On Sat, Oct 21, 2006 at 11:50:55AM -0700, old dirtbeard wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I need to buy a chainsaw for general use, trees, firewood, etc. I never
> have owned a chainsaw before and would like some guidance on:
> - brands to avoid
Anything cheap.
> - reliable brands
Stihl.
> - features to get/avoid
You want a saw with an intertial and lever-activated chain brake.
Don't get one with a solid unmovable guard in front of the front handle.
That gets in the way and doesn't work. The intertial brake on
the Stihl works when you need it. I have had mine trip exactly once, when
I was rolling out of the way of a downed tree I'd been limbing with
my neighbor. He cut one of the limbs holding the trunk in the air
and it would have rolled over me had I not done a backflip to get out of
the way. (lesson is: don't work on the same tree with other people even
if they are professionals).
The lever can be locked and unlocked manually.
That's pretty handy, you can lock it when you are walking around
on uneven ground with the saw running and the unlock it when its
time to cut something.
> - bar length recommendations
You need the bar to be a bit over half of the diameter of the biggest
log you expect to cut. But the bigger the bar the more engine you need
to run the saw, the heavier it is, and the more unwieldy it is. 16-18"
is usually what's used for firewood.
> - any tips?
Buy a set of saw chaps, boots with a steel toe, and a good
helmet/faceshield/ear protector combo. Spend the money for
a good one of those, it'll be more comfortable.
The boots and chaps keep the saw from cutting off your toes or leg
should you make a mistake. When I worked with the USFS and did a lot of
chainsaw work, I had one co-worker with only 9 toes from a chainsaw error.
He was very lucky to have lost just one toe.
If you cut off a body part with a chainsaw it's going to suck. The saw
chews up a lot of meat and leaves a bunch of oil and gunk in the wound.
Get a spare chain, the correct diameter saw files, and some plastic
wedges if you are felling standing trees.
The most important thing is to operate the saw safely. But that's not
something that I can describe in an email.
> I have a one acre lot in SoCal with a variety of trees, a couple
> fireplaces, but this is not a farm. It probably would hang on the wall for
> months at a time, so one that will start reliably between long periods of
> storage would be good. Thanks for any experience or advice you could share.
If you always use good synthetic oil (Redline Allsport is what I use)
and fuel preservative you'll have the best chance of having it start
when you need it.
Eric
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