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Do we have a chainsaw thread?

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
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borcester rhymes

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,140
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
Do you want actual advice, or Monkey advice?

Monkey advice, http://www.madsens1.com/saw_raceprep.htm

Actual advice, 16" bar is probably fine. I have a shitty Ryobi, it's shitty, but cuts wood just fine. The kill switch is broken, and I'm not going to pay $20 to replace a switch on a $120 saw, just pull the choke and rev it, it'll stall. For occasional/home use, the saw doesn't seem to matter much, just buy a good chain. If you're going to use it more than a few hours a month buy a Husqy or Stihl. Hell, for occasional use the new cordless ones aren't half bad.
 

rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
23,058
11,300
In the cleavage of the Tetons
If it’s any help, I have a 49 page chainsaw thread here:

 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
If it’s any help, I have a 49 page chainsaw thread here:

I thought there was one. My search skills are lacking i suppose. Thanks!
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,852
9,557
AK
I have one, 12" blade, couple of batteries, works great for getting rid of downfall blocking trails when official authorities fail to do their job.
That’s why I want one and they seem to be pretty decent now.
 
I have one, 12" blade, couple of batteries, works great for getting rid of downfall blocking trails when official authorities fail to do their job.
What stops me from going electric is that a bunch of the stuff I wind up cutting is such that I want wedges and an axe to forestall disaster, so I wind up bringing the gas saw (a Jonsereds 16") and full associated kit.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
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What stops me from going electric is that a bunch of the stuff I wind up cutting is such that I want wedges and an axe to forestall disaster, so I wind up bringing the gas saw (a Jonsereds 16") and full associated kit.
i used a jonsereds for the first time over the weekend. it belonged to my great uncle, somewhere in the range of 30-40 years old. nice saw.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
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for slightly bigger jobs i like my stihl farm boss...just wish i knew how to use it better.
i have an ms290. been very pleased with it. i've been considering getting one of stihl's battery saws because there's a certain trail network i ride that requires fairly routine maintenance, and i'd like to draw as little attention to my trail gnoming as possible.
 

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,140
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
i have an ms290. been very pleased with it. i've been considering getting one of stihl's battery saws because there's a certain trail network i ride that requires fairly routine maintenance, and i'd like to draw as little attention to my trail gnoming as possible.
How much cutting are you doing on the trail? Those Silky pull saws are surprisingly fast, and basically all I ever use for trail maintenance due to noise, weight, Camelback portability and reduced fire hazard. I have this one https://www.amazon.com/Professional-BIGBOY-Folding-Landscaping-356-36/dp/B0014CA3JQ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=F396CE1ILXR0&keywords=silky+saw&qid=1565274615&s=gateway&sprefix=silky+,aps,188&sr=8-3 It's pretty kick-ass.

I also have a battery powered sawsall with pruning blades, it makes quick work of anything up to about 8" diameter. Only been outgunned a couple times, but being Ca we have pretty minimal trees, until a 6' diameter oak falls on the trail. they you're screwed.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
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How much cutting are you doing on the trail? Those Silky pull saws are surprisingly fast, and basically all I ever use for trail maintenance due to noise, weight, Camelback portability and reduced fire hazard. I have this one https://www.amazon.com/Professional-BIGBOY-Folding-Landscaping-356-36/dp/B0014CA3JQ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=F396CE1ILXR0&keywords=silky+saw&qid=1565274615&s=gateway&sprefix=silky+,aps,188&sr=8-3 It's pretty kick-ass.

I also have a battery powered sawsall with pruning blades, it makes quick work of anything up to about 8" diameter. Only been outgunned a couple times, but being Ca we have pretty minimal trees, until a 6' diameter oak falls on the trail. they you're screwed.
we'll get trees coming down that are routinely 2-3 feet in diameter. occasionally more. the other problem is that when a tree comes down, so do the other ones in it's path.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,648
3,089
i've been considering getting one of stihl's battery saws because there's a certain trail network i ride that requires fairly routine maintenance, and i'd like to draw as little attention to my trail gnoming as possible.
Just do it the other way around. Dress like a forest worker and pretend that you belong there and are just doing your job. :D
Worked for me this spring. Tree was pretty sketchy placed, so I I wanted to be as protected as possible and walked in with proper cut-proof boots and pants and a helmet. People saw me cutting the tree and didn't say anything. Previously I got yelled at in the same area using a folding saw. At that time I had a bike with me though.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,624
12,916
Cackalacka du Nord
you had any issues with it? only real "problem" i've had is a clogged oilomatic, but i strongly suspect i hadn't done a thorough enough cleaning at one point. what size bar you got?
18" bar. no problems other than me occasionally misjudging when a tree will fold and getting the saw stuck. need to learn to use wedges.

@maxyedor - i have a silky big boy and like it a lot, but it's a lot of work to make two cuts with it through anything bigger than 18" or so.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
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Based on some short-ish demo time on both the Makita and Dewalt battery powered chainsaws, they're not going to work exceedingly well for you.
as of now there's no battery powered saws from any manufacturer that have a long enough bar to handle the size trees i'd need it for. largely one of the reasons i haven't purchased one yet.
 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO

PepperJester

Monkey
Jul 9, 2004
798
19
Wolfville NS
I have three Sthil's, two get used at least a day or two every week building trail. My main saw is a MS261 and use a an older MS280 as my back up / stump saw.

No complaints. Local Sthil dealer support has been top notch too and has been the main reason we run their gear for all our small equipment (leaf blowers, saws, trimmers).
 

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,799
8,383
Nowhere Man!
Simply. Chainsaws are something I am not responsible enough to operate. I have a fascination with them. I thought I had the basic skills to operate them. It seemed fun. You probably do not have personal chainsaw insurance. You are not allowed to go into the woods and randomly cut down some trees. They have laws against that it seems. Remember that after you chase your friends through the woods with one. Reasonable people don't like that. Almost always.... If the cops become involved. They will take your friends chainsaw. So if you're going to be an asshole. Do it with your own chainsaw.
 

Adventurous

Starshine Bro
Mar 19, 2014
10,261
8,767
Crawlorado
I've got a Stihl as well. Have some hours on it and other than stumbling through the carb tuning process, it has been great.

Make sure to budget for some chaps, ear and face protection.

Also, unless you intend to run this thing a lot, I'd just stick with buying the premixed fuel.
 

JustMtnB44

Monkey
Sep 13, 2006
840
113
Pittsburgh, PA
I want an eChainsaw.
I've owned the Greenworks 40v 16" brushless chainsaw for almost 5 years now. My use is exclusively building and maintaining trails, not firewood or anything like that. For these purposes I highly recommend battery electric saws. The park I maintain the most does not technically allow volunteers to use power tools, but the manager overlooks the use of the battery tools because they are so quiet and unobtrusive. The best part of the battery saw is almost zero maintenance. One time I had to clean out the bar oiler, but otherwise I just sharpen the chain and charge the battery. Press the button to turn it on and start cutting.

as of now there's no battery powered saws from any manufacturer that have a long enough bar to handle the size trees i'd need it for. largely one of the reasons i haven't purchased one yet.
I bought an 18" bar for mine so I could handle the occasional larger tree and have cut trees up to 30" in diameter. However cutting through a tree that big, especially if dead and dry, can consume 3/4 of the battery for one cut. If it works with the trail, I've built a couple of log pile ramps over trees of that size rather than cutting them out.

This is the largest tree I have cut this year, a dead ash, with the 18" bar for scale.


I often get mid to upper tree messes like this, can usually clear it with one battery.


This dry log was about 20"-24" in diameter and I had to cut it into 5 ft segments that could be rolled out of the way.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
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I've owned the Greenworks 40v 16" brushless chainsaw for almost 5 years now. My use is exclusively building and maintaining trails, not firewood or anything like that. For these purposes I highly recommend battery electric saws. The park I maintain the most does not technically allow volunteers to use power tools, but the manager overlooks the use of the battery tools because they are so quiet and unobtrusive. The best part of the battery saw is almost zero maintenance. One time I had to clean out the bar oiler, but otherwise I just sharpen the chain and charge the battery. Press the button to turn it on and start cutting.


I bought an 18" bar for mine so I could handle the occasional larger tree and have cut trees up to 30" in diameter. However cutting through a tree that big, especially if dead and dry, can consume 3/4 of the battery for one cut. If it works with the trail, I've built a couple of log pile ramps over trees of that size rather than cutting them out.

This is the largest tree I have cut this year, a dead ash, with the 18" bar for scale.


I often get mid to upper tree messes like this, can usually clear it with one battery.


This dry log was about 20"-24" in diameter and I had to cut it into 5 ft segments that could be rolled out of the way.

Is that saw rated for an 18" bar? What size batteries are available for it? The Stihl ones look real nice, but the longest bar is only 14".

But yea, similar situation to what you have in terms of reasoning for a battery saw.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,628
5,443
In regards to sharpening does anyone recommend a sharpening system that can fit in a Camelbak?
Thought this looked okay-