Were are the saw makers going.

[bookerdog]

What do you guys think. Since the logging days of the 70 and 80 are pretty much past and tree's getting smaller in dia. Are we going to see sthil and husky go after the home owner market stronger. Are the big saws never going to get updated like the 3120. Are saws like the 441,575 and 7900 going to be the big saws of the future. Will the push for advertising dollars go towards the smaller home owner saws. Will the tech money go for making the home owner saw the cats meow or will there be some left for bigger saws.
I still can remeber the log trucks that use to roll through town at a 100 a day. There were 12 mills in a 25 mile radius. Logs 3ft to 4ft in dia. Now the log trucks come by once in awhile with 6 to 20 inch logs in dia. Now Im talking about the us market. Not the rain forest where 090 still hang out.

 

[fixitguy75]

Good question, I wonder the same thing? It would be an awesome sight just to see a truck hauling logs around here these days! There is some logging in the Eastern part of the state though.

 

[Gologit]

Bookerdog...I think you're pretty close. We still get into some big wood once in awhile, mostly on bug sales or burn salvage,but that's about it. Whenever possible mechanical harvesters are used. Theres still a lot of hand cutting but anything over a 36" bar is a rare sight anymore.
I don't know about the overseas market but I can't see the major saw manufacturers putting a lot of R&D into big timber saws. The EPA has determined that new models will be clean-air compliant but beyond that I don't see any changes in logging saws. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think so. Ask Thall or Lakeside how many big timber saws they sell in a year.
Homeowner and hobbyist saws will be where the changes happen...and maybe not for the best. Issues of liability, even more restrictive EPA requirements, and the general "throw it away" attitude of consumers will dictate the market. All the more reason to buy quality stuff now and maintain the hell out of it...and learn to fix it when it breaks.

 

[bookerdog]

Bookerdog...I think you're pretty close. We still get into some big wood once in awhile, mostly on bug sales or burn salvage,but that's about it. Whenever possible mechanical harvesters are used. Theres still a lot of hand cutting but anything over a 36" bar is a rare sight anymore.
I don't know about the overseas market but I can't see the major saw manufacturers putting a lot of R&D into big timber saws. The EPA has determined that new models will be clean-air compliant but beyond that I don't see any changes in logging saws. I hope I'm wrong but I don't think so. Ask Thall or Lakeside how many big timber saws they sell in a year.
Homeowner and hobbyist saws will be where the changes happen...and maybe not for the best. Issues of liability, even more restrictive EPA requirements, and the general "throw it away" attitude of consumers will dictate the market. All the more reason to buy quality stuff now and maintain the hell out of it...and learn to fix it when it breaks.

I can just see ebay in 20 years NIB electric start no noise or smoke titan chainsaw. Wisper quite with no cancer causing smoke. Will handle all your professiol needs around the house.

 

[Gologit]

I can just see ebay in 20 years NIB electric start no noise or smoke titan chainsaw. Wisper quite with no cancer causing smoke. Will handle all your professiol needs around the house.

Yeah ..A chainsaw you can prune your rosebushes and trim your fingernails with. Probably won't be much firewood cutting in 20 years. Thank God I'll be retired by then. I don't think I could stand not getting out there and making the chips fly with the 660.

 

[begleytree]

Good question, I wonder the same thing? It would be an awesome sight just to see a truck hauling logs around here these days! There is some logging in the Eastern part of the state though.

my neighbor 3 houses on out the road owns a logging outfit. I see a logging truck every day. and yeah, some of the stuff I see hauled in, I would throw through my chipper. makes me wonder how they make any money. there are 9 mills here within a 10 mile radius, more if you cross into KY. nearly all here are into the hardwood floors deal, or furnature. most mills here wont take logs from anyone but their own crews, and some merely custom cut for the flooring place, and the floor places supply the logs. if I want to take in a few logs, I have to drive past no less than a dozenmills, 35 miles one way to a big operation, where that rubber scale stick comes out again...
-Ralph

 

[BC_Logger]

the 066 and the 090 will trade places :jester:

20 years from now , im looking for a stihl 066 or or a 660 anyone

 

[mattinky]

This gives us all a good excuse to restore the great old saws of the past........ Matt

 

[Gologit]

the 066 and the 090 will trade places :jester:

20 years from now , im looking for a stihl 066 or or a 660 anyone [/QUOTE

Nope. Just put shorter bars on the 090 and 3120. And then shorter bars than that. And then....well,you get the picture.

 

[Jacob J.]

The rumor in Federal circles is that the Bush administration is slowly dismantling many of the Clinton-era environmental regulations and you may start seeing bigger timber on federal lands being logged extensively again in the next one-two years.

 

[Tzed250]

Georgia Pacific has an OSB plant just down the road. The stacks of logs around there are mind boggling. Cranberry lumber just up the road too. They specialize in hardwoods for the furniture industry.

 

[joesawer]

The shift has allready happened. The heyday of logging saws ended with the mechanical fallers and continues to decline as mechanical limbing and processing increases. I know second and third generation loggers in the east who rarely use chain saws and have skilled employs who don't even really know how to.
Small saw shops that cater to the logging industry have become scarce. Most sales are to home owners and tree service markets.
There is and allways will be a small niche for big saws and fallers. The problem is that using these saws is becoming a lost art. I am afraid that the timber faller is going the way of the blacksmith.

 

[NBailey]

The shift has allready happened. The heyday of logging saws ended with the mechanical fallers and continues to decline as mechanical limbing and processing increases. I know second and third generation loggers in the east who rarely use chain saws and have skilled employs who don't even really know how to.
Small saw shops that cater to the logging industry have become scarce. Most sales are to home owners and tree service markets.
There is and allways will be a small niche for big saws and fallers. The problem is that using these saws is becoming a lost art. I am afraid that the timber faller is going the way of the blacksmith.

You hit the nail on the head. In the grand scheme of things, the professional faller is restricted to pockets of steep ground timber, where feller bunchers and processers dare not go, and small woodlots and parcels where the cost to move such equipment is prohibitive to the amount of wood. We have seen our harvester products (bars and chain and cutter teeth) grow rapidly in the last couple of years and professional chainsaw sales (65cc and over) slowly decline, even with the increase in arborists sales. The processors cut wood so efficiently (up to 1,000 trees a day) and the risk of accident is very low. That being said, there is no replacement for a good faller in high quality softwood or hardwood where the value of the tree can offset the cost of professionalism. So, this puts professional saw manufacturers in a bit of a bind, simply because their most profitable saws are the professional ones, and the market is constantly being squeezed. They have a harder time making money on the small consumer stuff now that the chinese have entered this market. The only thing that keeps many of those saws out of the U.S. market is the EPA regulations.

 

[DGG]

I'm hoping that in 20 years I have an industrial laser about the size of a BIC pen. Stihls will only be sold by special dealers and cost twice as much as any other. Husky will be orange in color with some models available at the depot stores.

This laser will have a lifetime battery (no gas-oil mix) and an adjustable beam so that I can cut any size tree to any depth I chose. It will be a cool laser that break down the molecular structure of whatever is being cut without creating heat and catching stuff on fire. No bar oil required.

It will replace all handheld metal cutting instruments in my pocket or toolbox: knives, chainsaw chains, axes, etc.

It will have a safety mechanism that senses animal tissue and will not cut it unless you hit the override switch (for gutting and skinning whitetails).

Lasers are widely used in industry and are being utilized in medical surgery wards. They will be the next great "cutting" tool.

Don't open this link if you have a weak stomach. It shows what is going on with laser scapels in surgery.

http://www.clinicon.com/diamondlaser.html

 

[keith c raymond]

IMO,the big saw companies have to take a long hard look at what market is available for upgrading their big saws.What is would cost to retool for creating a modern saw upgrade on one hand,compared to how many they would sell,the bean counters have the final say.Its unfortunate that saws dont follow pickup trucks,for example,It seems that despite the rising cost of fuel,the public still buys trucks that are bigger and have bigger motors.Some folks,im sure,use that power to do what it is meant for,towing and such,but there is a lot of mommies that still have their one car seat in a excursion.It is all about supply and demand I guess.