TurtleWoods72

You must have a bull-terrier accent then, no?

Thanks RichieR I've had some sage words of advice to curb my enthusiasm and the consensus seems to be that I don't need a 'large pro saw' for the menial tasks I'll be performing. Doesn't stop a person like me from wanting one, especially whole the prices are so low currently, however I've put the thinking cap on for a few more days before pulling the trigger on anything. I'm now leaning towards my 'plan B' which was the opposite, a smaller lighter saw (than my 46cc Makita) which would be more I tune with the lighter pallet processing and garden trimming jobs. Top candidate for £350 is the Stihl MS150 rear handle, which I understand would allow me to explore the dark art of carving also?!

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Great video. Made my knees knock just watching! I feel there's no excuse not to get up a ladder and fix my leaking gutters now... Other than it being cold, New Year's Day, I'm a bit tired etc, etc lol. Looks flipping dangerous even being at that height let alone using a chainsaw, and a top handled on at that. I think I'd either be squashed flat from a fall or carve myself to pieces like a Christmas Turkey within a week! Well done.

Happy new year to all. Peace.

I'm South Birmingham area, but I don't want to trouble anyone because of another of my 'whims'

Oh no, the voice of reason has turned up and ruined the party You are of course completely right, and I should refrain. Now I feel guilty as well

Ok, so this is well within budget at £350 with a 10" bar, could be good for the pallet duties (and my back) and will allow me to explore carving if the need arose... I'm just waiting for everyone to tell me they're a waste of money/rubbish now

I think you're probably right, the V8 Mustang rather than the Ferrari in my incapable hands might be a lot safer!

I'm worried I'm just going to end up buying another of what I already have lol. I think I got the model wrong on my Makita too, I believe it's a DCS4630-45 with a 46cc engine, not the 43cc one I described earlier. Am I going to feel I've bought something too similar to have any purpose for if I go 50cc? My original idea was to either go quite a bit bigger or quite a bit smaller (and maybe try some carving) for the nadgery jobs my recip gets used for clearing overgrown hedging etc.

Wish I could justify the purchase as a 'business decision' like you guys. Since others are also considering taking advantage of these 'offers' can anyone confirm whether they end today, as R&T's website state they are closed until 5th Jan and there is no mention of a limited time offer on the FRJ&Son site... I'd hate to miss out if they all shot up by 10% tomorrow! but likewise would hate to rush to buy, only to find out new models are coming in the new year and prices being slashed on the old stock to make room.. Argh!

Not to sidetrack the thread, but I remember when NFU were unbeatably cheap, I even cancelled a policy mid term to switch my van over to them as it still saved me money even with the cancellation penalty! Last time I tried them for the girlfriends car it was a right pain in the jacksie. After a rather formal 'interview' in a little office (as if we were applying for a marriage certificate) we got hit with the 'you're not gonna like this..' preamble before he gave me a quote over DOUBLE the worst one we'd had!! At least with the Internet these days it's a lot easier to search, rather than the old Yellow Pages and a telephone fiasco of days gone by...

With a lifetime guarantee on the Aarrow it doesn't seem you can go wrong. Are they steel as opposed to cast iron, as I know the a burley is. Apparently they heat up a lot quicker as a result of this material being used but also cool down quicker (obviously). Don't know if this is a factor. Might be worth visiting a few stove shops to see if they've got anything 'ex display' reduced to clear. I bought my brand new Bronpi Zamora that way and saved a few hundred quid!

Ok, I'm pretty sure I'm off the 550/550XP, as I'm not a pro or a feller (I am a fella however lol). The 365 is a strong contender still, and the 241 has reared it's head...... Having owned a Matika for a good number of years I would buy another in a heartbeat, or a Dolmar if I ever see any bigger than 35cc for sale. I take it Shavey imports them from Germany and sells them on the forum? I've read that the carbs and some other parts are inferior on the Makitas to the Dolmars, so if there's no price penalty they would be the better option. I also had a look at the Makitas and when I bought mine they were a LOT cheaper than the Stihl or Husqvarna equivalents, being discounted over 50% of the RRP. These days the difference is negligible..what happened? I know the guy where I bought mine left and all the crazy discounts he'd give without haggling dried up on his departure.. I'm still open to Echo or Efco, although the Emak engines on Efco put me off as I see them in budget garden machinery like clippers and tillers as an alternative to the Honda/B&S engined versions. Any more for any more?

If you click on the link burgess, you'll see it's a rear handled MS201 I'm referring to. Still at a loss as to why it's so much money..

Oh crickey. I doubt I'd need a big bar ever. So it's now a swing between the 560XP @ £602 and the 365 @ £521.50. I'm kinda trusting Eddy's advice but the official specs state the 365 uses less fuel per kWh.. Heeeeeeellllpppppp P.s thanks too!

Stihl MS201 Petrol Chainsaw This was the MS201 is was curious about the cost of. I think the 555 is off the menu like mussels in August, and I'm leaning away from the 560XP. 365 in standard trim is tops on my new list (thanks to you brilliant buggers!) ... This is the best bang for my buck I can achieve, isn't it?

Sooo..555 is a bad choice. Crossed off. 550XP not worth it since £100 more buys much better 560XP Echo CS620-SX £50 less than 560XP and same size, power. But not much love from the masses. But what I really need is a 365 X Torque which I use until out of warranty and then port, making it a 372XP to all intents and purposes. Oh brother. I think I need to order before midnight tonight as the discounts end, or am I mistaken? (Radmore & Tucker/ FR Jones & Son) Aaaaaarrrghhhh... And thanks people for your honest late night advice!

I'm up for any mods I need to do myself (warranties don't seem to be worth much these days) or I could just wait till the warranty expires and do it. In terms of performance, would the ported 365 really be the same as the 372XP? And what about reliability. I don't need a formula one car to collect the milk from Tesco, but if I can get one cheap and reliably I'm in guys! Nobody has given any love for the 555 or MS391 'farm saws'..are they really that bad, or is it just because you guys need to cut wood fast, all day to make profit? Also, just to throw a spanner in the works, why the hell is the 35cc MS201 so much money?

So am I better off with a 365 and porting it (what is this and how much does it cost)? Or should I just 'go big or go home' and get the 372XP, which is probably way too cool for me I knew this would be difficult!

Ok, just had a look at the Echo CS620-SX, seems like a nice piece of kit, priced between the 560 and 550. Hmm, this is difficult. Who buys the 'farm saws' when the 'fast n pro' saws aren't much more money, and seem to do more with less. I'd have thought I'd be a prime customer for a 'detuned' saw. However I don't like driving cars with a tea towel up the exhaust pipe so.....

So ..avoid the 3 series as they're old hat, soon to be phased out. 560XP well worth the extra moolah over the £100 cheaper 550XP, and no need for anything bigger (or smaller). Are Stihl really pants at saws these days? I like their brushcutters (although prefer my Danarm Kaaz Kawasaki) so find it hard to understand how they've lost the plot so badly. I must say the saws I've seen on display at Countrywide Farmers and such like have looked pretty blimmin cheap and nasty (MS170 - MS231). Also, am I right in thinking the deals (on Husqvarna) at Radmore and Tucker / Abbey end tomorrow?

So what's the deal between 3 and 5 series Huskies? I take it it's not as simple as BMW where the 5's are bigger and better? Also, is the £100 difference between the 550XP and 560XP worth it? Let's face it £100 is a few bags of shopping these days, or a night at the cinema! Also, are the 'farm saw' types just a bag of poo or are they more suited to a casual user who wants long term reliability like me. P.S I have managed to get the Makita DCS4301 to bog down, so I dint think it's overpowered for my needs. Plus I'm a big strapping great bloke so no Chris DeBurgh fear of a large ass saw...

I'm tempted to splash out on a new saw for no other reason than it's Christmas and I fancy one. Won't be using it professionally, just for cutting up firewood and pallets mostly. Bigger ambitions lie in buying bulk cordwood and preparing larger quantities of firewood, to allow a seasoning period. I have a pal who cuts his own wood and has invited me to join him for some felling and cutting in the past in return for a load of wood for myself, and I'd be keen to take him up on this assuming I am bringing something to the party. I currently own a Makita DCS4300 which is great, but I'm tempted by the orange offerings of either a Husqvarna 550XP, 555, 560XP or something similar from another manufacturer, i.e Stihl, Echo, Efco. Makita/Dolmar, etc. Reading extensive posts lead me to believe newer Stihl are junk, Makita are good but embarrassing because they're blue , Huskies rule the earth, and everything else is dog poop. If the saw I have is more than good enough I could be tempted to blow some dough on a small saw and try my hand at carving or use it for general snagging in the garden where my recip saw would normally force me to use long extension cords. So guys. Spend my money for me on either a new monster, a new midrange master or a tinchy schnitzel. Also, can someone explain what all the different 'series' mean in terms of Husqvarna and Stihl model ranges, as it's confusing as hell as to which is best.

Why don't you do one if it bothers you that much?