What older model chainsaw has the most durable engine?

[pastryguyhawaii]

I got this one on the bench right now, hopefully tomorrow I can throw the carb kit in it and start making chips, had to rework the whole oiling system today but all is good now View attachment 1097653

Those PL-55’s are fairly light weight considering their vintage. Along with my PL-5, my only Remingtons.

 

[Brufab]

Do you guys like Canadien/PM/SKIL saws and saws like the Remington sl11, 770, and the Bantam?

Super 770 you say I like Remington, pretty basic, pl series are super reliable and loud as heck!!!! Working on pl55a currently. Super series are even louder but with those big ol carbs not the most reliable, I have to prime most to start, maybe due to low compression but once running they will run with the best of them and will start on there own the rest of the day.

 

[Brufab]

Did you get that saw off eBay not long ago? I saw one exactly like it that sold and I didn’t have a chance to bid on it cuz I was too busy at the time to even check.

Yea sorry man, from that marshall guy? His saws have all panned out I probably got a half dozen from him including PL7A and a ant eater 770. I was kinda surprised that I had to pay so much but I guess that's good there holding value

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

Yea sorry man, from that marshall guy? His saws have all panned out I probably got a half dozen from him including PL7A and an ant eater 770. I was kinda surprised that I had to pay so much but I guess that's good there holding value

It’s not a biggie man! I tried to get to my device to bid on it but after I checked to see how much time was left, I missed out by a good hour and a half.

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

Yea sorry man, from that marshall guy? His saws have all panned out I probably got a half dozen from him including PL7A and a ant eater 770. I was kinda surprised that I had to pay so much but I guess that's good there holding value

Let me know if you might like to ever sell it or maybe do a horse trade. I’ve always wanted one of those, Remington, or a Ward’s rebadge doesn’t matter.

 

[Brufab]

It’s not a biggie man! I tried to get to my device to bid on it but after I checked to see how much time was left, I missed out by a good hour and a half.

Yea there was a super nice 770 I missed out on that still haunts me because I have the matching banner for it but it went for 400$+ then I seen it on the Remington FB group I'm on it was so mint that the muffler still had the wire screen in it that's always missing on them

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

Yea there was a super nice 770 I missed out on that still haunts me because I have the matching banner for it but it went for 400$+ then I seen it on the Remington FB group I'm on it was so mint that the muffler still had the wire screen in it that's always missing on them

I just wish the 770’s and the 754’s were about 2500 rpm’s faster. I used to buck with a 754. It didn’t care how knotted and hardened the trunks were, it chugged right through them. But it was like watching paint dry. I can’t believe I’m saying a Mcculloch 250 of all saws was noticeably faster.

 

[Brufab]

Those PL-55’s are fairly light weight considering their vintage. Along with my PL-5, my only Remingtons.
View attachment 1097665

Wow sweet saws man, that wards looks like it was only used once

 

[Brufab]

I just wish the 770’s and the 754’s were about 2500 rpm’s faster. I used to buck with a 754. It didn’t care how knotted and hardened the trunks were, it chugged right through them. But it was like watching paint dry. I can’t believe I’m saying a Mcculloch 250 of all saws was noticeably faster.

Yea I agree, I always wish I could find a guy to port one I do love the torque though I can lean on them really good and they just keep going.

 

[Brufab]

I do have an older L65 that's a beast a couple guys on the forum gave me, one the power head the other a really nice used woodland pro bar. A lot of guys say this had a pretty durable engine and cut a bazillion cords of firewood.

 

[pastryguyhawaii]

Wow sweet saws man, that wards looks like it was only used once

The John Deere 19 came from Michigan, my home state. The Wards was actually Carl’s beater, he had another that was like new.

 

[lloyd786]

Once upon a time most chainsaws made in America or Europe were pretty much top quality small engine powered tools. Stihl, Husky, Poulan, Homelite, Lombard, Mcculloch, Echo, Jonsered, Dolmar, Danarm, Castor/Alpina, and even many generic store brand saws really were all built very well! Homeowner grade saws were built to similar if not the same quality specs as their larger professional grade ones.

Over the years I have heard a bunch of personal testimony and anecdotal claims about what saw was the very best. But one thing I’d like to know. What brand saw actually had the most durable engines, cylinders, pistons, crankshafts, bearings and internals? Did it matter if the cylinders were chrome lined or iron sleeved?

By the looks of it, it looks to me like the more robustly built ones were made by Mcculloch, and some of the older Husqvarna chainsaws like the 480CD and the 2100 type saws. The ones I have feel significantly heavier than my Stihl’s and older Poulan/Dayton saws of that class and era, and their magnesium bodies are thicker and heavier. But that’s just my eyes. Does anyone here have any objective knowledge on who’s chainsaw’s parts were indeed the most durable?

I’m just curious.

Thanks!

I still have a jonsered 2054 , run hard and put away wet. Several drops from up to 60’ high. Starts and runs like it was new. Also have a 96 j-red 670 that runs like a 69 Camaro as.

 

[Brufab]

I'm

Did you get that saw off eBay not long ago? I saw one exactly like it that sold and I didn’t have a chance to bid on it cuz I was too busy at the time to even check.

All good on the saw she's a runner

 

[Brufab]

I'm

All good on the saw she's a runner

Just had to fix the oiler and clean out the screen in the carb it was full of sawdust from not running a in tank fuel filter but last night I accidentally bought a saw never owned a yellow magnesium saw but I guess for 175$ shipped it's worth the adventure

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

I'm

All good on the saw she's a runner

Rub it in now!

 

[Dusty1]

Many many years ago, when I started with my uncle's tree service, we were using old Remington's with 16:1 mix! Then there were the Poulan Pros- my cousin gave me a great running 4400 a couple of years ago - and eventually a switch to Stihls. There could have been some others along the way as well I'm sure a Mac of so got thrown into the mix, but all of them saw hard use, and they wouldn't have lasted with us if they didn't hold up.

Sure, they rattled you fillings out, and made you sore at the end of the day, but we were real men and they were real saws, made of metal.

That being said, todays metals are lighter, and tougher, and if you run good oil at 40:1, your saws - the pro class ones anyway - will last you long enough to get you money's worth out of them.

 

[ladnar]

Sometimes I wonder why you all indulge these people: sounds to me like they want to argue about nothing- it's all opinions, nobody right or wrong, just my 2-cents.

(HuskyShepherd2016)​

 

[HuskyShepherd2016]

Sometimes I wonder why you all indulge these people: sounds to me like they want to argue about nothing- it's all opinions, nobody right or wrong, just my 2-cents.

(HuskyShepherd2016)​

Sometimes I wonder why you all indulge these people: sounds to me like they want to argue about nothing- it's all opinions, nobody right or wrong, just my 2-cents.

(HuskyShepherd2016)​

Well these guys that I’m having such a discussion with are just as guilty too. And they also passive aggressively lie about and intentionally misinterpret what I say thinking it’s all cute and what not.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[sean donato]

Absolutely! Right on with the newer box stores saws being inferior. I’d rather use a good sharp axe nowadays than a box store saw.

I came up with this question because I was looking at all my new saws that have croaked. I have a pile of them and I don’t know why I haven’t thrown them away either! Lol!

And I’ve got some saws from the 60’s and 70’s that back then were considered homeowners’ saws. But they are built worlds better than many of today’s pro grade saws. For Example: I’ve got a couple of Sears D-44 saws. Nothing fancy at all. Just store brand tools of that era. If my memory serves me right, those saws were meant for the average Joe. But they are built a bunch more solid than most of today’s pro bucking saws in their CC class. (77cc). Plus, they have iron cylinder sleeved AH-47 engines. Those were built for all out longevity and durability. No they aren’t quite as fast cutting but they have torque numbers and general build quality that’s no comparison. Even newer pro grade stuff has a noticeably higher disposability factor.



I’m definitely welcoming all kinds of opinions on my OP. But if anyone actually has some real data about build quality, of yesteryear vs today, please by all means share it.

Thank you everyone!

First, your biggest problem is you don't want any opinion other then your own. Which is fine.
I highlighted what you claim you want to talk about. Junk new saws and wonderful old saws. You, yes you, even made it an old vs new.
Not a single person has misrepresented anything you have said. No one has been passive aggressive, and not a single person had lied about a single thing but you. The bolded part is from the first page of this thread. That's pretty cut and dry.

Well these guys that I’m having such a discussion with are just as guilty too. And they also passive aggressively lie about and intentionally misinterpret what I say thinking it’s all cute and what not.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[sean donato]

Why is that a silly question, might I ask? I was not expecting the answer to be easy, nor exactly cut and dry either. But I did reach out to anyone who might actually have some real data on how which brand might have the most durable internal parts, not just opinions. But I’m also welcoming that too. Based on most of these replies, people have definitely had similar thoughts and may have wondered the same thing from time to time in their lives before.

Here you ask for data and not just opinions as to whom has the moat durable Internal parts. Which is quite hard to qualify, and is subjective at best. Again, you're asking for opinions.