Best small cheap chainsaw?

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Anyone tried one of these?? Is this even possible?? 52CC 20"Bar Gasoline Chainsaw $38.87 Free Shipping. I ordered one just see how big of a POS this really is. Will report on it when it comes

eBay item number:204724516601

I've had one in my watch list for a while. I've been afraid to order one. Did you get any kind of shipping confirmation?
 
The homeowner husqvarna lines leave a lot to be desired. The Echo saws have a 5 year warranty and they have a lot of pro saw features, much better quality.
I definitely heard about the 5 year warranty but was wondering if you could speak more about "pro saw features" and "much better" quality? I'm new to chainsaws and in the market for one. Pinning down what these terms mean specifically has been a bit confusing for me. Thanks in advance.
 
That item number wont work for me, likely because im in canada.
Most all of the 52cc chinese saws are a clone of a japanese Zenoah 45cc pro level saw.
They come in 45cc, 49cc and 54.6cc. They are sold as anything from 45 to 68cc lol.
The "52cc" ones are really 49cc, they're alright but the next size bigger is quite a bit stronger and the exact same weight.
Like posted above some claim to be 62cc but they are not. Proyama sells a lot of them on amazon. The only proyama saw worth getting is the "68cc", it's really 54.6cc, the others are 45cc with long bars.
In canada the best running one on amazon is the supmix 6220, it's 54.6cc. The supmix runs very well but has cheap, thin, easy to break plastic.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sofindtype=4&_nkw=204724516601
 
I've had one in my watch list for a while. I've been afraid to order one. Did you get any kind of shipping confirmation?
Yes Its on its way! $37.87 plus tax $41.56 I had to try it for $42 Port it Muffler mod it Delete base gasket Grind half the timing away Put the better air filter in it and let it scream if it will. LOL Not much of a loss if blows up!
 
There's a number of inexpensive saws made in China that on close inspection look to be the same thing. Different brand name and color scheme. A guy I was taking some trees down for had a new one, Proyama maybe. 62 cc I believe, performed like a 42 cc. Very light. I got it running for him. New chain needed a lot of file time. Took several tries to get tension right. Difficult to start cold, warm or hot. Ran out of fuel quickly (pick up may not have been on the bottom of the tank). Ran fine. Low rpm but had some torque. What really jumped out was the really long springy pull cord. For comparison, ones like he had go for around $150 on Amazon.
This one was $42 with tax. I couldn't help but see what kind of junk shows up to. Something to mod the **** out of at No cost. Dont care if blows up. I would think the bar would fit one of my many old Poulans. I have a HF grin der to sharpen the chain up good and file the rakers a few strokes
 
I have an MS 170 that i bought on sale ($179 CDN) 5 years ago. I use it for limbing (8 inches and under) and brush trimming. It compliments my 034 and 400 nicely. I have a 12" and a 16" bar for it. I generally use the 12" bar, but will put the 16" on when I want more reach (say with a very limby white spruce or true fir sitting high off the ground). It is good on fuel, always starts, and will cut through a 16" hardwood when pressed into harder service (like when I'm bucking the last firewood log at the end of a day and the other saws are out of fuel and need a sharpening).
The only mods I have done are removing the spark arrestor from the muffler and bending the muffler exhaust holes open a bit more. It seemed to give me 25% more HP when I did that. If the bush gets dry and fire season is upon us, I put the arrester back in. It has lasted much better than I anticipated.
 
I think the answer to your overall question is that there's no free lunch. Everyone who touches the saw gets paid, so the best way to save money is to minimize the cost of a new saw is to minimize the number of hands it has to pass through before it gets to you. If you're buying an OEM saw, there's really no good way of minimizing that. If you buy a new cheap OEM saw, everyone who touched it still got paid, but the OEM had to spend less actual money making it, and raw materials (aluminum, steel, magnesium, and plastic) just don't make up enough of the cost to warrant a smaller cc saw costing all that much less than something a little bigger. Thus, they are using cheaper components with sloppier tolerances which really negates the advantage of buying an OEM saw.
 
I have an MS 170 that i bought on sale ($179 CDN) 5 years ago. I use it for limbing (8 inches and under) and brush trimming. It compliments my 034 and 400 nicely. I have a 12" and a 16" bar for it. I generally use the 12" bar, but will put the 16" on when I want more reach (say with a very limby white spruce or true fir sitting high off the ground). It is good on fuel, always starts, and will cut through a 16" hardwood when pressed into harder service (like when I'm bucking the last firewood log at the end of a day and the other saws are out of fuel and need a sharpening).
The only mods I have done are removing the spark arrestor from the muffler and bending the muffler exhaust holes open a bit more. It seemed to give me 25% more HP when I did that. If the bush gets dry and fire season is upon us, I put the arrester back in. It has lasted much better than I anticipated.
Got an ms180 18 years ago. I've done the same muffler mod and will advance the timing sooner than later. I also have an adjustable carb for it and a pop up piston. Like yours, it starts fantastically cold, warm or hot so I'm reluctant to change the carb. I hear on little saws any compression gains are negated by the heavier pop up piston. If it can be trimmed to stock piston weight I'll install it.
 
Yes Its on its way! $37.87 plus tax $41.56 I had to try it for $42 Port it Muffler mod it Delete base gasket Grind half the timing away Put the better air filter in it and let it scream if it will. LOL Not much of a loss if blows up!
I've ported a few of these now.
My newest best version goes like this.
Make the intake port almost flat and a bit wider but dont lower it.
Widen the exhaust but dont raise it.
Grind the lower transfers wider on the exhaust side so the opening lines up with the window in the piston (the exhaust side piston window is completely blocked stock)
Grind the windows in the piston on the center part that lines up with the transfers.
With the piston off and stuck in the cylinder it's clear what needs done.
I raise the upper transfers about 0.5mm but skipping this doesnt slow them down too much. They're really snappy with the transfers raised.
I dont bother with timing advances, the flywheels dont like to come off most of the time.
 
That item number wont work for me, likely because im in canada.
Most all of the 52cc chinese saws are a clone of a japanese Zenoah 45cc pro level saw.
They come in 45cc, 49cc and 54.6cc. They are sold as anything from 45 to 68cc lol.
The "52cc" ones are really 49cc, they're alright but the next size bigger is quite a bit stronger and the exact same weight.
Like posted above some claim to be 62cc but they are not. Proyama sells a lot of them on amazon. The only proyama saw worth getting is the "68cc", it's really 54.6cc, the others are 45cc with long bars.
In canada the best running one on amazon is the supmix 6220, it's 54.6cc. The supmix runs very well but has cheap, thin, easy to break plastic.
Several years ago I bought one of super-cheap Chinese saws. I don't remember what cc it claimed to. It did start and run reliably, although not powerful. There were too many problems with it. I remember the drive to the oil pump was messed up. The biggest problem was the plastic case and chain cover were so floppy I didn't think the saw was safe. I donated it to a church rummage sale.
More recently I bought a Holzfforma which I would describe as much higher quality.
 
I saw a Poulan Wild Thing kick some significant azz over the weekend. Fired up on 2nd pull, never had a issue hot-starting, ran perfectly strong and did really well on fuel.
Got one of the old ones with the throttle lock for 5 bucks and runs great after some tweaking.
 
A Poulan 3700 or Husky 350 would be a great saw forcyour needs. Both can be found for around $150 - $200.
I have a bunch of old Poulans and love them all!! 2000 2-2600's 5-3400;s 3800 4000. I paid $180 for the 4000 20" bar & chain $120 for 3800 just power head. both on E-bay. All the rest were $30-$50. Great old saws! Easy to work on. Muffler mod on all of them. Really makes a difference. One 3400 I ported muffler mod base gasket delete and trimmed the bottom of the cylinder filed half of timing key off drilled a bunch holes in back of top cover for better air flow. That thing really RIPS!! Runs right with my new stock MS311
 

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I've ported a few of these now.
My newest best version goes like this.
Make the intake port almost flat and a bit wider but dont lower it.
Widen the exhaust but dont raise it.
Grind the lower transfers wider on the exhaust side so the opening lines up with the window in the piston (the exhaust side piston window is completely blocked stock)
Grind the windows in the piston on the center part that lines up with the transfers.
With the piston off and stuck in the cylinder it's clear what needs done.
I raise the upper transfers about 0.5mm but skipping this doesnt slow them down too much. They're really snappy with the transfers raised.
I dont bother with timing advances, the flywheels dont like to come off most of the time.
 
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