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[rob066]

The boy in my avatar picture is now near 13. He is my son. He has been cutting firewood with dad lately. He now wants a real saw. He has run my Husky 254 with assistance. I been thinking of getting him a husky 450. I love working with. I also want to teach him proper saw handling. I dont want a dog of a saw where it is always bogging. I feel it will lead fustraition.

 

[RED-85-Z51]

A nice 350 or 450, 346xp, ms260, 261..echo 520, 530, 501p...all good candidates as well.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[Volund]

Buy him a a proper usable saw; 201 rear handle.

 

[Stateline Sawer]

I ran a Husky white top 61 before I was 10 years old to heat house, unsupervised, do I recommend that, heck No! What were my parents thinking! Recently let my 13yr old boy use Grandpa's Echo 310 unsupported. It's not a key pad or cell phone so I was nervous! I don't live on the farm anymore and these are different kids it seems!

 

[cookies]

take him and let him help pick...thats half the fun for both of you

 

[Stateline Sawer]

Bad idea...372xp?!? Something used, something he can help bring to life or restore. If it's broke, fix it together...

 

[Volund]

Bad idea...372xp?!? Something used, something he can help bring to life or restore. If it's broke, fix it together...

Naah... 395 should be a lot more suitable for 13 year old to dance around with cutting the regular 12" wood Im sure.
Im so happy! Im not Arnold Superman but I still got both my hands an all my fingers still attached and my skull is not split in two My future is bright !

 

[Stateline Sawer]

Same experience as me possibly?!?lol

 

[Stateline Sawer]

The boy in my avatar picture is now near 13. He is my son. He has been cutting firewood with dad lately. He now wants a real saw. He has run my Husky 254 with assistance. I been thinking of getting him a husky 450. I love working with. I also want to teach him proper saw handling. I dont want a dog of a saw where it is always bogging. I feel it will lead fustraition.

I'll take your 254 if you wanna retire it! Lol

 

[Volund]

And thats the words of a fully grown man... not a 13 year old kid.

 

[Stateline Sawer]

I know what I want to run!!

 

[czyhorse]

I purchased a 545 mkII for my wife and godson to learn on. 16” bar. It’s so much fun I am using it a ton for limbing. An entry level pro saw. Lite and the auto tune which I was wary of is surpassing all my expectation. Just a thought.

 

[Stateline Sawer]

I personally don't have much experience with the auto tune technology.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

I'd say get a project saw and go through it top to bottom with him.

I'm happy I learned on a low power without an aggressive chain. Most saws with the correct sized bar and a sharp chain jus don't cut all that fast.

 

[rob066]

I bought my boy a Stihl MS 251. It is the easy start version. He chose it and cuts quite well with it. I even like the little bugger.

 

[capetrees]

So now get him a pair of cut proof chaps. He WILL cut his kneecap when he drops the saw through the cut.

My son did it a couple years ago, 6 stitches and a great scar. He wasn't wearing chaps but he did have pants on luckily. And he was running an MS170, a bit smaller than the 251

 

[Stateline Sawer]

So now get him a pair of cut proof chaps. He WILL cut his kneecap when he drops the saw through the cut.

My son did it a couple years ago, 6 stitches and a great scar. He wasn't wearing chaps but he did have pants on luckily. And he was running an MS170, a bit smaller than the 251

Capetrees...Just hate your avatar pic, but advise is good.

 

[pbilly]

the most important part is teaching him where the dangerours are and teach him how to run it without hitting the ground so it stays sharp because a dull chain is way more dangerous than a sharp one and get all of the safety gear and make him wear it

 

[jltrent]

Echo CS-490 if you go new.

 

[Cliff R]

+2 on the CS-490. It's a lightweight in that class of saws, decent power, and very well made. I feel that weight is important especially with younger folks just getting into this sort of thing. Fatigue catches up with you quickly so lighter saws and less power is good when you are still learning.

I also find myself using smaller/lighter saws these days, turned 62 today and still able to do whatever I want but I'm a little smarter about these things than I used to be. So I've filled my line-up with fast cutting mid-size saws in recent years and pretty much retired the heavyweights until a project comes along that requires their size and power.......FWIW.....