What saw do you recommend for me?

[drf255]

Here is a pic of a sugar maple on the property. Wife for scale.

Would never ever cut this tree. I hope my great, great, great grandchildren don't either. We have big trees in NY.

I wouldn't cut it down either, but God might in the next storm. That's how my big sugar maple met its demise.

Rule of thumb is that with normal pruning and natural falls (at least in upstate NY), your property should produce around a cord of wood per acre per year. So you'll be more than fine in the firewood department. You'll need a saw that's big enough for a lot of different things.

I'd buy the MS360 that Ronaldo is selling in the trading section. It's the perfect saw for a 1 saw plan. Muffler mod it, retune, and that's it. You'll be set for years.

Then check out the local CLs over the years for a big saw and a little saw. You'll find the right one at the right price eventually. You ideally need 3 saws for your place.

I'm in NY, and before I got addicted to chainsaws, I used a little top handle echo 330 with a 14" bar for everything the bar could reach, and a 066 I found in a garage sale for anything bigger. Got by just fine for 12 years before I got bit by the bug.

 

[drf255]

A good 2 saw plan for you would be an 044 and an 026. Probably run you more around $600, but you'd be set.

 

[Greny]

The answer to such questions always is 346xp!

+1 or 550 xp

 

[Bobosocky]

I wouldn't cut it down either, but God might in the next storm. That's how my big sugar maple met its demise.

Rule of thumb is that with normal pruning and natural falls (at least in upstate NY), your property should produce around a cord of wood per acre per year. So you'll be more than fine in the firewood department. You'll need a saw that's big enough for a lot of different things.

I'd buy the MS360 that Ronaldo is selling in the trading section. It's the perfect saw for a 1 saw plan. Muffler mod it, retune, and that's it. You'll be set for years.

Then check out the local CLs over the years for a big saw and a little saw. You'll find the right one at the right price eventually. You ideally need 3 saws for your place.

I'm in NY, and before I got addicted to chainsaws, I used a little top handle echo 330 with a 14" bar for everything the bar could reach, and a 066 I found in a garage sale for anything bigger. Got by just fine for 12 years before I got bit by the bug.

I hear ya. There is a big aspen that fell on, and is killing, a ~2ft white ash... split open the trunk about 10-12 ft up.

Thank you for all the great advice.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I started out with a 346XP, but got tired of having to walk away from trees that were too big for it. I walked away from a lot of firewood till I got the bigger saws.

 

[SawTroll]

Some people have said that the Echo 590 is a pro quality saw. What makes it worse than the pro quality 60cc Husqvarna or Stihl?

First, it isn't really a pro saw, despite the case is magnesium - but it may pass as a semi-pro.

Power to weight ratio is an important part of it.

 

[SawTroll]

+1 or 550 xp

346/550 is the ideal starting point in lots of areas, then you can find out what else you need or want.....

 

[treesmith]

I tried a 346 but I got tired of chasing after it, every time I put it down the damned thing would roll away

 

[Cope1024]

IMHO, no. However they are good saws.

You're correct, but the OP isn't a pro, and the CS590 is a better saw than any Husqvarna or Stihl homeowner or farm & ranch saw.

 

[KenJax Tree]

But of course its flimsy, the AT is junk, and it won't keep up with the Echos[emoji23]

 

[jughead500]

ok i put a vote in for the cs590 semi pro.

really in my book.look on ebay for a redmax gz4500.they are on there for $325 shipped.use the other $75-100 and find a good used mcculloch 10-10 pro on craigslist.

i'm amazed no one has mentioned a ms880 thats been ported.

 

[Bobosocky]

Spent some more time looking into everyone's recommendations.

I decided to try to get HP/Weight info for a bunch of the saws.

I see what SawTroll was saying right away.

A Stihl 026 weighs 10.4 lbs and has 3.5 hp (.34 HP to weight)
An Echo 490 weighs 10.6 lbs and has 2.9 hp (.27 HP to weight)

But I do see that the Echo 490 has a magnesium case, and some other 'pro' type features.

Echo 590 has 3.9 hp, weighs 13.3 lbs and has 12 more cc of displacement. Seems like I'd rather have an old 026?

I did have to go to Lowes today, so I picked up a Husq 455 (12.8 lbs w/o bar 55.5cc and 3.5hp) with a 20 inch bar. Felt like my shoulder would be burning like hell after 30 minutes of limbing.

 

[jughead500]

the 590 is a much better saw than the 455.for the 590 the weight is accurate but the hp numbers are off.torque isnt posted.the echo is a torque monster.
believe me i do real world work with equipment.the 455 is a saw.the 590 is a saw of comparable weight but thats about it.

 

[Bobosocky]

the 590 is a much better saw than the 455.for the 590 the weight is accurate but the hp numbers are off.torque isnt posted.the echo is a torque monster.
believe me i do real world work with equipment.the 455 is a saw.the 590 is a saw of comparable weight but thats about it.

Thanks for the info. I believe it. I was not considering buying the 455, i more just picked a bunch of em up to see how they felt in my hands.

I found the hp stuff here http://www.echo-usa.com/getattachment/90d6a91c-df0b-410c-b029-52b0a7e4b831/CS-590 Timber Wolf.pdf

And actually that flyer says the 455 is heavier than 12.8.

 

[7sleeper]

@Bobosocky ,

I will add my two cents to your question.

First off the 590 isn't as good as one of the top players 60cc pro saws, BUT it isn't as bad as the semi pro product of Stihl or others. Husqvarna has a similar product in the 555. They are slightly detuned versions of the pro line models.

The situation is this, if you decide to go with only ONE saw, I would recomend a 50cc saw. It will absolutely do everything you need. It will take a little more time for your cutting projects but at the end of the day you will have your firewood in your yard. The WEIGHT will be much more tolerable for a days worth of cutting. Further with the weight you can easily cut up a whole tree.

IF you decide to go with a ~60cc saw, the WEIGHT will be much more noticable cutting up smaller wood. The question will be do you WANT to carry that weight a whole day cutting up a tree from top to bottom.

Personally I went with the the second choice and chose a 62cc saw AND a 40cc saw. With that combination I have power and weight in a much more manageable package. At first I only had a 50cc saw but bought my 62cc saw. In that situation the 50cc saw became more or less obsolete and the weight difference for the 40cc saw became much clearer. So now my main saw package is a 62 & 40cc combo.


7

 

[blsnelling]

What's the going price for a 590, 600, 620?

 

[jughead500]

What's the going price for a 590, 600, 620?

might as well say $400,500,600.depending where they are bought.

 

[Bobosocky]

Thanks 7sleeper, that all makes a lot of sense.

I want to stick to just stick with one saw that can do our firewood. Down the road, I'm sure I'll want another. Just to be candid, we closed on this land a month ago and I'm building the house in the spring. Once that's done, I'm going to need a lot of farm equipment, a shop/barn, a pond... and well, the list goes on and on. Gotta keep a tight hand on the wallet.

 

[KenJax Tree]

What's the going price for a 590, 600, 620?

 

[blsnelling]

Unless going with the less expensive 590, IMHO it's a no brainer to go with a 555 or 562XP. You can get them for $575 and $675 respectively.