395xp/ need boost in confidence

[AJLOGGER]

That is very interesting about the 044 dual port cover I bought a like new 044 last year at a pawn shop my friend is the manager of for a big whopping $150, and man do I like that saw, that thing screams and when it is buried in a log it will not bog down so I will get a new cover for the muffler and if it is as good as some of you say then I am excited.

P.S. I am shocked that earlier jokers said he prefers the 066 over the 395xp I thought he was die hard husky. LOL.

 

[JimL]

066, i got 7 of them, love everyone!

 

[rahtreelimbs]

One of my big saws is a Stihl 066. The other is a "just purchased" Solo 690. The 066 runs a 42" bar. A good friend of mine has a Husky 394 that he runs a 36" bar on. Both of our saws run full-skip chain. For some reason that I can't explain I just can't warm up to the 394. I will say that I can't tell any difference between the 066 & 394. IMO what matters is the price you get, how many dealers there are to service the saw and how you are treated by these dealers. Good luck.

 

[ranger]

Thanks for all the good info!!!!!!!

 

[jokers]

This is for AJ

Hi AJ, you did well at illustrating a point for me, that blindly jumping on the band wagon with anyone, especially people like B_C, will make you miss important points. I openly admit to liking some models of brands other than Husky, I even own a few, including Stihl. In this particular comparison I think Stihl fields a more attractive option, less weight for the horsepower, and since I consider the quality of both to be so similar as to be identical, I would choose the 066. I personally don`t like the feel of either one all that much, I prefer as light a saw as possible which is where tuning comes into play. Since I don`t have to justify my expenses to the boss or treasurer, I can get where I want to go any way I choose. Overall I feel that Husky is bringing a more appealing product LINE to market than Stihl at this time, but I know that will change at some point in the future due to the cyclic nature of competitors and then you will see me hawking the Stihl virtues, or possibly someone else like Dolmar. I really like what I see in the PS7900 and the PS9010 is a great "big" saw. My only reservations about Dolmar is their lack of presence in the local market and the quality of the distributor for the northeast area that I am in. This dist. is known for their "flavor of the week" attitude and I don`t want to be caught up in that. BTW, I am glad to see that you have come over to the real chainsaw forum and don`t just hang out at the one where they also discuss garden weasels and stuff like that, LOL. Russ

 

[daveb]

B_C

Originally posted by jokers
I am glad to see that you have come over to the real chainsaw forum and don`t just hang out at the one where they also discuss garden weasels and stuff like that, LOL. Russ

Hi Russ, I'm surprised that B_C hasn't found his way over here yet, maybe he hasn't found a way out of his fishbowl LOL

 

[AJLOGGER]

Why thank you jokers, I am glad that you welcome me to this forum and I agree that B_C is a little close minded, and I also agree that both husky and stihl have different models that are better than one another, I would like to own models of each like if I had a 044 I would like to have a 372 also, I just love saws but I do not think the wife or my wallet will let me do that seeing that I have 4 Stihls now and another on the way. For reasons that are pretty dumb I prefer Stihl nothing wrong with the quality of husky I just had a bad one.

 

[timberwolf]

Most likely boils down to service, if you have rock solid service from one rep rather than the other that would be a considderation. I went with the 066 both for the local service, and fore a few features like the side tensioner and clear gas tank that suit the saw well to milling, also I herd some concern with the Husky Air Injection clogging when dealing with the quantities of fine milling chips.

As far as the Air filter on the 066, even milling dry softwood I would say it reasonable to check the air filter after 4-6 tanks of fuel, and as far as cutting fire wood I have only needed to give the ouside filter band a shake only on occasion..

Quite happy with the 066

Timberwolf

 

[timberwolf]

It's a pain to take the mill apart to tension the chain

Add to last.

One nice thing with the stihl for milling is that you can take the saw head off and leave the bar in the mill, this saves a fair bit of setup time. I mostly leave the 32" bar in the mill and pull the head off to use it with a 20" for fire wood. This is realy only possible with saw that have a side tensioning adjuster.

TW

 

[ranger]

Well if you don't happen to have one of them fancy saws with a side chain adjuster you can still tighten the chain. All you have to do is drill a hole in the thrust skid on your mill so that it lines up with the adjuster screw on the saw, and walla. You can adjust your chain while the saw is still mounted to the mill.

Matt

 

[Newfie]

Matt,

cool idea for chain adjustment, especially if clearance is an issue. I have been using a ratchet with a driver bit when running a longer bar with plenty of clearance between the thrust skid and powerhead. I'll have to try your idea for the other times.