Chainsaw Guys

[joesregalproject]

I went out this morning and took a close look at all the saws and made my purchase. I feel like a kid at Christmas!

I first went and looked at the Husqvarnas at Lowe's and they had the 450 Rancher for $400. It felt like a decent saw, felt very similar to the Stihls. I liked the metal sprocket cover, but the fit and finish was pretty underwhelming. There was all kinds of flashing on the plastic crankcase, and the choke lever wouldn't lock into the choked position. And as I've said a few times, Husqy dealer support is pretty much non existent. I didn't rule it out right away, but I wasn't in love with it either.

So I went up to Home Depot and looked and the Echos, and came really close to buying the CS-590. But it is an ENORMOUS saw and I'm probably never gonna need that much saw. Also the fit and finish on Echos isn't quite as good as Stihl or Husqvarna, but I've known that. Still I couldn't justify buying such a big saw.

Lastly I drove across town to the Stihl dealer that is pretty good, and looked at the MS251 and MS271. They both were pretty much indentical, only the 271 is a little bigger. I thought the MS251 was too close in size to the CS310 I already have, so I went with the MS271. Its probably just the right size for this job, and it'll be plenty enough saw for future projects, without being so big that I won't want to use it. I did the deal where you buy a 6 pack of 2 stroke oil and they double the warranty (I'll use the oil anyways) and I bought a carry case. I haven't run it yet, but its gonna get broken in for sure on these trees. Thanks for all the replies and help deciding. Hopefully this saw lasts me a while and I finally get to join the orange and white guys .

 

[fleming442]

Congratulations! You'll love it. I do about 5-7 cords of Oak per year, and have found that the Stihl chains last the longest.

 

[Tomeal]

Congrats! I think you will like it. Check with the dealer when you need chains, alot of them will do buy one get one 50% off.

 

[Streetbu]

So you went to two box stores then a Stihl dealer? Kinda like comparing apples to oranges. Wish you had gone to an Echo or Husqvarna dealer. They would serve you much better than a box store and be able to direct you towards the model you would need for the job at hand.

That being said, Stihl is a nice saw. Husqvarna also doubles the warrant when buying oil... But the box store wouldn't bother telling you that.

 

[joesregalproject]

I got to use the saw for the first time this afternoon. I only used it for maybe 15 or 20 minutes, really just getting a feel for it, but I'm really liking it. It starts very easily and restarts even easier once warm. I was a little worried that it might be too heavy and tire me out, but once I was actually cutting it felt a lot lighter. It was really nice to be able to buck those big logs in just one cut, definitely was able to work a lot faster than with my little Echo. The big felling dogs make it a lot easier to control too.

I definately still need to spend some more time with it to really get used to it, but so far I'm really enjoying it. I've noticed it doesn't seem like it uses nearly as much bar and chain oil as my echo, but the chain was definately oiling. I guess these newer saws just don't throw as much oil.

 

[64nailhead]

First, the solution to your bug issue is called - fire!. Invite the neighbors, then buy a half keg, 6-8 bags of marshmallows and the same amount of crackers so they don't b*tch about the smoke - a party and friendly get together resolves alot of complaining. Ants, termites, whatever will move on to the next tree - trust me.

Second, on your purchase. The equivalant Husky will be almost twice the saw and it should be for almost twice the price. And if you used the saw to make your living you'd consider nothing but the Husky. But for what you have going on the Farm Boss is by all means the best way to go - economical, easy and cheap to work on, and will last a lifetime of fire wooding for you, cutting limbs, trees etc for the normal homeowner. I bought one 22 years ago, cut between 10-15 face cord a year with it, have cut more than 60 trees around my house in excess if 16" and upto 50". It starts within 6 pulls every time. It has the original everything except bar, chain, air filter, drive sprocket and spark plug (I changed the original drive sprocket this year.) I run safety chains (yes, I'm a p*ssy and not professional logger-lol) and still have all of my appendages. Don't cheap out on gas or oil quality, use the correct wt bar oil for the season you're using it in - you'll never buy another saw.

p.s. - I'll stop over for a s'more and a red solo cup of beer if you're going with the fire and keg program. Let me know - 🙂🙂

Here's some Farm Boss handy work from last summer. There might have been a red solo cup of beer or two involved in this :

 

[fleming442]

My neighbors ARE crackers!

 

[joesregalproject]

First, the solution to your bug issue is called - fire!. Invite the neighbors, then buy a half keg, 6-8 bags of marshmallows and the same amount of crackers so they don't b*tch about the smoke - a party and friendly get together resolves alot of complaining. Ants, termites, whatever will move on to the next tree - trust me.

Second, on your purchase. The equivalant Husky will be almost twice the saw and it should be for almost twice the price. And if you used the saw to make your living you'd consider nothing but the Husky. But for what you have going on the Farm Boss is by all means the best way to go - economical, easy and cheap to work on, and will last a lifetime of fire wooding for you, cutting limbs, trees etc for the normal homeowner. I bought one 22 years ago, cut between 10-15 face cord a year with it, have cut more than 60 trees around my house in excess if 16" and upto 50". It starts within 6 pulls every time. It has the original everything except bar, chain, air filter, drive sprocket and spark plug (I changed the original drive sprocket this year.) I run safety chains (yes, I'm a p*ssy and not professional logger-lol) and still have all of my appendages. Don't cheap out on gas or oil quality, use the correct wt bar oil for the season you're using it in - you'll never buy another saw.

p.s. - I'll stop over for a s'more and a red solo cup of beer if you're going with the fire and keg program. Let me know - 🙂🙂

Well once I get this stuff cut up, my neighbor owns a splitter; he's gonna split it and take it away for firewood. He heats his house in the winter with it, doesn't even turn on the furnace. I've just gotta cut it up small enough so he can split it.

As for the saw, I'm really liking it. The equivalent Stihl pro saw is a MS260, and it also runs about double the price. But I don't need to make my living with this saw and I don't need to run it every day or even every week, but it's big enough for the jobs I'll use it for. For oil and gas, I'm currently using Stihl HP Ultra and 93 octane mixed at 45:1, but I think I'm gonna start running their Motomix. For bar oil I'm using up a bottle of Echo bar oil that I had laying around, but I'm gonna pick up a gallon of the silver bottle Stihl stuff.

And hell, you don't need an invitation to come over for beer and pretzels, hope you like cheap beer because Miller High Life is as fancy as I get lol.

 

[joesregalproject]

Bit of a thread revival. Decided to trade up saws, mostly for the sake of wanting something different, but also addressed some of my minor gripes with the MS271.

My biggest complaint with the MS271 is that the saw didn't oil the bar very much. The oiler isn't adjustable either so there isn't a way to make it oil more. Initially I thought there may have been a problem with it but I took it to the dealer, they inspected it and said it was fine. They said new saws just don't oil like old ones, blame the EPA. Secondly the plastic main body didn't instill any confidence in it's durability. I didn't have any issues with it, but I constantly found myself being extra careful around it for fear of breaking the case.

So about a month ago I sold the MS271 and over the weekend I picked up a used 028 AV Wood Boss. This is a 47cc saw that makes about 3.3 HP. Circa mid-late 80s. It is the electronic quickstop version, so it has electronic ignition and a chain brake. Came with a 16" Stihl bar and brand new Stihl yellow chain. It has a magnesium main body and it oils like the Exxon Valdez. It's very apparent that it has low hours on it. It has really good compression and no scoring on the piston or cylinder. It is not the "Super" version but the "Super" 46mm bore piston and cylinder (currently 44mm) are a direct (and fairly easy so I'm told) swap if I ever wanted to go that route. That would bring it up to 51.1cc and 3.5ish HP. It came with an old style original carry case too.

The guy I bought it from was nothing short of a chainsaw expert, he had dozens of saws including a ported 066 and a ported Dolmar in his personal collection, he let me try out both of them. That 066 cut through a 2 foot diameter oak log like a hot knife through butter.

He let me start, run and cut with the 028 for a half hour or so before buying and it runs fantastic. It starts easily both cold and hot. He was also able to give me some pointers on fuel oil/mixing, chain sharpening, and wood cutting technique that I wouldn't have known otherwise.

On paper the 028 is a little heavier than the MS271 and a little less powerful, but in reality, I can't tell. One thing I can tell is that it is a better balanced saw, which makes it noticeably more comfortable to use. Some might consider it an upgrade, some might consider it a downgrade, but I think in the end they are roughly equivalent.

Since last year I had 5 big Oaks fall in the back, plus a medium sized Maple and an Ash. I've also got a Bradford Pear to take down. The first oak got cleaned up by a tree service, but the remaining 4 are just laying on the ground. They are blocking access to the woods and I'm sure they are housing mice, plus they are pretty ugly to look at. Its not a big rush to clean them up but I'd like to start cutting away at them. They fell due to ground saturation, not disease so they are all rock solid. Should be a good test for the "new" saw.

 

[Tomeal]

I have a new farm boss, and have the same complaints as you. It also doesn't feel balanced right, but I did upgrade to an 18" bar which might contribute.

That's a nice find getting one that wasn't molested by use! Someday I'd like to find a older smaller saw to use for limbing!