Moose McAlpine

Blimey, and i thought my Sprinter was bad. It's only a 2.1 so the Shogun has a fair bit more power but this was today pulling a loaded 3-axle trailer at 60. (On the scales at ~5,500kg GTW.)

Were diesel Mazda's troublesome? I went to very few when i worked for the AA and for a few years Mazda was officially the most reliable car brand here. (Quite possibly still are.) The Mazda's the best-looking of the 3 by a country mile. CRVs are boring and covered in typical over-the-top Honda design and also a hybrid like the RAV-4, which is a combination of 2 technologies done badly together. Always find Toyotas a bit plastic-y, almost cheap and nasty. Of the 3 i'd have the diesel Mazda.

What type and brand of chain are you using, and is it sharp, with the rakers/depth gauges taken down correctly? If the saw's not being overworked in terms of bar length, and it's taking a lot of force to cut (and as such needing bigger spikes to dig in for leverage) maybe it's just not cutting well? When the chain's sharp you should be able to dog in the spikes and give little pressure on the handles and it'll work its way through easy. Does it cut well just pushing in the cut and not trying to lever it using the spikes? Saw and logs in that pic, i'd just sharpened the chain and it was eating through that log very quickly using almost all the bar length and i could cut using just the back handle and very little upward pull on the handle. So i wonder if the chain is not sharp enough and that's taking more effort to cut? (Granted that's a much bigger saw, but it's also a bigger bar.) If you want bigger spikes you can send me your existing ones and i can cut 'n' shut weld with some spares i've got off bigger saws (will have to check what i have.) but bear in mind that an extra inch of spikes means one less inch of useable bar length.

Got my HGV theory in a week, then doing Class 2 and Class 1. 😬

Thought you were a bloke, didn't know you were a good looking woman..

Looks like a good deal but we all know the dangers of buying cheap shit.

Blimey, you two will be on a hit list saying things like that. The hardcore 500i lovers will go ballistic. 😂

Not in Europe. My first cost £1,350 from Germany, and my second was £1,250 from Scotland. I've looked into importing some from further afield if there's demand.

It might be oiling, and don't call me Shirley.

The 572 is a fantastic saw, a bit of a beast. With a 20" bar it's an animal, but i've run a 28" on mine and it pulls it just fine. It's a bit nose-heavy with a 28 though, put plenty capable. As you said, 550 is a great smaller saw. Mine runs a 15" and she rips. Very light and balanced, a great little saw to run. Everyone bangs on about the 200T. My mate has a couple and sure, it's a reliable capable saw. I'm not a fan of them really. I prefer my T540, better AV and ergonomics, plenty of power. My baby T525 is a little powerhouse, really nice to use. I used 201TCs at a place i worked a few months ago, pretty decent but i prefer the T540. (Disclaimer: I'm not a professional tree surgeon and as such my experience is limited.)

Unsurprising really.

What you done to that grip???

Eww, as if. I'm not fond of Stihls. I considered a 241but the 550 beats it in all ways so there aren't really any Stihls i'd buy.

All drained down and sat on a shelf waiting.

Yeah if you want. She's sat on a shelf doing nothing.

Just buy a 572XP. You know you want to.

No risk of that.

I don't know to be honest, i've hardly used it. It's so bulky and heavy that it's actually no fun to use at all. Only thing i know with the hard nose is that it needs less chain tension or you can overheat and wear the bar quickly. I wouldn't choose to buy a hard nose personally. Maybe good for plunge cutting or dirty wood though?

I think i paid about 650 for mine*, used once, with 36" hard-nose bar and 2 chains. *(I don't remember the exact figure, it was around that.)

Beauty. Love the design of the 395s.

I do, but i think my full wrap was about 50 quid delivered, with the big dogs and little front protection plate. Not worth it to custom make full wraps, except i'd like to make one for my 550. I have a spare 572 full wrap that will probably be the donor for it.

Mine are too but they seep chain oil. With things lately it may be some time before they're used again so i might drain them all down, and remove the bars and chains to store them all.

None of mine have been used for a few months. Need to drain them all down for storage. ☹

Heard you don't need it any more. Send it to me so it can join my other ones. 😘

I bought mine from America via eBay. Fraction of the cost of buying it here, arrived in a week. I need to buy another for my second 395 and it'll come from the same seller.