New Wood Cutting Saw for the Wife

[Vibes]

I will not own a small Stihl saw. They are way too cheaply built.

And not cheap to buy!! My bud bought one of those $211's and though I'm not into Stihls, He paid closer to what I payed for a new 2153 J-Red than I did for any of my small saws. In fact he paid more for it than I payed for my remanufactured Ryobi, Sears Pro (Yellow Max), and JD cs 40 combined. Its a decent saw, but for that money?

 

[KenJax Tree]

I will not own a small Stihl saw. They are way too cheaply built.

And not cheap to buy!! My bud bought one of those $211's and though I'm not into Stihls, He paid closer to what I payed for a new 2153 J-Red than I did for any of my small saws. In fact he paid more for it than I payed for my remanufactured Ryobi, Sears Pro (Yellow Max), and JD cs 40 combined. Its a decent saw, but for that money?

You're paying for the name paint it green and put a Poulan sticker on and it sells for $125 at Lowes.

 

[cnice_37]

Am I the only one that needs to see pics of wife before making a recommendation?

 

[SawTroll]

The Dolmar 420 is a much better choice than the other small saws. It is truly a professionally built saw. It's also very easy to start, with a very nice easy start system. It's also more powerful than other saws of similar size. I will not own a small Stihl saw. They are way too cheaply built.

Yep, but the weight is up there with some 50cc saws, so it may not be suitable in this case.

I considered mentioning it myself, but didn't, just for that reason. :dunno:

 

[andydodgegeek]

Hands down I would buy a husky 346xp. Look in the classifieds here there is usually one in there for a decent price. I bought my wife a dolmar 420 and she really likes it, but its hard to beat the 346. They are light and fast and a joy to run. This is my own personal opinion, lots of people say they are all hype. I don't get why they say that, they are nice saws.

 

[andydodgegeek]

There is a real nice looking 346 on the classified right now $315 shipped to you. Can't beat that.

 

[nmurph]

There is a real nice looking 346 on the classified right now $315 shipped to you. Can't beat that.

That saw would only lead to marital strife: OP would use it more than he would let her use it.

 

[1375619cm3]

Reviews

OK Guys here is the positive comment count by brand and model so far. Also our (my wife's and I) thoughts.

Huskys
435 (7) very nice saw very similar to the 440 w/lil less hp she likes this one. What makes it different than the 440E?
440 (3) very nice saw very similar to the 435 w/more hp not sure about the E part though?
445 (1) she didn't like the balance of it (maybe the weight?) not sure i liked it.
346xp (1) I am Really interested in this saw looks great but would have to be used and a good deal to be able to afford.
(thanks Andy for the tip)

Stihls
MS180 to small didn't feel right
MS211 to small didn't feel right
MS241 cant get in the us
MS250 i am interested in this one i looked at it at a dealers but am a little concerned about sawtrolls comment about the vibration and air filtration need to know more.

Dolmar
420 don't know much about them look good online need to handle one
421 don't know much about them look good online need to handle one. Not sure of the difference between the 421 & 420

Echo
cs-400 don't know anything about haven't heard good or bad things about these

I don't mind buying used if the right deal come around.
Is there any models in particular i should keep an eye out for?

 

[jus2fat]

If I were in your position..I'd definitely buy the 346xp that member 'nmurph' has in classifieds for $315.
(that's $315 shipped with insurance..!!)

Neal is a well respected member here and has done tons of 346xp rebuilds..he's the BEST..!!

It's like his favorite rebuild saw and he has become an expert on rebuilding these with the best quality parts.
(and he stands behind his work..!!)

Anyways...that's what I would do....your call..??

J2F

 

[Bigdgb]

How much is your wife going to use this saw? a couple hours in a day? how many times a week?
vibration and air filtration will not a problem as in the MS250, its not like you will have her cutting
dirty old hardwood for hours on end,
i have an MS 211 which my 9 year old son uses evey week and he is not that well built for his age,
he does not have any problems handling it, on the weekends he could be useing it for up to 3-4
hours at a time and then still has the energy to go down to the park and play football for a couple
more hours.

 

[procarbine2k1]

Hi Guys,

I am looking to pick up a new saw for the wife and i to use primarily as a limbing saw. She will mainly be running it since i have a Husky 61 Rancher white top with a 20" bar
that i am now doing all the cutting with so i am looking for suggestions on what to get for her.

I am NOT looking for a pro grade saw as most of them i cannot afford.
I am looking for something light weight but balanced with something around a 16" bar.
Somewhere around 11lbs with bar 40-50cc (nothing bigger due to weight) (50cc might be a touch heavy)
Easy to start, i had her start mine which she could, but struggled a little bit so i had her start a friends ms 180 c with the smart start and it was great for her.

We've looked at a few at Lowes (husqvarnas) because thats where i work and she like the 440E or the 435 so i am looking in that category.
I stopped at the local Stihl dealer and they had a MS 250 w/o smart start for 299 on slae and w/ smart start for 349.
it weighted somewhere around 10.3 lbs (powerhead only) and is around 45cc i thought that it balanced well w/ 18" bar that was on it (probably switch it for a 16")

So what do you guys think???

i am hoping for suggestions on saws that you have personally ran in and around this size
please let me know why for your decision
remeber this is for my wife not me she cannot handle a big saw all day.

Thanks for all the suggestions in advance,
Cody

I know you have to drive by a dealer on your way there, but go to M&M to Ashland and pick up a 250, they are nice saws. You wont find a better dealer anywhere. I am right up the road from you. You can PM me if ya want, I will probably be out that way tomorrow too.

 

[dboyd351]

I'd say either the Husky 435, Redmax 400/4000/4500 or the Echo 310/370/400. Lots of people on here have recently bought the 435 online for $140-180 refurbished, and swear by it.
The Redmax 400 can be had on fleabay for $180 and is the saw which was considered so hot in 2009 that everybody was trying to buy the Ryobi copy of it when they discontinued it. bsnelling has has very good luck porting it. It is 40cc, 9.7 pounds and 2.4 hp, stock.
Echo 310/370/400. These aren't the most powerful saws, but are very light, very easy to start, reasonably priced and have a 5 year homeowners warranty. Can be had new for $200-250. The Echo CS 310 weighs something like 8.5 pounds and is sinfully easy to start.

Don't think you can go wrong with any of these.

 

[dboyd351]

Another comment on the Stihl MS211: There are no aftermarket pistons or cylinders for this saw, at least not when I was looking a few months ago. An OEM replacement piston costs over $100, so if you hole a piston or score a cylinder badly by straight gassing it or whatever, you might as well throw the saw away - it isn't cost effective to rebuild it. I got one for free from someone who had done that, then I found out you couldn't get the parts, except for the OEM outrageously priced replacement part, so I sold the saw to another member who found out the same thing and had to use it as a parts donor. Almost new saw ended up on the parts pile.

 

[mrhornet]

I went with the ms250 to replace my old Husqvarna 141 feels like a big jump up for me. All I really do is limb and brush stuff around the house and a little fire wood for the fire pit. Leave the dropping to people that know what they are doing. I’ve only used it ounce since I got it because of the rain but cuts real nice. You may want to see how it starts for her though it took more than my 141 to get started but the 141 was well broke tuned well so we will see after a bit if it changes.

 

[1375619cm3]

How much is your wife going to use this saw? a couple hours in a day? how many times a week?
vibration and air filtration will not a problem as in the MS250, its not like you will have her cutting
dirty old hardwood for hours on end,
i have an MS 211 which my 9 year old son uses every week and he is not that well built for his age,
he does not have any problems handling it, on the weekends he could be using it for up to 3-4
hours at a time and then still has the energy to go down to the park and play football for a couple
more hours.

When we cut wood its normally 2-3 weekends a month and we cut and haul until to tired to keep going safely.
Just to give perspective we cut and burn around 7 on low side to 14 high side average is app 9-12 cords a year. but we've been cutting as much as possible to try and get ahead a year or more as well. She will normally be using it once the tree is on the ground to buck up the limbs while I am bucking up trunk. Here's what we do in normal to small load. About a cord with out the trailer.

 

[FlyLow]

The Dolmar 420 is a much better choice than the other small saws. It is truly a professionally built saw. It's also very easy to start, with a very nice easy start system. It's also more powerful than other saws of similar size. I will not own a small Stihl saw. They are way too cheaply built.

This statement must be excluding the ms241.

 

[genesis5521]

When we cut wood its normally 2-3 weekends a month and we cut and haul until to tired to keep going safely.
Just to give perspective we cut and burn around 7 on low side to 14 high side average is app 9-12 cords a year. but we've been cutting as much as possible to try and get ahead a year or more as well. She will normally be using it once the tree is on the ground to buck up the limbs while I am bucking up trunk. Here's what we do in normal to small load. About a cord with out the trailer.

IMHO. "ANY" 30cc homeowner saw (regardless of brand or model) can do the limbing you've described above with one hand tied behind its back. You really don't need a big saw for stuff like that. For years, all I had was a little Stihl MS170 (14" bar) to handle "all" of my firewood chores; Felling, limbing, and bucking. I burn 5 cords a year, but cut 10 cords a year to get ahead. Cut over 50 cords with that little sucker. It's earned its keep 10 times over. Cut quite a few 25"+ trees with it. But most of my stuff is 10" to 18". I just recently bought a new Stihl MS290 and retired the 170 to backup status.

Buy your wife what ever "SHE'S" comfortable with, and don't be to concerned about how much power or cc's it has. It will do the job just fine. Heck, a little "Poulan Wildthing" would work for ya. And they're around $100. I had one of them to, and worked the snot out of it. Just about any brand new saw you buy today is gonna be a pretty darn nice saw. And with proper care and maintenance, it will last a lifetime. We're lucky to have so many fine choices. As your finances improve, and if the situation warrants, you can always get something else later on.

Now take the money I just saved ya and take yur bride out for a nice din-din. She deserves it. Yur darn lucky to have such a nice "wood buddy".

Don <><

 

[Sabertooth]

Echo or Dolmar.

Stihl makes cheap ass small saws. I personally wouldn't touch, but Husky makes some ok ones. Echo is known to makes great small saws, and Dolmar makes the praised 420 ect.

 

[SawTroll]

Hands down I would buy a husky 346xp. Look in the classifieds here there is usually one in there for a decent price. I bought my wife a dolmar 420 and she really likes it, but its hard to beat the 346. They are light and fast and a joy to run. This is my own personal opinion, lots of people say they are all hype. I don't get why they say that, they are nice saws.

There isn't any hype with the 346xp, it still is the best 50cc saw around, and with some margin!

 

[SawTroll]

This statement must be excluding the ms241.

It is way outside the price limit, as I read the initial post.....