Bigbud78
Established Member
Any suggestions for a good chainsaw that doesn't cost a fortune ? I'd really like a big stihl but my god there not cheap :/
Chainsaw
- Thread starter Bigbud78
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Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
I agree. Go 2nd hand, lots of bargains and even if needs repair, they're not exactly nuclear reactors.
Bigbud78
Established Member
What bar length should I be looking for cutting down logs into blanks ?
blackrodd
Established Member
This Stihl, below, is a typical starter saw, 12" bar it's good for most jobs around the garden and yard, and cheap at £130.00. brand new.
There should be an outlet like this near to you're home, They buy 2, or 300 at a time.
An equestrian or farmers super market is probably easiest to find brand new bargains like this.
There are some cheap electric ones about which would probably suit you're needs.
Regards Rodders
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262031307285? ... EBIDX%3AIT
http://www.powertools2u.co.uk/Chainsaws ... Atnp8P8HAQ
There should be an outlet like this near to you're home, They buy 2, or 300 at a time.
An equestrian or farmers super market is probably easiest to find brand new bargains like this.
There are some cheap electric ones about which would probably suit you're needs.
Regards Rodders
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262031307285? ... EBIDX%3AIT
http://www.powertools2u.co.uk/Chainsaws ... Atnp8P8HAQ
Woody2Shoes
Impressive Member
+1 for Stihl
I'd also budget for safety gear if you don't already have it. A chainsaw - even an "entry level" one is a fierce beast.
I'd also budget for safety gear if you don't already have it. A chainsaw - even an "entry level" one is a fierce beast.
blackrodd
Established Member
Woody2Shoes":kf3fq1tx said:
Yes, well spotted, get some safety gear too!
Regards Rodders
Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
I wouldn't go below 18" or you just wont be able to get out the other side of larger diameter trunks if you're ripping into boards. If you do intend to rip boards you should consider some form of Alaskan Mill whether home made or bought to guide the blade through the material for a straight cut. If it's only turning blanks you're interested in that's unnecessary
Bigbud78
Established Member
Yes safety gear would be bought before hand and i'm trying to find someone local to give me some pointers.
Its really for bowl blanks atm, I have got use of a 400mm deep cut industrial bandsaw so its mainly just for splitting the logs down the middle and prepping it all to go though the bandsaw.
The bandsaws a trek away thou so will be buying my own eventually, I have been tempted with electric as it wont get used a huge amount !
Its really for bowl blanks atm, I have got use of a 400mm deep cut industrial bandsaw so its mainly just for splitting the logs down the middle and prepping it all to go though the bandsaw.
The bandsaws a trek away thou so will be buying my own eventually, I have been tempted with electric as it wont get used a huge amount !
Tricky to say until you know what size you want. I recently got a Stihl 181 for light duties but it is pretty whimpy. To be fair to it today I was cutting some 12" beech but it was struggling. For good value quality saws you would save a bit going for a Makita/Dolmar over Stihl. They tend to be slightly heavier for the power but make proper pro kit.
Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
electric are way more convenient but don't generally have the grunt or bar length and of course you're tethered to mains power which often restricts you at the original point of location of the tree.
blackrodd
Established Member
An electric chainsaw wouldn't have the engine and petrol starting issues suffered by some!
Regards Rodders
Regards Rodders
blackrodd":hbfsaryw said:
This is a very good point.
A combination of higher ethanol in fuel and increasingly complicated saws is causing a lot of bother for part time users. If you go down the petrol rout it might be worth investing in some Aspen fuel for easy starting.
Dave Brookes
Established Member
Be aware that some of the 'cheap end' electric ones have a plastic drive sprocket so it may not last too long if you are ripping down the grain.
Dave
Dave
woodfarmer
Established Member
If you go down the electric route I do not believe you can better Ikra / mogagtec chainsaws. I have a 45cm one with a 2400 watt motor. It will happily drive a ripping chain through Yew or Oak.
They don't spend much money on sales, but have a service centre in virtually every European country. order mail order from Germany where they are made ( and all the bits, which they guarantee to keep in stock for at least 1 years after a product ceases to be sold.
They don't spend much money on sales, but have a service centre in virtually every European country. order mail order from Germany where they are made ( and all the bits, which they guarantee to keep in stock for at least 1 years after a product ceases to be sold.
artie
Sawdust manufacturer.
They are also very wasteful and expensive to run, but for what they do I suppose there is no alternative.
I bought a cheapie out of B&Q for about £80 a few years ago. I used it to cut down 7 or 8 trees that I had been quoted £100 each to cut down and remove. So I figure it has cost me very little. I resharped the chain and drained all the fuel out of it before storing it away. I have used it a couple of times since and it started up fine and did the job.
I bought a cheapie out of B&Q for about £80 a few years ago. I used it to cut down 7 or 8 trees that I had been quoted £100 each to cut down and remove. So I figure it has cost me very little. I resharped the chain and drained all the fuel out of it before storing it away. I have used it a couple of times since and it started up fine and did the job.
FWIW, when my apple tree fell down and needed cutting up I borrowed a small (c.12" bar) Husqvarna 2 stroke chain saw. It started and ran well and the friend from whom I borrowed it said he'd had it for around 15 years and it's been reliable - just need to adjust the bar length (to take up chain slack) occasionally.
The tree had a trunk of upto 18", so needed to cut it from both sides - a longer bar would have saved time and effort.
So, if you see a 2nd hand Husqvarna it may be worth considering (they make good motorcross bikes as well
).
The tree had a trunk of upto 18", so needed to cut it from both sides - a longer bar would have saved time and effort.
So, if you see a 2nd hand Husqvarna it may be worth considering (they make good motorcross bikes as well
).
SVB
Established Member
Beau":v1up3yqj said:
+1 for Aspen fuel. Not cheap but with a decade+ shelf life worth it if you are an occasional user.
I went for a used Husky, from the research I did - it seemed that the entry level sthil were more cheaply built and traded on the brand name with little of the sthil professional series quality. Husky seemed to have a more even playing field. Having said that, the internet is not know for it's 100% accuracy and many seem to be very happy with their sthil saws (just wouldn't trust the manuf data at the moment for anything with an engine coming out of Germany ...... oops, controversial Slap wrists!)
Random Orbital Bob
Established Member
I can vouch for Stihl and on the issue of petrol...
...modern unleaded fuel does most definitely "go off". I've no idea how it degrades chemically but I do know for certain that it does from personal experience. Basically a few years back (before I discovered this) I went to the shed after a long hard winter as the weeds were all starting up in the spring, to get various petrol motor garden tools. As I recall it included a strimmer, lawn mower and chainsaw. Every one of the blighters wouldn't start or if they did they farted and spluttered and wouldn't rev. The moment you revv'd them, the engines died. Very frustrating and there's me thinking, blimey, all of the carbs are choked up or the plugs blackened, gap needs fiddling with etc. And then I thought its a bit coincidental them all going wrong with a similar fault at the same time. Turns out the fuel had gone off. Quick fill up trip to the local Esso, drain, refill their tanks and they all started first time and ran smooth as you like.
So now I just run down my petrol stock at the end of the summer and don't keep any on the shelf. Fill up anew before first use in the spring and gremlins gone. I was shocked when I first found this out because in my early (leaded petrol) biking days you could keep the petrol indefinitely pretty much.
So you don't need expensive additives, just rotate your stock so its no more then 6 months old and you'll be fine.
...modern unleaded fuel does most definitely "go off". I've no idea how it degrades chemically but I do know for certain that it does from personal experience. Basically a few years back (before I discovered this) I went to the shed after a long hard winter as the weeds were all starting up in the spring, to get various petrol motor garden tools. As I recall it included a strimmer, lawn mower and chainsaw. Every one of the blighters wouldn't start or if they did they farted and spluttered and wouldn't rev. The moment you revv'd them, the engines died. Very frustrating and there's me thinking, blimey, all of the carbs are choked up or the plugs blackened, gap needs fiddling with etc. And then I thought its a bit coincidental them all going wrong with a similar fault at the same time. Turns out the fuel had gone off. Quick fill up trip to the local Esso, drain, refill their tanks and they all started first time and ran smooth as you like.
So now I just run down my petrol stock at the end of the summer and don't keep any on the shelf. Fill up anew before first use in the spring and gremlins gone. I was shocked when I first found this out because in my early (leaded petrol) biking days you could keep the petrol indefinitely pretty much.
So you don't need expensive additives, just rotate your stock so its no more then 6 months old and you'll be fine.
porker
Established Member
Got a little Husky and cut a lot of wood for firewood. I also have a cheapy electric Screwfix one. They are both pretty good and I sometimes use the electric one for small jobs. It is far more powerful than I was expecting. Oh, and learn how to use one safely. Chainsaws don't take prisoners. Even if you learn on youtube, there are some good tutorials to avoid kick back and other issues through poor technique.
