Chain Saw

[Bernie Weishapl]

Well I did research and didn't come to any decisions. I have a chance to buy a new Stihl 390 64 cc 4.3 hp 20" bar for $489. I also have a chance to buy a Husky 365 65 cc 4.6 hp 20" bar for $415. This one has a 2 yr warranty and the Stihl says it has a one year warranty. So would like some opinions as to which would be a better deal or is it a toss up? Both would be a definate step up from my 40 cc C-man which I about worked to death Friday on a 28" log 7' long. I just can't afford a $600 to $800 chain saw and the LOML made that pretty clear. She said I could get one under $450 but would maybe go up a little like the $489 Stihl if it was a better one. Or if you have any suggestions for $450 and under. Thanks.

[William Fourness]

Both brands of saw are outstanding and great work saws. Up here in northern Pennsylvania harvesting of timber is either done with a Stihl or a Husky. I have run both and have work both and there just great saws. I got a big husky in the shed that has the decompression button to make starting a bit easier and that still a cutting machine. But not fun carrying far. Either way you can not go wrong on your choice and you will be happy no matter what.
My pick would be the one I was most comfortable with and running.
Hope this was some help.

Bill
Penn's Woods
Wood Turning Stock

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[Mark Cothren]

Hey Bernie, you should do a little reading on the Husky 365 on some places like arborsite... I recently purchased a new saw and was considering the 365, but after the reading the limited reviews on it (none of which were very positive) and the many positive reviews on the 359, I decided to go with it (the 359). I swapped out the muffler for a non-catalytic model and so far have been very please with the saw. Good luck w/ whatever you end up choosing.

[Tom Collins]

I agree with Bill. I think both would be good performers for you. I don't see too many Husky's in this corner of the world. Stihl seems to have a lock on the market. Are you able to get service/parts easily for either one?

At this point it probably boils down to which one fits you best. How does each feel to you? Will the dealer let you test drive one on a log?

Good Luck,

Tom

P.S. How you going to mount the chuck?

[Doug M Jones]

I just bought a 350 and it has the decompression button and cuts wood like butter. I replaced an old McCollouch (not sure that is spelled correctly) and really like the new machine. Only has an 18" bar which I thought would be big enough when I bought it last fall but that was before I fell into the abyss. Time will tell. Sure cuts nice though.

[Gregg Feldstone]

Bernie,

I checked the local Stihl dealers and the price you are quoting on the 390 is WAY too high. It should go for around $350. Stilhl only sells through authorized equipment dealers and keeps the prices fixed nationwide. I have the MS 260 and love it!! It's 49cc and weighs 10.4lbs. It's a professional grade model and is definitly build better than the 390...all metal motor housing and body. It has always started fine even if left unused for months. If it gets really cold where you live the MS 260 pro might be better for starting.
I did a lot of research before buying and feel the extra $100 I spent for the pro model will be worth it in the future. These machines are made in Germany and the US. I am not familiar with the Huskys.

[Dario Octaviano]

Bernie,

Check your PM.

Note that Stihl started having their lower end saws made elsewhere. last year I heard from a local dealer that only MS440 and up are made in Germany now.

Good brand choice!

[Ed Lang]

MS 460 as well as an old .028 here. Both saws are great!

Thats my vote.

[Mike Vickery]

Bernie,

I checked the local Stihl dealers and the price you are quoting on the 390 is WAY too high. It should go for around $350

I think you are looking at thinking of the 290 not the 390 when you quote that price.

[Mark Cothren]

...and keeps the prices fixed nationwide.

Not true in Arkansas. When I was shopping I found quite a difference in price between two dealers about 15 miles apart. The one place offered in-house service and the other didn't. But the one that did was the cheaper price...:confused:

[Hilel Salomon]

Bernie,

I have about a dozen chainsaws including 2 365's, 2 372's , a Stihl 360, a Stihl 660 and a few top handle limb saws. Both Husky and Stihl have farmed out their lower end stuff and they (the stuff available at Lowe's and Home Depot) are not especially trustworthy. I've had Husky models 50 and 45 and think that they are now 345 and 350. Niether one lasted very long. My 365's and 372's on the other hand are great. You might check the arborist forum, but I've had good luck with those models. Where are you located?? My advice is that if you're near a Stihl dealer go to them....but I'll check the prices here and write you tomorrow. My Stihl dealer here is fantastic and I've also got a good one in the VA mountains. A Husky, on the other hand can be serviced by most larger hardware stores, and you might want to order one on the internet. I bought several at Alamia and they were reliable in terms of sending them promptly and charging a reasonable price for them. Bailey's and Madsden are also very reliable for Husky's. After having written all of this, I realize that I should have asked you what you want to cut and how often. Ah well, I'll write in the AM and tell you what the various mid sized Stihls should run. Regards, Hilel.

[Hilel Salomon]

Bernie,

I just happened to look at what I paid for my 365's over 4 years ago, and I paid $400 and $425 for them. Paid $475 and $490 for the 372's. I think that they've discontinued the 365 and that's why the price has gone down, but if you won't be getting that, let me know... my son may be interested. If I'm not mistaken, parts are plentiful and reasonable. I'll still call the Stihl place. Regards, Hilel.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Yep went to the arborist site and now I am confused. Well maybe not confused but not sure now. One that was recommended a lot was a 20" Husky 460 for $369 and a Husky 359 for $439. Then they said the 20" Stihl MS 260 Pro for $489 and the MS 310 for $379. So guess I had better do a little more looking.

Thanks for all the info. Now like I said I just need to sort it out what I need. I have cut logs up to 22" to 26" thick and then split that for bowl blanks. I will be doing a lot more of that. I had a log dropped off Friday that with the 40 cc C-man took forever but the log was 26" across. If my saw would have had a little more poop I think it would have went a lot faster.

[Richard Madison]

Bernie,
Confusion say, "maybe you would consider an Echo saw"? Not suggesting that you buy one; just include it in your research. My 25 yr-old Echo trimmer still starts, runs, and cuts well, which convinced me to buy their little saw (18" CS440) when my 10 yr-old "cheap" saw became unrepairable. New saw only a year old, so can't say how well it will hold up. As always, I suggest use of Sta-Bil or equivalent fuel stabilizer in all small engine fuel, all year 'round.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Bernie,

I checked the local Stihl dealers and the price you are quoting on the 390 is WAY too high. It should go for around $350. Stilhl only sells through authorized equipment dealers and keeps the prices fixed nationwide. I have the MS 260 and love it!! It's 49cc and weighs 10.4lbs. It's a professional grade model and is definitly build better than the 390...all metal motor housing and body. It has always started fine even if left unused for months. If it gets really cold where you live the MS 260 pro might be better for starting.
I did a lot of research before buying and feel the extra $100 I spent for the pro model will be worth it in the future. These machines are made in Germany and the US. I am not familiar with the Huskys.I dido Greg, I got the Stihl 260 Pro as well and love it. Everything he said is right on and a new dealer hear gave me a sweet deal besides.:)

[Christopher Zona]

You might want to go up to a 22" bar. I think the Stihl at that size will handle it . Check to be sure. Another brand to look into is Dolmar. They're kind of the unsung hero of chainsaws. Gobs of power, great control, well balanced. Might just be available in Canada though. I don't think that I've seen them in the States.

I'd use either, but there's nothing like a Stihl. Same for my buddy from work, so much so that he bought the huge 10 horse with a 4 foot bar. Talk about chewing some wood!

[Gary Herrmann]

My Shindaiwa 488 (48 cc or so, 18" bar) did just fine cutting through 2 feet of hard maple this weekend.

'Course now I'm thinking of a big chainsaw for when I run across another monster tree like the 5 ft diameter section still laying there...

[Hilel Salomon]

Bernie,
Heck I love to shop... even for other people. Anyway, I sent you a pm earlier with news that the 365 was a great price. It is... but if you're looking at Stihls, here are a few things I came across. If you go to the Stihl web site (Stihlusa.com) and look up chainsaws, you will not only see descriptions, but can-with your zip code- look up dealers near you with published prices. They'll all quote the retail price, so don't bother checking too many of them out. My dealer in Columbia-whose advice has always been great explained to me the difference between the 390 and 361. The former is fine if you're going to use it occasionally. He has sold "a bunch of them." He does not, however, sell them to professionals or to people who will use them very frequently. While the displacement on the 390's is high, the rest of their makeup doesn't qualify them as pro-saws. He said that a dealer who was interested in working with you might be able to sell the 361 for about $490-495.
Personally, I'd either go for the 365 or the stihl 361. IMHO, the Husky 365 is superior to the Stihl 390. You might give Bailey's a call and ask them for their opinion. As for echos... I love two of the mid-small models which are essentially limb saws, but wouldn't go for the larger ones.
Hope whatever you decide works great for you.
Regards, Hilel.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Well did some more research and found we have a Stihl dealership right here in town. They have Gold Level Factory Certified Tech and is a Stihl Elite Dealer. They service what they sell and carry a full line of their products. So I went right out there during my lunch hour. He told me he would give me a MS 310 3.60 cu in./ 59 cc/ 4.0 hp/ 20" bar and throw in a carrying case plus 2 chains for $389. He also said you could put a 25" bar and chain on it. He said it would handle it no problem. So I am going to talk to the LOML and see what shakes. He said he has sold a ton of these to Cities, Counties, State and Fire Dept. He gave me the names of 10 people to call and ask about. So see what the CEO of the Weishapl Bank says. :p :D

[Dario Octaviano]

Bernie,

59cc and 25" bar doesn't sound good to me. I had a Stihl 044 (predecessor of MS440) with a 20" bar and that is plenty of a saw. It handled 36" diameter trees easy.

For the 310...I believe 20" bar is the upper ideal limit for it. Remember the saw might run w/ 25" no problem but how will it run/cut with a load?

Also think of your back...25" bar is a back breaker.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Probably will just leave the 20" bar on it. He just brought up the fact I could get a 25" if I wanted. He gave me several names to call and 2 of them have 25" on theirs and said it cut just fine. One guy said you had better eat your wheaties though if you are going to cut trees down all day with the 25" bar on.

[Larry Kunkler]

Hello guys,

Bout a year ago I bought two Stihls from a local Oregon logger, an arborist saw and a hopped up ms440 with a 32" bar and an aggressive soft wood grind chain. I got both through eBay for just a few $100. The 440 had worked hard for several years for a demanding pro (but was well cared for). Both saws have worked perfectly for me as well. The 440 with the 32" bar and opened up exhaust is impressive, even a bit scary (keeps me careful) but cuts like nothing i've ever seen. It will do the rip cut on a 20" elm log in 1-2 minutes and the crosscut in well under a minute.

I just converted over to a new 24" bar and less agressive grind with excellent results, open it up and it just falls down through the wood. You may want to consider a "skip tooth" chain with a 440 class saw for the rip cut. It will clear out the long stringy chips better and the saw can easily handle it.

Bottom line, check out a good used pro level Stihl 039, 390, 044 or 440. they can be had for good prices and service parts (and hop up parts...you konw ya want to) are easy to find.

Good used, "one use" chains can be found at rental dealers. Rental dealers usually put on a new chain each time the saw goes out for liability reasons...goody for us. I buy em (stihl brand) 5 at a time for under $50. All above can be found on eBay too.

Good loggin and always be safe....kunk

[Ian Abraham]

I've got a MS310, it's been a good saw for my part time use. It's NOT a professional grade saw, as Stihls own web site points out. It's designed for farmers, firewood cutters etc who just need a reliable saw for a decent price. I run a 20" bar on mine and it's fine, you could probably run a longer bar if you used a skip chain, but you really want a bigger saw if you need a longer bar. Skip chain or semi-skip has less cutters and allows you to run a longer bar and still only have as many cutters 'in play' as a shorter bar. But get the 20", thats what you will use most of the time, you can allways get an extra longer bar / chain later.

I've since got a Dolmar 7900 (80cc and 28" bar). Now thats a saw :D

Cheers

Ian

[Paul Andrews]

Bernie,

I have owned the ms310 with a 20" bar for 4-5 years, and it is an excellent saw. Plenty of power and has never required a trip to the service shop since the initial break in period. It has some weight to it and is not the saw I use for branch trimming or light work. But for trimming larger bowl blanks and putting down medium sized trees, it works well. I forget exactly what I paid for mine, but I believe it was close to what you were quoted only I did not get all the extras thrown in.

Not sure if I would want a 25" bar on this saw. It has plent of power with the 20" bar, but might be a little weak with a 25". If you do get the 25", let me know how it cuts.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks again to everyone for their input and info. Thanks Ian and Paul. That is good to know someone who had them and used them. This saw will not be used every day in a production mode. May be a couple of weekends a month to cut turning wood. I called I think 11 people last night that had bought this unit from the dealer here. Not one had anything bad to say about it and they said the customer service was absolutely excellent. So that is good and good to know. It fits my budget, is a good price, and I can have it serviced right here if needed. So I will let you know.