Help me Nixon, I need a chainsaw!
- Thread starter squerly
- Start date
I know this is an old thread but considering the 2 year old temper tantrum/meltdown I just had with my chainsaws, I thought I'd get everyone's opinion on a good basic saw for smaller trees up to about 14 inches wide at the trunk. An entry level saw.
So my wife had all the right thoughts a few years ago. I had/still have a small poulan 36cc 16" chainsaw my dad gave me when he got out of trucking. He used to keep it on his logging truck to trim any logs sticking out of the load. They usually hauled 8ft spruce cross deck. Anyways, my wife saw me cursing up a storm trying to get the chainsaw running more than once. So she bought me a new poulan 42cc 18 " for Christmas. I used it a few times then it just sat.
Now that we live in the country, I could use a good saw to get firewood for the garage. I got both poulan chainsaws running. Both needed a slight idle adjustment. Easy enough except that poulan chainsaws need a special screwdriver with a special head to adjust the idle. So I ordered a set and got them both running alright.
Fast forward to this morning. Thankfully the neighbors were gone. I attempted to get a small trailer full of wood. It took me probably 3 hours to cut 15 pieces of firewood all small sized. In that time, the chain came off 5 times. I had to do 3 separate idle adjustments. And I had to switch saws 4 times.
I finally had enough and threw it about 20 feet bouncing it off a big spruce tree. After beating the piss out of the saw a few more times, I gave up. I just want to go on record and say that poulan chainsaws are the Kia of the automobile industry. Like a bic lighter. Use it till it's empty and throw it out.
That being said, I'm looking at either a husky 120 or a stihl 170. Which is better?
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So my wife had all the right thoughts a few years ago. I had/still have a small poulan 36cc 16" chainsaw my dad gave me when he got out of trucking. He used to keep it on his logging truck to trim any logs sticking out of the load. They usually hauled 8ft spruce cross deck. Anyways, my wife saw me cursing up a storm trying to get the chainsaw running more than once. So she bought me a new poulan 42cc 18 " for Christmas. I used it a few times then it just sat.
Now that we live in the country, I could use a good saw to get firewood for the garage. I got both poulan chainsaws running. Both needed a slight idle adjustment. Easy enough except that poulan chainsaws need a special screwdriver with a special head to adjust the idle. So I ordered a set and got them both running alright.
Fast forward to this morning. Thankfully the neighbors were gone. I attempted to get a small trailer full of wood. It took me probably 3 hours to cut 15 pieces of firewood all small sized. In that time, the chain came off 5 times. I had to do 3 separate idle adjustments. And I had to switch saws 4 times.
I finally had enough and threw it about 20 feet bouncing it off a big spruce tree. After beating the piss out of the saw a few more times, I gave up. I just want to go on record and say that poulan chainsaws are the Kia of the automobile industry. Like a bic lighter. Use it till it's empty and throw it out.
That being said, I'm looking at either a husky 120 or a stihl 170. Which is better?
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My dad had a stihl 024, 16" blade that worked each and every time any of us needed it. 20 years ago when we moved to the country I bought a stihl 025, 16" blade and it has served me well. It still runs great. I did have a new carb put in a couple years ago and I had to replace the pull cord as it broke but it is the most dependable saw I've dealt with.
Never had a husky so can't speak to them. Had a craftsman and won't have another even if they did still sell them.
Never had a husky so can't speak to them. Had a craftsman and won't have another even if they did still sell them.
That was my philosophy for a few years. Use the Poulan until it wouldn't start or run, junk it and buy another. I got tired of that and moved on to Stihl. I loved both my saws but hated the gas tank caps they put on them. They're the most frustrating thing ever put on a machine. Latest saw was a 16" Echo. So far I like it a lot. I still dig out the Stihl for the bigger stuff but I don't cut much of those any more as I'm not nearly as nimble on my feet as I used to be. Now I cut the big stuff down using my checkbook.
So do I!
Lol. I tried cutting using my checkbook. It didn't work out so well when the hired help didn't show up and I had to do it myself.
I found this one used. Looks like it's only ran a tank of gas through it to trim some brush. It's a husqvarna 120 mark II. My dad has always had a husqvarna for at home use and it did well. Much better quality than poulan.
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I found this one used. Looks like it's only ran a tank of gas through it to trim some brush. It's a husqvarna 120 mark II. My dad has always had a husqvarna for at home use and it did well. Much better quality than poulan.
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You can buy complete Stihl and Husqy clone kits from China now: www.huztl.net
It's amazing how brazen they have become in their copying. I must admit I have used the site to buy some parts for my Husqy's.
It's amazing how brazen they have become in their copying. I must admit I have used the site to buy some parts for my Husqy's.
The best and most used saw that I ever had was a 12" arborist saw made by some Italian company that I can't remember. Maybe Nixon can help. I bought it from Northern Tool many, many years ago. It was big enough to do 90% of the cutting I had to do around here and it was light and just worked. The ethanol in our gas eventually turned all the rubber parts and lines to mush. It's laying down in the barn. I need to find someone who can rebuild that puppy. It was excellent.
I put a bid on a husqvarna 350. It's got a 50cc engine and 18 inch blade which is plenty for what I need.
Back to the poulan I was using yesterday. It's only 3 years old and has been used a handful of times but thinking back to yesterday, the chain was smoking pretty good while trying to cut which means it probably wasn't getting oil. I had just filled the oil prior to using it. I find the bar is thin on it and bends easily. Mine was bent, so I discovered yesterday which is probably why the chain popped off 4 times the other day. So the price of a new bar chain and oil pump on a cheap poulan makes it almost not worth fixing. But I'll probably fix it and keep it at camp.
I never really had a use for a chainsaw at home before moving to the country. Now, we have 3 acres of trees in the back and a garage with a fireplace. So I plan on doing a bit more cutting in the future which requires a more reliable saw.
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Back to the poulan I was using yesterday. It's only 3 years old and has been used a handful of times but thinking back to yesterday, the chain was smoking pretty good while trying to cut which means it probably wasn't getting oil. I had just filled the oil prior to using it. I find the bar is thin on it and bends easily. Mine was bent, so I discovered yesterday which is probably why the chain popped off 4 times the other day. So the price of a new bar chain and oil pump on a cheap poulan makes it almost not worth fixing. But I'll probably fix it and keep it at camp.
I never really had a use for a chainsaw at home before moving to the country. Now, we have 3 acres of trees in the back and a garage with a fireplace. So I plan on doing a bit more cutting in the future which requires a more reliable saw.
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Yes. That's the plan. Right now I'm concentrating on the stuff that's already fallen but not rotting. Mostly poplar spruce balsam and birch. Good mixture of wood back there.
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The husqvarna 350 is on it's way. I now have both poulan chainsaws running decent.
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I took a drive to the dark side this afternoon to pick it up at the border. I also ordered a set of cutting chaps and hard hat. About 10 minutes after getting home this afternoon I headed to the back of the property where there's a few downed balsam. After an hour I had roughly a face cord of wood cut and loaded. It cuts like a hot knife through soft butter. Barely any effort. I've filled that little trailer 3 times this week.
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A good working chain saw is a thing of beauty.
It's like a magic wand. One swish and big problems become smaller problems and then become firewood. It's miraculous.
It's like a magic wand. One swish and big problems become smaller problems and then become firewood. It's miraculous.