I'm here initially because I'm researching which gas chainsaw to purchase for my husband. Once I signed in to the website to see chainsaw information, I saw that it looked like a good source of general info that would be useful to us. Furthermore, we both love trees and recently purchased a small parcel of property, only 2-ish acres, that's heavily wooded. We want to be good stewards of our small piece of paradise. Maybe this community will be able to provide new insight and education for us. We spent part of a day this week with a local, certified arborist. People who love trees are good folks! We're in the mountains of north Georgia and do NOT want to clear-cut the land which is what so many people do. We want to encourage our big trees by removing competition and encourage the further growth of others like maple, sourwood, dogwood in addition to our ferns and mountain Laurel. Thanks for letting me join.
Hi Anne
Welcome to the site. Am real glad to hear you want to encourage the growth of the trees you have and not just clear cut for pastureland.
It sounds like the biggest tree you’ll be cutting will be under 16” diameter (measured at 4 ft 7” above the ground - known as dbh)
To that end a quality saw with a bar length of 14-16” should be more than enough.
Electric saws are all the rage, no gas mixing, and battery life is over an hour sometimes a lot longer.
If I was going to do a lot of cutting I would go with gas for the power and ability to cut for several hours, but if you expect to only do sporadic cutting, electric is probably better.
Being an old timer, I would buy a quality saw like Stihl or Husqvarna that I know will work when I want it to. But what is most important is to buy a good brand that can be serviced by a dealer near you.
I would strongly recommend getting some lessons on operating a saw, how to fell trees and how to cut them up, and what not to do.
Saws are dangerous tools and a sharp chain will cut through your finger just as easily as a branch. Be prepared, be alert and totally focused. Conversations are best left until the saw is off.
And if you are thinking bigger is better, the bigger the gas motor, the higher the compression and the harder it is to start. Nothing quite like buying a saw that is a pain to start.
Hope this helps
