Which Chainsaw for Forestry

[johnwilliams]

On 03/02/2019 at 11:23, spudulike said:

You pensioners should out in the potting shed, or pottering around the garden, not playing with this quality low emission machinery, i have this vision of you being a short fat chap working in his "shed" bit like me really! i think your a dying breed Steve. 

It sounds scary It seems to me that the retiree can do cool things with a saw like Chris Hansen (look at pinterest). For this need years of practice

[william127]

Saying what saw for forestry is like saying what car is best for a road??

 

My go to saw for basically everything now is a Spudded husky 350, but if I could only have 1 saw it would probably be my Spudded 461 as it can cut big logs. But it would be a tough call to give up the 350!

[markrufrider]

been in the forest sector for years run the husky 560 550 both great saws when they don't break and play up recently my 550 was playing up so went and bought a echo 620 sx its still in its running in stages but my lord what a saw 60cc and it feels amazing loads of power apparently its a weapon when its run in and already after a few tanks i can see it picking its skirt up im totally converted to the echo and i can not wait to see what the new 70cc saw brings to the field would i buy a husky or a stihl agen probably but for now probably not 

Edited July 17, 2019 by markrufrider

[spuddog0507]

On 08/12/2018 at 15:19, 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.

used a 462 about 2 week ago with 25" bar, i have 2 461s both quite new one on a 20" and one on a 25" bar and all i can say is the 462 leaves the 461 behind and the weight difference is very noticable the 462 is a very impressive saw and as for running a 461 on a 30" bar it would not be my choice by a long way OK if you have loads of time as i think you may need 1/2 an hour per cut .

[Rough Hewn]

used a 462 about 2 week ago with 25" bar, i have 2 461s both quite new one on a 20" and one on a 25" bar and all i can say is the 462 leaves the 461 behind and the weight difference is very noticable the 462 is a very impressive saw and as for running a 461 on a 30" bar it would not be my choice by a long way OK if you have loads of time as i think you may need 1/2 an hour per cut .

That's interesting[emoji106]
I have used a 461 for milling with a 30" bar maxed out. No problems.
The 661 does go a bit quicker with the 30".
Got any videos?
[emoji106]

[Jamie Jones]

42 minutes ago, spuddog0507 said:

used a 462 about 2 week ago with 25" bar, i have 2 461s both quite new one on a 20" and one on a 25" bar and all i can say is the 462 leaves the 461 behind and the weight difference is very noticable the 462 is a very impressive saw and as for running a 461 on a 30" bar it would not be my choice by a long way OK if you have loads of time as i think you may need 1/2 an hour per cut .

I would say that a 70cc Stihl MS462 on a 24"/25" bar would be fine. But to go bigger will be putting extra strain on the equipment and might struggle to sufficiently oil the bar & chain.

A 75cc range saw should take a 28" Bar and an 80cc saw should take a 28" Bar and just about manage a 32" Bar

Edited July 18, 2019 by Jamie Jones

[Jamie Jones]

As the person originally posting this thread I thought it would be of interest for people to know what saw I choose in the end:

I was going to go for a Stihl MS462 but that was very expensive... I am not saying that it isn't worth it but I was struggling to invest that volume of money in a single saw when starting out at that level of work. Especially if I had an issue and it went down on me.

So I have opted to go for the following:

A Dolmar 7910, 80cc Chainsaw and a Dolmar 6100, 60cc Chainsaw.... 

My thoughts on both of these thoughts are as follows:

For the price of 1x Stihl MS462 I got both Dolmar Chainsaws for the same money. I did a lot of research and Dolmar owners seem very pleased with these products.

The Dolmar Pro's & Con's.....
Pro's: If I have a problem with a chainsaw I have a back up and can continue working without having to leave site and have loss of earnings to get it fixed. 
Con's: If I do have a problem with a saw it will take longer to get back on the road again as I will have to wait for parts. 

But at the cost of a Dolmar, if I was really pushed and working in forestry on a regular basis I could alway pick up a spare Dolmar 6100 quickly and be back on the road without braking the bank... I couldn’t do that with the cost of a Stihl MS462.

Dolmar Chainsaw Review/Comments:

Dolmar 7910, 80cc Chainsaw: Awesome beast of a saw... I'm very impressed with it and it chews through tree trunks like a hot knife through butter. It is a very well put together quality chainsaw and I would highly recommend it... The only downside is that as it is a big powerful chainsaw which is great for felling and dealing with large windblown trees. But if using it all day for felling and de-limbing you will notice the weight of it especially when chucking it about when continually de-limbing.. As an 80cc Chainsaw it is thirsty. 
The Dolmar 7910 came with an 18" bar and will take up to a 28" bar, although many owners say they have run a 32" bar on it.

Dolmar 6100, 60cc Chainsaw: I purchased this saw after getting the 7910 and wondered if I would be disappointed at the step down in power from the bigger 7910. But I am please to say that I wasn't.... Again it is an awesome beast of a saw... It is a very well put together quality chainsaw and I'm very impressed with it. It still chews through tree trunks at an impressive rate. On paper it is lighter than the bigger 7910 but it didn't look as though it would make that much of a difference... How wrong I was.. It is way easier to flip about when de-limbing especially when doing a full days worth of work. It also runs far longer before refills.
The Dolmar 6100 came with an 18" bar and will take up to a 25" bar.
I would highly recommend the Dolmar 6100 as main chainsaw...

Pictured is both the 7910 and the 6100 with 18" bars
 

Edited July 18, 2019 by Jamie Jones

[Silverhooker]

Nice ! looks like you've put them to good use too, that looks like a load of cutting in the top pic.

 

Good job sir !

[spuddog0507]

22 hours ago, Rough Hewn said:

That's interesting
I have used a 461 for milling with a 30" bar maxed out. No problems.
The 661 does go a bit quicker with the 30".
Got any videos?

Got loads of videos all on VHS thou,, but there aint any saws with big bars on any of them thou,, big tits yes ! when do you want em ? 

[Conor Wright]

been in the forest sector for years run the husky 560 550 both great saws when they don't break and play up recently my 550 was playing up so went and bought a echo 620 sx its still in its running in stages but my lord what a saw 60cc and it feels amazing loads of power apparently its a weapon when its run in and already after a few tanks i can see it picking its skirt up im totally converted to the echo and i can not wait to see what the new 70cc saw brings to the field would i buy a husky or a stihl agen probably but for now probably not 

Becoming an echo convert myself, picked up a 501sx to go beside the chipper and cross cut smaller stuff etc, fantastic machine, not as agile as a 550 but once run in it's got plenty of power.