The chainsaw thread...

[Bronco]

For those of you with Milwaukee saws, Westcoast Saw is selling after market dogs that actually work for $17.00. Pretty nice Upgrade: https://westcoastsaw.com/products/we...43881895297254

[XXX-er]

Yeah for firewood cutting I'd go gas every time. I love my dual 18v Makita saw for homeowner and light trail clearing use, though. I cut through a 24" downed tree on 2 sets of batteries once. (2 full cuts to remove a section.)

exactly ^^ what happened up at the area last season, after a good storm there are 3 big stems down so buddy does 4 cuts on 2 of them and had to come back for the last one

[SoVT Joey]

2 out of 6 of my m18 12amp batteries just died. 2 and a half years old. Almost $600 to replace those two.

For the $1000 it will cost to get into an electric saw and batteries, go buy a stihl ms 362 or a ms 261. The 261 will do just about anything you need, it’s light and fast. That’s my go to saw for a lot, also for my brother and another buddy that both have tree businesses. They both have probably 10-15 saws each and the 261 is always with them

Biggest mistake is buying a homeowner level saw and expecting it to last. The pro series can have the case cracked and piston replaced if needed. The homeowner saws are pretty much throw away.


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[XXX-er]

Yeah ^^ I cut a bunch of ski run with the 261, I would run it for 5-6 hrs straight, I think it drinks a little less fuel than the 361 and its lighter which is important fo a small azn man packin all his gear up a mtn

Homeowner saws are 1/3rd the price of a pro saw and they all look the same SO how it works with the homeowner saw is buddy buys one way cheaper than a 261 probably for 1/3rd of the price, runs it hard so it dies pretty quick so he buys another one and another one, by the time he figures it out he has been thru 2 or 3 saws and still hasn't got a good working saw

Whereas if he spent the bucks for a pro saw in the end he would have spent the same $$$$, buy once buy right, my kid will inherit the 261 and it will still be running fine

[SoVT Joey]

Yeah ^^ I cut a bunch of ski run with the 261, I would run it for 5-6 hrs straight, I think it drinks a little less fuel than the 361 and its lighter which is important fo a small azn man packin all his gear up a mtn

Homeowner saws are 1/3rd the price of a pro saw and they all look the same SO how it works with the homeowner saw is buddy buys one way cheaper than a 261 probably for 1/3rd of the price, runs it hard so it dies pretty quick so he buys another one and another one, by the time he figures it out he has been thru 2 or 3 saws and still hasn't got a good working saw

Whereas if he spent the bucks for a pro saw in the end he would have spent the same $$$$, buy once buy right, my kid will inherit the 261 and it will still be running fine

Bingo. My dad still has a 034 that runs great still, he got it before I was born when my parents were building the house 40 years ago.

And the 362/361 is so much heavier then the 261. Exact same reason I use my 261 so much.

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[XXX-er]

i don't have any tools with batteries and the extension cords seem to last forever if I don't run over them, I mentioned my lack of powertool cred to a carpenter bud and he said well it sounds like you don't need any more than what you got, if you do need more for a job or sft then you just go out and buy them

[SoVT Joey]

i don't have any tools with batteries and the extension cords seem to last forever if I don't run over them, I mentioned my lack of powertool cred to a carpenter bud and he said well it sounds like you don't need any more than what you got, if you do need more for a job or sft then you just go out and buy them

I have tons of battery Milwaukee, but I’m on a lot sites with no power yet or really far from an outlet. If I am on a site with power, I’ll run my corded skilsaw and grinder over my battery ones every time. I have both 7” grinders, the corded one is almost impossible to stop it when pushing down hard on a blade, the battery will shut down and if you try to over work it, a 12amp will be dead in 20 minutes. But I have to have both options cause I get sick of listening to a generator run all day.

I feel like all of my batteries are losing power, not just the two that died. And none are more than 6 years old. Pretty shitty life expectancy at the price of them.


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[toast2266]

For the $1000 it will cost to get into an electric saw and batteries, go buy a stihl ms 362 or a ms 261. The 261 will do just about anything you need, it’s light and fast. That’s my go to saw for a lot, also for my brother and another buddy that both have tree businesses. They both have probably 10-15 saws each and the 261 is always with them

Yup. Although if / when I buy another firewood saw, it'll be a 362. For bucking up firewood, the bit of extra weight over the 261 isn't the end of the world - I'm not lugging the saw all over the place, and I get a fair amount of 20"+ Doug fir where the extra power of the 362 would be nice. I could run a full comp chain on a 24" bar, whereas the 261 would probably need a skip tooth and even then would maybe bog a bit.

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[SoVT Joey]

Yup. Although if / when I buy another firewood saw, it'll be a 362. For bucking up firewood, the bit of extra weight over the 261 isn't the end of the world - I'm not lugging the saw all over the place, and I get a fair amount of 20"+ Doug fir where the extra power of the 362 would be nice. I could run a full comp chain on a 24" bar, whereas the 261 would probably need a skip tooth and even then would maybe bog a bit.

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I have my 25” bar on my 362 and never take it off. But I’d make the same choice as you for cutting fire wood only. A 20” bar with a skip and a half chain and short rakers would eat softwood like butter


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[XXX-er]

I just ran stock sthil chain but the big thing is a very sharp chain . I'm there to run saw not sit in the snow filing chains so I would carry 2 or 3 and just swap the chains

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0002ZY1WG?...=camdenxodl-20

I have an Oregon version of this ^^ Jig and it did a great job, I would file chain in the comfort of my shop while having a beverage, mine only cost me 20$ on FB market but a good jig is worth the $$$ IME

https://www.outdoorlife.com/gear/bes...aw-sharpeners/

this ^^ site rated the Granberg best overall which is suprising i thot an electric sharpener would do a better job

[neufox47]

I'm looking for a battery saw to cut lots of firewood. Power, battery life and short charge time are my main criteria, as well as being modular so I can eventually get a mower or other tools. After some reading of this thread and other research, these are on the list:
-Greenworks GS181
-Ego Power+ CS 1800
-Ego Power+ CS 2005
-Greenworks Pro 8V
-Echo DCS 5000
What else should I be looking at?

I think the comments on gas vs electric for heavy work are still accurate but people comparing a 18v Milwaukee to an 82v Greenworks that puts out 2.7kw with a 360 wh battery is apples to oranges. But 2700/360 gives a theoretical max run time of 7.5 minutes at full throttle.

[XXX-er]

Yup. Although if / when I buy another firewood saw, it'll be a 362. For bucking up firewood, the bit of extra weight over the 261 isn't the end of the world - I'm not lugging the saw all over the place, and I get a fair amount of 20"+ Doug fir where the extra power of the 362 would be nice. I could run a full comp chain on a 24" bar, whereas the 261 would probably need a skip tooth and even then would maybe bog a bit.

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Yeah the 261 is or was the smallest pro-grade saw but the 362 is where you get 60cc vs 50 cc/ 3/8th chain as opposed to .325/ dogs/ a full wrap handle/ possibly a heated handle is available ... all of which is probably what weighs more

I used a 361 bucking fire wood for 5 yrs at a place i was care-taking, where I learned how to not sharpen chains very well ... which is why I got the good jig

[bodywhomper]

I first got an ms361 (used) then a new ms241, which is no longer sold in the US from what I can tell. The ms241 was a delayed housewarming gift and it was selected over an ms261 because it was lighter and had a bigger difference in power from the ms361. With the non-safety pico chain, the ms241 rips. Three in my household use the ms241. My oldest kid and I use the ms361.

[mcski]

Cool. Come by and cut down some of the trees behind my house. We can put our ACLs to the test getting out of the way [emoji23]

[bodywhomper]

Haha. Your knee will be fine! Unfortunately, I have plenty of saw work at home. Luckily, I’m not felling any cat faced burned out hazard trees.

[XXX-er]

261 was smallest pro saw when i bought it, the 241 came out in the next year or 2 but I don't see it in the lineup anymore up here, on google I found

" The 241 is no longer for sale in North America because they likely didn’t want it to compete with the similar MS 261, and the two were too close in price. However, the 241 is still being produced and sold in other locations, such as the United Kingdom."

[bodywhomper]

It looks like stihl has a 201 in a rear handle (~35cc). I’m not sure if that’s a higher end saw. I thought the 20cc difference between my saws was about right.

I’d love to mod the muffler on my ms241 to get a little more juice out of it. It was very simple (formulaic) for my ms361. I haven’t figured out an easy spark arrester that’ll work with a simple ms241 muffler mod.

[Truckee Joe]

I just process a fare amount of wood and fall big trees around the property all the time. I have a 460, I call her old reliable. Seriously I never tune it, starts all time even in freezing temps. She does drink a lot but I don’t care, gives me an excuse to take a break.
I have a 028 also, I find the older saw has lots of low end torque and it also runs like a champ, but I do have to clean it out more often. Wife uses a husky rancher, I don’t really like it because it will only run good for the first tank of gas. Once it gets hot I just can’t seem to keep it running.

[XXX-er]

Somebody gave my kid one of those sthil with the top handle only and i used it on a bike trail blow down, it was older, did not have a wrap around handle just the top handle so that was wierd trying to get any pressure on the bar, pictures on line show a half handle with the top handle

yer 028 is all metal is 47cc so about the same size engine as the 50cc 261

the 460 is a 76cc pro saw i know a local pro logger who has 3 of the 461 , he got them all Walkerized for more power sez they are are the best saws he has ever used

some of those cheap homeowner saws have plastic engine cases which is I think why they can't rev out as high

[couloirman]

Almost a year since we talked about chainsaws? Wow.

Does anyone ever mountain bike with a chainsaw? What's your go to saw and pack setup?

I'm thinking of getting something small, around 12", for clearing deadfall after big storms from some of my lesser travelled favorite local trails. Debating Milwaukee M18 12" top handle, vs Echo 2511T, vs Stihl 201T. Stihl seems overkill for a saw that'll get carried more than used, but it's sexy, and the Echo will save me 3lbs and $300 (they advertise it as the lightest gas powered top handle on the market). Any experience with Echo here?

[XXX-er]

I think it might depend on what you wana do how how much you need to cut and do you have an echo dealer , there are not that many Echo dealers around here, a top handle saw might be good for doing arborist work which i havent done but I didnt like them on the ground as noted above i think more importnt is you want a good way to carry whatever small saw you got

[cat in january]

I am a fan of echo saws, but don’t know the smaller ones like you are talking about. They tend to be set too lean.I use an old 40-50L pack to carry my saw and stuff hiking. Friend has a designed saw pack he uses on his motor cross bike. If it’s just odds and ends across the trail a silky saw can handle a lot.

[adrenalated]

I don't MTB with a full-on chainsaw unless I KNOW that there are trees downed. I usually ride with a Silky handsaw - ranging from a F180 to a Bigboy 360 depending on how likely I think it is that I'll need to cut.

Then I mark coordinates and usually go back on foot to clear larger stuff.

For chainsaws I have a Milwaukee M18 8" Hatchet which works great if I'm going for a walk and expect to do some minor brushing and clear some smaller trees. Then I have a gas Echo MS490 which is OK, but a little lacking in power. I would like to get a bigger saw for serious clearing. I would never ride with it on a normal ride, but it's fine to ride with on a specific trail clearing trip.

The Dakine Builder's Pack is great for carrying a chainsaw.

[XXX-er]

pretty much the same^^ I can ride with a silky big boy 7/ 24 for smaller stems cuz I am on the Eeb and the 50cc sthil for the big stuff which I carry in the builders pack

I have got off to cut a 10" stem so fast and been back on the Eeb that the Shimano motor didn't even time off

[evdog]

I pretty much do the same as adrenalated.

Although Ill often bring the hatchet/pruning saw on backcountry rides that I know havent been cleared. Its compact enough I can carry it along with a battery or two in my regular hydration pack. It is surprisingly useful. Ive been using saws a lot lately for clearing heavy brush as well so they have been getting a lot of use.

My pruning saw is 6". Also have a Ryobi 12" battery saw. It does ok but I'll probably get a gas saw soon. Also need to get FS saw certified.

If riding in I have often carried my Ryobi saw on the rear rack. I dont trust it to hang on for a long descent so Ill usually put it in the pack for the ride out.

Also, Ive seen a couple people who have custom setups to carry a larger saw vertically on an old man mountain rack, with the body of the saw sitting on the deck and the bar facing down and strapped to the leg of the rack. A lot of moto riders have a similar setup on the front of their bikes.