# Big saws???



## rahtreelimbs (Aug 22, 2002)

You guys who run saws over 100cc's, What saw do you run and why? Thanx, Rich.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Aug 22, 2002)

HWat are you trying to do rich? How big of wood, and what type usualy?

100cc is a monster saw, production you are looking at 3120 or 080. Those things are for stumping. The powerhead alone is like 23 lbs!

Most work arbos so you donot need that type of power (or cost something like $1300)

I like the 384 and you can still find a few of them around for a lot less then the new 385. They are pretty muc the same saw 85cc.

That said, I have a buddy who does a lot of larger removals and his biggest saw is a 371, a 70 cc saw. Keep it sharp and it does the job very well.


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## rahtreelimbs (Aug 22, 2002)

*John Paul Sanborn*

This is just a curiousity question. I'm just wondering what the big boys run. I don't intend on buying a saw that big. I have all the saws I need. Rich.


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## treeclimber165 (Aug 22, 2002)

I think he's just fishing, JPS. Last week he said he had just gotten his 3120. $1450 with no bar and chain.


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## Newfie (Aug 23, 2002)

3120 for milling and real big stuff, like over 30 inches. Got a good husky dealer close by so that drove the decision to go husky.

hope ya didn't pay $1450 for a 3120!


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## Dennis (Aug 23, 2002)

I seriously hope you didnt pay 1450usd for a 3120!!! I sell them for approx 900 usd...depending on the exchange that day....


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## treeclimber165 (Aug 23, 2002)

*OOOOOOOOPS*

I may be mistaken, it may have been someone else. I just remember reading the post and thought it was Rich. If it was someone else, I apologize Rich! :alien:


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## John in MA (Sep 12, 2002)

Might as well respond... I run a 110cc Jonsereds 111S with a 24" bar and 3/8" chain on an eight-tooth sprocket. 20 pound powerhead weight. Why? Because it was cheap and scares the heck out of every one who sees it! I don't think I've cut anything over 10" with it within memory.


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## JimL (Sep 12, 2002)

I cut everything with a 066.


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## dstaton (Sep 12, 2002)

I use an 088, 25" bar, .404 stihl rs chain for my big stuff. (not over 20") For smaller and limbing, I use an 066, 20" bar, 3/8 stihl rs chain. They both are awesome saws, seem to just melt through wood. 

For the really small stuff, I use a Husky 136. :Eye: :Eye:


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## StIhL MaGnUm (Sep 22, 2002)

The three big saw's that I run daily are a 3120 w/ 36" full skip,my new 385XP w/32" semi skip,and my good old 064AV w/32" full skip,then I got my 044Mag and my 029 Super for limbing....Oh yeah my biggest saw over 100cc is my Hydro Ax feller buncher.....  



Later Rob..........


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## Nickrosis (Sep 22, 2002)

Use an 088 and an 084 with four foot bars for the big stuff. My dad's 40 and 50-year b-day presents for himself.


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## Jacob J. (Oct 12, 2002)

Howdy-

Most timber fallers ( out here in the west ) use the smallest saws possible ( to save on backs and knees ). Is this true for arborists also?


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## Ryan Willock (Oct 12, 2002)

not always some just like a big saw to play with.....


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## Jacob J. (Oct 16, 2002)

Even and 046 is a bit much for commercial logging here anymore. We use 044s with polished ports and 28" bars, 046s with ported barrels and 32" bars, and once in a great while we'll break out the 056 with a 36" bar.


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## arborman (Oct 20, 2002)

*Hrmm big saws.*

The way i look at it is why haul it around if you dont have to . Around here there is nothing that you couldent cut with a 385. posibly a 372 even with the right bar., Im an arborist though so i cant speak for all the loggers around. but i do know a few of them . And most that i know use the 371s and the 372s,.. And as far as i know they dont find much they cant do with them. Who wants all that extra weight for the one big cut you may have to make someday. 
The way i look at it is if that day comes you could just go over to the guy whos resting his bones in the truck because hes been lugging around a 3120 all day, And ask him if you can borrow it for a few minutes! . 
i dont know though im not a logger . And the trees here in wisconsin im sure arent anything like the trees in some of the places you guys are from. i just know from the loggers that i do know. And from being an arborist that a monster saw isnt something i would want to walk around in a woods with all day. . a 3120 Would be a nice saw to fill that empty spot in the truck though  haha . Stay saFE !!!


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## Jacob J. (Oct 20, 2002)

Howdy arborman-

You're right on the money. Weight is why fallers are paying Ken Dunn and other hot saw guys to hop up the smaller saws so the fallers can do more work with a lighter and smaller saw. The whole reason for saw manufacturers to improve the mid and smaller models of saws is to save wear and tear on the body. A guy might get away with packing that 066 around in small wood when he's young, but it gets quite different when you're 50 years old and you've been falling and climbing trees since you were 18.


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## JimL (Oct 20, 2002)

I am 18 now, started packing around an 066 when i was 16. Love the saw.

Guy i am working now has a fleet of 3120's, all he uses.


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## logcutter429 (Oct 21, 2002)

I know what you mean if i have to have one i want one. ilke a 66 too and have 46s and 460s, and never have trouble with them but i don't abuse them ,and don't treat them like a 66, that are pretty tuff saws.


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## JimL (Oct 21, 2002)

> _Originally posted by logcutter429 _
> *I know what you mean if i have to have one i want one. ilke a 66 too and have 46s and 460s, and never have trouble with them but i don't abuse them ,and don't treat them like a 66, that are pretty tuff saws. *



How much you drink before you made that post ? lol !


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## kf_tree (Oct 21, 2002)

my 2 3120's were mostly for flushing stumps or cutting up sticks after they were layed over. but there has been about a dozen times that i have used them in a tree chunking down big sticks with a 36in bar on it. after spending 4 or 5 hours in a big removal i'll use the biggest saw i could handle to get my feet back on the ground quicker.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Oct 22, 2002)

I just cannot see using almost 30#s of saw in a tree!

Give me a 046 with new, full-skip RS or square chain anytime.


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## kf_tree (Oct 22, 2002)

jps
the times that i did it. i was on big sticks that i was unable to dump. they had to be pieced down and pushed off. i mean wood that i had a hard time passing a 36in bar through. i prefered to stay in one place on a big stick than try to walk a saw around it. i just prefer big saws with short bars. they cut quicker and i feel they give me more control on cuts. i've only hauled a 3120 up a tree on the rare occasion. but my main tree wood saw was a 394 with a 32in bar. i felt i could handle the saw fine and just skip over the mid size saws when in a tree. no need to mess with those little guys. when i started climbing for a guy last winter and told him to tie on the 066 he looked at me like i was nuts. but climbing is all about what ever your comfortable with.


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## StIhL MaGnUm (Oct 22, 2002)

kf,

Those are some very large saws for climbing saw's but if I were a climber thats probally what I would use also  

Later Rob.....


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## Ryan Willock (Oct 22, 2002)

Rob, what do you climb with???and please don't tell me that 029 of yours


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## StIhL MaGnUm (Oct 22, 2002)

I know alot of people don't like them but I climb with my 009 Stihl when I do the climbing,and occasionally the 44 mag..Maybe I'll try my 385 someday..


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## John Paul Sanborn (Oct 22, 2002)

For an occational climbing saw the 009 is very good. Cant see it for regular production, but why pay $450 if you use it a few times a month.


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## StIhL MaGnUm (Oct 23, 2002)

I bought my 009 about 7-8 years ago I don't think I paid 450 for it back then though..It's a good saw for what I use it for ..


Later Rob...


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## palmer4670 (Oct 26, 2002)

Taking down a big Red Oak one day, a retired logger had been watching the whole thing. Got to dropping the spar, pulled the 064 w/36" bar out of the truck. He liked to have had a stroke on the spot. Said that nobody in their right mind would lug one of those around allday. All they ever used was 044 w/25" bars. He is probably right, I don't like to have to walk to far with just a 064 couldn't imagine lugging around a 088 through the woods.

palmer


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## StIhL MaGnUm (Oct 27, 2002)

palmer,

The 064av in my eyes is a excellent saw for felling etc..I have had mine for close to 10 yrs now and have rebuilt it twice it runs a 32" bar it has been a very good saw for me.How do you like your's??

Later Rob..


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## palmer4670 (Oct 27, 2002)

Stihl Magnum, I love the 064, we sometimes put a 25" bar on it and cut circles around our 039. It is a good saw, just dread starting it when it is cold.

Palmer


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## TheMDTreeman (Nov 15, 2002)

*big saws*

where I work we get some big maples and oaks, we use a Poulan 655 with a 36 inch bar, and and Stihl 088 with a 48 inch bar, the Stihl is far more superior but lug that thing for one day and you need a vacation. palmer, I have run the 039, I think anything will run circles around it, not one of Stihl's better saws (IMO)


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## Ryan Willock (Nov 15, 2002)

i really like my 046 w/20'' for most felling and my 066G w/28-36'' bar and full comp.


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## spreaderman (Nov 15, 2002)

*big enough*

I considered a 084 or 088 earlier in the year, but after studying this site enough and a few e-mails to experts, considering cost, weight, horsepower and matching them to my finances, weight, and cutting needs I found the 066 would fill my needs very well and it has......I wouldn't consider anything heavier or more expensive .....keep a sharp chain on it and it will cut all you need to cut


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## M.D. Vaden (Nov 16, 2002)

*BIG CHAINSAWS*

A few months back, I bought my first truly sizeable saw.

Until then, the largest was a Stihl MS390.

This latest is the Husqvarna 385XP.

Last tree to use it on was a 40" diameter Red Maple .

The 385XP was very comfortable, and cut well.

One week after I bought it, I was really nagged in my mind over whether I should have dished out $150 to $300 more for one of the 2 larger models.

But another experienced arborist that assists me said the 385XP was plenty of saw. And he has one model up.

In Portland, Oregon, trees that exceed 40" are usually softer wood like Douglas Fir, Cedar, Sequoia.

If I do go larger, it will be the biggest - why not? For me it will only be to dissect. And a 5 to 7 pound weight difference is not bad for a periodic use saw.

Since I still can handle moving a bag of concrete, or manipulating 200 lb rocks on the ground, I may as well cut with a grin for a few more years.

Mario Vaden
Landscape Designer / Arborist
M. D. Vaden - Trees & Landscapes
Beaverton, Oregon


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## Ryan Willock (Nov 16, 2002)

yes, even the 046 is plenty of saw for down south..... but on the other hand the 066 and 088 are even more fun to blast through hardwoods with :jester:


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## John Paul Sanborn (Nov 16, 2002)

Not all day long though. I'll leave the 088 for capping off stumps.


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## Stumper (Nov 16, 2002)

After a few bouts with 'tennis elbow' my mid size saws get used a lot more. I still use a big saw for big cuts but a 3.0-3.5 cid class saw is a lot less painful for limbing and cutting all the sub 18" diameter stuff. A 3.5 cid saw with 20" bar is all the saw I want to take into a tree.


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## StIhL MaGnUm (Nov 17, 2002)

M.D. ,

I too have a 385XP and personally I love this saw it has enough power to pull a 32" bar and chain through some of the 30"+ Oaks,Maples,Cedar etc. without and difficulty what so ever,I also have recently bought a 3120XPG from a friend and I also like this saw for the big stuff but this thing weighs a ton and I really don't like lugging it around with me all day so therefore I find myself doing almost all my work with the 385XP....



I agree with J.P.S on this one..


Later Rob...


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## logcutter429 (Nov 19, 2002)

Been packing my 460Stihl all summer now that its cool and we moved to agood tract of timber, 30"+ pine so i drug out my 66 s,like a difference between daylight and dark compared to my 460s love em when its cool and in the right stuff.


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