Dolmar or Makita

[tazzman]

My father called me the other day to inquire about two saws that he may be interested in purchasing. He has heard a great deal of good things about Dolmar chainsaws. He liked the little PS34 for pruning and the Makita(Dolmar) saw for tree trimming on his property. He is retired and so are his big saws. He does not like to borrow tools and thus refused my willingness to let him use one of my Huskies or Homelites(old style). He is pretty dead set on the Dolmars, he likes anything German or with a German name. Any advice or opinion on these saws would be appreiciated.

 

[Steve]

Dolmar PS34, PS341, & PS401 models is what he probably want he is looking for.
Dolmar builds great saws

 

[homelite360]

yes i do agree that dolmar makes a ???? good saw. i have a 153 and that thing lack no power what so ever. i like it. get your self a dolmar and save your self the headache of buying that other german brand - stihl.

 

[davefr]

I happen to own a Makita DCS401. It's a fantastic saw. If I could only have one saw for the small-medium tasks than this one would be it. (far, far superior to equivalent priced consumer Stihl's!!)

It's light weight and virtually vibration free, yet at 40 CC/16" it can do some serious cutting.

This saw also has professional features. (ie 2 ring piston, compression release, excellent air filter, adjustable bar oiler, etc)

Parts/service is easy since it's part of Makita's network. (parts are actually easier to get than Stihl since you can buy them online)

The one problem is that Makita chainsaws are tough to find locally. The saw shops are in bed with Stihl and/or Husky and the homecenters are in bed with Poulan. Traditional tool retailers (Makita's strong channel partners) don't bother with the chainsaws.

 

[Walt Galer]

Howdy Dave,

You bring up that marketing problem again! I think things may be about to change in the Makita camp however. I have recently seen where larger servicing dealers have recieved "feelers" from Makita, and I have recieved some questions from the dealers.

Basically, I am recommending they take a good hard look at it, as the Dolmar saws are quite good. The only question is parts and pricing, and that information will have to come from Makita, and from someone with industry creditability. (This is a very small inbred industry, and dealers who have been around a while get very touchy about who is telling them what!)

Regards,
Walt Galer