Thread: show us your chainsaws

Currently running a 575xp as main saw and a 251 for delimbing/cleanup, looking at getting another strong mid range/ big saw, who has what for sale? I like Husky but not averse to the rest. Currently have another 575xp and a 288 on the shortlist.

Stihl 088 42" bar - it could probably take a 60 if I wanted to cut slabs but I can't be arsed cutting slabs right now
Husky 365 25" bar - great saw, good balance - was looking for a 372 but this came up and I think it is bloody good - would thoroughly recommend
DeWalt 16" electric - I already had a bunch of DeWalt tools so this was easier to support than the upfront costs might have been otherwise (500 saw,200charger200plus batteries)
Electric saws may well put me in the same place as light beer drinkers in many people's eyes* but there are some positive points-
1 handed use
always "on" ie no starting
quiet if you need quiet so indoor use no disruption, cut on a place with jittery animals like horses no worries

The Husky is the main saw and the electric is just for walking the log and cutting the little side branches but I can see electric saws getting better


Oh yeah and a vintage flamethrower






*also wearers of crocs and/or cardigans, accountants, Engelbert Humperdinck fans, etc

Originally Posted by 257weatherby

Currently running a 575xp as main saw and a 251 for delimbing/cleanup, looking at getting another strong mid range/ big saw, who has what for sale? I like Husky but not averse to the rest. Currently have another 575xp and a 288 on the shortlist.

How do you find the 251? After the 'professional' type saws, they seem a little plasticky and lacking in go for me. Guess they get the job done though...

Lots of options in the mid range / big saw area, if the 575xp is doing it for you get another the same (a lot of advantages to this approach as everything is the same and you can hold one spare bar, set of seals etc to cover both saws). If you want to step up a saw class from the 575, I'd be looking at making a bigger step up in saw size than to the 288 and get something that can take a couple of bar sizes bigger. But often you pay the weight and handling penalty and end up using the mid-ranger for everything anyway.

I got rid of my 288, as it didn't do anything my MS361 didn't provided I do my bit and keep the chain sharp - I don't have anything that a 22" bar won't go through and the 288 is a LOT heavier than the 361. I will admit the 288 was a much more 'manly' saw. Having said that, the 361 is a bit smaller than the 575-class saws but really does punch above it's weight. I have a well-worked 260 that is pretty much my main saw I grab if I need something larger reduced so similar to the 251 size, the 260 with a sharp chain and a 15" bar is like the finger of god - wave it at what you want cut and it is! The thing I find I'm reaching for most often now is the little Black&Decker 'Alligator' ladies' electric pruning chainsaw - it's an ugly awkward two-handled covered bar thing that, just sort of works!

Originally Posted by No.3

How do you find the 251? After the 'professional' type saws, they seem a little plasticky and lacking in go for me. Guess they get the job done though...

Lots of options in the mid range / big saw area, if the 575xp is doing it for you get another the same (a lot of advantages to this approach as everything is the same and you can hold one spare bar, set of seals etc to cover both saws). If you want to step up a saw class from the 575, I'd be looking at making a bigger step up in saw size than to the 288 and get something that can take a couple of bar sizes bigger. But often you pay the weight and handling penalty and end up using the mid-ranger for everything anyway.

I got rid of my 288, as it didn't do anything my MS361 didn't provided I do my bit and keep the chain sharp - I don't have anything that a 22" bar won't go through and the 288 is a LOT heavier than the 361. I will admit the 288 was a much more 'manly' saw. Having said that, the 361 is a bit smaller than the 575-class saws but really does punch above it's weight. I have a well-worked 260 that is pretty much my main saw I grab if I need something larger reduced so similar to the 251 size, the 260 with a sharp chain and a 15" bar is like the finger of god - wave it at what you want cut and it is! The thing I find I'm reaching for most often now is the little Black&Decker 'Alligator' ladies' electric pruning chainsaw - it's an ugly awkward two-handled covered bar thing that, just sort of works!

The 251 has an 18" bar and it would be better suited to 16" for a bit more go, yep it's a bit "plasticky" so you look after it within reason. Good point about replicating what I already have. Could run one long and one short and flog the 251. The 575xp prior to a specific serial no, had some problems with spinning up the crank bearings and requiring rebuilds, there is a neat wee fix for that, but you have to wait for it to go first, then you can future proof the thing, but running 40:1 rather than 50:1 can prevent it going in the first place. Running a 28" without trouble but needs to be kept sharp, one stroke each refuel works, supposedly you can run 30"+ but I reckon 24/26 is probably optimal.

Trying to ignore lectrik saws, they just arn't........ well you know, manly....

I was surprised by how much louder and thirstier the 288 was over the 361 - but then I guess the 361 still has the factory anemic exhaust choker in it. I haven't modified a thing on it... Initially the 288 didn't impress me but it was one of those 'the chain looks sharp' but in reality it was crap moments - once I had reset the angles and heights and sorted all the lengths to the same and the chain actually started cutting it was a revelation. Jeez did it move some wood then!

It's a bit like the square-filed chains, they move some wood when sharp but a round filed chain will seriously move wood when it's on song as well. A lot of the time the round filed chains look right, feel sharp but just aren't right and need to be put on a jig and get all the heights, top plate angles and lengths reset.

Originally Posted by 223nut

Bucking billy ray does a couple of YouTube clips of square filing as well

We tried that square ground chain,its a pain in the arse to sharpen and dosnt come back well from being "rocked". I remember the tri-file stuff back in the day,it was good in clean timber but not any good for general cutting.

I have to buy another 200 foot of chain soon,not looking forward to paying for that.

Originally Posted by norsk

I have to buy another 200 foot of chain soon,not looking forward to paying for that.

What do you use? I hear that a few people have had good results off the Asian chain, but the next guy got a roll with no joiner links and the thing had a collapsed core leading to a big arse knot half way down and the side ripped out of the package...

First saw was a stihl 041AV, It still goes (haha) ,then I had only Husky's for years but the toughest-saw I had was a Dolmar that only died because of electrics . I now use an older 034AV (metal-case) and a first-gen 025 plastic . The biggest surprise and my 'New-Favourite' is $150 Ozito-saws from bunnings , I have two of them and they are amazing for what they are . You can climb and limb some surprisingly large-trees with them . The first ones were green, 25-1 , the latest grey-ones are 40-1 , they swap-them-out if anything goes wrong , only fault I've seen so-far is they oil-properly or they don't . One definitely revs a bit higher than the other, but thats it .I work them hard and they appear to handle-it , I never use 2-stroke oil made by castrol, even if it is Stihl-oil made under licence by them, a retired ch-saw mechanic told me every saw he rebuilt , using Castrol over-its-life , was scrap .

Interesting on the Castrol thing, they make oil that's repackaged under a fair few brands and there usually isn't any indication of who made it after the individual branding on the can. What I'm sort of wondering, is how does the mechanic actually know what's run on what?

Interested in the Castrol oil claim too. Over the last 45 years Castrol has been one of the best oils I’ve used, covering all engine/transmission types.

As far as I'm aware there are not that many companies making the 'base' oil stocks that are then mixed with additives, metallic soaps and thickeners as required to meet the specification they need to. Mobil and Sinopec are two of the outfits making base stocks - and from what I know I don't think Castrol is one? Which means the issue is in the additive packs in the 2-stroke brews which really shouldn't cause that sort of issue from what I know.

I know of several large outfits who have gone over to or specified Castrol 2-stroke oils as one of the 'listed' approved products they expect their people to procure and use (the high-zinc Activ 2T being one of the main ones), and from what I experienced after they've done that the failure rate has dropped... There's still the odd blow up for whatever reason, and the odd person cocking it up but on the whole things have improved. Could be due to the increased knowledge amongst the crews on how to do the 2-stroke thing as likely as the actual oil used, but either way the oil seems to not have a major negative effect on the equipment failure rate.

I'm currently using a mix of Mobil Stihl HP and Castrol Garden 2T, both of which I think are produced by Castrol? And in all my 2-stroke fluids box I have Mobil Outboard Plus, Yamalube 2T and BP Powerstroke and I think two of those are made by Castrol as well!

I run a supposedly highly strung 2 stroke enduro bike that's meant to have a new piston and rings every 80 hours or so, and only be fed special fully synthetic 2T oils.

But I just run it with a tad more oil (40:1 instead of 50 or 60:1) on a mediocre fully synthetic 2 stroke oil (Total) and I am pushing 550 hours with only one replacement piston and rings @ 240 hours. Still runs like a swiss watch. Used it to shame some 18 year olds in some gnarly terrain last weekend "Try and keep up with the old fart!"

The same fuel containers feed my Husky 394 and 395. 394 was fed a diet of straight petrol in 2002 and gifted to me after it seized. I rebuilt using genuine Husky parts and it still pulls strong. But I am sure its heavier now than it felt in 2003

buckin billy ray...did a speil on the castrol oil thing..... he likes it.
I quite like any 2 stroke that is heavily dyed...makes it harder to double dose a tin of fuel. had some outboard motor stuff from warehouse...some american brand...it was great stuff and the saws liked it too... you can get away with mixing two types...but 3 is asking for trouble. used 30/40 motor oil and any thing sitting around for years and years..now it proper 2 stroke and my saws run much better for it. havent adjusted an idel etc for year now Im using decent fuel.

It's interesting delving into the specs of the various oils (or as much as you can without access to the company tech sheets which have a lot more info about the characteristics of the goop). One of the ones that I find interesting is the density of the super-trick fully synthetic 2-stroke oils can be much higher density than the others, Stihl HP Ultra is quite high at .94 versus Stihl HP at .87 or so which is pretty much what most engine oils run at...

I know 'The Great oil-Debate' is a huge 'Can-of_Worms' . I also know from experience with 4-stroke engines , that the 'more' regularly you change oil, at more-frequent intervals, the-longer the engine lasts . I was in a position years ago , to have free-oil , and changed my oil every couple of months (3.3 Vauxhall) . The oil eventually looked like new @ each change and the motor was tight and strong after 350,000 miles, not k's . Motorcycle oils are dead @ 1200miles, according to a Scientist-biker in The States (shared-gearbox machines ) . He tested every bike-specific-oil on the market (over there) and the only one that stood-out was Mobil-1 in m/cycle equivalent , the rest looking more like 'Snake-oil' . My take-away from that was , change my bikes @ 1000m with the cheapest jaso-ma 1 or 2 oil and I've done that ever-since, with NO problems in any bike . Ive owned 51-bikes over too-many years , down to 4 now . With the 'Castrol-Statement' , my retired- friend was referring to customers Saws in-particular , that he had serviced, over the-life of the saw . He is an exceptional Mechanic and wouldn't make that 'call' lightly . I know from research that some Castrol Synthetic oils , are NOT true-synthetics like Mobil-1 . They are much-cheaper hydro-cracked-oil marketed as equal to Mobil and Others making 'True-Synthetics' . Mobil took Castrol to the High-Court over this, and Lost , because The Court considered the oil had been changed-enough to be 'Called' Synthetic . If I can find the link to the 'Bike-oil' testing, I will put it up. It was the most comprehensive-testing I've ever seen , and just Very interesting to go-through .