Great saw! But OLD. More money than I would spend, unless it's pristine, and/or you are particularly interested in that specific model. My 2¢.
new guy with saw fever, what to buy?
- Thread starter tfrugal
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Great saw! But OLD. More money than I would spend, unless it's pristine, and/or you are particularly interested in that specific model. My 2¢.
"Tired of the wildthings..." ...And then every saw you mention by model is a consumer saw.
"Money burning a hole in pocket"... ...Give it to the wife, she'll take care of it for you.
My Advice- Figure out what size (cc) saw you want to spend money on Right Now, and then make up your own mind which Brand/ Model is The BEST in that size class (for you). Then look for your best overall deal on that particular saw.
Do yourself a favor, and buy the best 50cc saw you can find (such as husky 550xp or 545 ((Jonsered 2253 or 2252)) or Stihl ms261c). You can comfortably run 16", 18", or even 20" bars, and do most of what you need done with a premium 50cc'er.
From there, you can decide whether to go up or down in size, or whatever. (You'll want a 70cc saw next.)
SHARP! chains are absolutely a 'must have'. If you can't sharpen, find someone locally that can. Buy multiple chains. Keep half of them sharp and on hand, the other half at the grinder's/ filer's place.
tfrugal
ArboristSite Lurker
1) i freely admit to being clueless when it comes to saws. hell, in my circle, any stihl is considered 'pro'. go ahead and laugh at that one.....
thats what this here internet is supposed to be used for, edumacation. my time has been spent here reading and learning the diff between consumer, 'farm' and pro. since i am a lowly 'consumer' i have assumed 'pro' was a decal, nothing more (from poulan pro).
2) i have a good 10 to 15 hours of reading on this site now. again, as a consumer, its been take it out of the box and run it. it either is a runner, or a lemon. learning that chainsaws need tuned, and how to do so seems obvious, but is not. tell me why they put weirdo ends on the adjusters? to keep 'consumers' from turning them. same with limiting caps and epoxy.
so TUNING seems to me to be something i should understand even before BUYING a new saw. experimenting with my 'junk' might even make it 'not-junk'.
3) my nightmare scenario is to buy something that does not run, and not be able to make it run. in 4 stroke stuff, thats not a problem, but 2 stroke? i dont know anyone who tunes them. its conventional wisdom around here that only magicians can do so. again, you can make as much fun of we mere consumers as you want. internet discussion boards are full of folks that do that, and in real life the only 'pro' i know wont give me the time of day. he makes a living dropping trees in neighborhoods, and i am not a guy that might use his service.
4) dont EVER suggest for me to give mo money to the wife. she tends to check up on my internet reading, and would beat me about the head and shoulders with said suggestion.
With an M-Tronic (Stihl) or Auto-Tune (Husqvarna) you do not have to worry about tuning!!! No magic is needed!
tfrugal
ArboristSite Lurker
yep.
again, reading up on this site, i see that folks selling saws on cl do it differently than they should. no pic of the piston or comp reading. the old husky has been on for a month, and the guy seemed pretty interested in selling it... it is not pristine, and assuming the piston looks good, thinking of 150. being able to actually run the thing before buying too!! its a few hours of time to go look, try, and dicker.
oh, just got out the thermometer, i think that saw fever has become full blown CAD.
I won't make fun of you hell I learned some things here and other places as well if I were in your shoes and could sling the cash I'd get a 550xp to me that's the best you can buy you don't have to tune it ever .... There's not a damn thing wrong with consumer saws I have two that I use heavily yes they will die one day but they haven't yet. If you learn to tune it ain't hard at all just gotta try it . I'd highly recommend a 346 ne (new edition) I have an old edition it's my favorite saw just keep looking and don't worry if someone bashes you for asking a question that's what these here places are for
tfrugal
ArboristSite Lurker
went out off a unicorn hunt this evening.
started off at a home depot, wanted to be able to put hands on a cs590. the local echo dealer does not stock this saw. neither does HD. while looking around, i saw some rental stuff for sale. i remember someone on this site talking about makita being HS's rental, and the possibility of buying one used.
yep. rental dept has 4 saws, the largest being a 6400. rental guy tells me the first of each month is when they get the go ahead to sell them.
we talk a while, and he looks at his paperwork, tells me a store 20 miles away had one they should be selling-- 213 to 250 bucks.
i call said store, but no one wanted to get off their ass to look, so i make the drive.
prolly sold it this morning. the rental guy has gone home, and the rest of the staff tells me things from 'we dont sell used saws' to just a vacant stare and shrug.
first guy at first store is a good guy, went the distance, including telling me they a pretty good guy that does help tune saws. tells me the saws do not last long before bought.
second store was horrible-- from the call to see before i made the trip to the time spent in the store.
anyways, HD does sell used makita 6400's for 213 to 250 dollars. being at the right place at the right time to actually buy it is a different animal altogether.
started off at a home depot, wanted to be able to put hands on a cs590. the local echo dealer does not stock this saw. neither does HD. while looking around, i saw some rental stuff for sale. i remember someone on this site talking about makita being HS's rental, and the possibility of buying one used.
yep. rental dept has 4 saws, the largest being a 6400. rental guy tells me the first of each month is when they get the go ahead to sell them.
we talk a while, and he looks at his paperwork, tells me a store 20 miles away had one they should be selling-- 213 to 250 bucks.
i call said store, but no one wanted to get off their ass to look, so i make the drive.
prolly sold it this morning. the rental guy has gone home, and the rest of the staff tells me things from 'we dont sell used saws' to just a vacant stare and shrug.
first guy at first store is a good guy, went the distance, including telling me they a pretty good guy that does help tune saws. tells me the saws do not last long before bought.
second store was horrible-- from the call to see before i made the trip to the time spent in the store.
anyways, HD does sell used makita 6400's for 213 to 250 dollars. being at the right place at the right time to actually buy it is a different animal altogether.
Khntr85
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yes sir, I can tell you that the saw I believe is perfect for you is either the ms250 with a 18 bar, or a ms290 with up to a 20" bar.... I absolutely guarantee they will take some good punishment, if you have some show you how to maintain the bar and chain and properly cleaning the saw and air filter.... Don't blow a lot of money till you know you want to get back into the hard work of cutting wood....
Ps--- I used a 250 and 290 for years with not problems... Just got a 461 today and holy sh$t I am totally in love!!!!! Good luck Kyle...
Ps--- I used a 250 and 290 for years with not problems... Just got a 461 today and holy sh$t I am totally in love!!!!! Good luck Kyle...
tfrugal
ArboristSite Lurker
i have thick enough skin to not worry about being made fun of.
i think my biggest problem is every bit of advice i get ALL seems to have me nodding 'yeah, that sounds right'.
now y'all got me looking at autotune saws!!
CoreyB
Addicted to ArboristSite
It is not hard to tune a saw. There are lots of good videos on you tube with step by step tutorial.
There is a pretty good deal on a Dolmar 6100 in the tradin post right now. I would look real hard at that.
There is a pretty good deal on a Dolmar 6100 in the tradin post right now. I would look real hard at that.
tfrugal
ArboristSite Lurker
honestly, the autotune is out of my price range, at least the one i just looked at. i have looked at that saw, personally i think he is still a bit high. 535 bucks brand new from chainsaws direct.
i WISH i would have pulled the trigger on his smaller makita last week. consider that un-buyers remorse!
i also agree totally with learning to tune. ordered a combo carb adjuster kit from fleabay yesterday, will see about tuning what i have while i look for a better saw.
tfrugal
ArboristSite Lurker
as of today, i am leaning towards the cs-590. i have been looking for the right place to buy it, local dealer no stock it, special order from the big box stores. i have two other fairly close dealers to look at. that would be a big step up from what i have ran before, and will look to add a limbing type small saw.
that is without actually touching any of them. i wonder a lot about that-- looking at cars in mags and driving them are too different things. if its wet (supposed to be) tomorrow i will go to see some dealers, see what they say.
any recommended dealers for central ind?
that is without actually touching any of them. i wonder a lot about that-- looking at cars in mags and driving them are too different things. if its wet (supposed to be) tomorrow i will go to see some dealers, see what they say.
any recommended dealers for central ind?
Vibes
Addicted to ArboristSite
Just because that guy cuts trees in your neighborhood doesn't mean he knows Jack s#it about keeping them running. Lots of tree companies around here too and they have some of the lamess running saws I've heard. WING WING WING BOGG WING WING WING BOGG. Till the job is done.
If you are not familiar with tuning a chainsaws, it would be a good idea to buy from a dealer that can tune the saw for you. The 590 has gotten some good reviews here and is reasonably priced.
If you like the cs590 and can do some tuning yourself I would keep an eye out on fleabay. I have seen brand new ones sell for $300 shipped there, also the cs490 could be a great fit as well if you like the echo's.
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lambs
Stihl crazy after all these years
OP unless you are cutting a ton of wood at various altitudes, I would not worry about auto tune. Get the saw you like. Get your carb adjusted, keep the air filter clean, keep the chain sharp and cut wood.
People have been getting by just fine like that for 80 years or so.....
People have been getting by just fine like that for 80 years or so.....
LoveStihlQuality
Addicted to ArboristSite
Much good advice and many good saw options. IMO, go with brand where you can get good local service, keep tuned don't lean out, sharp chains, find ethonol free fuel and use good synthetic oil or even Trufuel depending on usage and clean saw and filter regularly. Stay safe.
LoveStihlQuality
LoveStihlQuality
tfrugal
ArboristSite Lurker
agreed.
one thing i have learned on here is the horrors of alcohol in gasoline. i would have never considered buying anything but the same gas i put in the car for a saw.
Cycledude
ArboristSite Operative
Is there some reason you don't want to order a 590 from your local dealer ?
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