What kind of chainsaw are you using . . Right Now!

[drone]

Nothing manly like the resident lumberjacks here. I just got a Stihl 290, probably more than I need. I've been putting off getting one, but when they made the hurricane predictions for this year I decided it was time. I live in the suburbs, but I've got a friend with a big farm, so I figure I can put it to use there as well. He's got a Stihl 660 that I've used some. Talk about a back-breaker, especially with the 3 ft bar.

[Reverend Joe]

A big one.

Nah, I don't have a chainsaw; I swear by the trusty axe (and its cousin, the hatchet).

[Kääpäkorven Konsuli]

Big yellow Husgvarna and small Tanaka.

[Beirut]

Nothing manly like the resident lumberjacks here. I just got a Stihl 290, probably more than I need. I've been putting off getting one, but when they made the hurricane predictions for this year I decided it was time. I live in the suburbs, but I've got a friend with a big farm, so I figure I can put it to use there as well. He's got a Stihl 660 that I've used some. Talk about a back-breaker, especially with the 3 ft bar.

A lot of people think you're only cool if you have a big saw. It ain't the case. The very best tree cutter I know, a full blood Mohawk who works with us, spends 90% of his time using a 34cc climber's saw and a Stihl 025.

Hell, me and a buddy spent five months clearing a rich guy's land, about 25 acres, after a tornado tore through it knocking down hundreds and hundreds of trees, and I used a Husky 45 and he used a Stihl 025. Both are 45cc saws. Nothing big. You just need to keep them sharp. A 45cc saw in good shape will handle most jobs. And you don't go home with your knuckles dragging on the ground from the weight. I've gotten used to flying around with an 038, but I do it all day every day.

[ichi]

One of teh funniest things I ever heard on the line was when this guy showed up with a huge saw (66? maybe) and like a 36" bar.

"Nice saw, sorry about your p#n!$"

About 40 guys fell over laughing.

ichi

[Beirut]

Hee-hee. There's one guy in town here who has a Husky 3120. It's more of a show piece than anything else. He just uses it to buck firewood sometimes.

Here's the one tree joke I know.

Son tree: :Daddy, what kind of tree am I?"

Father tree: "Well son, you may be a son of a birch or a son of a beech, all I can tell you for sure is your mother was a great piece of ash."

Arf!

By the by, I would still like to know about the "wrap around grip" thing. You've got me and my buddy very curious.

[Papewaio]

Full wrap grip is designed for both left and right handers and is supposed to be more safe...

[Beirut]

Ahh, you're talking about the front handle then. That would make it hard to cut stumps low to the ground and work in tight brush and limbing downed trees though if the front grip extended around the saw body on both sides. I can't see why it would be safer other than being more ergonomic if you switched hands to make a cut.

I might have seen a saw with a full wrap grip years ago, but I've never worked with anyone who used one.

[dessa14]

don't know the models, but i have a big 4-5 foot blade saw, that we only use on rails for creating slabs of timber (the trees we are falling are usually too big in girth to just use a normal chainsaw and we aren't pulling these things up in one piece and you want decent planks), a pair of typical sized (australian made) industrial saws with some minor modifications....(hehe trade secrets, my father is an engine reconditioner, so these chainsaws were modified to be easier to start cold and run cheaper and are more powerful :p but they still weigh near nothing), axes, a giant set of wedges which usually only use two of, a block splitter (we use it with the wedges), a sledge. this is my and my mates equipment, we usually join about 3-4 other blokes.
Australian brush is so different to what you northerners are probably used to and most of what we do is just dropping whole trees for timber. (can't be arsed getting up the tree unless i absolutely have to) and normally the trees we drop are huge straight up and down with the only significant branches at the top, so you just fall them away from your stuff cut it up where it falls.
thanks,
dizzy
Addition: don't get much work nowadays, too busy and don't need timber so its second place to my studies, girl chasing and other activity like carpentary/cabinet making.

BTW do you guys work forestry or is it just private sector...?
normally im working with state forestry blokes so it might be different for you blokes.

[drone]

A lot of people think you're only cool if you have a big saw. It ain't the case. The very best tree cutter I know, a full blood Mohawk who works with us, spends 90% of his time using a 34cc climber's saw and a Stihl 025.

Hell, me and a buddy spent five months clearing a rich guy's land, about 25 acres, after a tornado tore through it knocking down hundreds and hundreds of trees, and I used a Husky 45 and he used a Stihl 025. Both are 45cc saws. Nothing big. You just need to keep them sharp. A 45cc saw in good shape will handle most jobs. And you don't go home with your knuckles dragging on the ground from the weight. I've gotten used to flying around with an 038, but I do it all day every day.

I'm pretty sure the main reason my friend got the 660 was for the coolness factor. But he's a pretty big guy (~300lbs), so the weight doesn't affect him as much, and that saw does do the job. Usually he uses an 20" bar with it, but he has had a few 4-5' diameter trees go down and the 3' bar comes in handy. He also has a lot of locust wood trees on his farm (real dense hardwood), and the extra power is nice when cutting through those. Of course, we only saw for a couple of hours before retiring to our beer, I can't imagine climbing trees or lugging that thing around for an 8-hour shift.

My new 290 has the toolless easy-open "tourist gas cap", anything specific that you don't like/trust about it? Anything I need to look out for?

[Ja'chyra]

The UK army's new chainsaw of choice is the Makita DCS5000 in case anyone cares.

Incidentally if anyone knows od any faults with it please let me know.

[Beirut]

My new 290 has the toolless easy-open "tourist gas cap", anything specific that you don't like/trust about it? Anything I need to look out for?

It's my own insecurities I guess. The way I see it, any extraneous piece of plastic is bound to get snapped off at one point. Then it will also cost more to replace as well. And the price of replacing the plastic pieces on saws (which are thinner than before) is outrageous. The front (plastic) handle on my old Husky 40 cost $80!!! to replace after I cracked it. I'm going to have to replace the whole grip assembly on my 038 pretty soon I'm sure. That'll cost at least a $100 I figure. Bummer.

[mfberg]

For larger trees its a 7' two man saw (maybe 78"), 2 hand saws, a double bitted axe and a single bitted axe. If I can keep them sharp I can cut about 1/4 the speed of a decent chainsaw for the trunk and a little faster than our little (22" maybe) Stihl chainsaws when going through the branches. But of course we aren't pros.

mfberg

[Mikeus Caesar]

Sorry to necro this thread, but i had to post this!



The perfect chainsaw! It's on legs!