Best all round thinning saw

[arbclimber]

Some wildly different opinions here!!

 

Can I ask the 'larger saw' crowd why you would go for a heavier saw, even if it is quicker? I suppose that I have a propensity to go for small and lightweight at the expense of power but my colleague uses a 361 and it is a fine saw. I have used a 260 in the past, and enjoyed it, but even that seems a touch like overkill for sub 12 inch trees (and the incumbent MS261 seems to have been on a bit of bulking diet).

 

Finally, excusing my inexperience, but is there anything beyond the obvious Stihl/Husqvarna that is worth considering?

 

Jonathan

 

I tend to go for smaller saws too mate. If you are using it all day, you will work a lot quicker with a light saw, so the fact a big saw cuts a bit faster is irrelevant.

 

Some people rate Makita saws. Not used one personally, but they seem quite popular.

[Doug Blease]

I quoted our larger saws as an example but we were thinning larger Beech.

[Quickthorn]

If it is mainly 6-12", with the odd 18" thrown in, i'd say 346xp. I'm using a 15" bar, full chisel chain on an older 346, doing that sort of stuff at the moment, and I can't see the need for much bigger. If it was mainly 18", then 357xp plus for sure.

 

I think it also depends on how much rubbish you have to cut through to get to the trees. If the site's full of honeysuckle, bramble, thorn shrubs and all the rest, a bigger saw isn't going to help that much, but you'll feel the weight.

 

If you're buying new, the new edition 346XP (silver side) is not far off the 357 anyway..it's a 50cc saw now, rather than 46cc or whatever it was.

 

I used to have a couple of 026s, but I much prefer the Huskys. Can't help you on other makes, sorry.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Maybe it's the 6'7" plus behemoth monsters on here using 660s for hardwood thinnings, whereas us with normal levels of human growth hormone need smaller saws

[Frankie Lawrence]

Some wildly different opinions here!!

 

Can I ask the 'larger saw' crowd why you would go for a heavier saw, even if it is quicker? I suppose that I have a propensity to go for small and lightweight at the expense of power but my colleague uses a 361 and it is a fine saw. I have used a 260 in the past, and enjoyed it, but even that seems a touch like overkill for sub 12 inch trees (and the incumbent MS261 seems to have been on a bit of bulking diet).

 

Finally, excusing my inexperience, but is there anything beyond the obvious Stihl/Husqvarna that is worth considering?

 

Jonathan

 

I personally think that the 260 is the bottom of the professional range there for using a small saw I think will knacker it quicker if out in woods all day but just my opinion.

 

Echos seem to be quite well rated now but once agian never used one

[MattyF]

260 is just the worst excuse for a pro saw ,any one who seriosly works in the woods would not use one,from my experiance in felling 15" +trees all day an been sent out with the 260 and nothing bigger i went back to the yard with it in a box of bits ,my old man used his solid thinning for a few months and worse than it falling apart it seized!! any how stihl are bringing out a replacment as finaly they have realised just how crap this saw is....

[morten]

A pro saw from one of the main manufactures (Husky, Stihl, whatever) less than 50cc. 15" bar, Full chisel chain (that is sharp).

 

Ditto!

 

No point in having a bar longer than 15" when most stems are less than 12". Excess bar length makes your work harder than necessary.

[elfinwood saws]

you could try dolmar from midland power

[Big J]

Bit of field testing small versus large saws of late....

 

I have a Stihl MS250 (only saw I could get on short notice for thinning) which has had to go back to the shop for minor repair, so the only other two saws I have are an 088 and a Makita dcs230t. Ridiculous (smallest and largest production chainsaws) but my only option for today. Funnily enough on the slightly larger stuff we were dealing with today (16-18inches at butt level) the 088 was lovely. I then snedded with the Makita and whilst a bit of a faff, it worked well.

 

Anyway, using the 088 has convinced me that a larger saw is the better option of hardwood thinning. The MS250 (which has been OK to be honest - bit high on the vibes, but it's up to about 900-1000 trees now) is too slow once the chain dulls slightly (we're working 20 yards from the beach, so the sand makes sure the chain dulls quickly).

 

I am very tempted by the Makita DCS7901-18. 6.2hp, 6.3kg and 18inch bar - does anyone have any significant experience with them?

 

Jonathan

[Big J]

I should add I was only running a 20 inch bar on the 088 so I didn't look like a complete berk!