Hi all. I’ve been reading a lot of saw reviews on this site and have learned a lot more about saws, fuel and especially how to store them over winter.
About me: I've been using saws for 30 or so years, grew up on acreage in Missouri and the first saw I ever used was a McCullough Power Mac 310 (top handle). I never actually knew about rear handled saws until I got a hand me down Pro Mac 650 with a 24" bar.
Since I learned on a top handle, I find all rear handle saws clunky, unbalanced and cumbersome. I have read many times that the rear handle are safer and I will acknowledge I'm not risk averse (i.e. I still like the feel of a top handle). When I go back to missouri I generally end up helping my father out with some tree trimming, and while I'm not a professional tree climber (although i did pick up a pair of spikes year ago) I am a rock climber and still climb trees like I did when I was a kid. Many times I've gone up a tree to cut off a limb when I'm back in missouri which is another reason I like a well balanced saw.
I live at about 9800 feet elevation in colorado, and my normal saw has been a power mac 6 (yep, roughly 50 years old) with a 14" bar. I have about an acre, mostly lodgepole pine (8-10" trunks) and some tall spruce (20-24" trunks). I generally use a saw about 5 times a year, and when I do I'll cut down a few pine beetle kill trees and maybe once a year a spruce. Back in 2007-2008, i had to cut about 50 trees from my property with pine beetle kill.
I still have the pro mac 650, but honestly it's overkill, and it is a pain to start. I generally have to pull the carb and clean it out (or get a carb kit with new seals) to even get it to start. From my research here, I now know to dump the fuel and idle until it dies so maybe that will help me. I also have realized the benefit of pre-mix fuel that is higher octane and no ethanol which for how often I run a saw is worth the hassle of getting a gallon, mixing oil and stabil and pouring half of it out at the end of summer.
When the Mac 6 is running it's a great little saw. Maybe I need a bit more power, but I had a MS193t for a few years and it was a dog compared to the mac. I now know about muffler mods, and maybe that would helped it. At this elevation, a naturally aspirated engine loses about 30% of its power compared to sea level (I'm a car nut...). Last summer the mac was having more issues with heat soak and inconsistent chain tension. I was planning on taking it to a Denver shop in March for a carb rebuild- but with COVID i never went down to denver. There is only 1 place that rebuilds 2 cycle engines here in the county (True Value hardware), and they looked at the mac and said it was obsolete and said it would cost as much to rebuild as buying a stihl ms170. My gut feeling is they only like rebuilding the newer easy to access carbs. I still will keep this saw, but it started me looking for something that I can get parts for (not many Mac parts left). I bought an ebay carb rebuild kit and I'll give it a go. There are no saw shops where i live. The best is the True value that sells stihl, Murdochs that does Husky and stihl, or Lowes (Husky and some junk ones), Home Depot (Husky, Echo, junk) and walmart (havent even looked here). The closest saw shop is about 1500 ft lower, and 2 hrs away. Denver has some too, but they are almost 5,000 ft lower and it's more urban.
So, to the point. I'm looking for a saw that has parts available, and is dependable. I would like a saw with good balance, and good design / durability. I think a 16-18" bar would be sufficient and probably in the 35-45cc engine size.
I have looked at the Husky 435/440 and 450. I can't stand saws that have plastic dogs- so i'll pass on the 435 (and the stihl ms170).
Temped with the echo cs 355 top handle since that is the style I like, but no one stocks this (i can order at home depot) so I can't see/feel it. Also if I can get the Mac 6 running again, do I need two top handle saws?
Also read some reviews on the cs490 (also can be ordered) that seem good. Maybe too big, but with power loss maybe this is reasonable.
Others maybe the stihl 211 or 251 - but I'm really not a bandwagon joiner and feel they are overpriced. The only newer saw i've owned is the ms193T, and I kinda feel that any new saw has been hampered with restrictive emissions and lean tuning. Mind boggling that most of the big manufacturers either hide the carb L, H, idle adjustments, or you have to buy a special tool to do it.
Price - since I use it so infrequently, I'm looking in the 300 to 400 if I buy new. Craigslist doesn't have much that i'm interested in, but i'm not opposed to setting up a search if I have a goal. Not in a super rush, but i do have some cleanup to do before October when snow comes.
I appreciate solid construction, and I would rather spend money for something that will be reliable rather than some piece of junk that i'll need to replace. I probably do a poor job of adjusting the carb, but i try tweak it every time I run. I will also plan on a muffler mod since the power gain will offset for the altitude loss.
Albeit blasphemous, i'm even tempted in the dewalt 60v/20v 16". No torque loss at altitude, and I have a lot of 20v batteries. About 4" longer than Husky 440- so even more cumbersome and ackward.
Long post, thanks for reading this far!
So what do the experts recommend? What should I be looking for?
Have a 380 I do some milling with it's a beast and a 64cc Makita/Dolmar and love it. Her name is one pull. Buddy recently gave me an 034 been sitting 15yrs he couldn't get running. First month was a challenge but now it's my go to for everything! Just saw one a minute ago on marketplace for $275! Might buy it! Was shopping for a 261c for bucking but not needed anymore.
