MartinF

The DCS5030 is a big price jump though. What does it mean when it says triaxial? Is the engine emmisions tech etc as good as the Orange brands? Do you have a makita Harvey?

That must have taken some thought. I know, I know. I was all for having a Husky but I was seduced by the price and power of the makita/Dolmar. The DCS500 looks good. People seem to rate both but I am tempted. I need loads of people to come on this thread and tell me about their excellent Makita experiences.

You've made it look like you're talking to yourself now Rover. Anyway, back onto my "should I buy a makita or Hushy" Dilemna.

Thanks for the advice. I think doing a course is a good idea as I don't fancy doing anything nasty to myself. My girlfriend is a nurse and she would be really annoyed with me if I did. I don't know whether I'll be able to resist buying a saw first though. I do like the look of that Makita.

Many thanks for the info guys. I will have a read. So, Makita saws are made by Dolmar for Makita? The Americans get very excited about Dolmar saw IIRC from my reading travels on the net.

Inspite of what Agg221 said , curiosity has got the better of me. I've been looking at the Makita link and some of the saws sound very impressive with good prices too, like this.... Makita DCS500-45P 50cc 2-stroke Chainsaw (Replaces £303.35 What's the score with Makita saws? Are they any good? They seem to be very powerful for the money. Why don't many people buy them?

I've declined spuds offer, but thankyou anyway Steve.

What's a Husky 254?....and yes, I've already been approached by spudulike with a 345.

Just had a look on Evilbay, wow they are expensive on there. The place I plan to get one from is a place in Swadlincote who sell them. The nearest official dealer were about £30 or £40 more as he said he would sell at pre vat prices. This place is lower than that for some reason. What is brash bashing? Thanks for the info Alec, never thought about spares. I was pointed to something called an Oregon Powersharp chain system. I presume this is not as good as a normal chain?

I agree Rover. I was just hoping that one of you guys may have experience of them but I knew that mainly you guys would be using the big stuff. What do you mean by certs? Both saws are available from a place close to me. The Husky is slightly cheaper than Jones' the Stihl is slightly more than Jones'. My local dealer has said that they sell them roughly at pre vat prices if pushed. Chris, my current steed is a bow saw so a chainsaw will be luxury lol.

I started off hoping to spend around £200, it the slipped to around £280. Now I'm looking at aroud £100 more. I know it's probably the wrong way of looking at it but it seems to be a lot of money to spend for 3 uses a year. Ok, let's look at thia another way. The Hushy is a 40cc engine kicking out 1.6KW ( 2 hp) on a 15" bar and the Stihl is kicking out 1.7KW (2.3hp) from a 35cc on a 16" bar. What thickness of wood would these cut? The thing is that I fear I will end up spending an awful lot of cash on something that will spend most of it's time collecting dust. Perhaps the more sensible route would be to get wood that is in a certain saws range?

Hmmm. So the two saws I mentioned are going to out of their comfort zone you think Geoff? Perhaps I should retitle the thread to "what saw do I need for 9 to 13 inch pieces of wood". I just had a look at the Aspen fuel. There is Aspen 2 and 4. Is that for 2 and 4 stroke engines?

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. The saw will probably be used 3 or 4 times a year for sawing up loads of wood as I get them. I have a pile of wood in the back garden at the moment that I have bought. It consists of blocks of wood that I will use a splitting axe on (need to get descet one of those too), a pile of branches that are 4 inches to 8 inches thick and a load of thicker pieces that range from 9 inches thick to 13 inches thick. I'm working on the assumption that this is the sort of wood I will get in the future so want to tool myself up for it. I'm also hoping that whatever saw I buy will hopefully last for a long time so I will be maintaining it properly and looking after it as best I can. Rob, I do intend to get headwear and legwear so I don't do any serious damage to myself. Unfortunately I'm not near where the course is being done, I live near Derby, but that is a very good idea. Which of the 2 brands tend to be more reliable or are they bothe very much alike in all ways so it usually comes down to brand loyalty for people? Thanks

Hi all, I am in the process of buying of a chainsaw and I was hoping that you guys could help me. I need a chainsaw that will be able to cut through hardwood logs upto around 12 or 13 inches. It will be used for cutting up wood that I have bought to turn into wood for the logburner. I'll be honest and say that I am a 7 day expert on chainsaws and don't really know much about them and which is best etc, but the two I have narrowed my search down to are the Husqvarna 435 and the Stihl MS211. From looking around the forum I've noticed that you guys generally use the serious stuff but I wondered if anyone knew anything about these saws and which of the two is the best. Many Thanks for any help you can give me, Martin.