Do I need a pro saw?

[K31Scout]

Are you up in the UP?? Saw that fenced in woodshed, wouldn’t want the mosquitoes flying off with the wood!!

Vintage, I'm just under the bridge near Indian River. The Yoopers consider us trolls! Even so we shoot the mosquitoes with #6 bird shot around here. Another reson I can't wait for the heating season.

The 026/260 looks and feels like a good saw. When the 021 quits it may be my next saw.

 

[suematteva]

Indian River is a beautiful area. Used to go through quite often, all seasons..That bridge is something..been on it in some nasty stuff..One morning just as the sun was coming up, the Mackinaw ice breaker was plowing through the ice, well below zero and she was just making her way through, the heat plume coming out of her stacks was quite the site..

 

[ourhouse]

My 2 cents you get what you pay for. My first saw I bought was a Husky 50 over 19 years ago. My dad still uses it today. A few bars and a lot of chains later it still runs great!
I also a 266 and 288 husky that are each 10+ years old, and they still run great. These saws cut faster than my 50 because they are bigger. The price for a saw like these is about 600-800$ for a 51 husky is 300+.
How long these saws last depend on how well you take of your saw. Like keeping it sharp, blowing out the air fliter,changing the fuel filter once a year. If you are the type of person that never does any maintenance to any of your equipement than buy a cheap "home owner saw". Because there is a good chance it will be junk in a year or two. If you do keep up with your equipment buy a pro saw.
hope this helps
john

 

[Eric Johnson]

I'm going to second earthharvester's point. Husky has started making consumer price-point saws for Home Depot. If you buy your saw from a dealer, you'll get a better saw and good service to boot.

I was just given a new Husky 346XP by my parents. That's a nice, small saw with as much power as some bigger models, and more than I need. The factory carb setting is rich, so that it breaks in correctly. After about five hours of operation, you take it back to the dealer and he leans out the mix, using a tachometer to set the max revs (14,000 in this case) for normal use. Obviously, if you buy an el cheapo saw at Home Depot, you can't take it back for this kind of essential service. So, do they factory-set the saws to run rich so that you don't tear it up right out of the box, or do they deliver them lean so that you get good performance right out of the box? Either way, you lose, IMO.

Some products lend themselves to the Big Box sales model. But chain saws aren't one of them. Spend a few extra bucks at a decent dealer, develop a relationship, and you won't be sorry. There are plenty of good reasons to cut corners on all sorts of products, but when you're dealing with something as potentially deadly as a chainsaw, I don't think you want to be pennies wise and pound foolish.

 

[Roospike]

I was just given a new Husky 346XP by my parents. That's a nice, small saw with as much power as some bigger models, and more than I need. .

You were just given a 346Xp .... Well how nice to be given a $500. chainsaw Wo-hoo . Also are you saying the Husqvarna 346XP was more power then you needed , Its 45CC ? Heck , The 346XP is my limbing chainsaw and then go up for size from there . Also good point about the dealer service if and when carbs need adjusted , i have done my own for so long that i forget to offer advise about your point .

 

[ourhouse]

A 346xp is not you'r typical 45cc saw. They run at a very high RPM 14,500. They run a very high chain speed also. I use one at work all the time. There is a big difference between a 345 and 346xp. They are both 45cc saws but the 346 is a whole diffrent animal.
John

 

[BrotherBart]

Heck , The 346XP is my limbing chainsaw and then go up for size from there.

Yo Spike! We all can't be keepin V-Twins around just to go to the mailbox and back.

 

[Roospike]

Heck , The 346XP is my limbing chainsaw and then go up for size from there.

Yo Spike! We all can't be keepin V-Twins around just to go to the mailbox and back.

AWE ---- Com-mon , Why not . Seriously tho , the 346XP is only 10.6 lbs and has the power of a 55 cc chainsaw , WHAT A COMBO ! Not only you can limb with this lite chainsaw it also has the power to take on a lot larger wood . Takes out the need for extra size chainsaws . If you could buy a SUV that had a big V-8 engine and was getting "great" gas mileage and had the power when you need it than that would be a awesome set up . No need to get the small car if the SUV got the same gas mileage. Now that would be silly . Cars and trucks dont work like that BUT you can buy chainsaws like that .

 

[Eric Johnson]

Well, needless to say, I'm pretty happy.

I intend to feed 'er nothing but premium.

 

[Sandor]

I have an Echo CS-346 for limbing, while on a ladder. Talk about a feather!

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

My limbing saw is a 335 XPT, talk about light and fast, its perfect for me. My only issue is keeping that itty bitty carb tuned at my altitude.

 

[ourhouse]

I have an Echo CS-346 for limbing, while on a ladder. Talk about a feather!

Cutting on a ladder with a chainsaw is realy not the hot setup.

 

[ourhouse]

My limbing saw is a 335 XPT, talk about light and fast, its perfect for me. My only issue is keeping that itty bitty carb tuned at my altitude.

MSG we used to 335 at work. For some reason we use to allways have to adjust the carbs on them too. We ended up changing over to Sthil 200T for climbing. The 335 is a great little saw.

 

[minesmoria]

I have the huskvarna 359 with 24" bar and full skip chain, cut 3 foot round hemlock logs all the time and works great.

I also got a dual port walkerized muffler gives the saw an exttra 1/2 hp make the saw 4.5 hp.

How do you like the 359 rosespike, i had the 55 before and this is the saw i replaced it with.

 

[Eric Johnson]

I have a regular 55 and it's a great saw. The 346xp makes the 55 my backup saw.

 

[Roospike]

I have the huskvarna 359 with 24" bar and full skip chain, cut 3 foot round hemlock logs all the time and works great.

I also got a dual port walkerized muffler gives the saw an exttra 1/2 hp make the saw 4.5 hp.

How do you like the 359 rosespike, i had the 55 before and this is the saw i replaced it with.

Now the 359 E-tech is a whole different story ! I would not own an non muffler modded 359 . Wow was it bad with the cat muffler . ( on the first 10 tanks of gas ) For me ........the "stock" e-tech 346xp really out classed , out cut & out powered the "stock" E-tech 359 . The tables got turned real quick after the muffler mods .The 359 is a real power house for its cc class after modded. . Real happy with them both now . The 346 is the limbing , smaller wood saw and the 359 is the bigger woods trunk saw .(up to 20" as per the bar ) anything bigger and the 372 rolls out to do its duty . If i had to rate the "STOCK" e-tech 346xp i would give it a 8.5 of 1-10 scale . The "STOCK" 359 e-tech i would rate a 4 of a 1-10 scale. Both 10's after the muffler mod.

 

[DavidV]

The cords I'm talking about are 4X8X16". Face cords? Still learning here.

If the pic shows up, I call this about 11 cords.

I considered a Husky but the one dealer around here stinks. There are several good Stihl dealers, one who will take trade ins on old saws and guns.

Trade in my guns? Not no, but HELL NO!!

As for the saw....if you really are burning that much a year, spend the 100 bucks. It will pay for itself the first year. Also, if you are burning that much, spend some cash on insulation. Something is WAY wrong.

 

[K31Scout]

David,

I'll burn about 3.5-4 full cord or 11-14 face cords...October thru May. Thats not a lot of wood really and my house is tight and very well insulated with great windows. I know because I built it myself.

I'm an 03 FFL dealer and have a few guns I could part with. PM me if you're intereted in a sale.

 

[DavidV]

well if it's only 3.5-4 cords, I'd save my money and stay with the saw you currently have. Only reason I can see to upgrade is if the blade isn't long enough or the saw doesn't have enough power to do the job for you.

Good luck. Keep yer powder dry.

 

[precaud]

K31, I go through this every year I walk into the local Stihl dealer. I look at my 011AVT. I look at the MS260 on the shelf. And I want. Pure technolust. For a couple days, my mind looks for Every Possible Excuse to make the leap. This year, the chain adjuster screw on the 011 disappeared while cutting out in the field. Hah! I was certain that now was the time! I showed the 011 to the dealer. While I fondled the shiney new 260, he sold me a screw for $1.25, I rigged a new retainer sleeve, and the 011 was back up and running. Damn.

The fact is, like your 021, this little saw has done everything I've asked of it since I bought it new in 1987, including felling a dead 36" elm in the front yard last year. Other than normal maintenance, this is the first problem I've had with it. Still using the original bar. I rotate thru three chains, keep them sharp, clean the filter, feed it gas and oil, and it goes.

So, the solution for me is to NOT set foot into the dealer in my spare time!

 

[Eric Johnson]

If you really want a good reason to upgrade, precaud, consider that a new saw is a lot safer than one manufactured in 1987, regardless of how good the older saw is. I doubt that an '87 vintage 011 has an inertial chain brake, but the 260 certainly does.

 

[precaud]

Thanks Eric, but the 011 does have the Quickstop inertial chain brake... but I'll certainly get your input if/when I make a move up...

 

[Eric Johnson]

I'm glad to hear that. If it's got the brake, then no reason to retire it.

I used to make a living with a Stihl 031, followed by an 032. Neither had much in the way of safety features. Good saws in their day, but the new stuff makes them look pretty sad.