A Husqvarna 435 is fine for the limbing and small trees. For the bigger a minimum Husqvarna would be a 550XP Mk 2, or for Echo, a 620 which is a great, torquey pro saw which can run a 24 in bar if needed
Chainsaw Purchase
- Thread starter Fordiesel69
- Start date
Good catch. I meant to say Husky 235. Gutless!
When you say regular gas do you mean 87 octane? My Stihl recommends 89 minimum, and I use 91 E0.
Just my $0.02
Bummer. Around my house Ace and a couple of local places are really reasonable
Echo CS-590 or a lighter option would be the CS-4910/4920. I have a Jonsered CS2171 which is very powerful for the big stuff, but it gets heavy. My go-to for "firewood" is my Echo CS-501P with an 18" bar which is the pro equivalent to the CS-4910.
I process 7-8 cord a year for myself and sell on the side. I have tree companies drop off length loads periodically.
Out of all my 20+ saws, my favorite powersaw has been my 572XP with a 28" light bar. I got a great deal on it with Husky's sale last year - $980 shipped to my door.
It's a factory hot rod and has been absolutely outstanding. It weighs about the same as a 60cc class saw with more punch.
Buy a Full Wrap kit for felling and she's ready to work.
BTW - I know Stihl is off the table, but I have several and they have been great. My MS362 has been a true work horse.
I recently had a chance to run a MS400 with the magnesium piston. She is a little ripper @ 66.7cc and will pull a 25" bar well.
Just wanted to put that out there.
I recently had a chance to run a MS400 with the magnesium piston. She is a little ripper @ 66.7cc and will pull a 25" bar well.
Just wanted to put that out there.
Exactly what I did.
I sold my saw to a co-worker. Included the case, new chain and the remaining bar oil for $300. He brought a can of two stroke mix and started it on the 2nd pull.
How old is he? Since he's got the small saw already, I'd recommend a pro saw 60-70cc, and it should go for decades. My 372xp is from 2002, and cuts my firewood every year, and doesn't seem to be losing much performance at all.
Stuff like 18" hardwood is fun with it. Buck a 40-50lb block every 15 seconds or so, and a cord seems to get pretty small really!
Check these 60 cc twins, Shindaiwa 600SX and Echo CS-620P out. I bought the 600SX with 20" bar late last year and it is a beast.
I have an Echo cs-4910 and I like it quite a bit. Nothing wrong with husky, but I’ve been sticking with Echo for my ope
If one of the main purposes is felling, I wouldn't bother with a 50cc powersaw.
A pro saw with more power than you need and a full wrap bar is the way to go.
A pro saw with more power than you need and a full wrap bar is the way to go.
So the primary function of the saw is wood processing for the purpose of heating. Felling I would say is a secondary function. Drop the tree, then process it complete. To be clear it will be a selective game so that the whole forest is not logged out quickly. I would say 2-4 trees per season would be good and whatever falls will be a bonus.
Then for the money and time, a 70cc class saw would be ideal. Husky 572 or Echo 7310. The Husky will be a bit lighter and peppier.
I have a Husky that has been good. Not sure what model.
If he is going to be doing work with a chainsaw he should familiarize himself with the hazards of chain sawing. You could get into trouble in a split second. A neighbor of mine lost his life as a result of chainsawing. There are some excellent eye opening videos out there about safety. There was one from I think the forestry department of Arizona that taught me a lot. I had been using a chainsaw off and on for years and was apparently doing a lot of dumb things. Lucky I came out OK.
If he is going to be doing work with a chainsaw he should familiarize himself with the hazards of chain sawing. You could get into trouble in a split second. A neighbor of mine lost his life as a result of chainsawing. There are some excellent eye opening videos out there about safety. There was one from I think the forestry department of Arizona that taught me a lot. I had been using a chainsaw off and on for years and was apparently doing a lot of dumb things. Lucky I came out OK.
This is great advice. I myself will not fall a tree, it needs to be on the ground already. In person I witnessed some widow makers detach from way above and came stabbing into the ground as soon as the trunk began to break loose. I was so frustrated waiting all summer for the tree guy to come, I was mere days from trying it myself. Had I done that, I would be dead.
He knew better, spotted what I didn't, and tied the tree off, cut the trunk, then walked 30 feet and gave it a pull.
So we have moved away from 50cc class and now into the 60 and 70cc class? Interesting.
Conservatively I've fallen 150,000 trees, probably more.
You want as much saw as you can afford, their is really no such thing as too much power in a saw. Get at least 4 inches more bar than you think you need, because that occasionally tree seems to pop up that is bigger than the average.
Buy a tooth file, and raker file, keep it sharp, and check those rakers, when they need to be filed down do so.
Buy full power saw pants, not just chaps.
A full wrap is a must, you never know when you have to cut one way or the other.
If doing cold winter work, get the heated handle.
If you are tall, a short bar has you hunched over all day to when bucking. 2 wedges, and a hatchet, when you need to steer a tree precisely its all about the accuracy of your under cut, and 2 wedges. When you get a hanger, and you will, that's when you slow down, look at it closely, and decide how to fall the tree that your other tree is hung up in. Always plan your escape route to run away if needed.
If you have to leave the saw behind so be it...no point in killing yourself trying to save a saw.
Usually they survive fine anyway, they fall to the ground and sit there idling when you walk back.
Your pull rope is going to break, its just a fact, a spare rope is cheap, just buy 1 when you buy the saw.
You want as much saw as you can afford, their is really no such thing as too much power in a saw. Get at least 4 inches more bar than you think you need, because that occasionally tree seems to pop up that is bigger than the average.
Buy a tooth file, and raker file, keep it sharp, and check those rakers, when they need to be filed down do so.
Buy full power saw pants, not just chaps.
A full wrap is a must, you never know when you have to cut one way or the other.
If doing cold winter work, get the heated handle.
If you are tall, a short bar has you hunched over all day to when bucking. 2 wedges, and a hatchet, when you need to steer a tree precisely its all about the accuracy of your under cut, and 2 wedges. When you get a hanger, and you will, that's when you slow down, look at it closely, and decide how to fall the tree that your other tree is hung up in. Always plan your escape route to run away if needed.
If you have to leave the saw behind so be it...no point in killing yourself trying to save a saw.
Usually they survive fine anyway, they fall to the ground and sit there idling when you walk back.
Your pull rope is going to break, its just a fact, a spare rope is cheap, just buy 1 when you buy the saw.
Last edited:
I guess for a few 18" trees a year, any decent 50cc saw will do that. A 30"+ hardwood will be no fun with that saw though! There must be some bigger trees in the fence rows? I kind of like the 70cc saw as its not that heavy, but it can do the work and cut up nearly any tree in the east.
This lunker was a 40-48" fence row White Ash that died, heated my house for a couple years! To buck the rounds, I cut one side with the 20" bar and then switched to a 36" bar with full skip chain to the other side. Took a while and a bigger saw would've been faster, but it ate through it, round by round. Ash splits easy so I just flopped the round over and swung away with the maul and loaded the trailer.
Sigh.........whenever I need a testosterone boost, I seek out a chainsaw thread. 
Examples:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservat...e/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-forest-management
https://ecosystems.psu.edu/research...nsylvania-forest-stewards/program-information
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/conservation/forests-and-tree/managing-your-woods.html
Fordiesel69, check out your Pennsylvania DNR, USDA Forest Service/NRCS, and Penn State Forestry Extension to learn about (maybe) free services to have someone develop a forest stand prescription for you (dumbed down management plan) .
Examples:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservat...e/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-forest-management
https://ecosystems.psu.edu/research...nsylvania-forest-stewards/program-information
https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/conservation/forests-and-tree/managing-your-woods.html
Last edited:
