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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
I solve the heat problem by not cutting much in the spring or summer  I cut in late fall or winter. A lot cooler that way and no sticky sap to deal with, but the chaps are still plenty warm until the temp drops into the 30's.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
Getting in a little late on this one...
I have a Stihl 026Pro, as already mentioned, great weight to power ratio. I tried the next size down first, the 25, and it was a toy in comparison, fortunately the dealer let me return it and take the 026Pro.
I also have a Poulan which originally came with a 16" bar. Poulan is real junk, and they love to put bars that are waaaay too long for the engine on to impress box store buyers (which I was at the time). They use what's called "skip chain" with less cutters on them so they don't bog down. After I wore out the first bar, my dealer was kind enough to set it up with a better 14" bar and good chain, and it's much better now. I will say that it's still running after 4 years and a lot of cutting.
But I now use the Stihl most of the time, just use the Poulan for light work or to bail me out if I pinch the Stihl. Poulan and Mac and the rest are BAD for your health long term -- poor shock absorption, sorry, but I'm also a musician, can't afford numb fingers for the rest of my life. The Stihl also uses less than half as much bar oil, so it's cheaper to run and better environmentally.
Many of my neighbors are loggers, and around here, Stihl vs. Husky is just like Ford vs. Chevy or as someone already said, orange vs. green.
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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
I've got a Stihl 250C... light... powerful... and balanced... I've had several others... but found this one and the backup in service to be nothing but the best....
tc
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
I bought a Homelite TimberMan 18" for 179.99 at Home Depot after 12 years of nothing but problems with a Stihl. The Homelite has a 45cc engine and a narrow kerf .325 pitch chain. I figure I put nearly 200 bucks in repairs over 10 years with another 100 3 months ago in the Stihl with about 20 hours of use. Now the Stihl won't run at an angle even with a new carberator because the repair guy said that they had problems with too hard of piston rings than the cylinder walls that accelerated wear and causes low compression. The saw sits in my garage ready for the junk man because I refuse to put another penny into that mechanical money sucking leach. This Homelite saw puts my problematic 350 dollar Stihl to shame. I improved performance greatly with a semi-chisel extra chain over the standard chain that come with the saw. I considered a Husky at Lowes but with a bigger engine I was looking at 150 bucks more. I also have a 2 year old nice 16" Mac with a 35cc engine I use for delimbing but once you get used to a 45cc its tough to grab the Mac. The Timberman is balanced well and no numbness in hands after you use it and I don't use a chainsaw more than 2 hours at at time since I need a break from that kind of manual labor. Both saws use about 1 tank of bar oil to 2 tanks of gas which is very reasonable.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
Have owned a Stihl 028Super, 034, 026Pro, and 046Magnum. No experience with other makes, but some comments from loggers indicate the Huscavarna's are equivalent. Best overall runner was the 028.
According to my dealer, Stihl's model lineup was divided by the number: even model# (026, 036, etc) are pro versions with heavier duty housing, mechanicals, etc. The odd model#'s are lighter duty (Farm Boss,etc). But Stihl's new numbering system blurrs that line-up, unfortunately. Any good dealer will get you to the right saw -- the pro's are worth the extra money.
jim
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
Well... it has taken a month but I finally got that big sucker moved.
Moving wood by the pick-up load got too tedious, so yesterday I rented a 5 yard dump truck and put the tractor to work. In order to load a 71 inch tall truck with a 72 inch tall loader I had to park the truck at the curb which dropped it 5 inches and drive the tractor up a small ramp.
With that system I was able to move the last 5 cords in about 6 hours, including about 60 miles of driving.
Bottom line: That single tree produced between 15 and 16 cords of firewood. The Stihl saw worked well and I needed every inch of that 36 inch bar on several occasions. I learned a whole lot about field maintenance and operation of a chain saw and ruined or wore out at least 4 chains.
Thanks for all the help and advice guys...... now the splitting begins.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
You should be able to sell about 10 cords of that and make a nice tidy little sum! Don't throw the chains away. You should be able to sharpen them with a file. I have gone through 3 chains on my Stihl O-66 in about 10 years. I usually get about 15 cords per chain. But I have a 24" bar which is much less prone to dinging the chain. It is tough with that 36" bar. I have only had to discard one chain before being just plain worn out when is broke a drive link. Have fun splitting!  I still have about 3 cords left still waiting for me.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
Actually I bent a couple of the chains when they jumped the track. I might be able to straighten them or cut the bent sections out for use on a shorter bar.
I learned that when you put a new chain on a bar that long it stretches and stretches and stretches ..... a lot! If you are not checking it every couple of minutes in the first 1/2 hour of operations it will jump off and bite you.
BTW Cheif.... I followed your advice on the chaps and helmet and all I got was a slap on the leg when those chains came loose. Thanks.
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What kind of Chainsaw to buy
Actually Mark, if there are any decent-sized saw shops near you they can eailt spin the rivets out of your blade and insert new links, you will just end up with a chain that has more than one master link.
Best of luck.
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