New Stihl climbing saw

[bushman]

I like my stil 09 for for price and the ms200 feels much better than the 02o

 

[Guy Meilleur]

My experience with the 019 is that they wear out early. That may have something to do with my maintenance, but I don't think so.

For me the 200t's ergonomics are fine, 2-handing or (gasp) 1-handing. Rocky I think your hand and arm may be built differently than many others, so if the 200t is hard to cut precisely with, it's a personal thing.

To go from that personal experience to saying that because the 200t is so popular therefore 99% of climbers prefer brute force over precision is quite a leap. The kind of leap a "conservative" politician would make.

Frans did not misquote you; he paraphrased five of your sentences into one, quite accurately I thought.

So anyway, when will we know more about the new Stihl?

 

[murphy4trees]

This thread got sidetracked pretty fast.....
Guess that means no one else has been using the new Stihl...
As to the sidetrack... I like the Echo 340 and don't know if I miss the power of the 200, cause I never used one.....
If I ever get another bucket truck, the first next thing I'll do is buy a 200.
Rocky have you ever used one in the tree..... I don't like the way they feel in the shop, but who knows for sure 'til I've used it for a couple of days in the trees...
One thing is for sure... no matter what saw, keeping the chain sharp will save a lot of wear and tear on both the saw and the crew.... Not to mention safer.....

 

[protreecare]

I just bought a new 191T for $220. I use echos but bought the stihl because I thought I was getting a good deal. It is heavier than the echos, but i have not had a chance to use it yet. Does anyone use/like this saw?
Thanks

 

[rbtree]

There's a couple guys here who like the 019, Stumper for one, I think.
Personally, I've never used one but have no desire to use a heavy, underp owered saw. Buy an Echo 340 and open the muffler, it will have plenty of power.

I don't like the ergonomics of the 200T either, but love the power..most of my 335's just don't cut as fast stock, and have a few problems....and my new 338 even modded wont beat a stock 200T. I do like a fast climb saw for many reasons...and may break down and get a used 200T at some time. Too pricey to buy new IMO.

 

[BigJohn]

I agree with you all on haveing a sharp chain and forceing a saw. I have one coment on what Frans had said about jumping off those pine limbs. You don't have to cut those limbs fast to get them to come off clean. There is a technique I use and I will try to exsplain as best I can. I cut on a verticle and then come in on angle from behind. I never had one tear off using this method. You can cut as slow as you like and once you get to that point it snaps off clean. I've been feeling the tennis elbow myself here lately in my left elbow. I have no strength sometimes when flexing my hand up. I hope it goes away soon. As for the new saw I see it has its place. I understand there times you want a saw with a little more power and maybe just a little bigger bar. When pruning trees I believe this is the saw and even for those small take downs. I know it made a difference in my day. I was a break from my 020. I think as in all aspects of what we do we need to keep an open mind about new equipment and techniques. There alot of you who refuse to accept change. There are the guys who still say hooks don't damage trees, guys who don't use hand saws, and guys who think bigger, stronger is always better.
My 020 currently has a bent bar and I refuse to put one of the Jap bars we have in closet on. I'm hopeing my boss breaks down and gets me an original Stihl bar light. I know from experience the arbor pro bar wont hold up long and I'll get the speech on how I just got that bar.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Originally posted by MasterBlaster
I guess I will allways want the 200 because I'm hooked on 16" bars. I've never really run a 14" bar on anything. I'm sure I would appreciate the additional torque (?), but I sure would hate losing the reach, or depth, more.

Do you run full chisle on it too?

If not try it out.

 

[tshanefreeman]

John Paul,

I am not sure/familiar with what you are referring. Could you please expand on the 'full chisle' concept. Thanks!

 

[jamie]

chain

fulkl chisel chain, we use full chisels on all our saws except the new 385 and the 020/200s.

my boss was telling his thinking behind climbing saws, he used to use echos because of their price but when he went to replace one the price had rocketed and a sthil was only a bit more, so he made the change, as im the lowest climber in our squad i have the hand me down saw, seen 3 users and 3 years, its still going strong (well it can be a bit tempermental, the lead climber was a bit hard on saws and his maintenance was 'everyso often') and its just had a shiny new bar (make it look all nice)

im happy with it i find it ok to use and a carry around the trees

jamie

 

[Greg]

An 019 was my first top handle saw, and it ran great for about 1.5 - 2 years of moderate use. Now it sits under the work bench collecting dust, it no longer has any power in the cut, and can't idle properly. A good throw away saw. I do like the ergonomics of the saw, it feels better than the standard handle set up, but I always found myself cutting with my left hand way back on the swept back bar, and I wonder if the chain brake would catch my wrist in the event of a kick back, it looked like it wouldn't.
Greg

 

[rbtree]

kurtz, what mods did you do to allow full chisel on a mini saw? They take low pro, .370 gauge chain, so you'd have to change the sprocket, right? And I've not heard of chisel low pro chain.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Originally posted by RockyJSquirrel
Rog,
JP uses his chainsaw so little, he's talking about not buying another when his current one wears out. Kurtz ran a saw without a muffler for months. We aren't talking about people with a solid understanding of chainsaws and chains here. Neither of them are running full chisel chain on their 020T's.

I do not know how to phrase this post without sounding insulting. I'm not trying to be insulting. Just an observation that the people who spoke of running full chisel on a climbing saw don't know what they are talking about. If I'm being insulting by pointing out such a blatent and obvious mistake, then I guess I'm insulting.

I am glad that someone cleared this up. I have never seen 3/8 Lo-Pro in full-chisel.

 

[ORclimber]

I've given up on the 191T after killing 3 in the last 2 years. Two still run, but have broken cases. One is nearly new. If anyone wants them for parts, they can have them for the price of shipping.

I bought a 200 last week and so far it's a breath of fresh air.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

To get back to the heart of the matter, does this new stihl have a model number? Any idea when it will be available?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Originally posted by ORclimber


I bought a 200 last week and so far it's a breath of fresh air.

And a facefull of flying chips!

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Rocky, what stock combination of cutting systems would provide the fastest cutting times on an Echo 3400?

 

[lawmart]

Paul this is of topic a bitt but you said that you have the new
338 xp, how is it , do you think that they have solved all the problems with it, i have had 3 saws replaced under warrintie since '97, and got another one in '02, have used the echo but i find it vastley underpowerd, but very reliable, the 020 good power but the balance of the saw was not so great, 335 great balance was the best of all, but you now the history of the saw,
I have 2 climber trainies in school and will need cilimbing saw in the spring (i do not supply climbing saw for them, only back up saws 2- 335) they are wating for that 338 to come avaible to them up here, what do you think, or anyone else you can give info.

Lawmart

playsafe

 

[Gopher]

To saw or not to saw...

I purchased a Husky 338 (I have had a 335 for two years) in December. I wanted a back up for the 335. I used to own Stihl's, but have always had trouble with the shut-off switch.

I have NEVER had my Husky's run on. NEVER. I asked someone that knows a certain someone brought up in this thread (a Stihl big boy) about his saw, and the Stihl he carries runs on and has to be choked to shut off as well.

Sorry guys, safety IS the number one issue with any saw. I am not the brightest "grear-head" out there, but I keep my saws clean and bring them in regularly for service. Until Stihl comes up with a saw that shuts off ALL of the time EVERY time, then I won't buy another one. My 036 is an awesome workhorse; I've had it for 11 years. It is on it's 4th switch, and no matter how often I bring it in to be tuned, it isn't bnut a short time later that I am "choking" it to turn it off.

I agree with JPS, though. I do more and more work with the hand saw. It has been colder than a witches you-know-what in a brass bra the past past month, and I find if I use the hand saw more, I stay warmer. More and more I am finding my ground guy asking, "don't you want your saw tied on?" And I usually reply, "Na, I think I can finish up here with out it."

Obviously, removals are a different story, but if we are doing the "proper" prune job (no huge wounds left), technically speaking, the hand saw should be adequate to make those cuts that shouldn't be more than 3" anyway. Right? Also, does anyone reach out with their chain saw wityh one hand? Yes, probably so. Well, then, maybe the hand saw is the better and safer choice of tools.

After I finish a couple of trees, and figure what I need for the job, I usually look back and see how many of the "tools" I had to pull out of the bag to complete the job. Ifno additional ropes were used, if the chain saw stayed on the ground, and if I didn't have to reset to reach the whole tree, then I really do not charge the full "boat". Sometimes the best tool is the one not used. Kind-of like the best word is the one not said.

Enough. Thanks again for the conversation fellow arborists.

Gopher

 

[kurtztree]

Rocky I didnt run my chainsaw with a loose muffler for months only one day. And the place I get my chain I just go in and tell them I want full chisel chain for 020t . Ill delete the above post.

 

[dbeck]

what does rbtree mean by open the muffler? What else would you have to do? Doesn't this lead to early failure? Thinking about a different saw, just hoping for some answers.