Which Chainsaw for Forestry

[MattyF]

462 ... not used the 572 but picked one up.. 462 is a pretty amazing saw , I run it on an 18” I would of gone for the 572 if there was any on the shelves but was really surprised that the 462 is that good ,light and well balanced with great power.

[Stubby]

1 hour ago, MattyF said:

462 ... not used the 572 but picked one up.. 462 is a pretty amazing saw , I run it on an 18” I would of gone for the 572 if there was any on the shelves but was really surprised that the 462 is that good ,light and well balanced with great power.

R.H. says its underpowered for a 70cc saw .  You don't find it so ?

[MattyF]

[emoji38]No... no way ! I’ve had 272’s 372’s 044’s 460’s and a 576 and have spent a lot of time on all of them and love this saw.. I would rather of used a 560 instead of a 70cc saw in the woods but this has changed my mind.. in my mind there are two different types of 70cc saws though.. the 440 441 and 462 372.
Then there is the 460 461 576 dolmar/Makita 7900 the later will pull a big bar better every time but then they are nearly 80cc saws and who wants a big bar in the woods? Fair enough if your on spikes on a big spar.

[Stubby]

2 minutes ago, MattyF said:

No... no way ! I’ve had 272’s 372’s 044’s 460’s and a 576 and have spent a lot of time on all of them and love this saw.. I would rather of used a 560 instead of a 70cc saw in the woods but this has changed my mind.. in my mind there are two different types of 70cc saws though.. the 440 441 and 462 372.
Then there is the 460 461 576 dolmar/Makita 7900 the later will pull a big bar better every time but then they are nearly 80cc saws and who wants a big bar in the woods? Fair enough if your on spikes on a big spar.

Ok . Thanks Matty . Not tried one myself and most of the revues have been positive .  Specifically R.H. says it will not pull a 25" bar . The max I put on my spud 372XP is 24" but it pulls it fine .  I suppose if the 462 is on an 18" or 20" then it would be fine .  

[wyk]

Here's Scott AKA TreeMonkey, using an OE MS462CM in a cant of what appears to be poplar on a 28" bar.

 

 

If you let the saw do the work and keep your chains sharp, I think that 462 could do about anything with a 20-24" bar.

 

 

[Rough Hewn]

Checked in my local stihl dealer this morning.
Max recommended bar is 20".
But hey I can run a 36" bar on my 261. [emoji848][emoji57][emoji12]
The 461 (76cc) will pull a 30" bar happily.
Yet the 462 (70cc) is only 10% smaller engine and takes a bar 10" less.
These are stihl recommendations.

[Stubby]

20 minutes ago, Rough Hewn said:

Checked in my local stihl dealer this morning.
Max recommended bar is 20".
But hey I can run a 36" bar on my 261.
The 461 (76cc) will pull a 30" bar happily.
Yet the 462 (70cc) is only 10% smaller engine and takes a bar 10" less.
These are stihl recommendations.

So  1% = an inch .   That's one for the conversion tables ?

[The avantgardener]

I have used both Husqvarna 572xpg and Stihl 462 but on different jobs, I can’t say that I noticed much difference in speed/power and I was massively impressed with the Stihl, never been inmpressed with a 441, dog of a saw designed by a student if ‘Brutalism’ the 462 walks all over it.

I will find out next week as I will have the 30 large Oaks to fell with the Husqvarna, my mate will have his Stihl 462 which he bought because of the Husqvarna wasn’t available, he hasn’t been disappointed.

He will also have his Woods ported 372xpw to throw into the mix, should make for an interesting week.

I will be felling with the bigger saw and delimbing with a Spud ported 346xp and a 562xpg with 13” and 16” guidebars on.

Time and motion studies concluded that the felling was only 10% of the work, 48% is delimbing/shedding/cross cutting, if you speed that side up you are far more productive, I’ve found the best way to do this is to have the smallest saw/bar combo to do the task.

[Rough Hewn]

I have used both Husqvarna 572xpg and Stihl 462 but on different jobs, I can’t say that I noticed much difference in speed/power and I was massively impressed with the Stihl, never been inmpressed with a 441, dog of a saw designed by a student if ‘Brutalism’ the 462 walks all over it.
I will find out next week as I will have the 30 large Oaks to fell with the Husqvarna, my mate will have his Stihl 462 which he bought because of the Husqvarna wasn’t available, he hasn’t been disappointed.
He will also have his Woods ported 372xpw to throw into the mix, should make for an interesting week.
I will be felling with the bigger saw and delimbing with a Spud ported 346xp and a 562xpg with 13” and 16” guidebars on.
Time and motion studies concluded that the felling was only 10% of the work, 48% is delimbing/shedding/cross cutting, if you speed that side up you are far more productive, I’ve found the best way to do this is to have the smallest saw/bar combo to do the task.

Yep the 441 was crap.
Any spud ported saws will wipe the floor with a stock saw.
[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji3]

[doobin]

I had a recent experience felling a 6ft ash with my  MS462. It will pull a 36" bar OK if you're gentle and it's sharp but the oiler won't quite keep up when ringing up. Were I to do it every other week I'd buy an 880. But it's OK for one-offs, with a quick spray on the chain inbetween cuts whilst ringing up.

 

It's happy with a 24" bar on it, and positively flies with an 18". The heated handles are nice. Stubby, you're welcome to come have a play. It's really quick to rev up, that's for sure.

 

At the other end of the spectrum, I agree with guys who prefer a light saw. My go-to for most of my work (small scale land clearance, tangled laylandii) is an MS241 with a 16" Picco bar. You really notice the difference using a Picco chain, and whilst a big fan of Rotatech for a decent chain at low cost I did treat myself to some Stihl full chisel Picco loops for the 16" and can highly reccomend them. Probably a further 30% cut speed, quite incredible. I ummed and ahhed about an MS261 with heated handles, but decided that the 'middle ground' as it were wasn't worth the kilo of extra weight over the MS241, particularly as it's often a few quick cuts then back in the cab. I'd go as far as to say that the tree has to be over 18" for me to want to use the MS462 rather than the MS241, as the picco chain on the smaller saw makes them pretty much the same speed to cut.