Ok, it wasn't a massacre. However, we recently had a good snow storm that took down a tree in my yard. The tree was blocking about 20% of the street. My neighbor helped me remove it from the street with a few swift cuts with his $60 electric chain saw. Within the next few days I decided I needed one and bought a $50 14" Home lite saw from Home Depot. It was doing fine taking that tree apart and I was down to turning large pieces of the trunk into usable firewood. Then outta nowhere the fucking thing disintegrated in my hands while cutting (fell apart into 3 pieces!!). Bar fell off, chain came undone, and I was left holding the handles wondering how I wasn't seriously injured. Needless to say, I took it back and got refunded. Should I spend the extra $$ and buy a Stihl? Any chainsaw owners out there?? This is all new to me as a new home owner.......
CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Big Jilm
- Start date
Lars
Flush
I have a Makita electric that I paid about $240 for 8 years ago. It is a great saw and I have used it a lot. I was once given a cheap electric one for fathers day and was lucky not to have gotten hurt as the chain would come off constantly without warning. The Makita also has a great break and is fairly light. I put a longer bar on it and it does everything I need it to do. If you are cutting close to a power source that are great. I also have a Stihl pole saw that is very impressive as well. I wouldn't hesitate to buy Stihl or Huskavarna.
RowdyRawhide
Full House
Depends....
Lived in a house that we heated with wood only for six years 5-6 months out of the year. Had a poulan "wild thing" bought from TSC about four years earlier, this chainsaw is designed for occasional home owner use (I consider this around 10-15 hours of "run time" per year IMHO) , which sounds like what you need. However I spent at least 5x that cutting wood and ended up buying a Stihl farmboss, 20" bar and 3/8 chain I think it is called a 271 now. It is a beast compared to the Poulan.
If money is no option then get the Stihl, but I think I would have trouble paying 2x the money for a 14" chainsaw (around $250 for the Stihl, and around $130-150 for the Poulan
ETA: I have no experience with electric chainsaws
Ben
Full House
This is like asking "should I go buy another set of plastic "Holdem Poker" chips from Walmart, or upgrade to mint PCAs?" I think you know the answer.
Psypher1000
Straight Flush
LabMonkey
Flush
If you cut wood regularly, buy the Stihl. The Farmboss that Rowdy mentioned is one the best gas-powered tools I've ever owned.
Lars
Flush
I'm loving those plaques. I picked up a few more recently (from Psypher) and have plans for a big tourney using all of them soon. I will post pics. I'm glad you like the PCA's. They are one of my favorite chips. Glad you weren't hurt by the chainsaw. Cheap tools can be extremely expensive.
OP
OP
That is the equivalent of what I bought from Home Depot, lol
tommythecat
Flush
One area I have learned not to skimp on is tools...especially powered ones.
iblonger
Two Pair
Good to hear you were not seriously hurt. A flying chain can cause serious damage, even with all the safeties on newer saws. Stihl is in my opinion the best, but Echo, Husky, Dolmar also make good saws.. If you are not burning wood to heat your home I would recommend the farm boss as a good saw for you. This is good enough that if you ever decide to heat full time with wood you can. A big advantage to Stihl is the local dealer network. They do not sell in big box stores. All tools are assembled, setup, and ran before they ever leave the shop. And if you have an issue they dealer can clear it up quickly.
RowdyRawhide
Full House
If you think you're gonna want a little extra protection these are nice. I wear them if I don't have overalls on. I have had a chain come of before as well. Plus they keep my jeans from getting tore up as well
http://www.cabelas.com/product/cabe...2Bchaps&No=0&Ntk=AllProducts&Ntt=upland+chaps
http://www.cabelas.com/product/cabe...2Bchaps&No=0&Ntk=AllProducts&Ntt=upland+chaps
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