Advice for saw please!

[Ren]

Hey folks! Hope you can help me out a little. 

 

Have just taken on about nine acres.... Mostly fields and hedgerows with about one acre of woodland. All poorly managed, lots of ivy-choked trees, ash, deadwood, fallen trees....

 

I'll need to clear up the mess, cut firewood, manage and perhaps fell a few / process fallen.

 

I've used saws some in the past and am confident and mindful around machinery, but have had no training. 

 

Am on a budget!

 

(stupid) question one: Is spending a few hundred pounds on a training course going to be worth its weight in gold, or can I get away with reading / youtube and remaining aware? 

 

Question two: what saw!? I figure the heavier end of the domestic market? Probably going to run it once a week on average. The Husky 435 seems a good bet.... but I have no frame of reference. I have quite a few Makita tools, which seem to last well. I'd want to service it myself.

 

Many thanks for any help here

 

Ren

[Doug Tait]

Hear a lot of people that like Makita saws but I've no experience of them. My mate has a husky 435 for doing his firewood and general tidying up, used at most 4 or 5 hrs a week and very happy with it. Decent, reliable little saw for what he needs.

 

If you can find the money to get training it's worth having. You can learn a lot yourself, I think husqvarna did a 'forest working guide' which covered basic felling cuts, tension and compression, kickback etc, all important to understand.

 

Get the appropriate PPE as well.

[Khriss]

Yup Makita, good price and reliable. Yr cutting trees on someone else's land? Thats a whole different ball game to using saw on yr own land. K

[Stere]

Leaving some Ivy and deadwood fallen trees are good things for nature etc, felling some of the healthy trees are easier to process into firewood...

 

ea4300 is a good saw for £319.

 

 

 

 

[Ren]

Thanks for responses! Apologies if I'm a gibbering novice. Don't even own a saw, so a double novice. 

 

The land belongs to us. 

 

Many of the trees will be / have been killed by ivy (ivy stems are more than six inches thick, some even more!)... a few are standing half dead. These are mature trees in old hedgerows. Don't intend to 'clean' it all up, but the place does need looking after.

The acre of woodland is full of fallen/falling trees. Some are native but have been invaded and dominated by pine from local plantation. In the longer run I'd like to thin these out. Some I think I could deal with, others would need to hire someone who knows what they are doing. 

 

One thing I'd like to avoid is buying a saw underpowered for what I'll need. I suppose ideally I'd want two saws - but in reality it makes economic sense to have an all-rounder. 

 

I hesitate on bar length. The domestic saws seem to be around 15" and 40cc.... I wonder if it's better to buy a saw capable of running a longer bar and to avoid lots of cross cutting? I figure a 15" bar should be able to (cross) cut 20"diameter safely enough and (not cross) cut 10"?
Another reason for a longer bar is that my partner likes to turn bowls, and a flat-surfaced chunk of wood is loads better for this. Any recommendations for 45/50ccish saws that would let me run a shorter and longer bar?   Would I get away with an 18" bar on a 40cc saw for occasional use? 

 

Cheers 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Ren

[Commando]

Can you stretch the budget to £500ish? You’ll get something like an Echo CS-501sx that should handle an 18” bar. IMHO but the best u can afford....

And allow some funds for a pair of boots and trousers!

[trigger_andy]

2 hours ago, Stere said:

ea4300 is a good saw for £319.

I have this saw and really like it. Came with an 18" Bar as standard. Bought for under £200 from amazon.de. Its got a great power to weight ratio and really pepped up with a muffler mod. 

[Stihl123]

a clean second hand stihl 261 will do nicely i reckon 

 

they are light and nice to use 

[gary112]

Another for Makita 4300 great little saws.bought mine last year and its brilliant 

Edited April 15, 2021 by gary112

[Stubby]

Just now, gary112 said:

Another for Makita 4300 great little saws.bought mine last year and its brilliant 

If you want to run an 18" bar ideally you need  a 50cc/60cc saw .  With the woodland work you describe I would get the best pro saw you can afford . You will only be upgrading at a later date so do it now !  Husqvarna 562XP would be my choice .