Sears 35084 18" 55cc Reasonable Buy?

[motti]

Sorry. When I said Poulan, I meant the older, all-metal models. Like the 3400, 5200, etc. Not the plastic stuff out there today.

You might also try a saw shop, and see if they have anything used and cheap.

 

[sawinredneck]

Look at a Husky 350, they run around $350 now, should compare well to the ms310, be around you're price range and do what you are talking about. I think the 455 is overweight and underpowerd for the money. FIND A DEALER!!!!!!!!
Andy

 

[Marco]

don't fault something because of the use of plastic in it's construction, some all metal saws crumbled pretty bad. The biggest problem I see with many new saws is the emission regulations do not allow them to run. The first thing I would look for is a fully adjustable carb hiding in there. The EPAs bright idea that something will run from -30' to 90'+ without the need for a fuel mixture adjustment is nuts. You think all Stihls, Huskies, Dolmars and Johnyreds come out of the box and run strong within their carb setting range? No, it's just the dealer knows how to make them run when nobodies looking, the kid at a box store doesn't. And as a rule you get what you pay for. A XL12 is nice for utility work like sawing an ocasional beam or something in a building project, I like them for that, but I don't care to run one all day steady.

 

[Justsaws]

I see a lot of those 55cc Sear's saws for sale broken. They seem to be very low quality. If you want a new cheap saw then Poulan is the only way to go, at least around here. The 295 can be had for less than $200.00,reconditioned for 125.00 plus tax. It just cannot run dull chain as it causes people to try and over tighten the bar nuts and strip out the plastic(cheap) case mounts. See that a lot.

Not being able to sharpen a chain or recognize when it is time to sharpen a chain seems to keep a lot of saw dealers in business. Just do not understand that.

 

[TenZero]

If you can't find a Husky dealer near you try this dealer on Ebay. He offers damn fair prices with cheap (usually zero) shipping charges.

http://stores.ebay.com/Wise-Generators-and-Power-Equipment_CHAINSAWS_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ8QQftidZ2QQtZkm

 

[wvdreamer]

Craftsman 35084 to a Husky Rancher 455

After several hours on the phone and talking to several manager, the department manager stepped up to the plate and knocked this problem way out of the ball-park. Since Sears had a safety recall on the 35084 and the closest thing they had was a Husky Rancher 455, he cut me a deal on the Rancher and used the repair credit on my "too expensive to repair" 35084 to cover well over 80% of the Husky. (35084 = 199.99, 455=399.99)

Talked to the guy I borrowed the MS310 from and got a lesson in how to know when your chain needs help. Also asked the same guy to show me how to effectively sharpen a chain. This based upon some of the good advice on this thread on keeping the chain nice and sharp. Already sharpened my Poulan's chain (18in,42cc, 260) and it is doing rather well.

If asked about Craftsman chainsaws, I would advise to spend the extra 100-200 bucks and get a real saw with the name of the manufacter on it instead of the "mask of zorro" saws from Sears.