doobin

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.

Hold your horses. You can get them a lot cheaper than that. The 48w ones at £17 are a lot of light for your money. I've got about a dozen and no problems over the last year or so. 27W/48W LED Work Light 12V 24V Jeep Boat Offroad Truck Vehicle Headlight Lamp | eBay

Beat me to it. They also stop the moisture getting to your hands.

But can't sharpen a saw? When you do that sharpening practice, the number one rule in my book is to do it in a vice under a strong, preferably daylight temperature light. The theory of cutting angles etc is all very well, but it's not till they can actually see the damaged edge, and the result of the correct application of a file, that it actually starts to come together. It's amazing the amount of tree workers I see using chains which are sub par. It's even more amazing how many bosses seem to tolerate it.

A swinglift crane is lighter and much cheaper than a hiab.

Got to be the log grab I reckon. Are the 420 and 520 attachment systems the same? Might just fit on but they 'don't recommend it'? Better than that, don't pay the over inflated Avant prices and have a skidsteer attachment firm make you one to fit.

I use my shredder knife with guard all the time. The potential for a lot of pain via flying debris when using a mulching blade to mulch top down with just a normal guard is quite high. Worth the money IMHO, and pretty much compulsory if employees will be using it.

Can't remember quite how to do it, but the above will be your problem. I got round it if I remember right by flipping the plate thingy that covers the head over. Might have been a spacer washer involved. Hope this helps. An FS130 runs it OK but as said can bog down quickly.

Cheap 10/40w, every 4000 miles. Winner for any older engine. Every 100 hours on small 2 and 3 cylinder plant like mini diggers.

It's addictive when you start learning to sharpen and tune rakers properly

They'll have right angles in 'em next week Damn stuff has a mind of it's own.

I've got a top loading stove, it burns neat sawdust from local joinery shops I have been known to mist the top vent with diesel/oil mix for instant heat and draw.