Meds

You'd basically rather own a Ferrari for 5 years than a Mondeo for 10? Makes sense.

It could be that. Or perhaps in their competition to get the most power out of their saws, they lose reliability in the process..? Another guy I met with a shop in Gwynedd started stocking Echo and reported to me that they virtually never come back for repair. If you look at their performance stats, relatively speaking them seem undertuned (the 501sx for example has only 3.5hp compared to Stihl/Husqy 50cc saws at 4hp). Perhaps this explains their reported reliability...

A friend who is Stihl loyal has moved over to their battery saws for all but the bigger stuff. Loves them. Saying that, he was inspired onto electric when a guy brought a Husky battery tophandle to his woods to do some climbing work for him. I think my ideal set up would probably be MSA161 and 220 for climbing work and smaller stuff. Battery stuff up in trees makes sense to me. 261 or 550xp for medium use. 500i for stuff above that. My large local dealer in North Wales who sells Stihl and Husqvarna says he has more Huskys in the shop for repairs, and every time I go in mentions that they require their own 2 stroke oil - hinting to that being a negative, they're more high maintenance etc etc. Maybe people just don't know how to look after their gear...

The Makita 4300 is well spoken of. Less power but lighter with it, reliable and way cheaper.

@xdcxYes the 550xp looks like a great saw. The reason I consider the 555 is because it's 60cc, and less 'tuned' as I understand it, when compared with the 550. It's only half a kilo more, with a little more power. I just wonder if something with bigger cc running less full-on will be better suited to lasting longer/being more reliable. I liken these XP models to some kind of highly strung race tuned car that needs constant mechanical attention. This may just be in my head though. But from what I've read, chainsaws don't seem to last as long as they used to. @Lowestoft Firewood Very nice power output there at 4.7hp on the 560, but i don't know if I can justify the stretch.

Thanks all of you for the input. I don't have any 'tickets' but have been mentored well for 4 months by my boss/friend who is really keyed in and trained up himself. I have all the safety gear etc and enough chainsaw maintenance knowledge to get me going, with crosscutting, windblown experience and a small amount of felling (I don't plan to do any felling though, just the processing/splitting side of things) @Rough HewnMy ms460 pricing thoughts were from ebay where £320-400 seemed to be the going rate. Am thinking I should perhaps bite the bullet though. @Sviatoslav TulinYour English is decent enough. The 365 is a bit out of budget and not in production any more. I saw that deal on amazon for the Dolmar 6100 - why would you steer clear of it? @gary112Thanks, I am based in North West Wales, Corwen is a bit of a trek. There's a local Makita/Echo/Husqy dealer close to me though.

Hi all, Forum newbie here, so hello! I'm based in North Wales and recently been gaining experience working in an ancient woodland up in Colwyn Bay. I am now considering doing a couple days a week mobile firewood processing to keep me going financially. I feel the need for a solid chainsaw for processing rounds. My boss donated an old ms171 which was running glitchy (now is better), so i bought a Husqy 135 mk2 to get me going as it seemed the best budget saw available (only £160). I then bought a bargain refurbished (screwfix) Titan 49cc to see how good/shite they are - have just fitted a 15" bar and it seems to run better but given then design of the brake I am not convinced it will last! Anyway, I am not sure any of these will do for my 'first' saw which is used primarily and needs to rip through whatever it comes across. So i have been toying with the idea of spending 4-500 quid on a new, decent saw. Boss is a Stihl fan and runs the older ms261. The Husqy 550xp has also been on my mind, also the 555, and the Dolmar 6100 which i actually contacted Shavey about on here and he was helpful (thanks). Well a local guy up here has a Stihl ms460 for sale. The only thing is that its 9 years old (but is in good condition). He wants £400 for it. My thinking is: 1. Its a lot of saw (more than what i would need probably, but nice to have) 2. I have seen some pretty good reviews. 3. If it is running well most of the depreciation will have gone from it. 4. £400ish seems like an okay price if the condition is right. My question is, what do you think would be the best course of action? Is it likely that this older Stihl be tired? Am i best just buying something new? Many thanks in advance. I appreciate the forum and I am sure it will be helpful when it comes to setting up my little business. John