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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
I have a Husky 257 with a 16" bar. It has more power and about half the weight of a formerly well known 20" yellow thing I bought at a box store. The yellow thing was so aggravating that I was going to throw it into the dump but gave it to a neighbour for his yard sale. Now I've probably cursed somebody else with it. I don't think the yellow thing company is in the chainsaw buz any longer and deservedly so but the name has popped up on hand tools.
I had an electric in the city. It was inexpensive and worked well, but you do have to plug them in. It's common around here to throw a chain saw in the truck when traveling on logging roads because you never know if a tree is going to be across the road. No plugs there. If I was going cheap and had a plug available I'd probably stick with an electric. But then, I'm left-handed and chain-saws seem to be designed for right-handed people so maybe I'm particular. I'd rather flip a switch than yank left-handed on a right-handed saw that's hard to start. There are safety issues for left-handed people as well.
I think I heard that Wallyworld has it's own specs and some manufacturers produce what might seem like the same models in several lines but of various quality. I don't know but that might be true for Poulin, but I've always heard the Poulin is a good choice for inexpensive chainsaws. I've also heard that Husky or Stihl are the choices for more expensive saws. However, I've also heard that Stihl may be making a box store line, but its pro models are the same high quality as always.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
I know the original question was answered and a Stihl bought. I'll carry on a bit never the less. I imagine that Huskies and Stihls have similar power to weight ratios. I can't say enough about how important having a saw with a good ratio is for anybody who uses a saw for more than a few hours at a time. A couple of years ago I used my 257 as the main tool in building a cedar rail fence, well the tractor did dig the postholes. I used the saw to cut notches in the posts and rails and then a splitting wedge to knock out the notch and a chisel to tidy up. Trying to cut notches in vertical posts with a heavy saw would have taken Popeye rather than me. On the other hand, trying to do the rest of my work with a light saw that has no power would take Methuselah rather than me.
My main criteria for a saw is if it feels comfortable, after that I look at how long a bar is recommended by the manufacturer. In the case of my homeowner Husky 257, that's 22" and I have a 16" bar on it. It's light and I can always put a longer bar on it to tackle bigger stuff. Husky offers an anti-kickback system on some of its models but I don't know if 257's are included. It's a pendulum that activates the brake if the saw moves rapidly. I don't know how well it works, but it sounds like a very good idea.
My wife found an old Mac lying on a dirt cellar floor at what became our camp. The cellar was given flooding and even so the Mac may still have worked if I tried. Far as I'm concerned yellow was the only thing that Mac and the one I bought in a box store have in common.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
This is a 'what's possible' question. Somewhere I hear of a capstan winch available for chainsaws. I always thought that meant large chainsaws and probably Stilh.
Last winter we had to change the snowshoe trail we use to go for the mail because beaver left a bunch of big poplars on toothpicks and as leaners. At the time I thought about the chainsaw winch and wondered if such a thing could be used to try to get some of these trees all the way down. The issue sort of went away because the beaver works were threatening a rail line and the company paid trappers a bounty to get rid of the beaver. Somebody, probably the electrical power company whose land it is, took down the trees and hauled most of them away. I still wonder about the chainsaw winch thing though.
When I heard that Electrolux makes chainsaws, an image of some sort of hybrid between a chainsaw and a Dustbuster arose. Wonder if such a thing would sell?
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
I've got one of those jig type guides. My Husky chain is cut at both an angle and a tilt and I find trying to hand file with reasonable accuracy in two dimensions goes beyond what I can do. The jig works pretty well. I think I have two raker gauges and they're pretty standard things. This sharpening setup works well for me. I don't have any experience with electric grinders so I don't know if they're an improvement of not. I like to keep a sharp saw as well.
I don't use the saw extensively, but I might if electricity rates keep exploding. I noticed that there are a bunch of different type chains available. I suspect that a low-kickback type might be good for me since I don't have to worry about making big piles of fire wood--at least not yet.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
I wonder how Husky quality is standing up after the Poulan takeover? I have a pre-takeover 257 that I like OK for the light cutting I do. I think Husky had already created pro and consumer lines by the 257's time and the 257 is a consumer saw. But I like the saw just fine and hope the new company doesn't put their saws into box stores along with typical box store quality. At least there are still Husky dealers around. What's an optimist? A trombone player with a pager or a new Mac dealer.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
Thanks Art! Good to know the distinction and the service records. I seem to recall that Stihl had its own takeover and also has a consumer line although I don't know its reputation. But my key is that I'm much happier when I stick to things that have dealers. Products without dealers always seems to make bargain prices expensive.
Suppose I should switch to 'just for fun' but you know those Husk's are high reving. A very eccentric idea of forming a chain saw choir has popped into my head the passed several winters. Such a thing would work sort of like bell ringers with logs. Those Husky's could be useful for tuning the high notes. Well, the choir idea usually occurs to me in February. I suppose I'm just getting bushy early this year. I did hear a rare CBC recording of a 100-piece harmonica band playing the theme from 2001 and I was astounded. Maybe I'm just given to bushiness. Sounded like the harmonica band was having fun though. If you ever see a billing for a touring chain saw choir just remember that you heard it here first. Us bush lunatics may like to go south some February.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
Good to clean up my chainsaw info. Don't know about Stihl ownership. I'd heard they were producing a consumer line that isn't as good as the familiar pro models and just assumed a buyout since it's a very common pattern. I think I straightened out the Husky ownership thing. I knew Electrolux bought Husky some years back. I think what happened is that Poulan bought Electolux recently. I sure hope corporate stays out of the chains saw design buz. Somebody came into the Hotel awhile back and said somebody lost his Poulan out of his 1/2-ton bed. 'Maybe a kindness' I said.
Music and numb fingers went together for me. Despite decades of guitar playing almost all the money I made from it was playing congas for singer/writers. Real good time since the songs were good enough that we didn't have to play covers. My sound/lighting buz almost made money but neither work with a day job very well. Conga players do have to learn to take care of the hands and wrists like chainsaw users and sound guys have to take care of their ears--fingers too for some saws.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
Oh yes I remember chips down the neck real well before I got the helmet. The ear mufs help hold it on my head as well but who knows, I might turn into VanGogh if I ever get a serious kickback. I've also yet to have a serious dead limb fall on me while felling but of course that's the reason for hard hats.
The face shield also was very good on fire crew for sticking my whole head into the bottoms of spruce trees so I could grub and use a backpack pump close to the trunks. I was doing so well I suppose that's why I got stuck with grubbing all day. I bought a new style hat for fire crew use last summer and I like it much better than my chain saw hat of the township issued fire hats. It stays in place. Wish I'd have paid for face shield and earmuff mounts but I guess they could be added.
A friend's son started working for a logger this summer. He gashed his ankle a bit. I don't know if was a boot or chaps that stopped most of it. The main problem was cleaning out the gash because the chain took a bunch of chap or boot into the gash. Since he was working for a commercial logger he likely was wearing safety equipment and still got gashed.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
Around here 'widow makers' are dead limbs up high on mostly white pine. Bump a tree with equipment and down they come. That's why skidders have steel cages, but I'd not saying anything new.
In my fire story, the real grubbing was done by a dozer (without a cage). The only trouble was that the operator ran the fire line outside where we parked our trucks and then continued around one side of the fire. Sparks jumped a meadow and caught needles underneath a stand of small trees near the parking area. Oh man about a half dozen of us were grubbing and backpack pumping for all we were worth until the water bomber showed up and another hose line was run. Half the people there were on the other side of the fire and probably had their truck keys in their pockets. I didn't think of that at the time but I'm going to bring it up next fire meeting--leave keys in the ignition when at a fire scene.
Good thing the tornado went through before you moved in. Helmets are better when cleaning up than when experiencing one. There's still a bunch of throw near here where something called a lateral burst went through about five years ago. A lateral burst is a 'straight tornado.' Somebody must have given it coffee.
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Gas Generator Weather Protecti
10-30-2002, 07:45 
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