THALL10326 said:
Stihl man ticked you off huh, care to share???
He owns a lawn and garden store that sells and services Walker mowers, Stihl saws, etc. He only carries consumer grade saws, his parts inventory sucks, and he won't work with you. I went to him when I needed a new bar and a few chains for my Shindaiwa - he jerked me around with some BS about availability because it was an unpopular saw and older (come on, there are LOTS of bar manufacturers). I guess it wasn't a big enough sale to take the time on. I later was interested in a nice mower, after talking to him, he voluntarily offered to bring one out to my house and let me demo it. I thought this was great - well, I thought too soon. He showed up with a brand new mower that had never been used!!!! He asked me as he was unstrapping it from his trailer if I was going to buy it if I liked what I saw. My reply was "perhaps, but not today. I plan on testing a few other brands from a few different stores". He then told me that he wasn't here to just mow my lawn for me - HA, what a crock! I told him to pack it up and hit the road. I had 2 bad experiences with him, and refuse to even set foot in his store. He also sold a "new" saw to a lady I know that was remanufactured! She contacted Stihl directly and got things straightened out! NOW, I tell everyone I know to tell everyone they know not to give him the time of the day!
So, that is my story. I almost thought about writing to Stihl and telling them to cancel his franchise/dealer license.
314epw said:
You didn't say what size trees you will be cutting down. Hardwood ?
There is limited hardwood to be had in these parts, and when you find it, the majority of it is usually under 10". Mostly softwood out here - so large diameter stuff. Both my Shindaiwa saws have an adjustable oiler which makes it very nice when the bar is buried.
coveredinsap said:
To get back on topic....the 40cc-49cc saws such as the 346xp make excellent primary saws.
Well, my Shindaiwa 416 is a 40cc and it is great for clean-up and limb wood. I sawed all my firewood last year with it - had a 16" bar on it and 3/8 .050. It powered through, even with the bar buried in the tree, just not at lightning fast speed! The 357 seemed like an obvious choice to me, although, like I said, the 346 seems more popular.