Chainsaw for turners

[Mike Goetzke]

I have a 16" John Deer 38cc that is maybe 9 years old. Only used around the yard. I just started turning and will be looking to get wood at a good price by cutting it myself. I saw Menard's is having a sale on the 40cc Poulan 18" WildThing for $98. Will this be a good upgrade or not?

Thanks

[Bob Bergstrom]

Displacement is almost the same, bar is the same, but i would suspect there would be a lot more plastic in the Poulan. If the Deer is working I would pass and save for something a little stronger.

[Brian Kent]

Only an uninformed opinion. I would look into getting the John Deere serviced at a local dealer and find out if 38cc is enough to handle an 18" bar. If so, you might replace the bar and chain and get a better tool for less money in the John Deere.

[Brian Ashton]

Years ago when I worked for my brothers tree service I had large quality wood pieces coming out my ears for turning and access numerous stihl and husky chainsaws of all sizes… However my choice of chainsaw for working those pieces was an electric. They have more than enough power and the largest benefit is you can use them indoors while a piece is mounted on the lathe without polluting the rest of the house with oily and extremely smelly exhaust. They also have the convenience of no hassle plug and play. They wouldn't survive a fall out of the tree from 20 feet like a stihl 020 will from 60 but for cutting up and trimming turing stock they're more than adequate.

[Fred Perreault]

A good saw should last 7-10 years for occasional yard work and for your wood turning purposes. Stihl and Husqvarna are top rated by professionals all around. I have used Stihls for 25 years, and chainsaws in general for over 40 years and never been disappointed in Stihl. More power means an easier, longer life. The bar should be nearly as long as the swing of your lathe in order to easily create your blanks. A bigger swing might make the electrics somewhat less usefull, but I have never used them much do to inconvenience. Care of the bar and chain is essential, and would probably be replaced at least once in a 10 year lifetime. There are less expensive saws that are overrated for their bar length and potential power, but like most things, you will get what you pay for. Much depends on your personal needs and budget, but I would recommend Stihl and Husqvarna first. I have a Stihl 018 with 14" bar, a Stihl MS 260 with 16" bar, and a Stihl MS 270 with 18" bar. They all handle their respective bar and chain well, but my next bar and chain for the MS 270 will be 20" for my Powermatic 3520. Big lathe, big trees, big saw, big bar, adequate power. It makes life easy.

[Dennis Ford]

I have owned a couple of the Poulan "Wildthings"; one lasted a long time, the second one was worn out quickly after "Rita" blew down some large trees in the yard. I have a Husky 455 now and it is a better saw. If you are not doing any falling and only using it to cut up turning blanks, a "Wildthing" is definitely worth the money. When it wears out, don't bother taking it to a shop; just get another saw.

[phil harold]

I have owned a couple of the Poulan "Wildthings"; one lasted a long time, the second one was worn out quickly after "Rita" blew down some large trees in the yard. I have a Husky 455 now and it is a better saw. If you are not doing any falling and only using it to cut up turning blanks, a "Wildthing" is definitely worth the money. When it wears out, don't bother taking it to a shop; just get another saw.
I have a Wild thing for 9 years now
starts all the time
I think the 18 bar taxes it when cutting down my ash trees on the farm
Put a 16" bar in
I bought it a a disposable saw expect one or two years out of it
Surprise Surprise!

[Richard Coers]

Horribly undersized in my opinion. I have two saws, a Stihl 029 (56.5 cc) Farm Boss with a 20" bar, and a Husky 3120 (118.8 cc) with a 36" bar. The Husky is of course overkill, unless you are cutting 3'-4' diameter logs into slabs or big blanks. I was harvesting a lot of urban timber for a while. Love that saw, sounds like a dirt bike till it starts to eat the wood. You bury the bucking teeth into the log, then pull with both hands. You can't stall it! I can only run it for about 45 minutes at a time now that I'm over 60 years old. It weighs 23 pounds without the bar. That Poulan is a throw away machine, best saved for pruning. Bury that bar in hard maple for a couple of hours, and it won't last long. It will have really small chains, so small curls in the cut. Hope time isn't important to you because it will be really slow!

[Scott Hackler]

Save up and get a "real" saw from a Stihl of Husqvarna dealer There is a reason that Poulan 18" cost $98 and my Husqvarna 8" cost $360! I owned a Poulan 16" once and it was good for very small limbs or pruning. Most saws can handle crosscutting but, it won't be strong enough to rip a log in half. My Husqvarna will rip a log in half without any trouble, very quickly.

[Scott Hackler]

I forgot to add that the HUsqvarna and Stihl saws at the big box stores are NOT the same as the same brands sold by authorized dealers. I did a lot of research when shopping for my saw and found out that the versions at Lowes, Home Depot..ect, are a light duty saw made for occational trimming. They are a step above Poulan or Craftsman, but not meant to be taxed by doing things like ripping hardwood logs for turning.

[Joe Bradshaw]

I have 5 Stihls, 4 gas and one electric. The MS170 I have is good for small work. The 2 034s with 18" bars are good, altho they are starting to show their age(15 + yrs). My o44 with a 24' bar is a monster. I get tired just thinking about using it. I bought the elec. for a shop saw. Plugging a cord is easier than pulling a starting cord, I'm almost 70, so anything that makes life a little easier for me is a winner.
Joe

[Michael Stafford]

I haven't been able to save up enough to afford one of those gasoline powered chainsaws. I am still using this model.

275932

Of course you don't need much of a chainsaw when your lathe looks like mine.

275933

Ya'll be good now ya hear.

[charlie knighton]

i saw on antique roadshow, a harley davidson bycylce powering a grinder, you need to add to your collection Big Mike, i think they have it at nashville store

[Adrian Anguiano]

I would say 40cc would be minimum, and I would say get a bar thats longer than the diameter of the tree you will be cutting so the bar wont be buried in the wood. The saw will cut much better, at higher rpms, if the saw bar is longer than the tree diameter. But keep in mind, the longer the bar, the more cc's you need to keep that high rpm.

I have an Echo Chainsaw and it starts every time on the 3rd pull of the chain. Great saws.

[Mike Goetzke]

Thanks for all the great info! Seems like it will be best to save my pennies for a bigger higher quality saw (I do see a BF special on the Husqvarna 450E 18" 50cc for $255 - more than double the Poulan though). I did notice that my John Deer 16" saw is a commercial grade so maybe I'll tune her up and get some more work out of it for right now.


Thanks,

Mike

[John King]

Had a Poulan. After a few hours of use, it turned into a door stop. Pass on the Poulan. In general, stay away from any chainsaw sold in big box stores. There's a reason big box chainsaws are low priced. They simply are not manufactured to thes same quality standards as Stihl and similar. So, save your money until you can buy a good chainsaw - Stilh or similar. - John

PS "You can Poulan on it and Poulan on it. But no matter how many times you Poulan on it, it won't start." - Unknown

[Ben Darrah]

+1 on Stihl and Husqvarna. I've had both and they are worth the extra cash. I also believe many Stihls are still made in USA.

[Jamie Donaldson]

All Stihls are made in the USA.

[Mike Cruz]

Mike, the simple answer to "what chainsaw to get...for a turner?" is one with a bar at least as long as the swing of your lathe. Sure, you can cut a log twice as wide as the length of your saw bar, but it won't be clean.

I'm partial t Stihl. I've got an MS260 (18" bar), MS 290 (20" bar), MS650 (36" bar), and a HT131 (pole saw with 12" bar). I feel that you get used to a brand and how they perform...and it is best to stick with them. Just my preference.

If you are going to have just one, I'd get the MS290 with a 20" bar...great saw.

[robert baccus]

As a forester I worked in the woods and supervised loggers for many years. Stills are good but 95% of the logger used Husky's--me too. They seem to cut faster than any other brand of the same size and were very durable. A good flathead would go through a saw in 6-9 months sawing 6 days a week.

[John Keeton]

In 1989, I bought a Stihl chainsaw and weed/brush eater. Around 2007, one of my sons borrowed the chainsaw and failed to keep the filter clean. The piston got scorched. At that point, it was over 18 years old and ran fine prior to the misuse. Replaced it with the 290 (comparable to the old one.) I still have the Stihl weed eater that is now 24 years old and starts quickly each spring. I am sure the Husky's are great machines, as well, and either would be an excellent choice, but I agree on buying quality for this type of tool.

[Mike Cruz]

I've got nothing bad to say about Huskys. Good saws. I'm just not familiar with them. Our little group of turners all pretty much have Stihls. The nice thing is that any of us can pick up the others' saw and start her right up. One of our guys picked up a Husky one day. We were having a "cut up", and his saw was having issues. He asked me to take a look at it. Unfortunately, I don't know Huskys. There were chokes and buttons and bubble pushy things (don't remember exactly to be honest) that needed to be worked in a certain order...otherwise, you'd flood the saw. I couldn't really help him. Bottom line, if you know how to use Huskys, I don't know why you wouldn't be happy with one. I've heard plenty of people say they are as good or better than Stihls. I just like to stick with what I know...

[Prashun Patel]

Absolutely buy a good saw like the two brands mentioned here. Also buy a few quality chains and dont be afraid to change them at the first sign of poor cutting. Chainsawing is dangerous and strenuous. You need a tool that you can rely on.

[tom gepfrich]

I have an Echo 45CC and love, love, love this saw. It is a pro level unit that is made in Japan which is a plus in my book. It replaced a Poulan and cuts better, faster and is easier to use. Look at the emissions durability rating sticker. 50hrs is consumer grade. 300 hrs is commercial grade engine.
Beyond the hardware, I want to touch on the fuel/oil issues. Ethanol eats fuel lines and small engine carbs. It also is a strong solvent that breaks down the oil film. Both are horrible for small engines and are the reason most people buy 2 yr throw away tools.
To combat this I have found a source of ethanol free gas which is about $1 a gallon more than normal but I only use a few gallons a year so it is worth it. I also use a premium full synthetic oil and not only does my equipment work better, I have not had any annoying fuel problems either. There is a lot to read about these issues on the NET and I started paying attention after my small engine equipment all died in succession. I switched to Amsoil Saber and although it is rated for 100 to 1, I run it at 50 to 1 with great results. My PSA for helping you protect your investment.

[robert baccus]

Good info. Tom--Echo has sure come up in the world in the past few years. I lost 1 carburetor to ethanol two years ago but have had no problems lately. Engines can be made to tolerate the stuff, look at Toyota and Honda. Maybe the manufacturing people have caught on. Years ago Mercury outboards went to 100 to one and blew everyone's mind. Ten years ago they admitted using sperm whale oil additive but ran out of whales(laws).

[Olaf Vogel]

I've got a couple of Stihls, 1 big gas and two electric.
Honestly, the electric ones are so good, convenient, instant on/off, no stink etc, that I almost never use the gas version. (only if I cant stretch an extension cord)
And when its cold outside, I can use the electric inside the shop.

[Jon Lanier]

I'd save up for a Stihl.... something beefier from dealer direct. I have a Stihl with two extra bars and about 5 chains. That way I don't have to take time to sharpen when I'm cutting, just change them out, sharpen at a later time when more convenient.

[robert baccus]

I love people without insecurities.

[robert baccus]

Sorry--Mercury went to 50 to one back in the fifties.

[Mike Goetzke]

Well I received a belated (New Year's Eve) Christmas present form the wife - a Husqvarna 450E 20". My wife heard me talking about it and found a good deal on one right after Christmas.

Now to decide canvas case or plastic. I'm leaning toward the plastic powerbox.:D


Mike

[John Conklin]

I have 2 Echo chainsaws that I've used to cut a lot firewood with no problems. Around here you also see tons of landscaping companies using Echo equipment. I'm sure Stihls and Huskies are good, but I've never been able to justify their price.

[Hilel Salomon]

As a chainsaw fanatic, I learned early to avoid Poulan (we call it pull-on) and Homelight, McCullough, J. Deere. These were once fine saws, and you can find people who use the older saws to this day. Unfortunately, the quality of the newer ones is terrible. There are several reasons to avoid buying chainsaws at Lowe's and HD. They tend to sell the lower quality ones and don't service what they sell. Even the old standby's such as Stihl and Husqvarna now sell lower quality models, although I was so delighted with a friend's easy pull Stihl 251, that I added it to my collection. If all you will be doing is cutting around your shop, you might like the Makita electric one (I like mine) but avoid the Sears, Remington and other cheaper models. Generally, you get what you pay for. Although I love my Stihl 360, 200T and 660, and my Husqvarna 372's, if you are on somewhat of a tighter budget, I would not dismiss the middle range Echo's. Mine are fantastic for the price. Whatever you buy, try not to use gas with ethanol if you can avoid it. If not, please be sure to use an additive. 95% of the saws being brought in to service have carburetor problems directly related to ethanol. I also now try very hard to start and run every saw, weedeater and blower I have at least once every 6 weeks, and keep them filled with gas/oil mixture in order to minimize the moisture problem. Good luck,
Hilel

[Jamie Donaldson]

Using a quality fuel stabilizer is a prudent necessity these days with the ethanol in pump gas. I have also been advised to use high octane gas rather than regular, and it seems to store and start better in my many power tools. I agree that the Makita electric is a nice saw when the gas saws can't be used inside the shop, and a bit less pricy than the Stihl electrics..

[Mike Cruz]

BTW, don't use STABIL anymore. At least not the regular stuff. It does nothing to prevent your fuel lines and carb from getting trashed. I've had multiple shops recommend STAR-TRON. It is blue. It takes care of both stabilizing the fuel AND ethanol issues.

[Hilel Salomon]

Star-tron is good. Sea foam is pretty good as well. Ditto on the high octane. Incidentally, you may be able to find ethanol-free gas in your area. You can check this at puregas.org. Sometimes, the info is dated as it depends on people emailing it in. I have some stations in Columbia and a few "near me" in the VA mountains, and I try and combine a trip to those with other errands. In a pinch, you can buy ready mixed high octane ethanol free stuff in a can but it is very expensive. If all you have is one machine though, it will save a trip to a far off gas station.

[Don A. Davis]

Great wife. Great saw. You will be very pleased with 450E.