Chainsaw recommendation

[tree_beard]

i know a man with the creme de la creme of 50cc saws for sale in the trading post...

Edited August 17, 2009 by tree_beard

[Charlieh]

i have a 346xpg its a great saw and it keeps your hands toasty warm

[tree_beard]

i have a 346xpg its a great saw and it keeps your hands toasty warm

 

want another one?

 

they are damn fine saws...

 

i saw your thread on AS about your 346 with the random bit of plastic in the carb...

 

i just dont use mine enough... since getting a ms200, i tend to jump from 35cc-70cc. havent used the 346 in a month or more. shame, poor little thing

[samarb]

i have a 346xpg its a great saw and it keeps your hands toasty warm

 

Next saw I get will have heated handel. Never really thought much about it when buying kit in summer, couln't think about anything else when working in snow.

[Martin Jenkins]

i have a 346xpg its a great saw and it keeps your hands toasty warm

 

ah it does look nice indeed... I have decided to follow the first step of advice and stick the ride-on onto ebay. I've told the garden centre people, who are fine with that - I told them that if I couldn't sell it there I'll sell it to them!

 

At least I will be able to say "the garden centre came and checked it out, and offered me £250 with a view to selling it on their forecourt for £500 or so".

 

Then I'm homing in on the Husqvarna 346xpg, on the basis of it's in between the 40-60cc range that has been mentioned, it is 4.9Kg, which isn't that much, I'm hoping that the anti-vibration stuff will be good (my hands shake after a few hours with a brushcutter, but haven't really noticed much with the ryobi). AND I can buy it on the internet. Still might need to get it tuned up, but that may still be cheaper than buying it off the street.

 

I think a trip to justins show should be on the cards you'll be able to get everones opinion and get a decent saw at a good price.

 

What's Justin's show?

 

I did read somewhere that on September 11th in Longleat there will be a woodlands show. I'm supposed to be on a course doing technical auditing though.

 

Serendipitously I've had a call today from a tree surgeon who has been employed by the local power distribution company, who had been told to clear cut all trees that could possibly affect power lines - we had loads of lines down last winter; the person I talked to seemed very sensible and he's coming along on Friday to talk about something like pollarding all the trees affected, logging, and stacking, and going into a three year (or whatever appropriate) cycle. I'll pick his brains too about a chainsaw.

[tommer9]

Been reading this thread with interest, and i couldnt agree more with whats been said. I am a stihl man myself, but TBH in your position i would seriaously think of a 346xp husky, very light and powerful saws. As for bar size, you really dont need the weight of an 18" bar for what you describe, you'll just end up with knackered arms at the end of the day! I would also say that you should be able to get your saw from a dealer for almost the same price as the internet- there are dealers out there who dont differentiate between the two anyway, and for example i have seen ms361 saws for sale for around 560 i think, so dont be persuaded to pay anyting like book price, that is a dealer taking the p***. I think that it is beneficial to get a good relationship with a local dealer, which generally occurs when you buy a saw off them.....

 

You can find details of Jonesies show in the ad banner at the top of most (if not all)pages of arbtalk at the moment:001_cool:

[Splitter]

I bought a 372xp several weeks ago for cutting firewood, and i can't see me going back to anything smaller.

I bought it for speed of use, and i'm cutting mostly between 10 to 20inch dia. It makes the job a whole lot easier and the saw's weight is not an issue unless your of slight build.

 

[detritus21]

I'd be going blue and getting a makita. Cheaper than the equivilant sthil or husq but work very very well particularly for logging. Go for one in the 50-70cc range and you should have few problems. I've got a 40cc and a 90. The 40cc will do stuff up to bar length no problems and its currently running an 18" bar. Gets a bit slow on seasoned hard wood but a few more cc would sort that out.

[czhey]

I've got a 346xpg 15" bar. Love it! light, VERY good vibrations ,heated handle, powerful (for a small saw) and cuts quickly.

May not feel as solidly built as a Stihl but i can't comment on reliability/life as i have not had it long.

[tommer9]

May not feel as solidly built as a Stihl

 

Thats because it isnt. At least the two that another member of this forum bought last septmber and about 2 months ago were very cheaply and poorly built. Switches falling apart, plenty of plastic etc etc.

 

I would still consider them though, as having ironed out those probs both saws are fine now, and TBH although the recurring switch problem was very boring, it didnt affect the fact that the 346 is a powerful light saw.

 

My local garden machinery shop have lumps of wood off me periodically to demonstrate different saws to potential customers....maybe you could get your dealer to give you some sort of demo of a few machines?