Best All Around Chainsaw Size

[Rick Hodges]

I have two Husky's...the old 16" 136 is the one that gets used 99% of the time. It is light and handy. The bigger say when needed but....for most use I like the little saw.

[FergusonTO35]

Actually, the saw I have put the most hours on is my little Walmart Poulan 2150. A better chain and a carb adjustment made it a surprisingly capable saw for what little I paid for it. It is actually the only saw I have ever purchased new.

[FergusonTO35]

Ordered some extra fuel and air filters and a non-catalyst muffler for the Dolmar today. I won't install the muffler until I get an adjustable carb though, don't want to risk over-scavenging the cylinder. The few Dolmar dealers we have around here close around the time I leave work, so I ordered them from Jack's Small Engines of Maryland. They have the best selection of Dolmar parts I have seen as well as everything small engine you could ever need. Their prices and shipping are very reasonable too: www.jackssmallengines.com.

[Blanket]

I think to many folks make to much out of what is the best saw. Been cutting wood to heat with for 40 years. Have had several brands. Currently have 1 Stihl , 2 Huskys and a Poulan. .

[FergusonTO35]

I think to many folks make to much out of what is the best saw. Been cutting wood to heat with for 40 years. Have had several brands. Currently have 1 Stihl , 2 Huskys and a Poulan. .

Like Ford vs. Chevy and Yankees vs. Red Sox it will never end because people enjoy it too much. I have a Dolmar, two Echoes, a Poulan, and a Mac and like them all for different purposes. Of course, they all have good chains and carbs tuned properly which can make or break a saw.

I've figgered out that the correct carb for the 5105 is the Zama C1Q-DM13B. Dolmar wants $106.00 for it, you can buy it as just a plain Zama carb for half that so I'll order one when I get around to it. I gave the chain a good sharpening and filed the rakers to .025 as per the manual. Gave the saw a test drive on some 12" logs this morning just to see how it does. In short, this saw rocks! It makes a pile of nice curly shavings in a hurry with a very smooth kerf. I also noticed that it has a bit of four cycle sound in the cut so maybe the original carb is actually set right. The spark did have a nice coffee brown color when I looked at it. Hopefully I can give it some more exercise soon.

[jonp]

Stihl's use Zama Carbs. I delivered weekly to a warehouse in VA Beach that had pallets of them.

[jonp]

I think to many folks make to much out of what is the best saw. Been cutting wood to heat with for 40 years. Have had several brands. Currently have 1 Stihl , 2 Huskys and a Poulan. .

True although some are better than others. Would I try to earn a living with my Chinese $90 Chainsaw or a Husky 372XP? I like Jonsereds but i get a kick out of people that say "I'd never buy one of those, I'm a Husky Man"! Umm..same saw, guys. In fact you can swap parts and cases.

If we get down to it Stihl, Jonsered, Husqvarna, Echo, Dolmar all make good saws. Tanaka, Makita, Hitachi, Poulan etc make saws good enough for the majority of homeowners to cut the occasional tree branch.

[sawinredneck]

Makita owns Dolmar, Dolmar makes Makita saws, that's why I suggested watching the HD rental sales. They used to be Dolmar 6400's, not sure what they are now.
Tanaka is owned by Redmax now.
Shindiawa is owned by Echo now.
It's hard to keep up anymore!

[Blanket]

True although some are better than others. Would I try to earn a living with my Chinese $90 Chainsaw or a Husky 372XP? I like Jonsereds but i get a kick out of people that say "I'd never buy one of those, I'm a Husky Man"! Umm..same saw, guys. In fact you can swap parts and cases.

If we get down to it Stihl, Jonsered, Husqvarna, Echo, Dolmar all make good saws. Tanaka, Makita, Hitachi, Poulan etc make saws good enough for the majority of homeowners to cut the occasional tree branch.

True but if your making your living with a saw doubt you would ask for advice on what to buy

[Blanket]

Elaborate a little more. If you are cutting a lot get a saw with .375 raker or skip tooth chain, depending on hard or soft wood and enough hp to pull it with your bar length. Husky or Stihl. If you are trimming and homeowner use get a .325 chain 14-16 inch saw, low kick back chain saw

[sawinredneck]

Elaborate a little more. If you are cutting a lot get a saw with .375 raker or skip tooth chain, depending on hard or soft wood and enough hp to pull it with your bar length. Husky or Stihl. If you are trimming and homeowner use get a .325 chain 14-16 inch saw, low kick back chain saw

With that size saw and HP, I wouldn't even consider .325 chain, I'd look at 1/4 or "Pico" chain. I know Stihl makes it for their smaller saws and it makes up for the lower hp.

[DerekP Houston]

my lil 16" poulan is still chugging along like a champ. No idea how long my grandpa had it before he gave it to me, I've been through 3 new chains on it so far. I ain't the best at maintenance but I keep the oil full and clean it off when done. It was slow going, but I've cut up to 12" live oak limbs off with it and that's as large as I'll attempt.

[FergusonTO35]

Even among "low kickback" chains not all are created equal. Some of the better ones actually cut faster and smoother than chisel chains on a small cc saw. I remember my Poulan came with an absolutely horrid chain. It was a skip tooth chain with seriously like 3 rakers for each cutter! Honestly I think that thing would be more dangerous than a pro chain because you had to push it into the cut to get it to bite, when it got dull it would catch the wood and jerk the saw backwards or forwards.

I run the better Oregon low kickback chain on my Poulan, mini Mac, and top handle Echo and they cut just fine. My Echo CS-400 runs Oregon Long Top chisel chain. It cuts about as fast as quality low kickback chain but makes bigger chips, which keeps the clutch cover and airfilter keep from clogging up so fast.

[ascast]

I've found the perfect saw is whichever my son feels like using! But yeah, can't beat a Stihl.

ha ha like best tractor red or green -- which one can you get running today? LOL

About 1980 I bought an 041 Farmboss new to upgrade from the old Mac 30. A few years ago I had an oiler issue which I got fixed. Otherwise it has never given me any trouble. I have never looked back; and have since picked a few more old 041's. I use a 20" bar and cut 15-30 face per year. And a lot of big trees. That size is good for general work. It will handle a 4' bar if you need to on occasion, but slow. It is a bit much for limbing, will use a lot of gas. Will also work for rough lumber. I got one of those bolt on guide that fit on a 2x6. We got some good timbers, ruined one chain- don't over tighten the mounting bolts. It's slow going but will work OK. We made 4"x8"x 16 ft for hay wagon mains. 041 is in the 50 cc range but can go p to 65cc or so. be careful

[jonp]

" I got one of those bolt on guide that fit on a 2x6. We got some good timbers, ruined one chain- don't over tighten the mounting bolts. It's slow going but will work OK. We made 4"x8"x 16 ft for hay wagon mains. 041 is in the 50 cc range but can go p to 65cc or so. be careful"

I have one of those and they work good but the key is a narrow kerf chain.

[blackthorn]

I have a book called "Chainsaw Lumber Making" by Will Malloff. It contains pretty much all you need to know about making lumber out of raw logs. It has plans for building your own "Mill". We (my boys and I) made two units out of salvaged material from the local junkyard. They work really well.

[FergusonTO35]

The tachometer attachment for my multimeter bit the dust a long time ago and since then I have tuned two strokes by ear. Decided to finally move in to the twenty first century and ordered me an actual stand alone tachometer, an Electronic Specialties EZ Tach 328. Gonna use it to get all my oil burners set up right. At WOT, about 250-500 rpm under the published spec should work well.

[54bore]

100+ CC or go home! Nah, the average home owner don't need anything over 50cc, falling timber for a living I run a Stihl 660, its good in anything. I grind my chains Square (Chisel) on a Silvey Pro Sharp, i can get through a 2 foot bull pine in 30 seconds or so

Back in my dad's Day when you NEEDED 100+CC Saws, this was a Husqvarna 2100

[sawinredneck]

100+ CC or go home! Nah, the average home owner don't need anything over 50cc, falling timber for a living I run a Stihl 660, its good in anything. I grind my chains Square (Chisel) on a Silvey Pro Sharp, i can get through a 2 foot bull pine in 30 seconds or so

Back in my dad's Day when you NEEDED 100+CC Saws, this was a Husqvarna 2100

Been a while and I don't frequent the place anymore, but I remember you from AS. "Oldsaw" is running around here as "cheapshot".

[osteodoc08]

AS is definitely the place to go for saw stuff. Love that site

Best size for homeowner? 50cc class.