What brought ya'll here??

[Timberhauler]

I've been meaning to do this for a while,but it always slips my mind.I wanted to start a thread for everyone..East coast,west coast,vets,pro's,tinkering people and hobbyists.What got you guys and gals into chainsaws and cutting wood?
I started logging when I was 12 years old.It seemed like everyone around me was either in the logging business of the grading business.I did that through high school,and said I'd never do it again.I worked as a heavy equipment mechanic until I was 23,and decided I'd start taking small jobs and topping trees for some of the loggers and graders to make ends meet.One thing led to another,I met the right people and kept at it,and now the very thing I swore I'd never do again is now not only what I'm making my living at,and I also love it so much,it still seems like a hobby..I have always been fascinated with anything that had an engine.So before I ever even found this site,I had an over abundance of chain saws,and never could stop tinkering..I read the new Stihl and Husky brochures like fine literature,and whenever there is something new out,I have GOT to have it..From my little MS 210,all the Husky's and all the way up to the 088.They were all saws I had to have for some reason or another..A big handfull of them get used day in and day out,the rest are pretty much toys..So what makes some of you tick..Why do you enjoy this so much?

 

[dustytools]

My passion of woodworking led me to wanting to try milling my own wood. I started looking at low-end bandmills and the prices were a little discouraging. I came up on chainsaw mills somewhere on the web and have never looked back. I owned one saw (30cc Homie) now I have several good ones. This site has fueled my passion for saws more than anything else.

 

[SteveH]

Nothing exciting brought me to it, just practicality. Built me a cabin in the mntns, decided to spend all my time here, heating with wood. So...I could say I enjoy getting out in the woods and mountains, but really I just live here and cutting wood is just something I need to do to keep warm in the winter with the stoves going. Like many, I enjoy tools and engines and keeping the saw in top shape. But the saw is a means to getting the wood done, a necessity here.

 

[TooTall999]

I ended up here after doing a google search looking for parts for one of my saws.Started out by doing alot of reading before I ever posted for the first time.Now I'm hooked...a lifer for sure

 

[Mold Mechanic]

In the early 80's, my folks remodeled their house and put in an earth stove, my dad and uncle and a couple of neighbors got together a couple of times a month and cut wood for thier stoves. When I was old enough, maybe 12 or so, dad bought a little homelite XL II with a 10" bar, I used it until I was comfortable with a chainsaw and he trusted me to run the bigger saws. I didn't burn wood for several years after I got out of high school, then I got married and bought a trailer house with a small wood burner in it. I didn't have a saw, so dad gave me the little XL2 which didn't last long, so I bought a Poulan Wild thing 2375 which was my first new saw and I still use it for limbing and my wife likes to run it. Now I've junked the trailer house and moved in a 2 story farmhouse and built a OWB for it and we are burning a pickup load of wood a week, time for new saw...bought an 041AV off ebay for a good price, but was pretty well worn, (that's how I found this site, looking for answers about my oiler issues). Now I have a new 361, which came highly recommended by the good folks here on AS. Now, since my wife got ahold of the 361 yesterday while we were out cutting wood, and seems to have fallen in love with it, I may have to go get a 441 so I can have my own saw!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Timberhauler]

I failed to mention that I was a father by the time I was 19,my first wife was worthless,so I had to really bust my azz to make ends meet in those days.Not only was she not willing to work,she wouldn't help me with anything to do with my business either.I was 25 and luckily was working for myself when she decided to up and leave me with our two kids..I met my present wife about three days after the divorce was final.We started out as best friends and she would keep the kids for me when I was working,she worked second shift at the time,so it worked out well,and the kids loved her...Neither of us were serious about starting a relationship as we had both been burned in the past..After about a year of this,we just kinda decided to get married and skip the dating part of it..Nearly seven years and we're still happy..Now meet Timberchic..Even though she is an ex-marine and a sheriff's deputy,she was still one of the most sissy girls I had ever met..It really suprised me when she offered to come to work and help me one day,I was even more impressed by how hard she worked...She couldn't stop at just dragging brush and fetching ropes and gas cans..She pretty much made me teach her how to run a saw and the skid loader..Now she falls small trees,operates the grapple truck when she is working with us...and she gets a little more carried away with sawing up stuff than most of my guys do..You've gotta watch her,or she'll cut everything into match sticks,and it'll take ya' all day to get it to the truck or chipper.She's not into tinkering with the saws,and she could careless which saw is in her hands,but she will sure run the hell out of it.

 

[precaud]

I guess you could say, I'm here to learn from folks like you...

 

[59Billy]

My passion of woodworking led me to wanting to try milling my own wood.

Same here.

I had never gotten all that excited about chainsaws... had a Timberman 45 for a few years, then blew it up after Katrina. Picked up a new 290, which worked fine for limbing and bucking downed oaks.

Then one day I saw a discussion of chainsaw mills on a woodworking forum, anda lightbulb went on over my head:

1. I want to make some new furniture
2. Oak is purty, but expensive
3. I have dead oak trees all over the place
4. Oak trees are made out of oak!

Seaching on "chainsaw mill" led me to a few forums, of which this one seemed like the best fit for me, what I want to do, and so on. (Nothing against that forum where everybody has a bazillion-dollar circle mill, tho...)

 

[Timberhauler]

Same here.

I had never gotten all that excited about chainsaws... had a Timberman 45 for a few years, then blew it up after Katrina. Picked up a new 290, which worked fine for limbing and bucking downed oaks.

Then one day I saw a discussion of chainsaw mills on a woodworking forum, anda lightbulb went on over my head:

1. I want to make some new furniture
2. Oak is purty, but expensive
3. I have dead oak trees all over the place
4. Oak trees are made out of oak!

Seaching on "chainsaw mill" led me to a few forums, of which this one seemed like the best fit for me, what I want to do, and so on. (Nothing against that forum where everybody has a bazillion-dollar circle mill, tho...)

That seems like a logical plan...Nothin' wrong with that.

 

[KMB]

I moved down here in 2003 from Canada - a city - and moved into a house - in the country - that has a wood burner/stove. Most everyone around here burns wood (along with propane and electric) for heat. I have an electric furnace, but wanted to burn wood to help save a little on the electric bill. A friend of mine knows a Stihl dealer and said he could get me a good deal on a saw. I basically knew nothing about saws - what size I would need and all that comes with it. My father-in-law had a 290 and his son (bro-in-law) said it was heavy and that I wouldn't need a saw that "big". So I looked through Stihl's lineup and decided that a 260 was what I wanted. I then started researching people's opinions on the internet regarding the 260 (most of my neighbors around here use the 290 or other homeowner models). That's when I found AS. I found that it was a good saw and the price that I paid for it, through my friend, was within my budget at that time. Not sure what I would have done different regarding my first saw purchase - with the knowledge I have now - because the price was right. I do know I wouldn't have bought it with a 20" B&C . Intially, a 360 with a 20" B&C would have been better for me when I first started cutting, but with what I'm getting into now, my 71cc Olympyk is a minimum (can't wait to finish getting parts for the 044 - as funds allow ). And now my muffler modded 260 with a 16" B&C is a perfect compliment to "my big saw". Kinda got off topic, sorry.

Kevin

 

[XJWoody]

I found AS while doing research on getting another small saw for the wife. (The perennial MS260 vs 353 vs 346 newbie question with a dose of 5100 tossed into the mix)

Three days after posting that first question, a new MS361-18" followed me home, and found that I had the old 41 torn apart on the counter at work, with parts on order... When it went back together, it somehow had received a mild muffler mod. (Actually it got a major muffler mod first, but I regrouped after starting to smoke the plastic $9 & a few days later I had another one to mess with.)

Now I am afraid the chainsaw bug has bit in pretty hard. We still "need" another small saw to keep the old 41 company, and somehow I've accumulated an arsenal of bars & chains for the 361 - 16, 20, 25, & 28. Nevermind that the biggest tree on the property is maybe 24" DBH... They grow pretty quick down here

To make it worse, I have a really bad urge to get a large saw (660 or 395?) and a CSM to indulge in some crazy Paul Bunyan fantasy. Too cheap to go to the local lumber yard, so lets get a giant saw and a mill, and make our own!!! That is a good example of Addict Calculus... and no, it isn't supposed to 'add up'.

I will be wearing a goalie mask this Halloween, and there are TWO Friday the 13ths this year... April & July!!! :greenchainsaw: "Get Her Mommie!"

Anyways, I luckily have an understanding wife... and most of the neighbors have loud hobbies.

 

[berryman70]

I ended up here after doing a google search looking for parts for one of my saws.Started out by doing alot of reading before I ever posted for the first time.Now I'm hooked...a lifer for sure

Same as me, I was looking for parts & came across this site. I've been on-line lots of years and been to a lot of other newsgroups & forums. This site is very well rounded, besides chainsaws I found there are a lot of like-minded folks on here. just look at the off the topic or jokes section.
It's a great place to spend time until the weather gets better where I won't have time to spend at the compute r

 

[MNTAINGAL23]

My husband gave me the bug. He already had an 044 and an 032. We are doing rustic furniture so all the info is handy. Great people here.

 

[NYH1]

I asked a question about chain saws on another site and was referred to this site. Been here ever sense!

I cut and split about 5 face cords of firewood a year. I use a Stihl 021 14" b&c and 029 20" b&c. I wanted something in between my two saws both power and weight wise. I came here looking at the Stihl MS280 and Husky 353, and I'm going to get a Husky 365 Special either this coming Friday or the next! I know it wasn't what I was looking for but I think it's to good of a deal to pass up. The price is $537 plus tax. It comes with a 20" bar and two chains. It will make a really good replacement for my 029, which will be going soon. I still need to get a good 50cc class saw. Being that I'm getting a Husky and I like the dealer I think a 353 with a 16" b&c will make a nice little brother for my 365.

 

[Timberhauler]

I asked a question about chain saws on another site and was referred to this site. Been here ever sense!

I cut and split about 5 face cords of firewood a year. I use a Stihl 021 14" b&c and 029 20" b&c. I wanted something in between my two saws both power and weight wise. I came here looking at the Stihl MS280 and Husky 353, and I'm going to get a Husky 365 Special either this coming Friday or the next! I know it wasn't what I was looking for but I think it's to good of a deal to pass up. The price is $537 plus tax. It comes with a 20" bar and two chains. It will make a really good replacement for my 029, which will be going soon. I still need to get a good 50cc class saw. Being that I'm getting a Husky and I like the dealer I think a 353 with a 16" b&c will make a nice little brother for my 365.

The 365 is a good saw,and I am pretty sure you can put a 372 top end on it...Then you've got a 372!!

 

[Adkpk]

My husband gave me the bug. He already had an 044 and an 032. We are doing rustic furniture so all the info is handy. Great people here.

Any pics of the furniture on here?

Me I did a google search for "bad boys of the wood", it took me here. Now before heading home I go out to the woods to hang with the bad boys and talk shop. That is in cyber space.

 

[Timberhauler]

I saw a book on building furniture in the Bailey's catalog...I might try it some day..I've sure got enough wood.

 

[A100HVA]

diversify!- another member linked me over here.looks good here,good people,think i'll stay and bounce between here and chain saw collectors se. i'll be entertained enough with those 2 sites:biggrinbounce2:

 

[24d]

re

when i was lil my dad cut alot of wood his first new saw was a mac super 250 it burned gas,made smoke and had fast move'n sharp blades-my dad didnt even hav to tell me it was dangerous for me to fall in love with it lol

 

[XJWoody]

when i was lil my dad cut alot of wood his first new saw was a mac super 250 it burned gas,made smoke and had fast move'n sharp blades-my dad didnt even hav to tell me it was dangerous for me to fall in love with it lol

That was how I got into the OPE scene... while growing up, my dad was a caretaker on a small estate in MA... we had all the cool toys to play with. I never really considered that other (citified) folks might not have grown up around saws, chippers, tillers, trimmers, finish mowers, brush-hogs, clearing saws etc...