Thanks, everyone for all the info/advise. I now know more than I did prior to posting this topic, but am still a little fuzzy on the differences between Husky and Jonsared.
Tony, you stated that in the '70's Huskies and Jonsared were different. I did not know that. Back in that time frame, we saw quite a few Jons in my neck of the woods, but no one had heard of Husky. By the time Huskies started showing up around here, probably late '70s or early 80's they appeared to be identical to Jonsareds. What about these seemingly identical orange and red saws? Are the Swede saws built side by side on the same line? If so, I can't imagine any reason to pick one over the other except for color preference or price. If they are assempled at different plants, which one has the better reputation for quality?
Jokers, you inquired about my experience, technique, budget, etc. Here is my 'saw biography':
'73-'77: Big old yellow '64 model Mac. Can't remember the model but would guess it to be 70 - 80cc. Cousin bought it new and cut pulpwood professionally for 4 years before giving it to my dad in '68. Dad would not let me use it until I was 14yrs old. If you want to yank on the starter cord for half an hour, it will still crank and run good as new today.
'78 - '82: Pro Mac 650, a real POS in my opinion. My buddy and I cut and sold firewood for spending money while in college. We started in September, and finished up around the first of the year. We had an unlimited supply of wood from a mega subdivision that was going in nearby. The grading contractor gave us all the oak and hickory we could cut, it saved him the trouble of disposing of the trees. We cut an honest 50 or more cords per season for 4 years with that sorry old Mac and my buddy's Poineer. The Mac was on its last legs when I finally graduated.
'82 - '94: Stihl 031. This would have been a great little saw if I could have kept points, condensors, and coils in it. When the ignition crapped out for the last time, my dealer told me he could convert the saw over to electronic ignition - he did, using Stihl parts (I watched). I took the saw home, and it was a dog - seemed to me that the ignition was way retarded, saw was slow to rev and had no power. The dealer went out of business before I got around to taking the saw back. I got new saw fever and bought a Husky 262XP, and never got around to fixing the 031, I sold it in a yard sale for $75. Still don't know what the problem was, suspect the dealer put in the wrong parts.
'94 - '02: Husky 262xp, my all time favorite saw. Cut several cords of firewood anually, plus did a whole lot of cleaning up on 46 acres that we bought in '95, and have since built a home on. Saw had a ton of hours on it, but was still running great when I burned it up, a brush fire crept across about 50 feet of broom sage stubble and got to my saw. It was history by the time I noticed.
'02 - present: Stihl 044. Bought to replace my Husky (see my debut post on 'advise from experts') . Seems to me to be equal to but no better than my old Husky, despite a 10cc advantage. Both had 20" bars, I usually cut Hardwood, usually no more than 24" in diameter. Maybe in really big stuff I could tell a difference. Although I'm satisfied with the 044, I would probably go 372xp if I had it to do over. I bought the Stihl based on price, it was ~$40 cheaper.
As I stated in my original post, I would like to get a saw in the 50cc range. We bought an additional 14 acres that adjoins our property, and I need to do a lot of cleaning up/thinning out. My 044 would be overkill for a lot of this work, and I would like something a little lighter. Price is not really a factor, I would like a pro quality saw which is why I wanted to know about 'red/orange poulans'. Any recommendations for a saw in the 45 - 50cc range?
Sorry for the long post, it's slow at work today!
Thanks,
Jim
