for most things with a chisel chain on it, painful with a safety chain on bigger stuff.  I use it for cutting tops but prefer the Husky 371 for any real production of larger diameter wood.  She can only run the 371 for 15 minutes.  I tend to agree with HittinSteel that producing that quantity of wood with something she can use will be a compromise.


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## Str8781 (Jul 20, 2009)

Guys, thanks for the responses.  As far as meeting the demands of cutting 5-10 cords, remember that this is the bucking/limbing portion.  For the bigger tasks, I would look for a bigger saw 55+ cc's with a larger bar.  Unless, of course, this would seem to be "pie in the sky" for actual application in the woods.


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## BrotherBart (Jul 20, 2009)

Bucking is where the saw does the most work. For your standard run of the mill 70 foot tree one felling cut and five or six branches but then comes 25 to 27 bucking cuts. I use a small Huskie 142 for bucking because I am the same size as you but 62 years old and my 23 pound commercial Poulan/Partner saw is just two heavy for anything but felling anymore. If I was 28 again I would still be using a 50cc or larger saw like I used to do to get that sucker done and over with fast. And bucking with a small saw is mighty hard on the saw as well as taking more time.

I dream of having one of the newer Huskies like the 379XP because they are so light. But Ole Yaller still runs like a big loud top and could rip a Pontiac in half.


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## wendell (Jul 20, 2009)

As always, BB gives sage advice. I would not put limbing and bucking in the same category unless you are working with small trees. I buck a lot of wood that is 24-36" in diameter and it is nice to have 70 cc's for that.

If you are looking at the 50 cc range, I would not go over 16" on the bar.


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## LLigetfa (Jul 20, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> Bucking is where the saw does the most work...


Ditto.
You may even want a shorter bar for felling than what is ideal for bucking.  Bucking and limbing are on opposite ends of the spectrum WRT "Best".  I don't recall any mention of what diameter trees will be bucked.


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2009)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

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hes talking about a 10 lbs saw


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## LLigetfa (Jul 20, 2009)

smokinj said:
			
		

> hes talking about a 10 lbs saw


Ja, well... I can't even wrap my mind around that.  All I can think of is a Swede saw.


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2009)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

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Yep hes out of thouch with saws unless a 35-50 cc saw is what he is wanting ms 180 or ms260 or maybe a 5100 dolmar but its 11.6 pounds! But that swede saw you may have somthing There!


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## LLigetfa (Jul 20, 2009)

Most of the time  the specified weight is for the power head only and you need to add to it for bar, chain, oil, and gas.  Here is a comparison matrix for Stihl.

http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/comparison.html

And one for Dolmar.

http://www.dolmarpowerproducts.com/productcatalog/category/3/index.html


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2009)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

> Most of the time  the specified weight is for the power head only and you need to add to it for bar, chain, oil, and gas.  Here is a comparison matrix for Stihl.
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> http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/comparison.html
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Then the only saw thats going to work is the one you posted pic's of


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## Str8781 (Jul 20, 2009)

Well, aside from a couple of people, this has been helpfull.  Brother Bart, you made some very good suggestions and symantic clarifications which most people are clinging to with intense pessimism.  As for the bucking, I can see where the load energy placed on limbs could definetely warrant the use of a more powerful saw.   So let me ask this, what saw do you guys use for the majority of your cutting?


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## Str8781 (Jul 20, 2009)

I should also point out that BrotherBart (who is widely respected on hearth.com) said that he used a Husky 142 for most of his bucking.  Now this is a 40cc, 10# chainsaw.  This is pretty much what I'm looking for.  The Husky 435 or 440 seem to be in this category, but they are box store models that are prone oil problems.  So now I am back at the "dealer support" taking up a large concern.


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2009)

Str8781 said:
			
		

> Well, aside from a couple of people, this has been helpfull.  Brother Bart, you made some very good suggestions and symantic clarifications which most people are clinging to with intense pessimism.  As for the bucking, I can see where the load energy placed on limbs could definetely warrant the use of a more powerful saw.   So let me ask this, what saw do you guys use for the majority of your cutting?




77.5 cc saw ms 460 80% of the time


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## Str8781 (Jul 20, 2009)

SmokinJ, I take that you sell your firewood -- as in cut for some profit, friends, or family?  I would have a hard time seeing 10 cords being used in Indiana for one's residential purposes.  How much will you cut in a year?


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2009)

Str8781 said:
			
		

> SmokinJ, I take that you sell your firewood -- as in cut for some profit, friends, or family?  I would have a hard time seeing 10 cords being used in Indiana for one's residential purposes.  How much will you cut in a year?



from season to season 50-60 cords


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## SolarAndWood (Jul 20, 2009)

Str8781 said:
			
		

> So let me ask this, what saw do you guys use for the majority of your cutting?



71cc with a 20" bar chisel chain 95% of the time.  However, my wife can't use it and she is anything but a wimp.  She did a half-ironman yesterday and paddling a canoe with her is a pleasure.  The 52cc saw with a chisel chain gets the job done just not nearly as fast.


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2009)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

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use the smaller knerf set up with a muff modd. and it will be as fast as you want to go! (50cc)


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## BrotherBart (Jul 20, 2009)

Normally I use the 65cc Poulan Pro 405+ for bucking hardwoods over sixteen inches. When I am just too worn out to lug it I use one of the Husqvarna 142 40cc little saws and run the crap out of it. I can afford to do that just because when I noticed that Lowe's had made a pricing mistake and listed the saw for $99 instead of $199 two different employees kept treating me like a fool and insisting the price was right. So I said the heck with it and bought two of them. I use the little Poulan Woodshark mostly to free another saw when I get it stuck in a tree bucking or felling. The little Poulan cuts great but the vibration difference between it and the little Huskies is daylight and dark. The little Poulan will shake teeth loose.

Of course sometimes just for the hell of it I will do something crazy with the 142.


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## SolarAndWood (Jul 20, 2009)

smokinj said:
			
		

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if I'm going to mod something, it will be the 71


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2009)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

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Thats the way i look at it as well


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## LLigetfa (Jul 20, 2009)

I use a 65cc saw with 16" bar and full chisel chain.  It weighs a tad more than 10 pounds.  I wouldn't trade it for a wimpy saw even if it I couldn't lift it anymore.


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## Jags (Jul 20, 2009)

Str8781 said:
			
		

> So let me ask this, what saw do you guys use for the majority of your cutting?



A Stihl MS-361.  Although a littler heavier than your target weight, it is one hell of an all around firewood saw.


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2009)

Jags said:
			
		

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hey jags whats the "361 with chipper" stand for on your sig!


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## Jags (Jul 20, 2009)

smokinj said:
			
		

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Full chisel.  Round these parts, most ding dongs call them a chipper blade.  It was actually funny to me when I wrote it, but not so much any more.


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## BrotherBart (Jul 20, 2009)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

> I use a 65cc saw with 16" bar and full chisel chain.  It weighs a tad more than 10 pounds.  I wouldn't trade it for a wimpy saw even if it I couldn't lift it anymore.



I want pics of how that is gonna work.  :lol: Three point hitch holder for the saw and lower it into the cut with the hydraulics.


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## SolarAndWood (Jul 20, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

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Park that tractor next to one with that Craiglist splitter you found and you would have one mean production line.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/39648/


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## LLigetfa (Jul 20, 2009)

BrotherBart said:
			
		

> I want pics of how that is gonna work.  :lol:


I don't think they will allow cameras inside the nursing home.

This whole burning wood thing is my exercise program otherwise I could just use the gas furnace and atrophy.


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## wendell (Jul 21, 2009)

7300 75%, 350 25%. If I knew that everything I needed to cut was less than 20", the 350 would do fine. But the 7300 is a lot of fun.  :coolsmirk:


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## DBoon (Jul 21, 2009)

I am about the same size and build as you.  I bought the Dolmar P5100 as a an all-around saw.  I like the power/weight ratio, and the anti-vibration technology.  I checked out Stihl saws - nice saws, but a little on the heavy side for me.  I have bucked about 2 cords of hickory with the Dolmar so far, and am quite happy with it, but it is a bit heavy for me to use for extended limbing.   If I was going to do a lot of limbing, I would get a smaller, lighter saw than the P5100.


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## Gooserider (Jul 21, 2009)

I do most of my cutting with a Dolmar 7900, which I purchased as an upgrade to my original 36cc Pull-On Woodsman... I normally run a 20" bar w/ full chisel, but I have a 28" bar that I've used for the occasional really big rounds.  While it is kind of fun doing 2" limbs with an 80cc saw, it is a tiny bit on the overkill side...   :coolgrin:   (I cut up nearly ALL of any trees I drop, anything over an inch goes in the wood pile...)  

If weight is an issue, I would definitely look for a pro-grade saw, they tend to have much better weight and power numbers than consumer grade saws in the same CC category, plus they tend to be much better built, easier to maintain and repair, etc...  

If looking for a "One-Saw-Plan" saw, I'd probably go for a 50cc class saw, as they seem the best overall compromise between light enough for limbing and small stuff, while still having the cojones for reasonably heavy duty cutting.  In that size range, I think that if you have a good dealer in your area, or can do your own repair work, the best saw for the money is the Dolmar 5100s (this is the pro-grade model - the 510 is the same size in a lower grade, has a little less power and weighs more...)

The biggest thing is don't over-bar, or at least not without doing it on purpose - I would probably run a 16" bar on a 50cc saw for most use, with maybe a 20-22" bar using a "skip chain" as the backup for cutting the main bar loose if you get stuck, or to have something that you can use on the occasional big log that won't work with the short bar...

Gooserider


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