I was on the hunt for a chainsaw for some time, and ran across a somewhat infamous 52cc Chinese chainsaw on e-bay. CE approved and often comes with an Oregon bar (mine didn't). This saw is marketed with many names and prices, such as the somewhat known $200 Forester, but most time with no name (mine is aptly named 'Gas Powered Chainsaw') for something closer to $100-150. From examining pictures, I have have strong suspicions that one 'reputable' asian saw brand re-brands one of these same saws and sells it for close to $400. Other than color and occasional variation in plastic, they are all pretty much the same, and I suspect most are pumped out of the same factory somewhere behind the Great Wall...
Anyway, on a lark, I decided to do a $125 experiment and get one. I avoided e-bay, and bought a saw direct from a seller out of Canada, saving myself an additional $5 over the same seller's e-bay price. Sweet. The saw shown in the listing pictures was white and orange, like a Stihl, but a picture of the saw box showed an all orange saw, like a Husky. I ended up with a mix of both, but I'll get to that later.
The thing showed up a couple of weeks later, in a oranged saw pictured box, but did have the white and orange Stihl-like color scheme. However, it looked a bit shabby and seemed to have been beaten around in the box somewhat. It looked used actually - the plastic was scuffed up, and there was gas and oil residue all over the saw. I also found a small screw in the bottom of the box that I couldn't identify. I later found that some super-efficient assembly line worker grabbed the wrong screw and tried to thread a screw to hold the handle that was way too short - it evidently stripped out of the plastic body (and found it's way into the box) and was replaced by a non-standard course-thread screw. Chinese quality at it's best. I questioned the seller via e-mail on whether or not this was actually a new saw, since it surely didn't look like it. He assured me that it was straight out of the factory and that they test run the saws before shipping - hence the gas/oil. 'Kay... Other than that, it didn't look too bad, albeit with typical Chinese fit/finish issues. It has a full metal case, steel dogs, and the motor did look new/clean. The trigger assembly and choke felt cheap, but probably no worse than any other <$200 saw. However, when I pulled off the chain cover / brake assembly, I saw that the clutch had sustained damage. There is a 3-eared retainer on top of the clutch and one of the tabs had broken off. I was unwilling to start the saw and risk he clutch exploding, and demanded that the seller rectify the situation.
After a few back and forth e-mails and photos, the seller agreed to send me a new clutch, but had to order one. Two weeks later, he received a spare saw body from the factory for parts, but didn't know how to take off the clutch. I didn't either, so I convinced him to send me the whole thing. A week later, it arrived - it was mostly orange but with a white starter-cover, and was complete except for the chain cover / brake, airfilter and cover, and handle. Behind the clutch, there is a plastic plate that covers the oiler components - I could see that the little hex retaining bolts were loose - evidently the seller was trying to remove the clutch by taking off the oiler cover...good guess, I suppose. I couldn't figure out a good way to grab the clutch to get it off, so it seemed simpler to just move everything else across to the new body. That took all of 10 minutes, and the saw was ready to go. Unfortunately, I forgot to tighten the screws on the oiler cover plate. Oops. That comes back to haunt me...
I mixed up some 25:1 mix, and the saw started readily. I gave two temperature cycles at idle, with a few some ring-seating throttle stabs after the second warm-up. After a complete cool-down I did a final idle warm-up, then opened it up made a few cuts. I'm a dirtbike guy, so I have to do a real break in or I'll be hit by lightning. Contrary to popular belief, the saw runs and cuts well. It started right up and idled perfectly out of the box. It revvs up to speed quickly, though felt a bit rich, which isn't a bad thing for break-in. Plug color verified the rich condition, running a very dark coffee color. Leaning it out could eek out a little more power, but I opted to leave it as is, at least for now. It does feel like a 52cc saw, at least compared to a typical homeowner saw - it had substantially more power and runs cleaner than my last 42cc Craftsman. I also fired up a newly acquired Stihl 036 Pro the same day, and there was no contest, as one would expect - man that Stihl cuts fast. Anyway, the 52cc Chi-com is surely no pro saw, however, when comparing apples to apples, I think the saw's motor is pretty good - definitely good for a $100 saw.
I remembered the loose hex bolts later that night, checked the saw, and sure enough, lost 2 out of 3. Fortunately, I have a whole saw body for spare parts! Unfortunately, the clutch effectively blocks access to one of the screws, so I had to take both clutches off to move that screw over. I made a holder tool out of an old socket, grinding it into a 3-toothed thingie that just fits over the 3-pronged clutch retainer. Rope in the cylinder trick and the clutches were both off in minutes, I did a full service on the oiler and clutch for the orange saw, replaced the lost bolts, and it was quickly whole again.
So now, after a couple of re-work sessions, the Chi-com saw is a reasonable backup that will probably perform for some years to come. When it does start to go south, I still have a brand-new spare engine and most of the other body parts in reserve. All things considered, I consider the $125 experiment a success, but don't know that I'd do it again.
JayC
Anyway, on a lark, I decided to do a $125 experiment and get one. I avoided e-bay, and bought a saw direct from a seller out of Canada, saving myself an additional $5 over the same seller's e-bay price. Sweet. The saw shown in the listing pictures was white and orange, like a Stihl, but a picture of the saw box showed an all orange saw, like a Husky. I ended up with a mix of both, but I'll get to that later.
The thing showed up a couple of weeks later, in a oranged saw pictured box, but did have the white and orange Stihl-like color scheme. However, it looked a bit shabby and seemed to have been beaten around in the box somewhat. It looked used actually - the plastic was scuffed up, and there was gas and oil residue all over the saw. I also found a small screw in the bottom of the box that I couldn't identify. I later found that some super-efficient assembly line worker grabbed the wrong screw and tried to thread a screw to hold the handle that was way too short - it evidently stripped out of the plastic body (and found it's way into the box) and was replaced by a non-standard course-thread screw. Chinese quality at it's best. I questioned the seller via e-mail on whether or not this was actually a new saw, since it surely didn't look like it. He assured me that it was straight out of the factory and that they test run the saws before shipping - hence the gas/oil. 'Kay... Other than that, it didn't look too bad, albeit with typical Chinese fit/finish issues. It has a full metal case, steel dogs, and the motor did look new/clean. The trigger assembly and choke felt cheap, but probably no worse than any other <$200 saw. However, when I pulled off the chain cover / brake assembly, I saw that the clutch had sustained damage. There is a 3-eared retainer on top of the clutch and one of the tabs had broken off. I was unwilling to start the saw and risk he clutch exploding, and demanded that the seller rectify the situation.
After a few back and forth e-mails and photos, the seller agreed to send me a new clutch, but had to order one. Two weeks later, he received a spare saw body from the factory for parts, but didn't know how to take off the clutch. I didn't either, so I convinced him to send me the whole thing. A week later, it arrived - it was mostly orange but with a white starter-cover, and was complete except for the chain cover / brake, airfilter and cover, and handle. Behind the clutch, there is a plastic plate that covers the oiler components - I could see that the little hex retaining bolts were loose - evidently the seller was trying to remove the clutch by taking off the oiler cover...good guess, I suppose. I couldn't figure out a good way to grab the clutch to get it off, so it seemed simpler to just move everything else across to the new body. That took all of 10 minutes, and the saw was ready to go. Unfortunately, I forgot to tighten the screws on the oiler cover plate. Oops. That comes back to haunt me...
I mixed up some 25:1 mix, and the saw started readily. I gave two temperature cycles at idle, with a few some ring-seating throttle stabs after the second warm-up. After a complete cool-down I did a final idle warm-up, then opened it up made a few cuts. I'm a dirtbike guy, so I have to do a real break in or I'll be hit by lightning. Contrary to popular belief, the saw runs and cuts well. It started right up and idled perfectly out of the box. It revvs up to speed quickly, though felt a bit rich, which isn't a bad thing for break-in. Plug color verified the rich condition, running a very dark coffee color. Leaning it out could eek out a little more power, but I opted to leave it as is, at least for now. It does feel like a 52cc saw, at least compared to a typical homeowner saw - it had substantially more power and runs cleaner than my last 42cc Craftsman. I also fired up a newly acquired Stihl 036 Pro the same day, and there was no contest, as one would expect - man that Stihl cuts fast. Anyway, the 52cc Chi-com is surely no pro saw, however, when comparing apples to apples, I think the saw's motor is pretty good - definitely good for a $100 saw.
I remembered the loose hex bolts later that night, checked the saw, and sure enough, lost 2 out of 3. Fortunately, I have a whole saw body for spare parts! Unfortunately, the clutch effectively blocks access to one of the screws, so I had to take both clutches off to move that screw over. I made a holder tool out of an old socket, grinding it into a 3-toothed thingie that just fits over the 3-pronged clutch retainer. Rope in the cylinder trick and the clutches were both off in minutes, I did a full service on the oiler and clutch for the orange saw, replaced the lost bolts, and it was quickly whole again.
So now, after a couple of re-work sessions, the Chi-com saw is a reasonable backup that will probably perform for some years to come. When it does start to go south, I still have a brand-new spare engine and most of the other body parts in reserve. All things considered, I consider the $125 experiment a success, but don't know that I'd do it again.
JayC
