jamie1131

I had a "b&q special" before my MS181. It was a MAC438 and what a piece of sh!t that was. Out of the box we used it to fell three apple trees. The chain supplied with it stretched like chewing gum and went blunt faster than a pencil, it wouldn't start when hot and buy the time it was three years old it wouldn't start at all. The primer bulb when rock hard, it leaked bar oil and fuel and the motor couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding despite being bigger than my Stihl. That saw cost me £140 new and that was not money well spent, for the extra £60 I should have gone straight out and bought the MS181.

I'm not sure that video does the saw justice, mine is better than that but then its not being used in what looks to be sub-zero temperatures. I keep the chain sharp and it does the job well. One reason I chose a Stihl saw was second hand value. Take a look on eBay, if I want to sell my 181 and get a bigger saw I'd easily get £150 back for it, not sure about re-sale values for Husky saws but it seems every Tom, Dick or Harry wants a Stihl so they hold their value. That being said tho, as a homeowner saw its perfect for me and it kept the house warm last winter!

It sounds like you are planning very similar usage to me. I have an MS181 with a 14" bar and for the most part it is a great little saw. I paid £210 for mine and that included a litre of chain oil and 50ml of stihl 2-stroke oil. I've only once wished I had bought a bigger saw and that was last week when I was cutting 12-14" dia logs. With the bar buried the saw started to bog down a bit, that said though it cut through the log quick enough. I used it a couple of weeks ago to clear a windblown cedar from a horse riding trail and had to carry it for a mile up a hill into the woods, I was pretty thankful it was a small plasticky little saw on that occasion!

Them "gypos" will be making £25 profit on that bag of logs!

I use two old greenhouses. The wood I've cut this winter is already bone dry and we've burned some of it in our open fire already. Just need to make sure its well ventilated at first when the initial moisture is coming out the wood but after a couple of weeks you can **** thf door!

I did a job like this a few years ago at home. Chopped the stems to about 4ft and then used a Hi-Lift jack with a chain around the stump to tear them out the ground. It needed a concrete slab under the Hi-lift to stop it sinking in. And be careful of the jack handle, I slipped whilst it was under load and I have a scar where it went through my top lip!

I'd happily take a punt on it for £75!

Deliver it to my farm and I'll happily process it into ashes for you for free! :-)

https://www.change.org/p/bbc-reinstate-jeremy-clarkson Thats the petition, its over 190k signatures now!

Just out of curiosity, how would you safely cut up the first tree? Presumably some heavy lifting equipment required to stabilise it?

Is a felled oak tree worth £800?

I might be way off, but £800 to go and clear someones garden seems a bit mad! For sale: Logs / fire wood / lumber from medium/large oak tree | United Kingdom | Gumtree

Thanks Chaps! I'm just collecting blown down wood for burning in the house. There is plenty of it as the woods haven't been managed for 10 years at least.

Hi Everyone, I've been lurking for a while reading threads and thought I'd post a message to say hello. I'm mostly interested in the firewood section as we've just moved into an old farm with only electric central heating and an open fire so I know which one I'll be using! Fortunate enough to have access to aprroximately 20 acres of woodland so I've gone ahead and purchased a saw and an axe! Getting some good safety tips and read up plenty of threads on here before I chose the saw, previously owned a Mac438 which was great when new but didn't last very long, went for a Stihl 181 as it seemed to be good value for money and capable of doing what I wanted of it. See you in the firewood forum!