Aw man
Have to agree with 7S's first paragraph & any of the saws quoted in the second will get the job done Sharp chain is the item that will make your job satisfying & not a choreSince the wood mentioned is mainly fir trees I would not worry one second about a 50cc saw. What I am suprised about is that you are not using your Rancher 55. It would be an ideal tool for your requirements. Personally I would simply replace the carb membranes and run it with a sharp chain and a max. 18 inch bar.
If it needs to be a new 50-60cc saw I would consider the Husqvarna 545/555/550/562 or the Jonsered(we have a great dealer here) aquivalent, Dolmar 5105, Echo 590 (just a little muffler mod to run great, by far the best buy out there at the moment!), Stihl 271/291/261 or Hitachi CS51EAP.
7
Could I ask why you are running a skip chain? if you're mainly soft wood cutting I would have thought a full chisel would have performed better*UPDATE*
It's just shy of a year since I started this adventure with the 562 XP. I thought I would check in and give an update as I always appreciate this on threads that I read like this.
I have to say that I'm still very pleased with the saw. I have been putting in about 25 hours a month. I took the advice of a longer bar and I bought a Tsumura 28" bar for it and run full skip chain.
Observations:
Over all I would say this is a great saw and bar combo and I'm happy. With it in the shop this week I find myself looking for another backup saw and find myself thinking another 562XP would be just what I need.
- Tsumura bar set up is great! The longer bar has saved my back and is safer to use in my estimation. I picked up the 55 with a 20" bar the other day (back up saw) and was reminded how much I have to bend over with the shorter bar. I also find myself getting closer to my body with the bar tip as it swings in closer than the 28" bar. Saw has no trouble pulling through the 12-18" average D.F. logs I work with. I have thought about a longer bar but have decided to stay in the manufacturer recommendations on bar length for now. I like the bar so much that I got another one! Thanks to member "thechainsawguy" for the great service. Easy to work with and quick turn around given the border crossing from B.C. to Oregon, USA.
- Autotune has been nice. It seems to do well for the conditions and also appears to adjust for changes in air filter during work. Wife says I smell less like fuel mix at the end of the day too.
- I have had issues with bolts coming loose or shearing on the saw. The saw has great anti-vibe but I've had one shear on the pull cord cover and had to drill and remove to replace, and another with the same issue on the muffler. I had two muffler bolts work out and needed to replace them.
- Just yesterday was my first real repair of the saw as the sprocket came apart. Still has an inner circle but the outside of the circle came apart on about 1/3 of circumference.
- No hot start issue as was noted by other folks mentioned with first generation. I go light on startup procedure (don't pump the primer bulb, etc.) when over 85 degrees and all goes well.
View attachment 612419 View attachment 612420
Happy Holidays 2017 everyone!
*UPDATE*
- I have had issues with bolts coming loose or shearing on the saw. The saw has great anti-vibe but I've had one shear on the pull cord cover and had to drill and remove to replace, and another with the same issue on the muffler. I had two muffler bolts work out and needed to replace them.
- Just yesterday was my first real repair of the saw as the sprocket came apart. Still has an inner circle but the outside of the circle came apart on about 1/3 of circumference.
Could I ask why you are running a skip chain? if you're mainly soft wood cutting I would have thought a full chisel would have performed better
So reasons 1 and 2 why I don't run Husqvarna, #3 being the handle angle and control layout is goofy to me.
Some folks don't have access to square grinders or files. Most shops out here only grind round and blink a lot and glance side to side when you ask for square grind stuff.
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