Saw advice

[Chris_H]

I'm thinking of buying a saw for the garden with a view to doing some carving at some point in the future. Budget won't stretch to 2 saws so I'm looking at a saw with interchangeable bars. My local stockist reckons the Stihl choice is between an MS192 C-E and MS230. Ups and downs being about £90 diff. but changing the bar is easier on the 230. Any thoughts? Is there a Husky option (I use a 357xp at work so I'm not familiar with Stihls although I trained on them)?

 

Cheers,

Chris

[Steve Bullman]

crikey.....no bar is particularly 'hard' to change...i certainly wouldnt spend extra money based on this benefit. ive not use either of those saws so cant comment im afraid. i have a stihl ms180 i use for carving....but only the finer stuff...block out with a stihl 341. if you want something to do multiple jobs id look at a stihl 260 or maybe a husky 346

[jrose]

I'd go for a MS171 it's what I use for carving the standard bar is good enough to get the basics with although it's not a proper carving bar it's fairly narrow. And the 1.1 gauge chain allows for smooth finishes, if you then decide to continue you can fit it with a carving bar if not you haven't lost as much money!

 

plus it'll handle odd jobs around the garden, if you come across bigger stuff could you borrow works 357xp for the day?

 

cheers,

Joe

[Bart]

In your situation id go for a ms181, ive got a ms180, very versatile tough little saw.

[Chris_H]

Thanks all. I'd heard that on the MS192 you had to change the sprocket because the carving bar had a different fitting and that this made it a bit of a faff. Anybody know? I'll have a look at the 171 & 181 - both look good from a budget point of view!

Cheers again, Chris

[jrose]

I think on any saw you will have to change the sprocket for a carving bar, they use 1/4" chain. As far as I'm aware, no saw comes with 1/4" as standard (not sure what the ms192/200 come with though")

[Gray git]

The 192/200 are a bit harder too swop over as have outbourd cluches so you have too lock the piston and spinn this off to change over to the smaller chain, a bit of a pain if not a regular user. The best saw's for all round use that i have are the ms260 and the husky346xp bothe do normal saw work and carve but arnt realy budget saws but worth it in the long run. Dont know any1 that runs a small husky simila to a 180 size so carnt coment on the quality. good luck with not a easy desision.

[Acle Garden Machinery]

For carving you need a small tipped bar

[chainsawdick]

Hi Chris

 

I have been carving pro for over 8 years now, my favourite at the moment is the Stihl MS 192C, an excellent saw, lasts 45 mins on a fill.

I recently bought one complete with carving bar for £300.

If you purchase a quarter tip carving bar you can run the 3/8 low profile, no need to change sprockets, A 12 or 14" would be perfect, you could also use this for tree surgery, ideal for formitive pruning and crown cleaning.

Try Chainsawsculptors.com, or Ed Robinson UK. http://www.ed-robinson.co.uk/cannon_bars.html

 

I hope this helps

 

dick

Edited October 25, 2010 by chainsawdick
addition

[Chris_H]

Cheers guys - lots to think about. Sti[h]l[l] pondering (sorry)