What chainsaw to get?

[Chris Sheppard]

i did my cs30/31 assment with a 353 witch is like a slightly lower powered 346xp.. try looking at a 353 or a ssecond hand 346xp (with the silver side) if ur budget could be uped slightly to 480 you can get a brand new 550xp which replaced the 346xp. better to buy a new saw as you know its history.

 

The 353 isn't a bad saw. I bought one new in about 2004/5 and used it day in day out for a few years as my main thinning saw. It wasn't as revvy as a 346 but made the power lower down so was IMO better in the cut than the 346's of the time. Don't think there can be many new one's kicking about but if there are they should be pretty cheap. My dealer offered me one a bit back f0r £400 all in. Only real gripe I had was that they are heavy on clutch springs - know of at least two others that were the same.

 

It hadn't been used properly for a while but I dug it out of retirement last year for a bit of thinning and it took it fine. Did replace it with the 550 though and the 550 felt leagues ahead power wise.

 

345/353 will feel positively awful though compared to the 550 - the newer saws feel much the same way to handle as the older 2 series saws from when there was a lot more production cutting going on.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

your only saying that !!!! really you wish you could keep a Stihl or Husky running but you cant !! must be the abuse you give them

 

 

My 036 and ms460 are perfect - old designs

[burrell_]

pm spudulike see what he has in stock

i would rather buy a 2nd hand good saw of him than pay silly money for new rubbish

he has some nice saws husq 357 346

stihl 026 340 etc

[martwizz]

what issues do people have with the MS241/261?

Edited October 28, 2012 by martwizz

[WoodED]

what issues do people have with the MS241/261?

 

clutch springs, needle bearings, weve hand a flywheel key break putting the timing 30 degrees out, and the casings arnt as tough as the older 260,

[Chris Sheppard]

what issues do people have with the MS241/261?

 

It says stihl on it

[WoodED]

It says stihl on it

 

haha and thats the best reason yet apart from it isnt orange and silver

[normandylumberjack]

As everyone else has said a 346xp, these are probably the best saws ever made by husky and will cover everything a cs30 etc. will cover you for. it is also great for climbing with, and commercial felling. You will need a second saw at some point, its just common sense, get a bigger saw then and you will be able to cover everything. The old saying "don't run before you can walk" is one you should remember, as should we all!

[Bassett]

Like the other guys here, I'd opt for the Husky 346.