Shopping for a second saw

[SawTroll]

OP said, "I’m currently inclined towards a Stihl pro-grade,..."
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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.

Sure, but not the right medicine for 40" oak logs......:greenchainsaw:

 

[Wood Doctor]

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

NOT!

:blob5:

Well, how many of the trees are going to be 40"+ dia.? I doubt the average will exceed 30". So, on a few rare occasions he might need an MS 441 or larger pulling a 28" chain. Just my $0.02.

 

[reachtreeservi]

Best one saw configuration:
Stihl MS361

Best 2 saw configuration assuming dealer support is in place or not needed:
Dolmar 5100 and 7900

If you want Stihl:
MS260 and MS460 (or MS441)

If you want Husky:
372XP and 346XP

Best 3 Saw configuration:
Stihl MS260, MS361, MS460 (or MS660)

Good post , Dave .

I agree....

 

[Gooserider]

Well it looks like we are developing a pretty good concensus on what sort of saw to get, so perhaps a few other questions come up...

1. I see lots of discussion of muffler modding, how much louder does this make the saw in practical use? I live in suburbia, and would just as soon not get the neighbors totally mad at me, quite aside from not wanting to do anything to my own hearing... - Are there "quiet" mod methods that open up the flow without adding a bunch of decibels?

2. What sort of price is reasonable on a used saw? Obviously there is a range of depreciation, but how does the pricing run? On cars I know you lose a bunch the first year or two, then it's a fairly stable decline until you get down to a couple of K$ for anything that runs... What does the price curve look like on saws in this class?

(specific, a possible MS460 in good shape, plus an Echo limbing saw that needs some work for $600 plus shipping - reasonable?)

3. I've noticed that there are lots of site sponsors, and I've told some will help members w/ purchases inspite of official rules about mail order... Is there a list somewhere of who the sponsors are, and which ones sell what sorts of stuff?

Gooserider

 

[HUSKYMAN]

As far as a muffler mod making the saw loud, I have three saws with modded mufflers. My 670 has huge 3/4" ports and is WAY louder than stock, after 10 minutes of running it gives me a headache. My 55 has dual ports but they are more normal sized and just made the saw sound ballsier. Its the meanest soundin 55 out there. My 970 Oly just has a couple holes drilled in the muffler and a factory port and it still sounds stock.


A 460 will run about $850 new, maybe 800. Once you take it home its only worth 5-600. After it has a few dings its worth 4-500.

Dont plan on getting a real nice used 460 for less than $400, $500 is probably normal for a saw in very nice shape.

If you dont mind getting a saw that looks kind of rough but has good life in it $3-400 might be possible.

As far as getting a smaller saw I would wait and use the Poulan another 6 months to a year and then spring for a new 50cc class saw, there are some really nice saws out there for 3-400.

 

[parrisw]

Just get the dang 7900 and be done with it!! You'll have more wood then you once thought you did!!!!!

 

[Dapper Dan]

Gooserider...I am amazed that no one here has explained the (minimum) THREE SAW PLAN to you yet!

They will......trust me.

 

[HUSKYMAN]

Gooserider...I am amazed that no one here has explained the (minimum) THREE SAW PLAN to you yet!

They will......trust me.

How did you and I end up on the nine saw plan then?

 

[wanab]

How did you and I end up on the nine saw plan then?

LoL!

i thought he was on the 12 saw plan.

 

[huskydave]

Ya gotta start somewhere.

 

[Gooserider]

Well I've noticed a lot of people suggesting three or more saws, but the budget can't take that kind of hit, and I'm not sure I need that much coverage. I'm figuring right now that my Poulan does a good job of the bottom end, and getting something big enough to cover the high end, with multiple bars will let me do double duty on the high side.

While I'm not totally ignoring the possibility of a used saw, I'm looking more and more at the potential for a Dolmar 7900 - I've checked the Dolmar dealer locator, and there are about a dozen dealers listed w/in an hour or so's drive from home. I don't know how good any of them are, and some would be a real PITA to get to, but there are at least 3-4 that wouldn't be to bad, not to mention the possible on-line sources. I have one on-line price for a new 7900 that suggests it would only be a little more than a good used MS460 according to the prices that Huskyman was mentioning.

One question that my GF had when I was talking to her about this, is how is parts and service info availability for Dolmar? (and the other brands for that matter) - I'd probably want to do a good bit of my own maintainance and repair work, is there any reason to prefer any of the major brands for better access to parts, tech manuals, and so forth if one is not a dealer?

Gooserider

 

[parrisw]

If you do all your own work, then its not much of a problem on local dealers. Just parts availiability, I do all my own work, but get parts from the local dealer when Im in a pinch, but they are $$$$ I usually try to order parts online, and lately been trying to find some common parts just to have on hand for when I need it. With a new saw you shouldn't really need much dealer support, hopefully. But its nice to have when in the need.

 

[Gooserider]

What about bars and chains, are they pretty much universal, or am I going to need to find stuff that's specific to Dolmar?

Gooserider

 

[parrisw]

I think dolmar is the same as husky, but not totally sure.

 

[Andyshine77]

Yes the Dolmars use husky bars, they're very common.

 

[Lignum]

I don't have the 7900 'yet' , but IMHO, if you are comfortable with buying chains, bars, mix, or anything over the net, then you won't have any problems with ordering parts either, if you ever need to. From lurking at all the threads about the Dolmar saws, I have not read anything that states the ever being a major problem. It would seem that it is a good choice.

 

[Freakingstang]

How did you and I end up on the nine saw plan then?

Only 9? LOL

I sold off 12 saws and am still about a dozen or so......lol

 

[Freakingstang]

I think dolmar is the same as husky, but not totally sure.

6400, 7300, 7900, 9010 all use the big husky mount

5100, 510, 4600 etc all use the small husky mount.

That is unless you buy a bar adapter so you can run stilh mounts on the bigger dolmars.....

 

[parrisw]

6400, 7300, 7900, 9010 all use the big husky mount

5100, 510, 4600 etc all use the small husky mount.

That is unless you buy a bar adapter so you can run stilh mounts on the bigger dolmars.....

Now why would you ruin a perfectly good saw and put a Stihl bar on it??

 

[Gooserider]

Now why would you ruin a perfectly good saw and put a Stihl bar on it??

Don't know about the bar, but I've always heard good things about Stihl chain, at least in comparison to Oregon. I don't know if the pro-grade Oregon chains are any good, but I am definitely of the opinion that their "safety chain", such as the 91VG series is :censored: garbage... They put so much effort into making it proof against kickbacks that they forgot about making it do other things, like CUT... One of the guys over on the Hearth described bumper link chain as "training wheels for chainsaws"

I had better luck on the same saw using the cheapo stuff from Home-Depot than I did with the Oregon, and when I went to the 12" bar on the Poulan, I also went to a Windsor semi-chisel, (next chains I'll probably go full chisel) and that works really well.

I'll also say that I'm having trouble visualizing how one would make an adapter to change a bar mount. Wouldn't doing so change the plane that the bar mounts on, leaving it where it wouldn't line up with the sprocket?

Getting back to the main topic, I've started calling around different places looking for quotes on a Dolmar PS 7900 - finding a pretty wide range of package prices, but there are still several places I'm waiting to hear from.

Gooserider