Father's Day HELP!!! - Chain Saw??

[Kent A Bathurst]

For some reason - at best known only to God, and I'm not sure about Him - neighbor has it in his mind he wants a chain saw. Since it involves wood, and the word "saw" his wife came to me for a suggestion for Father's Day present (technically from his 6 yr old daughter).

I am clueless on chain saws. Residential neighborhood in the city of Atlanta, so he won't be felling any trees. I'd think a general-purpose, lightweight gas-powered saw with a relatively short bar.

Ideally, it would be available at a BORG-type place - but don't know anything about the quality of any brands. Could put a photo in an envelope and wait for mail-order to deliver.

FWIW - his birthday was 3 weeks ago, and his wife asked me for info on a drill (his died). I gave her an explanation of things, and then made a suggestion, which she went for - Makita set (18v L-ion black) drill, impact, flashlight, 2 extra batts and an extra charger. So - she is willing to spend a reasonable amount of $$$, but OTOH, this thing will not get much use, and won't be used for heavy-duty work, so reasonableness test applies, please.

Thanks
Kent

[Alan Trout]

For a consumer grade saw the Echo's at the Home Depot and the lower end Husqvarna's at Lowes and Nothern Tools are pretty good saws. If he is going to use it for medium duty to heavy duty use I suggest a Stihl or the better Husqvarna saws.

Good Luck

Alan

[Kent A Bathurst]

For a consumer grade saw the Echo's at the Home Depot and the lower end Husqvarna's at Lowes and Nothern Tools are pretty good saws. If he is going to use it for medium duty to heavy duty use I suggest a Stihl or the better Husqvarna saws.

Good Luck

Alan


Thanks, Alan - I see a few Huskies at Lowes - 16" - 20" bar, 37cc - 55cc, 10 - 15 lb. Seem to be in the right range. KNow that brand name, of course - not familiar with Echo - will take a look there.

By the time he clears the "medium duty" hurdle, there wouldn't be anything left standing in his yard.:D

[Matt Meiser]

The little Echo HD sells is supposed to be decent. But she'd be way better off going to a Echo, Husqvarna, or Stihl dealer and buying it there since they can help her make sure she get one that meets his needs, the proper accessories, and properly start it up. I do have an Echo blower I bought at Home Depot and its been good to me though.

Sthil is my favorite, because I've got a dealer 1 mile from my house, one 5 miles (my John Deere dealer) and numerous others with 30 minutes. I'm practically guaranteed someone would have a part if I needed it RIGHT NOW. The others don't have near the support network around here.

Or, look at electric. Much less maintenance and the electric Homelite pole trimmer I bought this spring seems pretty well made and plenty powerful.

[David Freed]

I know several loggers and most of them use Stihl. Husqvarna is usually their second choice. For just occasional use, any of the brands mentioned would probably work. On the other hand, if he has been checking things out himself, he might really like to get a Stihl just to be able to say he has the best. I agree that electric would probably be good enough for what he will be doing, but he may or may not want to go that route.

[Larry Frank]

+1 on going to a Stihl dealer. Mine has been very good and provided some good information on how to use it. An electric might be a real good idea if it will only get occasional use. Chainsaws can be tempormental and frustrating if not used on a regular basis. This is even true for the Stihl and other higher end brands.

Hopefully, a dealer could also provide some safety information. A Stihl cuts really well and can bite the operator if not careful.

[Dave Lehnert]

I have this Stihl unit and like it a lot. MS180. I use it around the house when a storm blows a tree down or the like. I was close to an Echo from Home Depot but got this Stihl from a local dealer. A Stihl dealer has the saw assembled and gassed\ test run before you go out the door with it. He also tossed in an extra chain. This saw runs $199. I got the easy start system (Add $30) what that does for you, As you pull out the starter rope (slowly) it winds a spring. when you reach the end of the rope, the spring releases spinning the engine to start. Have a dealer show you. It's GREAT!
http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS180CB.html

http://www.stihlusa.com/graphics/chainsaws/MS180CB.gif

[Matt Meiser]

I've got the easy start on a string trimmer. +1 on the recommendation!

[Tim Morton]

I have this Stihl unit and like it a lot. MS180. I use it around the house when a storm blows a tree down or the like. I was close to an Echo from Home Depot but got this Stihl from a local dealer. A Stihl dealer has the saw assembled and gassed\ test run before you go out the door with it. He also tossed in an extra chain. This saw runs $199. I got the easy start system (Add $30) what that does for you, As you pull out the starter rope (slowly) it winds a spring. when you reach the end of the rope, the spring releases spinning the engine to start. Have a dealer show you. It's GREAT!
http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS180CB.html

http://www.stihlusa.com/graphics/chainsaws/MS180CB.gif

+2 on the stihl..i have this one as well and it wowld be perfect.

[David Freed]

I failed to mention in my earlier post that I own a Stihl MS 290. If I had to buy another saw, it would be another Stihl because of the brand and my local dealer. A 290 would be a bit much for occasional, light use though.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I like that Stihl. A lot.

Final answer - she went to a BORG. She (like me) sees no reason (neither reason as in explanation, nor reason as in logic) why he "needs" a chainsaw. So she got a lower-end electric model - didn't ask her the brand. Makes sense to me - for something that will spend 99.99% of its life in the garage. Also - her logic says - if he wants a real chainsaw, he can take it back and get something else - in which case I stand ready with the Stihl recommendation.

His only tool-based skills are entirely centered on his high-end bicycles - didn't even own a socket set until us other neighbor guys intervened in his recent birthday. Us other neighbor guys are also a bit concerned about the flesh-eating-potential of a chainsaw in his hands:D

Thanks for the input, guys - very informative. Plus - I have another friend in a different state that has casually mentioned a chainsaw before - I'll send the Stihl info to him.

And - Happy Father's day to all you Dads out there. Here's hoping someone got you that Holtey A13 you've always wanted.