doobin

I found some 12" chains on eBay from GHS for £12 for three. If it's anything like their cheap chainsaw files it's junk, but for that money I will give them a go.

If you paid more than £20 you've been robbed. Sparex, Gwaza etc, it's all the same Chinese stuff.

Nice one. The weight is surprising at first, until you realise that the heavy alloy casting is necessary to act as a heat sink.

Complete red herring, they both put out the same power at 1.5kw. Next you'll be telling us a 50cc Mitrox is the same power as a 50cc Stihl? The MS181 is 100g lighter, has better vibes at 3.5/3 compared to the Husky's 3.9./3.8 and will hold it's value a bit better.

MS181 gets my vote.

We wouldn't pay Joinery sawdust/shavings is bone dry and free.

Price. Nearly every business needs computer. If nearly every business needed a chainsaw for five minutes a day, then there would be a lot more 'middle ground' models sold. Stihl vs B&Q chainsaws in terms of price, reliability and total cost of ownership is an analogy every businessman on here can relate to. The uneducated masses who buy a crap Windows laptop on finance are generally incapable of such reasoning.

For me, a Windows PC is not up the the job. Would you use a B&Q saw instead of a Stihl? I've got way better things to do with my time than run virus scans and constant security updates. I'll meet you half way- it's a Mitox saw. How's that? Sold to the masses, who think a Stihl is too expensive for their needs. It works, but not without problems, is less efficient and after four or five years (less if used every day) it's junk. (Stay out of this, GardenKit! ) I prefer a Mac because it just works and holds it's value. Much as I prefer Stihl for the same reasons.

I could get three or four B&Q chainsaws for the price of an MS181 too... Quality, resale value, and lack of downtime- leading to low total cost of ownership- apply to both Mac laptops and Stihl chainsaws. Using Linux suggests you are slightly more 'techy' than the average user? Much the same as a Chinese saw could be tuned. However, when buying a tool for a job, I want the best off the shelf with no hassle.

Macbook Air 11". £749. Four year old models are making £450-500 on eBay no trouble at all. That may change slightly if they bring out a Retina Macbook Air, but the general premise is the same. Your Windows laptop will most likely not be working after four years, let alone worth well over half of it's purchase price. John Lewis will do you three years insurance for a further £80. Assume you buy including insurance, £829. Sell after three years for £450. That's cost you just £126 a year for trouble and worry free computing. My 8 year old MacBook Pro still works and is still worth £200.

Inline filter- your local motor factors. Oil? I would just stick 10-40 in it but that's probably not the correct answer.

Definitely go MS262 then.

Same here. Solid nose bar too. Not for every day use but for the odd big butt it's fine. The oiler may struggle to keep up in big dead oak but on softwood I'd have thought OK? I don't like the MS262. Far prefer MS250 and 036 to cover all bases. If you can only have one saw though....

This is a good policy

If it's black, I'd start by changing it... If it's your usual 5 years since last changed old tractor oil, it's probably giving you as much engine lubrication as water. Add the Lucas stuff at a rate of 20% to the new oil, give it a new filter and see how you get on.

Whack some Lucas oil stabilizer in it, it works well. You want the heavy duty one, not the synthetic one. Lucas Oil Products (UK) - Heavy Duty & High Performance Lubricants I use it in my motorbike after a shot air filter led to half the compression that there should be. Being a tough little Honda, it now runs almost as good as it should. So good that I can't be bothered to replace the pot and piston. I also use it in my tracked machines, to help provide engine protection when climbing the steep slopes we work on. It's a regular part of my service program. No bull, you can hear the engine run smoother. I'm not one for snake oil, but for my particular circumstances this product is the business.

For me, yes. As outlined in my first pot in this thread, they hold their value exceedingly well. Buy for £220, sell for £150, possibly with a half worn chain but in definite need of a new bar and sprocket (£30 cost). Total cost for a years warrantied ownership of a great little saw- £40. If that's not your style, keep it for five years and sell it for £100. £24 a year. Hell, I sold a clients wanked 017 for £95 the other day. Ran fine but tatty and cutting gear shot. Typical domestic firewood cutter condition, probably never seen a file. Ten years old if it was a day, £170 new. £7.50 a year. Let this be a lesson to anyone considering a budget saw 'just for firewood, half a dozen times a year. Your Chinese saw won't be running after then years, much less worth more than half of what you paid for it and still starting second pull. The MS181 is a great little saw that you wouldn't cry over for too long if it was nicked from the chipper or fell into a pond (it was half an hour before we realised. You know that feeling you get when everyone realises that the worst has happened at the same time and your eyes all meet? it did survive, so we just laughed). It may be twice the price and I hear you re the trigger, but it's still twice as ergonomic as a Mitox and the cutting gear is decent from the get go. This is something that you hear a lot- "I've got a Chinlongshi, I stuck a Stihl bar and chain on it and now it's a good little saw". Might as well upgrade the rest of the saw too, ay?

I had really hoped that would be the case with my local dealer. Sadly not. If you were my local dealer it would most likely be different. PS. What's the best way to unseize a clutch on a BCS Tracmaster? Easiest to take the engine off?

It bloody doesn't. Spent £4k in three months with my local dealer, one problem with a mower recoil and it's like talking to a brick wall. Incompetent muppets. Now FR Jones get my business, and they still send me the wrong bits

:lol: It IS a budget branded saw! You can go slightly cheaper, with either an MS171 or a Husky 135. Or Echo equivalent maybe. Anything less is not a budget 'branded' saw, it's rebranded Chinese junk

Not really. After a year of use the trigger mech will keep slipping out of it's holder leading to the start positions being unuseable. That's the time when I sell mine on eBay for £150 with a shot bar and chain and pick up a brand new one for £220 Great saws.

If you want small and light and pro, get a 241.

Depends entirely upon your local dealer... My 3 local dealers are useless, each in their own special way.

Hailo all the way, tough as old boots. The biggest one is MASSIVE! It's a long way down when you're at the top of that A-frame, let alone the extended bit.