Oregon CS1500 Chainsaw

[David Delo]

My 20 year old hand me down 16" Craftsman electric chainsaw finally gave up the ghost last month. Replaced it with this Oregon CS 1500 that has a 18" bar and a self sharpening stone. Bought it mostly because of the 18" bar so I'm thinking a large percentage of chainsaw work can be done inside and keep the neighbors a little happier. Had a chance to use it for the first time yesterday and give it a good workout with a 90 minute slice & dice session on a bunch of cherry and maple. Was skeptical about the self sharpening feature but could tell the chain was getting a little dull on some rip cuts when getting more dust than ribbons. Used the feature and could tell the sharpening device works nicely. Hey, I know it's only the first time of use but pretty impressed with the saw overall. Went thru a bunch of 14" stock (cross & rip) without much effort. Only con I have is it is a little bit on the noisy side.
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[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I went through a series of chain saws over the years. 12 inch electric remington when I lived in a neighborhood in VA, then I bought a farm and went through a parade of saws. For the past 17 years, I have been using and quite happy with a noisey Stihl. farm boss. Cut down a couple trees yesterday with it. Started right up 2nd pull, even though it had been sitting for three months. Never had a saw with a sharpener on it. I know there are different quality metals used for the teeth on a saw chain. I know I got an Oregon chain once for the farm boss. The teeth were far softer than the teeth on the Stihl chains. Some times working in the shop during inclement weather I have hankered for an electric saw to avoid going out in the sleet, etc. I'll check out that brand.

[Melvin Feng]

I know electric saws have improved significantly the last few years, especially battery versions.

I still have a preference for gas 2 cycle chainsaw though. There is just something about the sound, the smell, and how it feels when it is running and tuned well. I have a Stihl MS 250 that I've had for around 8 years or so, and it has worked really well for me, even with some limited milling on the 18" bar. I just got an MS 661 C-M with a 32" bar, and I also bought a 56" bar and granberg mill so that I can mill some wider slabs. I've used the 661 a couple times now, and it is a pleasure to use.

I've also noticed that the oregon chain I had years ago was softer and dulled much faster. I did get a spare oregon chain to try out with the 32" bar on the 661, but I do prefer Stihl chain, even though it is a lot more expensive.

Any chainsaw is fun to use though, so as long as it works for you, and you are enjoying yourself, you're doing it right!

[John K Jordan]

Electric chainsaws seem to be getting better and inexpensive too! I had a relatively cheap one years ago and it had limited usefulness. A few years back I bought a Stihl corded electric and wow, what a difference! I use it often outside the shop to section logs to cut into woodturning blanks on the bandsaw, and I don’t have to mess with gas and oil or wake up the neighbors. And starting/stopping with the trigger switch is a big plus. As you mentioned, it’s great inside the shop too.

The Oregon specs and reviews look pretty good and it’s a fraction of the cost of the Stihl electric! It wouldn’t replace the Stihl MS250c with 16” bar I use most of the time but the Oregon is almost cheap enough to buy one just to try it out. I was and am still a bit skeptical about the self-sharpening but part of that is not understanding how it works.

JKJ

[Dueane Hicks]

I have one of the Oregon electric chainsaws. After using a Echo pro chainsaw; the electric was a dismal failure to me anyway. Cuts way too slow for my taste. But I guess if I'm stuck inside on cold rainy days, it may be OK to take 4 times longer to cut up a log into a bowl blank. I'm not a fan of the chain; I wish a regular chain fit on this model.

[Chris A Lawrence]

I was and am still a bit skeptical about the self-sharpening but part of that is not understanding how it works.

JKJ

From reading the manual on how to work the self sharpener i am going to take an educated guess that it works like the ones that clip onto the end of the bar and you press it into a log. Its not sharpening the gullets just filing the top of the teeth. Just instead of it being on the curve at the end of the bar its its at the sprocket.

[Ken Combs]

From reading the manual on how to work the self sharpener i am going to take an educated guess that it works like the ones that clip onto the end of the bar and you press it into a log. Its not sharpening the gullets just filing the top of the teeth. Just instead of it being on the curve at the end of the bar its its at the sprocket.

Sears sold a gas saw back in th 70s that worked like that. It was ok, but it's convenience caused people to overuse it and shorten chain life.

[Tom M King]

I use a 1974 Craftsman electric chainsawj, that I bought new, for carving out parts of old houses. It originally came with a self sharpening setup. It worked, but I started running regular chains on it, because they're easy to find. The self sharpening chain that came on it had a square top, and the grinder hit the outside of the teeth.

I run the chains dry, and just buy the cheap Oregon loops. They last a lot longer than you might think. I use them dry because I don't want to sling oil in the houses. I can see where a dry chain might be useful for turners. I've worn out several chains, but this bar is still good.

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