Small, low vibration chainsaw?

[coppice cutter]

18 minutes ago, Stere said:

There are smaller pro saws from echo and stihl   (like the the toppers but with rear handles) but id say not suited to firewood imo unless its alot of small diameter coppice.

The Stihl 201 cm is actually dearer than the 241 anyway as I remember.

Edited February 1, 2023 by coppice cutter

[Joe Newton]

34 minutes ago, sandspider said:

Thanks chaps. Ok, the pro stuff is definitely out of budget new. MS211 is probably top of extended budget - but where does it score on the wank scale?

The 211 was my first saw when I was in grounds maintenance some 15 years ago. I loved it at the time. Can't say for sure how much better it was than a 181 but I thought it was noticeable.

 

If you're going to run a smaller cheaper saw you'll have to be on it with the maintenance and sharpening.

 

Mine pulled 14" bar okay. Pro saws will piss all over it but that's not what you're after so...

[Joe Newton]

The beauty of those little saws is that the chains are really cheap, so if you're clumsy with digging trenches in the ground, or just plain bad at sharpening you can chuck a new chain on for pretty cheap.

[sandspider]

I'm pretty good at sharpening, or at least, my chains throw clean chip not dust. My old petrol saw I sharpened, replaced the odd spark plug, and one fuel line. In 15 years. Hopefully a quality saw will need even less maintenance! 

(I did clean the wood chip out of it occasionally, store it empty of fuel, knock the crap out of the air filter and rotate the bar every so often as well)

[coppice cutter]

3 hours ago, sandspider said:

Hopefully a quality saw will need even less maintenance!

Best make sure that's what you buy then!

[sandspider]

Back on this again, and have ended up looking at the Makita EA3500S40B.

 

https://www.frjonesandson.co.uk/products/makita-ea3500s40b-petrol-chainsaw-35cc-16-bar-chain/

 

Seems to be an older saw (but still made, so can't be too bad), not too heavy @ 4.4kg (power head only), reasonable power 1.7kw, not too bad vibrations 4.9/ 5.0 and only £230 ish. (£210 at Radmore & Tucker but out of stock). Makita, so not a top make, but decent I think (do they own Dolmar, or vice versa?) Saw seems to be well reviewed generally.

 

I know it's not a pro machine, but for my needs and budget it looks quite good. Anyone want to rain on my parade and tell me it's wank?

[richyrich]

48 minutes ago, sandspider said:

Back on this again, and have ended up looking at the Makita EA3500S40B.

 

https://www.frjonesandson.co.uk/products/makita-ea3500s40b-petrol-chainsaw-35cc-16-bar-chain/

 

Seems to be an older saw (but still made, so can't be too bad), not too heavy @ 4.4kg (power head only), reasonable power 1.7kw, not too bad vibrations 4.9/ 5.0 and only £230 ish. (£210 at Radmore & Tucker but out of stock). Makita, so not a top make, but decent I think (do they own Dolmar, or vice versa?) Saw seems to be well reviewed generally.

 

I know it's not a pro machine, but for my needs and budget it looks quite good. Anyone want to rain on my parade and tell me it's wank?

Those vibes are not that low. I would go for something in the 3 ish area...

[sandspider]

1 hour ago, richyrich said:

Those vibes are not that low. I would go for something in the 3 ish area...

 

I take your point, but to get much lower vibes, assuming I avoid the smaller Husky saws (which my local garden tool shop agrees with too, he won't stock them any more) I'm looking at MS181 or MS211 (3 / 3.5 ish), both of which are £70 / £100 more than the Makita. I hope that even the Makita would be a step above my old S & J - which had vibes of 7 or 8 I think!

[richyrich]

21 minutes ago, sandspider said:

 

I take your point, but to get much lower vibes, assuming I avoid the smaller Husky saws (which my local garden tool shop agrees with too, he won't stock them any more) I'm looking at MS181 or MS211 (3 / 3.5 ish), both of which are £70 / £100 more than the Makita. I hope that even the Makita would be a step above my old S & J - which had vibes of 7 or 8 I think!

I have carpal tunnel syndrome which causes numbness in fingers, etc. If you're not using power tools for your job then it's probably ok ..🤔👍

[Fatboy2017]

To be honest I the above Makita (plus many others!) Yes Makita bought Dolmar. They are a great saw, good power and response for the size. Mine was built in Germany, later ones in China (like Stihl homeowner saws) 

I always pick it up when I need to cut small limbs / trees.

As you may not know Makita have stopped making petrol saws now, but to be honest parts are not a problem and you should not need much, I order parts all the time and have always found most of the parts for newer and older Makita / Dolmars, if you were concerned you could pick up some common parts just in case.

They have adjustable oiler, inboard clutch and alloy not plastic case and are very well built