Shopping for a second saw

[IchWarriorMkII]

Good post. Would you give your 6 year old kid a 250cc dirt bike? start low and work your way up. They are also a little cheaper. lol. You can always sell of your saws if you get hooked on buying to get the next biggest thing. But I am willing to bet the you will be more than happy with these couple:

I hear the 361 is all the rave. The 357xp is a great saw. The 359 is an ok saw, but needs a muffler mod at the minimum to run decent. The dolmar/makita 6400/6401 is a good saw too, but very heavy for the power. It is the heaviest of the bunch, and all the weight you aren't used to will not make it fun the first couple times you have to use it.

But, buy all means, if the 16 year old has to have a vette, get a 70cc saw. All the good ones have been mentioned already.

My cousin wen't from a Crapsman to a 372xp. If you know how to operate a chainsaw safely, you can operate a chainsaw safely.


Its a tool, not a motor vehicle.

 

[pgg]

Husky 365/Jonny 2165, smooth as silk, torquey as, deals to big stuff easy without revving thru the ceiling, great firewood saw, sits between the 60 -70cc classes, well priced and won't break the bank, hauls 20" plus bars no sweat, loves an 18", and if if you go for the Jonny - a good looker and sexy to boot - very important consideration for us shallow types

 

[Freakingstang]

Husky 365/Jonny 2165, smooth as silk, torquey as, deals to big stuff easy without revving thru the ceiling, great firewood saw, sits between the 60 -70cc classes, well priced and won't break the bank, hauls 20" plus bars no sweat, loves an 18", and if if you go for the Jonny - a good looker and sexy to boot - very important consideration for us shallow types

I agree, the 365 husky (same as 2165) was my first "big" saw. Ran 18" on one and 20" on the other. Good value for the money. Made for a great saw that would pull a bigger bar if the need arised.

 

[16:1mix]

a good looker and sexy to boot - very important consideration for us shallow types

Somebody please rep him for this, I tried but must spread some around first!!

 

[Gooserider]

Gooserider since your chainsaw experience so far has been limited to a puny Poulan 36cc saw, I would hold off on the 7900/460 saws for now. They are 10times the saw you are used to.

I think a Husky 357XP or a Stihl 361 will make you VERY happy and is a complete world ahead of the Poulan you are used to. These saws will also easily take down trees up to 3 feet in diameter and are great for bucking firewood.

After you get more experience running a high speed pro saw you can start looking into the really big boys, but just to get more time under your belt safely and practically I recommend a saw in the 60cc range.

An 80cc saw for your first pro saw is overkill and a half

I haven't used big saws a lot, but I have handled them some - it is just that the Poulan is what I purchased a few years back, before we started burning, and just wanted a "homeowner" saw for doing yard work and the like... I am safety conscious - I currently own and wear any time I'm working with the saw, a pair of Stihl chaps, Matterhorn Chainsaw boots, Husky chainsaw gloves, and a muff/shield combo over my glasses (I'm thinking of upgrading to a hard-hat setup)

I'm also not a 16yr old - (I wish...) I turned 50 not long ago, so I've had plenty of time to learn discretion in the use of serious power.

I'm not the sort of person that does a lot of trade-in upgrade type stuff, so I'm much more inclined to move up to my target saw once, and keep it for the next 15-20 years, or until I get to feeble to use it

However looking back at some of the older ********** posts, there is one deal that might get me into a mid-size saw - A while back there was discussion of Home Depot selling off some of their used rental saws, which were Makita/Dolmar 6400's w/ a 20" bar for a couple hundred bucks - If I can find one of those, it might be a decent buy, which could later be upgraded to a 7900 by swapping the piston and cylinder if needed.

Gooserider

 

[Lignum]

Gooserider, it all depends on the wood you are going to be cutting. If all you are going to get is the small stuff, i.e, 12" if less the stay towards the lower end of the cc spectrum, it does not make sense to get a Dolmar 7900 when all you are going to do is cut smallish stuff, and the reverse logic applies as well. But seeing how you have a mighty midget as a saw, going bigger is going to be obvious. Get a saw that is adequate for what you are going to cut. Now all this does not mean you should not get a big saw, just get the saw that would fit you to your needs. Like a Dolmar 7900 with a 20" bar...:chainsawguy:


Now that would be a sexy...

 

[Lignum]

Gooserider since your chainsaw experience so far has been limited to a puny Poulan 36cc saw, I would hold off on the 7900/460 saws for now. They are 10times the saw you are used to.

I think a Husky 357XP or a Stihl 361 will make you VERY happy and is a complete world ahead of the Poulan you are used to. These saws will also easily take down trees up to 3 feet in diameter and are great for bucking firewood.

After you get more experience running a high speed pro saw you can start looking into the really big boys, but just to get more time under your belt safely and practically I recommend a saw in the 60cc range.

An 80cc saw for your first pro saw is overkill and a half

In all honesty this is the best response, the 357xp is probably the best jump forward for you. Not too much of a power jump, but a large enough one. After a number of hours if various conditions of cutting, then you can look at the larger saws, but for now, mid range cc is the best way to go until you are comfortable enough with your saw to move on to a larger one, if it warrants it.

 

[Gooserider]

Gooserider, it all depends on the wood you are going to be cutting. If all you are going to get is the small stuff, i.e, 12" if less the stay towards the lower end of the cc spectrum, it does not make sense to get a Dolmar 7900 when all you are going to do is cut smallish stuff, and the reverse logic applies as well. But seeing how you have a mighty midget as a saw, going bigger is going to be obvious. Get a saw that is adequate for what you are going to cut. Now all this does not mean you should not get a big saw, just get the saw that would fit you to your needs. Like a Dolmar 7900 with a 20" bar...:chainsawguy:


Now that would be a sexy...

I won't be felling any big stuff, or at least I'm not expecting to any time soon, as my felling is nearly all on our own land, which doesn't have any big trees that aren't also "danger trees" of the sort I'd want to call a "pro" with a crane, etc. for.

Most of my cutting will be processing the log-length that I get from one of the local tree services, which gives me a great deal of bringing me whatever he has on his truck from the past few days worth of cutting for $50- typically about 3 cords worth per load - with sizes ranging from ~ 6" to 40" or thereabouts, so far all oak. My current saw is all I need for limbing and the like, but I need a saw that can handle those big logs, which means something that can swing a 24-28" bar if needed, though I'll probably use a 20" most of the time. This is why I really don't want a mid-size saw, it still wouldn't let me handle the big stuff that I sometimes get.

My intent is to use the little Poulan with the 12" bar as a limbing and small stuff saw, so I don't need to worry hugely about weight and such for this saw, and when the Poulan craps out, I figure on getting a small to midsize replacement, probably pro-grade, but possibly just another cheapy...

Gooserider

 

[computeruser]

However looking back at some of the older ********** posts, there is one deal that might get me into a mid-size saw - A while back there was discussion of Home Depot selling off some of their used rental saws, which were Makita/Dolmar 6400's w/ a 20" bar for a couple hundred bucks - If I can find one of those, it might be a decent buy, which could later be upgraded to a 7900 by swapping the piston and cylinder if needed.

Welcome to AS. Always nice to see HDC members wandering over here and vice versa.

The advice on a 60-65cc saw is good advice. It is a superb compromise saw for firewood and utility uses, especially when it is on a 12lb frame. Such a saw will breeze through stuff with a 16-18" bar, and can swing a 20" or 24" from time to time, too.

The challenge with the HD saws is finding a good one. Sometimes you don't know what you've got until you get it home, despite what the HD repair chart thing tells you. This saw had received a new piston and cylinder less than 3 hours prior to it being sold...or so the computer said:

Steve (freakinstang) had one that was at my HD that I didn't buy (pure luck...there were two for sale) that ended up being an oil leaker and have a leaking seam on the gas tank. It is/was on eBay as a running parts saw.

Others I have purchased have been clean, strong runners right out the box and have kept their new owners happy. This one I sold to a buddy for $217.30 with a new GB Titanium bar and it has been 100%, save for needing some new A/V springs (which I'll put in for him one of these days...):

A 60-65cc saw that is in strong running condition is a superb firewood saw, and is capable of serious work:

 

[computeruser]

Most of my cutting will be processing the log-length that I get from one of the local tree services, which gives me a great deal of bringing me whatever he has on his truck from the past few days worth of cutting for $50- typically about 3 cords worth per load - with sizes ranging from ~ 6" to 40" or thereabouts, so far all oak. My current saw is all I need for limbing and the like, but I need a saw that can handle those big logs, which means something that can swing a 24-28" bar if needed, though I'll probably use a 20" most of the time. This is why I really don't want a mid-size saw, it still wouldn't let me handle the big stuff that I sometimes get.

OK, I'll change my opinion - skip the 60cc and go the distance. Dolmar 7300/7900, Stihl 441/460, Husqvarna 372/385. These will pull 28" bars in hardwood competently.

My vote would be the 7900 - open up the muffler, buy a 20" and 28" bar, and be good to go cutting almost anything.

 

[stihlfarmer]

trust me buddy if you dont have a local dolmar dealer that can provide service buy the 441 you wont look back

 

[SawTroll]

I didnt mention the 359 because I was watching my old man use his today on some frozen oak and it wasnt pretty. My 55 would spank that saw it is so lean. I keep begging the old man to let me at the 359 and open its potential but he wont let me. That saw has run like crap since day one.

No surprices there!

 

[SawTroll]

In all honesty this is the best response, the 357xp is probably the best jump forward for you. Not too much of a power jump, but a large enough one. After a number of hours if various conditions of cutting, then you can look at the larger saws, but for now, mid range cc is the best way to go until you are comfortable enough with your saw to move on to a larger one, if it warrants it.

The wood he spoke about just cries 70cc+ ......

trust me buddy if you dont have a local dolmar dealer that can provide service buy the 441 you wont look back

..or get a 372xp/2171 if you don't want the extra weight of the 441.

Preferably at least handle them all, before you make the desision!!

 

[HUSKYMAN]

I haven't used big saws a lot, but I have handled them some - it is just that the Poulan is what I purchased a few years back, before we started burning, and just wanted a "homeowner" saw for doing yard work and the like... I am safety conscious - I currently own and wear any time I'm working with the saw, a pair of Stihl chaps, Matterhorn Chainsaw boots, Husky chainsaw gloves, and a muff/shield combo over my glasses (I'm thinking of upgrading to a hard-hat setup)

I'm also not a 16yr old - (I wish...) I turned 50 not long ago, so I've had plenty of time to learn discretion in the use of serious power.

I'm not the sort of person that does a lot of trade-in upgrade type stuff, so I'm much more inclined to move up to my target saw once, and keep it for the next 15-20 years, or until I get to feeble to use it

However looking back at some of the older ********** posts, there is one deal that might get me into a mid-size saw - A while back there was discussion of Home Depot selling off some of their used rental saws, which were Makita/Dolmar 6400's w/ a 20" bar for a couple hundred bucks - If I can find one of those, it might be a decent buy, which could later be upgraded to a 7900 by swapping the piston and cylinder if needed.

Gooserider

Well then you have answered your own question. Get a 7900, Stihl 460, or 372XP Husky, whichever one has the best dealer support. Get a 20" bar and a 28" bar

 

[2000ssm6]

..or get a 372xp/2171 if you don't want the extra weight of the 441.

Pick all 3 of those up blindfolded and tell me the difference.:monkey:

 

[Big Neb]

I don't think I'd put the 372xp in the same class as the 7900 or 460. The 385xp is more comparable.

The 372xp is a great saw but more comparable to the 440/441 or 7300.

If you want the power/lighter weight, just get the 7900 and forget the rest. You will not be disappointed.

 

[HUSKYMAN]

I don't think I'd put the 372xp in the same class as the 7900 or 460. The 385xp is more comparable.

The 372xp is a great saw but more comparable to the 440/441 or 7300.

If you want the power/lighter weight, just get the 7900 and forget the rest. You will not be disappointed.

It may not have quite the balls but it is plenty powerful for what he needs to do and is significantly cheaper and lighter than the 385. Weight and price wise its in the same class as the 7900, with the 460 being much more expensive usually

 

[SawTroll]

I don't think I'd put the 372xp in the same class as the 7900 or 460. The 385xp is more comparable.

The 372xp is a great saw but more comparable to the 440/441 or 7300.

If you want the power/lighter weight, just get the 7900 and forget the rest. You will not be disappointed.

Yes!

 

[Wood Doctor]

Stihl MS 361

OP said, "I’m currently inclined towards a Stihl pro-grade,..."
----------------
Get this one: Stihl MS 361

This saw will be such an amazing step up in performance from the saw you have now that you will wonder how on earth you got along without it.

 

[wanab]

This saw will be such an amazing step up in performance from the saw you have now that you will wonder how on earth you got along without it.

first it will walk on water then buck his 40" hardwood.


NOT!


:blob5: