I just cleaned and serviced my 30 yr old Husky, filled it with gas and oil, and it started on the 4th pull!! I figure my expense on that thang has been about $1 per each cord of wood it’s cut in its lifetime. Heck of a deal! I guess I should include dozens of chains and a few bars in that expense.
I’m thinking about mounting it in a table and calling it my ‘table saw’.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
Replies
My Husky 51 isn't as old as yours but it has been a sweet little saw. It only takes four pulls if I forget to put the switch on. Gotta love a well built tool.
As I am in the market for a new chain saw, I'm wondering if the new Husqvarnas measure up to your older models. Any other good manufacturers?Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Stihl, Echo. I'm guessing the saws are better now if that's possible. I just replaced my old Poulin brush cutter with an Echo, wow! Perfect ergonomics. I bought something at HD and the motor croaked within an hour. Can't remember what brand it was but was I lucky to get rid of it right away. If you are using the saw professionally, I think Stihl is the top pick.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Husqvarna and Stihl are still top of the line in my books. I wouldn't get anything less than 60cc displacement (3.6 cubic inch) and an 18" bar. 4.0+ cubic inch even better.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Husky is now made by Electrolux - same folks that make craftsman stuff (poulan, and a bunch of other brands).Now a days, pros buy Stihl saws (or is that sthil?)Mark
Visit my woodworking blog Dust Maker
Uhh, slow down there.
Electrolux is the holding company for a number of brands, including Husqvarna and Poulan (and all sorts of other products). But lots of Crapsman saws are not even Poulan (which is now a junk homeowner saw). BUT, your claim that all the pros now use Stihl is wrong. In fact, Husqvarna has a slight ~2% edge in market share among pro users (though by now that could easily have swung the other way). However, Jonsered, also one of the best saws made, is essentially a rebadged Husqvarna and they take another chunk of the market, so Elux saws certainly dominate.
A lot comes down to particular models as far as where the edge lies, and of course the rivalry is as strong as Ford vs. Chevy. I have a Husqvarna 359 that plain rocks. I was gonna buy a Stihl (as a previous Stihl owner), but you can get more saw for the money with a Husy in most cases, even if you go through a bricks & mortar dealer. (Stihl can't be bought online) Husqvarna's anti-vibe and filtration is generally considered superior to Stihl.
Bottom line, they are both very good, and both have produced some real turds. Also, while those two have the majority of the market, Efco and Dolmar are also very highly regarded. Efcos are Italian and are more commonly sold here as the John Deere and Cub Cadet pro model saws (so you can get the same saw in red, green, or yellow). Makita now owns Dolmar, so you can get the same saw in blue or red.
Edited 8/16/2005 2:12 pm ET by ohcomeon
husky is owned by the electrolux corporation but still made by Husky. And IMO, they ar ea better saw than Stihl
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Jonsered, Stihl or husky..not listed in any order..I've got a Jonsered and a Stihl and have had excellent results with both, no problems.....and I know a lot of guys from my old stomping grounds who use Husky as well, even though Stihls and jonsereds are more common..........If you aren't one of the one's I'm talking about,you shouldn't have any complaints....
I love my Stihl w/18" bar that I bought their brush cutter too. They're both like new after 4 years and a lot of use. I had a love affair with Shindaiwa for years but have jumped ship. aloha, mike
I bought a husky 50 cc 18" bar when we moved to this place (1989). It was light, powerful, but was the devils own torture to start. There were days when I gave up when my arm gave out from pulling the #@*&# thing. That includes numerous tuneups and fixes.
Later, I found out that Husky tried a new choke concept in my model year where the shroud would act as a choke. This idea stank in practice and was only used for about a year - the year I bought my saw!
I wrote to husky with complaints about the saw and asked them to make some kind of deal to fix it. But, lots of parts had to be replaced to move the the modern (and old) choke design and I never even got a reply!
I gave the darn boat anchor away and have gone through a succession of saws since.
The $100 specials are better than you'd think cutting several cords before throw away time. The expensive craftsman (poulan) was OK, but had fatal flaws that made it seize up when a softened fuel line broke and aspirated air.
Now I'm using a Stihl and it is quite dependable. Heavier than the Husky and less powerful, but it always starts!
Husky probably makes great saws and I probably got the only husky design that stinks; but, that's the impression that husky made on me and they didn't seem to be interested in making things OK so that was my one and only husky purchase.
Edited 8/17/2005 12:47 am ET by Telemike
Talk about a boat anchor, my first chain saw was a Homelite 12". But, I was young and foolish (and poor) in those days. I kept it around for a while after buying the Husqvarna in case the Husky got stuck in a limb or something. Then one day I threw it into the trash can. When the Husky goes, I think I will bury it and give it a tombstone and fire my pellet gun over it a few times.
That lesson was somewhat retained when starting into woodworking - NEVER BUY CHEAP TOOLS!
One thing I've noticed about the new Husky's is that the plastic is not as sturdy as that on mine. Appears to be thinner.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
The plastic was of concern to me when I bought my 359. I was thinking, "man that looks weak". A dealer that carries both Stihl and Husq said not to worry, they both have plenty of plastic and it helps to contribute to much lighter saws. Plastic has come a long ways.
What I find more disconcerting is the use of plastic by virtually all of the makers in some of their saws in the crankcases. That was one of the reasons I chose my 359 over say a Stihl 310 (and the issue of saw for the $$). And the Stihl is heavier to boot.
As a side note, the 1xx series Husqvarnas are essentially Poulans, so those are the ones to avoid.
The Husky's I've used have been excellent or better....haven't heard anything about quality going down at all, and this is a pretty lumber intensive area....I don't work on the logging side, more sawmills on up, and definitely no expert, but lots of pros here are still Husky people. Would be my first choice; don't even see any of some of the brands mentioned previously....they may be good saws, but service is important.
Speaking of service...the thing that would swing me to Stihl is that one of our local Stihl dealers gives absolutely first rate customer service. The other Stihl dealer is also a Husky dealer, and service is okay.
The pros may use Husky........they also demand Cannon bars.....make any saw great! aloha, mike
Lighter saws are what I want for cutting limbs over my head, but when it comes to hoggin through a trunk of a downed tree, I want weight and power!
When I was a kid my dad had a 6 cubic inch McColough saw. With that blamed thing you could stand back, throw it at a tree, and it would cut it down, section it up and split it up into firewood all by itself!!!! Uhhh, Uhhh, Uhhh!! Only problem was you couldn't throw it very far.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
LOL, was that the McColough that had a gas tank that looked like a coffee can?
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Don't really remember but the thing musta weighed 50 lbs.
Before that chain saw my dad had a large garden type tractor with like a 36" circular blade mounded to run parallel to the ground. He would come in on one side of the tree with it, then cut out the notch with an axe. He'd then come in from the other side with be blade. Then we'd use a crosscut buck saw to cut the trees (post oaks) into fence post length. Then the logs were split into fence posts using sledge hammers and wedges. The rest was cut up into firewood with axes. All the fence posts on our land was initially made this way. After they rotted out, he started using cresote posts.
Thinking back on it, I can see how dangerous the process was. But, within a week of getting the chain saw, the blamed thing threw out a chunk and hit me square in the nose, splitting it wide open. A little Turpentine to wash it then tape held it together till it healed.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
Hi I have a Stihl chain saw about the same age. It can sit a year or more without being used all i have to do is gass it up choke it and abuut 4 pulls and it starts. Real good saw.
Have a nice day Lee
Got a 23 year old Echo 302S chainsaw and a Echo weed-eater that I use every week. Wore out 3 bars and 2 starter ropes, but it's still running great. Cut a lot of oak, mesquite, and PT and telepohone poles with it. 100% metal case. Not like the new ones...
Wow your weed eater cuts down trees? Amazing. :-)Mark
Visit my woodworking blog Dust Maker
Hey there,
I just have a little echo that I bought at home depot BUT,
I have a two man pull saw, about seven feet long, from the turn of the century (that I sharpened up years ago for cutting the logs that held up the enrance to my first shop), and I'd put that thing up against any chainsaw for speed. With two experienced guys you can cut very fast with one of these old boys, and you'll never have to put gas in it. It still hangs on the wall in my shop. I even cut up a couple of chords of firewood one year with it.
Cheers,
Brian
My dad tried to teach me to work one end of those thangs when I was a kid. After a few minutes of my flying wildly back and forth on the other end, he gave up! That's when he went and bought the big McCollough chain saw. Weren't they called 'Buck Saws'??
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
My grandfather the youngest of 5 told me that his brothers did not mind him being on one end of the two man saw but they did not like it when he dragged his feet.
Doesn't cut down trees, but I've accidentally killed a coupleof fruit trees with it. Just get too close and girdle the bark, and they'll die...
I bought a Husky XP268 about 20 years ago, paid about $500. I can't count how much wood this thing has cut up. Replaced a drive sprocket and bar about 8 years ago. This saw still has amazing compression. Starts 2nd or third pull every time. One thing I would reccomend to every one regardless of brand is to use somthing called storage fogging oil if you plan on storing your saw for more than a couple of months. Just empty the gas tank start your saw and sray this stuff into the carb until the engine stalls. Prevents all sorts of problems. Smokes a lot when you start it , but that goes away.
Nice thread!
I just bought a small Stihl - mostly for yard work (big yard) - and have dropped it off today for its free five-tank service.
I cut my teeth on long-bar Stihls - one a twin engine setup for slabbing logs - whan I was younger and fitter. Have always liked them.
This time I could have bought a poc for $NZ400, a German-made Makita for 500, and I paid 845 for my Stihl. Why should I, I asked the loacl dealer. Quality, reliability, service and longevity, was more or less what he said. I'd made the decision anyway, just wanted to tease him along!
Nice machine. I like the toolfree chain dismount/adjustment, the light weight, the balance, and the fit and finish. My BoL, who is a farmer, came by and immediately wanted one as well!
Malcolm
One question-
If you were planning, on occasion, to rough mill some logs prior to bandsawing them (i.e. ripping say 12" to 16" diameter logs into 3 to 4 foot timbers for a bandsaw),would you favor any particular machine/rip chain?Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
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