New Saw Recommendation

[Tkekic]

I love my Echo. Son also has a couple including one wiyj a 24 blade. He loves them. My Husky did not last long. Still Electric is great for the light work we do. Larger Still has become very hard to start. Con't do better than a Echo.

 

[sd455dan]

The little 2511 clone is almost here from Hockfire saws- I finally grabbed the Farmertec G660 kit I bought about 4 years ago off the bench and have started looking at putting it together, found the flywheel removal tool and seem to have misplaced a crank installation tool, has to be around somewhere. Have to find the 28" bar and chain that I must have stashed elsewhere as well.
Definitely going to croakus cloth or ? the port edges, and the cylinder casting has a big amount of flash at the center of the head section that I will need to grind out /remove as well as they cast the intake port off center as well.

Looks like the white orange Stihl color's combo are NLA now?

Blue NLA unless old stock now.

Clone saws of the old saws we all liked. Those are 440 460.

I have had about all of them testing out and for my uses anymore.

3120 880 Gen 2 361 2511 200T 372xp 288 395 660 you name it. The older ones we loved.

Holzfforma Farmertec IMHO #1 in clones.



View attachment 5481777View attachment 5481778

 

[xyz123]

The little 2511 clone is almost here from Hockfire saws- I finally grabbed the Farmertec G660 kit I bought about 4 years ago off the bench and have started looking at putting it together, found the flywheel removal tool and seem to have misplaced a crank installation tool, has to be around somewhere. Have to find the 28" bar and chain that I must have stashed elsewhere as well.
Definitely going to croakus cloth or ? the port edges, and the cylinder casting has a big amount of flash at the center of the head section that I will need to grind out /remove as well as they cast the intake port off center as well.

Looks like the white orange Stihl color's combo are NLA now?

Ya the pro ones they do the beveling way better then the regular ones.

IMHO the parts kits to me are the worst alot of the times. Sometimes I swear looks like seconds. JMO

 

[Soloz2]

I love my MS261c. I wanted something bigger and after comparing pricing for a bigger Stihl I grabbed an Echo CS620p. It's a turd compared to my 261 despite being a bigger saw so I brought it back. The Dealer wasn't happy, but I did get most of my money back and I went down the street and got a MS400c. Never looked back! The Echo 60cc was slower to rev and didn't feel like it had any more torque than my 261 did, but the 400c absolutely rips and has the torque to boot.

 

[dh206]

I have three Stihl and two Husqvarna chainsaws that were all great when new, but became harder and harder to start every year. They are all different sizes and when running, they all work great. But even after paying to have them serviced, they are never easy to start.

My current favorite chainsaw is an Echo Timberwolf with a 20 inch blade and 59.8cc engine. I've had it three years and it is the easiest saw to start that I've ever used!!! The engine is huge and it's the only saw that has plenty of power. I also like how the plastic for the gas tank is see through and you can see how much fuel you have.

In my opinion, just about every saw in the same bar size and power range is going to cut as good as the chain that's on it. For me, what's important is how much I will have to suffer to get it to start when I want to use it.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ECHO-20-in-59-8-cc-Gas-2-Stroke-Rear-Handle-Timber-Wolf-Chainsaw-CS-590-20/204221580

I like the translucent gas tank too! They take some getting used to in the Start department with choke compared to other chainsaws I have owned, but yeah, runs great!

 

[Noah]

So, my small engine mechanic tells me all new saws are garbage with these new EPA emissions. But I have a bunch of maples I just had felled. They are 14 inch at the tops and 26 and 31 inch at the bottoms. I only have an old Stihl 029 and thinking about getting something bigger. What do you all recommend.
I find looking at the saw websites very confusing. You see small saws that are more expensive than big saws?
Figure for what it cost to get them to block it all up, I may as well invest in a bigger saw.

What do you all recommend for this job?

 

[Noah]

Most have recommended that you get the pro series saw in whatever brand you like, I highly agree with that. I have two huskies that were new in 1997 which I still use. Neither one has ever needed a carburetor adjustment. Both start very easily cold or hot. I did upgrade to a 372 do and have an older 357 xp. A few months back I got a 562xp which has the computer in it. So far so good very easy to start if you follow directions.

 

[aircommuter]

I have a mixed collection from 12” to 48”. I would think for your limited or one time use you could find s good used 066. I have one that I turned up a bit, I usually run a 32” with a skip tooth chain. It’s a running machine. When I get it out I forget about weight because it’s so fast.

 

[1010]

455 rancher husquarvarna will cut anything you need.. comes with a 20 inch bar..

 

[mx842]

It probably won't make any difference as to what I might recommend but, in the 55,+ years I have been using chainsaws I still love my Stihl saws. I've tried pretty much any kind of saw that is out there before I bought my first Stihl saw in the late 70's and I see no reason to change now. I bought a new 028 and a 044 the same day and both would still be with me today if they had not got burned up when my shop burned to the ground.
I replaced those two saws with a Ms 261 and a Ms 400c. I'll have to admit that when I first looked at both those saws the first time, I found myself thinking, I wonder if these will last as long as those old saws. So far, I'm happy with them and wouldn't trade them for anything else.
The thing with these newer saws they seem a little hard to start unless you go by the way the book says. I was ready to throw both of them in the woods and walk away the first few times I started using them because I was trying to start them the same way I did my old saws.
I pretty much use the 261 most of the time because it is a little lighter and so far, I haven't seen much that it would not tackle. The new 400c is a close match for my old 044 but it's not that much difference. You just have to remember to go through the auto tune deal before you go to work. All my saws have always had to eat what fuel comes out of the pump, but I always use Stihl oil in the gas tank and Stihl bar oil. Some may disagree with that, but I have never had a problem with any of my saws or lawn equipment even when I leave them sitting for an extended amount of time. I do use a cap full of the Starbrite (Blue) fuel conditioner when I get a new 5 gal can of gas. Some people will disagree with using that also, I'm just saying this is what I do and have never had problems. That is unless you buy fuel at the wrong station and you end up with a can half full of water, which has happened a couple times.
I figured out a long time ago that it pays to spend a little more if you are buying any kind of equipment to work with, cheaper is not always better. Having said that if you are not using it to make a living and only use it a couple times a year then a box store saw may be the best deal for you.

 

[BlueKnife]

Having said that if you are not using it to make a living and only use it a couple times a year then a box store saw may be the best deal for you.

FWIW, I made my living with chainsaws for a couple decades. During that time, I found that the "box store" Echo's were every bit of the saw that the pro Stihl's of comparable size were. I've never quite understood the thing about buying from servicing dealers, to be honest. I'm all for buying from small businesses, but other than that, I don't think it really matters where you get the saw. In 25 years of professional chainsaw use and at least a dozen or so saws, Husky's, Stihl's and Echos, I brought a saw (all Stihls) to someone to get fixed perhaps 3-4 times, and none of those were to the dealer I bought them from. I've never needed to fix an Echo saw, or bring it to someone to get serviced. All saws wear out eventually of course, but if you get a good quality one and take care of it, the chances are that by the time it needs service, it won't be worth fixing anyway. If it is worth it, it's not going to matter where you bought it.

 

[RobertN]

All saws wear out eventually of course, but if you get a good quality one and take care of it, the chances are that by the time it needs service, it won't be worth fixing anyway. If it is worth it, it's not going to matter where you bought it.

True. I'm stihl using the Stihl 024 my Dad got in the early 80's. That saw stihl runs and works great. It's had basic maintenance and cleaning, a couple sparkplugs, filter, and bar/chain. But those are all typical consumables.

I'm amazed sometimes at the lack of maintenance I see on the chainsaw YouTubes where they do teardowns, and on Marketplace and Craigslist when people try to sell filthy saws...

 

[mx842]

FWIW, I made my living with chainsaws for a couple decades. During that time, I found that the "box store" Echo's were every bit of the saw that the pro Stihl's of comparable size were. I've never quite understood the thing about buying from servicing dealers, to be honest. I'm all for buying from small businesses, but other than that, I don't think it really matters where you get the saw. In 25 years of professional chainsaw use and at least a dozen or so saws, Husky's, Stihl's and Echos, I brought a saw (all Stihls) to someone to get fixed perhaps 3-4 times, and none of those were to the dealer I bought them from. I've never needed to fix an Echo saw, or bring it to someone to get serviced. All saws wear out eventually of course, but if you get a good quality one and take care of it, the chances are that by the time it needs service, it won't be worth fixing anyway. If it is worth it, it's not going to matter where you bought it.

I guess you are right in some ways but back in the old days about all you had to pick from were poulan, mac and Stihl. I was a tight wad when I first started out and bought the cheapest thing I could get. When I had all Poulin's I had about 6 or 7 saws in the back of the truck at all times and would be lucky if 2 would start up on any given day. I went to Mac's and they were not much better; one would start one day and the next day it wouldn't and so on. I was cutting heavy timber at the time, and I was wasting a lot of time running saws back and forth to the shop.
One day on one of those runs I asked the guy what he had that I could buy that at least 2 days out of the week would work. He showed me a 051 Stihl and said try this out, use it for a week and come back and tell me what you think. I went back about three days later and bought that saw along with an 031 Stihl. Neither of those saws ever were seen in a shop again. About 15 years later one of the guys working for me ran over the 051 with my Case 1150B loader. I replaced that one with an 044 and that saw never had a shop trip for over 40 years until it got destroyed in my shop fire.
The way I look at it why try something else when I have had the kind of service I have gotten out of those saws? In those years I have picked up a few cheaper saws just to have around for the neighbor that wanted to borrow a saw or the guys that just wasn't cut out to even be in the same room with my good saws. Most didn't make it too very long. When my shop burned down I had probably 15 to 20 saws of all kinds that were all in some need of repair of one kind or another, those two saws the 031 and the 044 were the only ones that I could pick up and use without worrying about whether or not they would work.

 

[xyz123]

True. I'm stihl using the Stihl 024 my Dad got in the early 80's. That saw stihl runs and works great. It's had basic maintenance and cleaning, a couple sparkplugs, filter, and bar/chain. But those are all typical consumables.

I'm amazed sometimes at the lack of maintenance I see on the chainsaw YouTubes where they do teardowns, and on Marketplace and Craigslist when people try to sell filthy saws...

You should see the chit I see repairing.

Hey you want to pay my labor to clean your saw so be it.

Gets charged same labor rate.

Here was after some digging out to see what was broken or missing.

Just firewood cutters too.

You get them on both ends of the yardstick.

Guy I used to work with has a bought new 034 super. Super clean and easy to work on for him.

 

[xyz123]

Here is that friends 034 super he bought new.

I drool every time I get a chance to work on it.

Back when made saws to last.

Also takes a man to start it.

I had to upgrade him with a 460 rescue handle to help him out as he got older.

He finally wore out the original screen flocked filter so got him a new one.

He has dropped it from 1 tree he said.

@RobertN

 

[dodge man]

My MS 261 got a tank of fuel through it yesterday. It didn’t want to come off of idle as good as it used to. I turned the low screw a quarter or half turn and is much better now. Don’t forget some saws have a winter/summer door you need to switch.

 

[BlueKnife]

I guess you are right in some ways but back in the old days about all you had to pick from were poulan, mac and Stihl.

True. There was a time even when Mac, Poulan and Homelite made great saws. These things evolve with changes in ownership and management and, unfortunately, the old, formerly American brands either no longer exist or exist as a sad, cheap Asian shadow of their former selves.

The way I look at it why try something else when I have had the kind of service I have gotten out of those saws?

Certainly nothing wrong with the pro Stihl saws. I still have several. A person is likely to get a long life and excellent service out of one, and with your background, it makes perfect sense that you would want to stick with pro Stihl's. If a prospective buyer wants to save a bit of money though while getting a saw that will serve equally well, Echo deserves consideration.

 

[Rockbadchild]

I would also recommend a 60cc saw its simply the best of both world... I have the discontinued 359 husky and it is all I could ever ask for... the new replacement for it would be the 562XP or the STIHL MS 362 .... the price tag could be hard to swallow but get anything your comfortable to pay but I would not want anything less then 3.5hp (around 60cc).