Entry level saw.

[Brushcutter]

15 hours ago, Quarryman said:

Thanks Brushcutter, good to hear a trainers point of view.

Not sure if full time cutting is on the cards and also and a massive hindrance at the moment is our budget!

Hoping not to be laughed off the forum but it looks like all we will be able to afford is maybe a 435 or similar.

 

I've never used one but I'm sure it will be ok. The chain speed is sub 20ms but most saws are at that displacement.  Make sure you see if he prefers the feel of a Stihl. I think we've reached the point where a saw costs what it costs but echo and Makita make a solid saw too. Maybe you will get more for your money? 

[Mr. Squirrel]

7 hours ago, Stubby said:

Mine is an early batch but without going to get it I can't give you any numbers . It was very temperamental in the beginning. Hot start was a pain and it would sometimes cut out mid cut !  It had some things done under warranty , a new carb and a hotter plug . This was all in the first couple of weeks . I then sent it to Petemate who ports saws and he did some stuff to it and from then on it was totally reliable .

Sounds like a beautiful success story against all odds 😂 I presume I got unlucky. Mine was ok initially but went down hill hard. I took it into the dealer and he repaired the carb and found it needed 10(!!) software updates. After that it ran good for a while. Had I not been working overseas for most of its warranty period a lot of its flaws would’ve been uncovered far quicker and addressed properly I imagine. 

[Quarryman]

9 hours ago, Brushcutter said:

 

I've never used one but I'm sure it will be ok. The chain speed is sub 20ms but most saws are at that displacement.  Make sure you see if he prefers the feel of a Stihl. I think we've reached the point where a saw costs what it costs but echo and Makita make a solid saw too. Maybe you will get more for your money? 

Thanks again bud,

we did pop to a dealer on Sat and had a look at some echos but he's now decided to be patient and save from this new weekend job until he can afford a saw he doesn't have to upgrade too quickly

[Quarryman]

ok thought it'd be nice to update this thread nearly a year on....

 

...my lad did indeed save up from his weekend job and is now the very proud owner of a 562xp

(and a Protos helmet and a new pair of arbortec trousers)

[Donnie]

Great saws but bloody hell they are weak. Easily the best out of my Huskys to use though. Light and cuts rapid when sharp. What size of bar is he using?
And what kind of work is he doing?

[Stere]

What do you mean by them being weak?

[Quarryman]

1 hour ago, Donnie said:

Great saws but bloody hell they are weak. Easily the best out of my Huskys to use though. Light and cuts rapid when sharp. What size of bar is he using?
And what kind of work is he doing?

He's running the 18" it came with, working for a local firewood guy plus our own firewood which feeds our Esse, Woodwarm and most recent Froling S4 turbo 40 as well as a couple of glamping units.

 

Edited January 20 by Quarryman

[adw]

1 hour ago, Donnie said:

Great saws but bloody hell they are weak. Easily the best out of my Huskys to use though. Light and cuts rapid when sharp. What size of bar is he using?
And what kind of work is he doing?

Weak?? explain.

[Donnie]

2 hours ago, adw said:

Weak?? explain.

Can't get a year out of them. 4 of us run them at work and they're never out the shop getting full rebuilds. Great to use though

 

Edit. 
 

We do use them really hard in brashing, felling oversize sitka etc. Again not knocking the saw or the brand as all I use is 5 series. 
My 62 is in for warranty work as we speak, running badly. Won't rev high and dies in the cut but had others with the same problem and they don't really know how to sort it so they just rebuild the whole thing.
 

Can't complain really, perfect for us as they do it all under the 2 year warranty. Major selling point for me over a Stihl.

Had my 572 rebuilt after 8 months as well, fully seized but I'd put that down to me limiter bashing it all day when I'd first started and not had a clue what I was doing... (still don't)

 

Here's a tree (been many like it) that I've done with the 62/18 inch bar. 

Edited January 20 by Donnie
More pish

[carlos]

On 10/02/2023 at 19:13, spudulike said:

Not over Mr Stubby....the 346XP is the best saw I have used and sounds soooooo good!

Finding a good one though is like searching for the Holy Grail.

just curious why you find a 346xp better than a 550?