TO EVERYONE
If your going through harsh climates or you will be dependant on your chainsaw do your self a favour and invest in a mccullock stihl or husqvarna They last forever, start in all conditions and are worth the extra cash
OB Approved Chain Saws
- Thread starter IronPercheron
- Start date
If your going through harsh climates or you will be dependant on your chainsaw do your self a favour and invest in a mccullock stihl or husqvarna They last forever, start in all conditions and are worth the extra cash
I have owned many saws and depended on them to make my living at times. In this order i recommend: Echo, Stihl, Husqvarna, and the buck stops there with me. Those three have the best service carrier foot print, parts availability, and the most recent reliability reviews.
I have only ever seen one MAC (McCullough) and it was very... very old in garage sale lol. Husqvarna/Electrolux bought them out years ago and they are a sub-standard line to the Husqvarna from what i understand... again... never seen a McCullough in action.
Trail Blazer III
I've got a lot of trigger time with saws and there is some good knowledge being dropped here. I'm a Stihl guy but huskies and echos are good too. I run an MS461 with a 25" bar and a 32" bar only when needed. It sucks sharpening that many links. Yellow chains only for me. I also run a heck out of my MS201T, it's a beast. I prefer my echo pole saw over others and I love my silky handsaw.
Leg protection is an absolute must and an IFAK needs to be on your belt along with a scrench, wedges, and a heavy splitting hatchet or axe. You can avoid a pinched bar by inserting a wedge behind it. Any level of sawyer WILL pinch a bar eventually.
Leave climbing to the pros.
Only run pre mixed "canned fuel" or buy confirmed non ethanol fuel. Pump gas destroys small engines.
Safety chain has cutting teeth just like pro chain, it's just less likely to kick back. It can kill you just as much as any other chain. I find them harder to use with plunge cuts.
Clean your saw with every use.
A really sharp chain is better than a bigger saw most of the time.
Fuel geysers suck and kill arborist. A best practice is that you need to take a hydration break every time you empty your tank, sharpen your saw, add oil, then add gas last. Cold gas to a hot saw is bad. You always add oil first so you don't forget.
Never cut alone.
Motor oil doesn't stick to the chain like bar oil and it's lubricity is compromised, don't be cheap, use good bar oil.
A downed tree can kill you just as quickly as felling a tree.
Leg protection is an absolute must and an IFAK needs to be on your belt along with a scrench, wedges, and a heavy splitting hatchet or axe. You can avoid a pinched bar by inserting a wedge behind it. Any level of sawyer WILL pinch a bar eventually.
Leave climbing to the pros.
Only run pre mixed "canned fuel" or buy confirmed non ethanol fuel. Pump gas destroys small engines.
Safety chain has cutting teeth just like pro chain, it's just less likely to kick back. It can kill you just as much as any other chain. I find them harder to use with plunge cuts.
Clean your saw with every use.
A really sharp chain is better than a bigger saw most of the time.
Fuel geysers suck and kill arborist. A best practice is that you need to take a hydration break every time you empty your tank, sharpen your saw, add oil, then add gas last. Cold gas to a hot saw is bad. You always add oil first so you don't forget.
Never cut alone.
Motor oil doesn't stick to the chain like bar oil and it's lubricity is compromised, don't be cheap, use good bar oil.
A downed tree can kill you just as quickly as felling a tree.
Attachments
Oh ok I used to be in the British forestry service before I joined the special forces and every day I used a 20 year old mcullock MAC 366(I think). it was ridiculously reliable
Contributor II
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is foot protection. You'll be around falling debris and heaven forbid you take a saw to foot. I always wear one of my several pairs of Red Wing boots with a steel toe. I've heard a saw at wide open throttle barely slows down for a composite safety toe. Chainsaw resistant boots are available on the market if one should want the added protection.
I have a Stihl MS170 and a MS271 Farm Boss (with 20" bar) and can vouch for both of those saws. The MS170 is great for cleaning up your smaller limbs and general yard debris. At the time of this post Stihl has the MS250 on sale for $299.95 I believe. Echo (especially the older grey ones) are great saws as well.
I have a Stihl MS170 and a MS271 Farm Boss (with 20" bar) and can vouch for both of those saws. The MS170 is great for cleaning up your smaller limbs and general yard debris. At the time of this post Stihl has the MS250 on sale for $299.95 I believe. Echo (especially the older grey ones) are great saws as well.
When heading into the Sierras I take a Ms271 farm boss. It’s been a great saw, I bring a small bottle of the stihl pre mixed fuel and a quart of bar oil. I just run the pre mix since I don’t use a saw enough for the cost to matter much and it stores well and runs great on it. I get a kick out of cleaning up our campsite of dead fall and leaving a nice stack of firewood for the next guy. I bring it mostly in case we need it to clear a trail, but usually just end up cutting firewood and try to leave the campsite a little nicer than when we got there. If Milwaukee would come out with a 18v fuel cordless saw I’d buy it in a minute. All my other cordless stuff is Milwaukee so I have a bunch of batteries. Makita has one, it can only be a matter of time... if I was going into an unknown area with the possibility of some real wood cutting to get through a trail I would definitely stick with the gas saw though.
Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk
Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk
Contributor II
Have you thought about possibly using a reciprocating saw pruning blade? Diablo makes a 12" blade. They look pretty aggressive. I've been thinking about getting a few myself.
I’ve used those for small stuff around the house and they work pretty good for the occasional 4-6” limbs but I’d like to be able to cut up smaller logs with lots of cuts that wouldn’t quite work with that.
Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk
i also have an ms170. i rarely use the case because it's so huge. i carry my gas and bar oil in msr fuel containers of differnt colours and use a sweet free app to calculate oil/fuel mix. having a saw can make the difference between a big job and a small job. one of the first things i pack.
Trail Blazer III
Yes! Steel toes are a must, composite toe work boots have their place for sure and I own both. Composite is great for electrical anything and are much cooler in high heat situations. I wear Danner steel toe, steel shank RAT boots and absolutely love them. I wear size 14 boots and have not found a pair of chainsaw specific boots that fit.
As for fuel, don't feel bad about buying premix. I put hundreds of hours on my saws every season and I only use premix. The fuel runs better, it's shelf stable, high octane, and has no ethanol which destroys small engines.
Lubing the crank shaft bearing is important and easy, I have seen so many saws go down because of this simple lack of maintenance. This is a 10 minute job and requires basic knowledge and tools. If you've never done this, you should do it now.
As for fuel, don't feel bad about buying premix. I put hundreds of hours on my saws every season and I only use premix. The fuel runs better, it's shelf stable, high octane, and has no ethanol which destroys small engines.
Lubing the crank shaft bearing is important and easy, I have seen so many saws go down because of this simple lack of maintenance. This is a 10 minute job and requires basic knowledge and tools. If you've never done this, you should do it now.
I'm glad to see it has been mentioned before, but please please leave climbing trees and operating saws on ropes to the professionals. It takes a long time with proper, careful, watched instruction to become proficient in these skills. Also, even with the specialty gear and knowledge arborists have, shit will happen. Trees WILL NOT act like you think they will, they will fall early, bind saws, Barber-chair etc.. All of these can and do kill professionals regularly.
That being said, never cut without chaps, or saw pants... even if you don't hit yourself with a saw broken and thrown chains can still come back at the operator and they will f**k you up.
We do not wear steel toe boots in arboriculture, logs get loose and drop, and if that 100+lb log lands on that little piece of steel, you can kiss your toes goodbye. Composite reinforced toes but never steel.
The Silky Zubat mentioned before is the best handsaw money can buy. They are an investment but when used occasionally and not every day the hardened steel blades last forever and you can not find a better saw.
Lastly, the right tool for the job......is NEVER a sawzall. They are dangerous and inefficient in arboriculture operations of any scale and should be left at home. Buy a chainsaw.
That being said, never cut without chaps, or saw pants... even if you don't hit yourself with a saw broken and thrown chains can still come back at the operator and they will f**k you up.
We do not wear steel toe boots in arboriculture, logs get loose and drop, and if that 100+lb log lands on that little piece of steel, you can kiss your toes goodbye. Composite reinforced toes but never steel.
The Silky Zubat mentioned before is the best handsaw money can buy. They are an investment but when used occasionally and not every day the hardened steel blades last forever and you can not find a better saw.
Lastly, the right tool for the job......is NEVER a sawzall. They are dangerous and inefficient in arboriculture operations of any scale and should be left at home. Buy a chainsaw.
Last edited:
Influencer II
So the other weekend I went camping and 4x4'ing.
There was a standing dead tree relatively close to camp so I went to cut it for firewood. There was a lot of underbrush around the base and there was also a broken piece of another tree hanging up top in "widow-maker" fashion.... it wasn't huge, but I would rather it not fall on me, lol.
I cleared the underbrush away and do my first 2 front cuts... all the while paying attention to what may end up dropping on my Stihl hard hat (the standard one with ear protection and metal mesh swing down visor).
I take a second or 2 and take stock of what is happening up there... no problems so far so I move to make my final cut on the backside.... it starts falling so I go to move away from it.... but I think I may have rushed a bit too much to get out of the way because I was concerned about the branch falling on me or I didn't clear the underbrush away well enough.... and the saw swung around and cut my leg right below the knee. It cut through the 2 layers of material at my knee and made a very small red mark on my skin... didn't even draw blood.
I won't be putting off getting chainsaw chaps any longer, lol.
Whew!
There was a standing dead tree relatively close to camp so I went to cut it for firewood. There was a lot of underbrush around the base and there was also a broken piece of another tree hanging up top in "widow-maker" fashion.... it wasn't huge, but I would rather it not fall on me, lol.
I cleared the underbrush away and do my first 2 front cuts... all the while paying attention to what may end up dropping on my Stihl hard hat (the standard one with ear protection and metal mesh swing down visor).
I take a second or 2 and take stock of what is happening up there... no problems so far so I move to make my final cut on the backside.... it starts falling so I go to move away from it.... but I think I may have rushed a bit too much to get out of the way because I was concerned about the branch falling on me or I didn't clear the underbrush away well enough.... and the saw swung around and cut my leg right below the knee. It cut through the 2 layers of material at my knee and made a very small red mark on my skin... didn't even draw blood.
I won't be putting off getting chainsaw chaps any longer, lol.
Whew!
Contributor II
One thing to do once you get chaps is throw them in a clothes dryer. Set the dryer to cool and let them tumble. Bouncing around in a dryer opens the fibers up. They compress those chaps a lot in their sale packaging. Another thing is be mindful of spilling anything on them. Gasoline will quickly degrade the fibers in chaps. And if you ever see a tear, they are done. Sorry but a $100 pair of chaps is cheaper than a leg.
Influencer II
Thx for the tips.
20 yrs of using a chainsaw... I know when my luck is running out, lol.
Pathfinder I
I picked up a Stihl MSA200 battery powered saw this summer. While it will never replace my larger gas powered unit it has proven its self to be a solid little saw. Plenty power enough to cut much more that the 12" bar can bite into. (A 14" is available). I used it once on a trail maintenance day and the battery held out for all I needed. Dozen or so trees. Its light, quiet, does not stink up your truck with the smell of fuel. Would cut firewood all weekend long camping I'm sure. And now it's the saw I grab around the house for a quick cut. Days where I'm harvesting firewood it stays home. Downside is price. Only time will tell if it's justified.
I noticed this saw at the Home Depot. EGO CS1400. $199. Much smaller investment if someone simply wanted a camp saw that would handle some tree removal on the trail too. HMR Depot has about a dozen different small battery saws online actually.
I noticed this saw at the Home Depot. EGO CS1400. $199. Much smaller investment if someone simply wanted a camp saw that would handle some tree removal on the trail too. HMR Depot has about a dozen different small battery saws online actually.
Contributor II
Ryobi has battery powered chainsaws available that utilizes their 40V and 18v+ batteries. They are offered in 10", 12" and 14".
Dewalt has two battery powered chainsaws. One has a 16" bar and uses their new 60V Flexvolt battery. The other is a 12" bar and uses the common 20V Max batteries.
Echo has one 16" bar chainsaw that uses their 56v batteries.
I mention these because if anyone uses any of the new battery powered outdoor equipment you can usually buy things as a "bare" tool. Where you don't get a battery. The lithium batteries are the majority of what your buying. And the technology is finally catching up with batteries vs. gas. Gasoline powered however will not be going anywhere anytime soon.
Pathfinder I
Yes, my battery was 40% of the overall investment. Saw/battery/charger. Variables are to be had. I got the largest battery and saw and the middle of ground charger. The entry level Stihl can be had for $300 with a battery and charger.
I think these are really good options for those who are looking for a trail saw. Less maintenance and cost. Will do the job of clearing and occasional obstruction. Need a little extra firewood done. (Please be responsible, down trees only where allowed)
On a side note mine seems safer to operate than my gas saw. I'm certain it will still take my leg off but the chain stops running faster when you let off the button. Still has a full brake. Plus it's way lighter. Shorter bar is also a huge factor. So definitely not an apples to apples comparison. I could definitely see starting my son (currently 8) in a few years with the battery saw.
I think these are really good options for those who are looking for a trail saw. Less maintenance and cost. Will do the job of clearing and occasional obstruction. Need a little extra firewood done. (Please be responsible, down trees only where allowed)
On a side note mine seems safer to operate than my gas saw. I'm certain it will still take my leg off but the chain stops running faster when you let off the button. Still has a full brake. Plus it's way lighter. Shorter bar is also a huge factor. So definitely not an apples to apples comparison. I could definitely see starting my son (currently 8) in a few years with the battery saw.
Trail Blazer III
Keep in mind batteries have a finite life and traditionally not done well in the cold. Expect to have to replace the batteries in 5 years. The replacement batteries will likely be more costly and harder to find because by that time technologies will have improved and new systems will be in place.
Trail Blazer III
Pro tip, keep a crayon in your tool bag to mark your start point for sharpening. A stump vise is amazing as is the 2 in One files 
Benefactor
