Is there a saw you never want to see again?

[a. palmer jr.]

I started out with Poulan saws mainly because that’s what my dad had and I used them for many years and I still have the original 3400 that I bought new in spring of 1981. I’ve since moved on to other makes, mainly Stihl pro saws. When I run one of my Stihl 261’s I cannot believe that I spent all that time working on the old Poulan when I could have been cutting wood ! The air filter on those old saws would plug up every day. The Stihl 261 is the best all around saw I’ve ever owned. I kick myself now thinking back to all the time I spent working on those old junk saws.

Uh, I don't believe they had the 261s back then...

 

[sean donato]

Curious as to what makes you hate the 015? I quite like them.

I have one, and have rebuilt a couple others, and find them to be fairly easy to work on, and strong little runners. Just finished this one for a buddy of mine which he found sitting in a milk crate outside a shed, (owner said for at least 15-years) at an estate sale... He got it for $5, and I did a carb rebuild, new piston ring, crank seals, a new fuel line and oil line — about $35 in parts into it.

Runs like a champ!

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There's a not a single good thing about them. They have low power, weigh as much as a 60cc saw, vibrate, poor air filtration, sigle bar nut, poor ergonomics..... the list can go on. Honestly I'd rather use a hatchet. Wouldn't make my hands go numb in 2 minuets.

 

[hkstwn7]

I had a Stihl 039 I bought brand new around 1989. That saw started and ran great,but was a bear to cold start with no decomp valve. It gave me a big kick back 2 years ago,really hurt. Sold it a few days later , do not miss that b***h!!

 

[2StrokeFondler]

I have a few, but overwhelming a stihl 015L. Just hate them.

I love mine. Not pleasant to work on. But.. they look so nice.

Runs like a champ!

And a good looking one

I had a rancher model 44 or something that was a bear to start 40 or so years ago.

Recently got one for cheap. Was so hard to pull over, I was SURE the piston and cylinder were toast. Pulled the muffler to be sure. Piston and rings look brand new. Pulled like a man with some gas in the intake and it started right up. What a beast.

 

[sean donato]

I love mine. Not pleasant to work on. But.. they look so nice.

And a good looking one

Recently got one for cheap. Was so hard to pull over, I was SURE the piston and cylinder were toast. Pulled the muffler to be sure. Piston and rings look brand new. Pulled like a man with some gas in the intake and it started right up. What a beast.

It looked the best when I stuck mine in a box to ship it to its new owner.

 

[Bill G]

It looked the best when I stuck mine in a box to ship it to its new owner.

Been there, done that

 

[MnSam]

Stihl 041's ridiculous intake stack.

 

[EchoShindaiwaMakitaDolmar]

Clone saws.

 

[tJKrider]

Homelite 330. Engineering nightmare. Max.

Ha, I have one I'll donate to whoever wants it... Intake boot is still good and it still won't run.

 

[Nathan Bruce]

Homelite super 2, XL, Super XL and other top handle homelites that are a pain to work on.

 

[Woodslasher]

Husky 350's are a bi-atch to troubleshoot and I'll never touch a Homie 330 again, but the saw that gives me the most trouble is 192T's. A friend complained about one that erratically swapped tunes so I looked at it and found a leak in the crankcase seam. I resealed it, passed a p/v test with flying colors, ran it for a day with no issues and said it's good. I liked it so much I got one of my own as a box of parts and rebuilt it. I ran it, tuned it, and put it on the shelf. Next time I went to use it the saw fired right up...... and promptly ran like garbage. I did not toss it out of the bucket, but I did ignore it. A few days later my brother told me he loved running it so much he was stealing it. Three days later I was told it was back to running like garbage. Yesterday it ran fine. Last time I saw my friend they said their saw was running like garbage again. Those little fookers have worse mood swings than pregnant women!

 

[Seachaser]

I had Stihl bow saw. Heavy and hard to crank. Only saw I’ve ever been afraid of.
About gave it away.

 

[nixon]

Any form of Mini Mac is banned in my shop . Husky235/240 are not real welcome either .

 

[mountainlake]

Jonsered 670 super, piss poor design on the intake. Steve

 

[grizz55chev]

Any form of Mini Mac is banned in my shop . Husky235/240 are not real welcome either .

+1 on the mini Mac!

 

[NSEric]

I started out with a jonsered 4620 over 20 years ago, I didnt know what it was. I though a jred was a decent saw but it was red poulan pp4218.
It always started right up but after a couple years either idled good and cut slow or wouldnt idle and cut good, you had to tune it daily. My first chinese clone saw was a massive upgrade from that poulan lol.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Homelite super 2, XL, Super XL and other top handle homelites that are a pain to work on.

They're not bad after the first 2 dozen, then you can do them blindfolded..

 

[CamMann]

definitely mini macs. having to pull out the fuel & oil tank, then pull the engine out of the saw to get at the carb for a carb-rebuild felt absurd, then having to do it all again to adjust the metering lever height... what a headache! auto oiler design also sucked, letting bar oil into the engine on half of them i've ever come across.

 

[labans]

I recently acquired a PP 3816 which had about 1 hour on it It is an orange and black model and after cleaning everything and tuning it, it runs like a beast! Starts second pull every time, always idles perfectly and kicks ass when I have a good chain on it. Runs close to 13k unloaded which is screaming. Has held its tune through much cutting and is just as stable as my Echo CS310 Of course none of these are the equal of my old Partner 55---no kickback bar, not primer pump and WATCH OUT when running full throttle---seems that older models without all the safety and emissions stuff really run hard......

 

[CJ1]

Homelite 410. Absolute garbage. Cj