Chainsaw oppinions.

[big soft moose]

Thanks for all the input

I went and had a go with the 18" Ryobi and it seems like a perfectly good machine TBH, it sawed its way through some good sized logs with relative ease.
BSM, I may have only owned a 12" electric but I have used many chainsaws before, so I'm not all that inexperienced.
I still don't know what to do though but thinking a bit more about it ,I really need something with at least an 18" bar as I often get the chance for bigger bits of wood. I may just pop new brushes in the old makita for now and save for a better model of Husqvarna.

JT

sure jonny - that wasnt directed at you it was just a general observation for anyone viewing this thread.

The thing with the ryobi saws is not that they dont cut well in operation (to be honest more or less anything that can drive the chain will cut okay because its the chain doing the cutting) - its the poor quality components which cause them to break down under a lot of use and the difficulty in getting them repaired - any chainsaw dealer will carry or easily obtain parts for stihl and husky because thats what pros use so thats what they see a lot of - they wont routinely carry ryobi parts which may mean it has to be sent away for repair - potentially leaving you without a saw for weeks.

The othere thing is that cheap saws tend to be sold with the longest bar possible - not what they will comfortably cut with - pro saws from dealers tend to be sold with one size down for increase torque (ie my Stihl 361 could take up to 24" bar but is routinely used with a 18") - The thing to remember particularly with petrol saws is that the shorter the bar the higher the torque and thus the quicker the cut, and the less likely the saw is to stall when ripping.


I am slightly puzzled by your need for an 18 inch bar tho - A saw with a 16 inch bar can cut logs up to 32" in diameter - do you often get offered logs bigger than that ?

(before anyone accuses me of hypocrisy for having an 18" stihl - i'd point out that this is my work saw , which i use principally for taking down windblown trees - widdow makers are a whole different fish of kettles to cutting up blanks - as often it isnt safe or possible to work from both sides, - my shop saw is a stihl 023 with a 14" bar ! )

 

[big soft moose]

Don't want to harp on, but see my other post about Husqvarna customer support. Remember they are part of Electrolux now, along with Maculloch.

I've had a couple of Huskies for years now, never needed any spares other than chains of course, the odd plug, filter or fuel hose, no problem at all with the local dealer, the saws are professional, capable and very reliable in my experience.

Stihl are great too of course, just wouldn't want one persons bad experience to put others off a very good make in my experience.

Cheers, Paul

I'd agree with paul on this - the potential poor customer service from husky themselves shouldnt matter anyway because in routine repairs and service one would be dealing with a chainsaw dealer who would keep a stock of usually needed parts etc to hand.

its only with non standard saw like mac, and ryobi etc that the customer might wind up dealing directly with the manufacturer

 

[SVB]

I am slightly puzzled by your need for an 18 inch bar tho - A saw with a 16 inch bar can cut logs up to 32" in diameter - do you often get offered logs bigger than that ?

Just the point I was trying to make BSM - I have a 13" bar on my saw 99% of the time and with a decent amount of power it really make it a pleasure to use.

 

[big soft moose]

I am slightly puzzled by your need for an 18 inch bar tho - A saw with a 16 inch bar can cut logs up to 32" in diameter - do you often get offered logs bigger than that ?

Just the point I was trying to make BSM - I have a 13" bar on my saw 99% of the time and with a decent amount of power it really make it a pleasure to use.

the only thing i can think of where you definitely need an 18 + bar would be using an alaskan mill - but i wouldnt want to try that with a 50cc ryobi

 

[johnny.t.]

I am slightly puzzled by your need for an 18 inch bar tho - A saw with a 16 inch bar can cut logs up to 32" in diameter - do you often get offered logs bigger than that ?

Yes, on a couple of occasions. I had to leave a massive trunk of Oak recently to someone else as I couldn't deal with it(mind you I don't know if an 18" bar would have got it, had to be getting on for 4' and it ended up a firewood :shock: ) and there is another I can take if I can get it cut and loaded(although it looks cracked all over as it was cut down at the start of the summer)
Also the ability to cut through 18" logs in one cut appeals.

JT

 

[big soft moose]

I am slightly puzzled by your need for an 18 inch bar tho - A saw with a 16 inch bar can cut logs up to 32" in diameter - do you often get offered logs bigger than that ?

Yes, on a couple of occasions. I had to leave a massive trunk of Oak recently to someone else as I couldn't deal with it(mind you I don't know if an 18" bar would have got it, had to be getting on for 4' and it ended up a firewood :shock: ) and there is another I can take if I can get it cut and loaded(although it looks cracked all over as it was cut down at the start of the summer)
Also the ability to cut through 18" logs in one cut appeals.

JT

fairy nuff

but if you are going to do this kind of work regularly it really isnt worth buying a cheap make of saw as it will just die on you - buy cheap buy twice and all that.

pro level tree work calls for a pro level saw - as in either the stihl 361 or the husky equivalent - for which you are looking at not much change out of 400 notes .

if you are going to harvest your own wood you also ought to look at getting a ripping chain as well as the bog standard cross cut

and if you are going to do it a lot you might want asn alaskan mill circa 200 notes