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Todd Hovick

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My grandfather had been a logger for many years, he passed away 10/07/2007. I have cut firewood, fence posts, and marked trees for years. He has long sence gotten rid of the two man saws. In his legacy, I have a Stihl 041, 050, 051, Jonsered 2094, 910E and an 820. The Husqvarnas are a 266, 266 XP, 285, 288, 357, 372, and (2) 394's.

Which ones should I keep?
 
There were other items sold by my brother, a cant hook, chokers, and a JD 350 crawler with a blade, winch, and ROPS canopy. Sorry for being long winded.
 
Wow Grampa sure left you a great treasure . I'm partial to the old Pioneers myself & I also like the Huskies . Never tried a Jonserad . I've also got some Homelites & a Alpina 70 which is a great saw for the big logs . Since I've become disabled & am loosing my strenghth , I can't get the Alpina started & I'd love to use it again . I'd like to get ahold of a Husky 61 someday . I've thought also that I'd like one of those large Huskies (925? like you have 2 of). My son in law had a new one for awhile & it was a tough saw . Keep me in mind for one of those if ya sell cheap enough for my little pay check . Good luck on your decisions . God bless
 
i got a Stil 041 Farm Boss...stuck a engine in a guys motor home for the trade...saw had just come out of shop with fresh major tune-up...20 years later other than bars/chains/spark plugs it will still cut oak all day long...i figure its gonna outlast me or just plain work me to a early grave.
 
I have a Dolmar, 2 jonsareds, 1 Shanandawa, 1 echo, and recently I got a free polan . The Dolmar and Shandawa are real good saws buy I am partial to the jonsareds because they have some kind of little turbo set up and it gives them more power. Here is the story on the free polan. In my county we have to take our own garbage to the dumpster site and they have a bin there to through away steel item. I was throwing away some guttering the other day and in the dumpster was a good looking Polan saw with the chain off the blade. My curiosity overwhelmed me so I grabed it out of the dumpster and put it in my truck. Yesterday I decided to see if it would start and run. I put the chain back on it , pulled the starter rope 3 times and it started and ran perfect. I did not even have the paint worn off the blade. Don't know why anyone would throw it away. Maybe because the chain came off. People do some strange things.
 
I thought Jonsered's and Husky's were the same. Instead of figuring out which ones to keep, maybe it would be easier to see which ones you could sell for the most. Dave
 
All the Stihl are 30-40 yr old models. the 041 is the lighest & fastest cutting of the 3 & the one in most demand. Other 2 are slower cutting but more powerful. Parts are scarcer for them.
 
not trying to be a pia here but if that poulan is one of the little green ones like the box stores sell, go cut a few pieces of wood with it, it will be in your next trip back to the dumpster and youll know why it was tossed,i bought one last year to have my 'unskilled laborer'use since i didn't want him getting hold of my nice stihls, what a pile of junk! could have gotten more done with a good bow saw by hand
 
We have found the Stihl's to be really good saws. Run strong, start easy and relatively trouble free. Also, buy the Stihl chains, they're much better than the Oregon brand chains.


NEVER, NEVER, NEVER buy a Cub Cadet saw. $400 piece of junk. If it started at all, when you shut it down to adjust the chain or add fuel/oil, it wouldn't re-start. Only place you can get it worked on is a Cub Cadet dealer. Worst money we ever spent.
 
Those Stihl saws are heavy and slow, as compared to newer saws. Also, they probably all have breaker-point ignition which needs periodic servicing.
The Stihl 041, 050, and 051 are basically the same design saws in different sizes. All use hoziontal piston and cylinders and have high low-end torque and slow chain speed. I.e., they are slow cutting and heavy as compared to more modern saws. The Stihl vertical-cylinder saws cut much faster, e.g. 045, 056, etc.
I keep a 32" bar on my 051 and use it for stump-cutting only. For that, it's great.
They also use relatively big chain. The early ones use .404 chain with .063"gauge bars which is pretty rare now adays. Later versions used full-size 3/8" also with .063" gauge. New saws the size of 041s tend to use .325" or 3/8" with .050" gauge.
I still have several old 030s, 040s, )41Gs, 041s, 041 Super, 050s, S10s, etc. I use them once in awhile, but none compare to modern saws when it comes to cutting speed versus weight. Also, the 041s had many problems. Minor if you could fix yourself, and expensive if you kept sending them to the shop. I was a Stihl mechanic dating back to before Stihl was a common import.
The plus side is, they are all metal. No plastic crankcases. But, many parts are no longer available to repair them. Stihl has awful parts support for saws that are 20 plus years old.

I've got a 55 cc Poulan I bought for $50 at a yard sale. Just got it as a "throw away" saw. It will outcut my Stihl 041AV Super and is a lot lighter. Does not have the build quality, but so what? I paid $50, all parts are available, and it has electronic ignition which is a big plus.
 
Oregon makes some chains that are every bit as good as Stihl. You just have to watch what version you buy.
 
I have the newer version of that Jonsered 2094, mine is a 2095. I would definately keep that one: 94cc, capable of a 36" bar and will tear a tree to pieces. I dropped and cut up two big oaks with mine in the last few weeks and once again I was amazed at the power of that saw. I have owned since new in 1994 and have been happy with it since. By the way, I have a 24" and 34" bar. I only use the 34" on really big trees. The 24" bar with the size and power of that saw makes a really good combination.
 
Well that depends on if you plan on using the saws you end up keeping! Like Jdemaris said parts for older Stihl saws are hard to find, even for older Johnsreds. Dad has a o31av Stihl and itd hard to get some parts for it, he hasent needed anything but bar and chain, but a dealer said its hard to get some parts for them. We also have a Johnsreds 801, the dealer said parts are obsolete for them, lucky I found a guy on the internet in Wisconsine who had what I needed.
Me I have a Sthil ms 460, 034 ms180 and a Shindiawa 488. I like them all, they do there job. j
 
Its so funny how many people "belive" that its like a turbo on a tractor or a car,, lol.. My father in law is 80, and you cant tell him, hes a beliver The saw has more power because of this feature,,,, Do you see the light, do you believe,,,, I can feel the power.ha ha j
 
I have 3 Stihls, the newest is about 12 years old and I just blew the clutch out of my 036 but I am thinking of throwing all 3 out and buying a new Husk or Johnsered. Never have been happy with the Stihls, hard starting, lots of maintenance and anything over 15 years old can't hardly get parts for. I am ready for something more modern and ready to go. I noticed prices no for new saws are cheaper then 12 years ago.
 
Witch ones do you recommend?

I tried some 3/8 pitch oregon chain and am disapointed compared to stihl 33RSC. Seems they stay sharper longer and chain its self is heavier
 
The Jonsered 2094 without a de-compressor can be a nuckle straightner, I prefer the Huskies. I have had Poulans, a Homelite, and a Sachs Dolmar which all ended up being recycled.
 
All of our Stihls are relatively new, 3yrs or less. We had an older M170 (?) that was a very good saw for its size. We bought the Cub because we needed something between it and the big McCullough 850.

We finally wore the old McCullough (sp) 850 out and while you can get the parts, it costs more to fix than to buy a new one.

Since we"ve been very satisfied with the Stihls, that"s what we"ve stayed with.
 
We don't have a choice of different Oregon chains down here. The Stihl chains far outlast what is available in an Oregon chain.
 
(quoted from post at 07:29:21 12/01/09) The "turbo" on the Jonsered is just a swirl thing to keep wood chips from clogging up the air filter.
Click to expand...

Actually, the Jonsered "Turbo" saws have a different flywheel that has oversized blades which increase cooling airflow and help keep sawdust out of the airfilter by centrifugal force. Normal saws like the older Jonsereds and Stihls I have owned typically get air from the back side of the saw and therfore tend to need more filter maintenance in heavy cutting. It really does work to keep the airfilter clean and you can feel it moves a lot of air as it will pull on your shirt if you rev it with the intake side near you.

With all of that being said, I did not mean to imply the saw is powerful because it has a "turbo" sticker on it. It is powerful because it has huge displacement and has been an excellent saw for years. If you put a dirtbike engine in a chainsaw, it should cut really well.
 
I would definitely keep a big saw. The flywheel on our 288 got broken (I don't know how), but it was "replaced" with a 141. Half the CC doesn't = half the power. I'm waiting on the 288 parts saw for the flywheel, a new one is $200.

We have a stihl 250 or 260, it's a good saw, but took a gas line less than two years old, and I think it may need another.

A friend got a johnsored. Lots of money, but a good warranty, and for it's size it does good. Just get rid of that anti-kickback chain.
 
hay ray if your going to throw out those stihls throw them at me what all is wrong with them ?
 
The problem is that Oregon makes so many chains. Some professional versions, some middle-of-the-road, and some cheap and soft consumer crap sold in chain stores.

A real chain saw dealer will buy saw chain in 50 or 100 foot reels, not premade loops and ought to have the better chain. Oregon makes chain every bit as Stihl when you compare apples-to-apples.
 
Good saws aren't cheaper. Many of the new saws have been severely cheapened and use plastic crankcases.

This summer my Stihl 056 Magnum died (dead ignition module). Otherwise it's in perfect condition. Stihl in the USA cannot get me the parts. So, I priced an equivalent. It was around $900 from Stihl. I paid $520 for the 056 Magnum around 1984. So, the newer replacement is not what I'd call cheaper.

So, I bought a Dolmar under the Makita name and love it.
 
Don't know of anyplace down here that makes their own chains. All you can get is the pre-packaged stuff hanging on the wall.

Down here, chain saws are a sideline, don't have any stores that sell just chain saws, so its very hard to come up with the higher quality chains, etc.

Wish there was a place that made high quality chains. Bet they'd be cheaper than the packaged ones, cut better and last longer.

With the strong timber industry in our area, you'd think there would be a place where you could get commercial quality chains, etc. I've never seen one. Must be a closely guarded secret.
 
(quoted from post at 12:40:22 12/01/09) Don't know of anyplace down here that makes their own chains. All you can get is the pre-packaged stuff hanging on the wall.

Down here, chain saws are a sideline, don't have any stores that sell just chain saws, so its very hard to come up with the higher quality chains, etc.

Wish there was a place that made high quality chains. Bet they'd be cheaper than the packaged ones, cut better and last longer.

With the strong timber industry in our area, you'd think there would be a place where you could get commercial quality chains, etc. I've never seen one. Must be a closely guarded secret.
Click to expand...

I still believe the Stihl chains are the best you can get at least in North Texas. I have run them all: Oregan, Carleton and Stihl. And the Stihl are by far the best lasting in my opinion. Another way to get good chain is to demand "Full Chisel, Non-Safety Chain" Your dealer may try and deny it if your saw is under 4.0 cubic inch but I have never had any trouble getting it but have heard stories of problems. I guess if they figure you know what it is then you will not accept the garden variety homeowner safety chain.
 
I'm in a rural area of New York. Lots of logging going on and many heat with hardwoods. Subsequently, there are many good saw shops and parts sellers. I worked at several over the years and all our Deere tractor dealerships sold Stihl, Deere, and years back - Homelite saws.

Oregon professional grade chain costs around $2.30 per foot when bought on 100' reels. So, a saw with a 16" bar and chain would cost about $4.60 to make. And that's everday cost of 100' reels. I'm sure some shops get better deals.

My son lives in Colorado near Denver and tells me that chain saws are almost non-existant. So yeah, I guess it must vary by area.

I tend to buy on-line although I still have a couple of reels of chain in odd-ball sizes.

The problem is - chain that used to be very common and standard is now the odd-ball. Most comsumer grade saws now are using little chains like .325" or low-profile 3/8". To make things worse, it's pretty hard to even tell what you're buing in these prepackaged chains. They don't even tell you what the chain actually is anymore. Just sell by color codes.

I was in Michigan this summer and needed a chain for a yard-sale saw I bought there. I measured the chain and counted the links. I knew the link-count and the fact that it was low-profile 3/8". I went to two stores and asked for just that, and they had no idea what I was talking about.

Everything today is getting dumbed down so bad, that you need to be an idiot to figure it out. I'm getting there.
 
I prefer Stihl's but those things are old... Ancient might be a better word along with big, heavy and slow.

Husky 372 catches my eye. Jonsered 2094 is probably a lighter, newer saw. Might be more suited to what you're doing...
The Husky 266's might also be good keepers. Probably want to check them all out more carefulyl and keep a few of the better runners rather than particular models. We never throw old saws away around here but that doesn't mean they're any damn good.
I've got an old Mac (forget the size), a Stihl 041, 034 and 044 in pieces, along with a Jonsered 510.
The working saws are an 038 Super, MS361 and MS441 Stihl.

Rod
 
Im in NY too, our dealer has both, prepackaged chain, or he can make you a loop. Thing is ,if I need a chain for my 034 stihl lets say, the pre packaged one tell you exactly what its for, ie 034, 18 inch bar, and so on. Its handy rather than waiting for him to count the links and make a chain. JayinNY
 
The Husky 372 is a very well respected hardwood saw here in Upper Mich. Husky tried to replace it with the 575? and lost customers and brought back the 372. The 266 XP was also good in its day, but there is not that many of them in regular use now.

If I could have one saw, it would be a 372 Husqvarna. If I had all of those, I would keep a monster around just for fun.
 
I prefer the non-safety chain on everything. Not the full chisel, though. Great for some things and not for others. And, if I didn't own my own professional sharpening machine, I'd steer away from it. Full chisel is not a great choice for part-time saw users who don't have a lot of experience and lack a way to sharpen it properly.

Full chisel is great for clean wood, but if there's any debris in the wood, it cannot take the punishment of semi-chisel or round chipper chain. It's particularly good on dense hardwoods and/or frozen wood. Full chisel relies on that one perfect point at the leading edge of the square cutter. One it gets peened, the chain will barely do a thing and won't pull itself into the wood. A round chipper can get hit in many spots, and slow down a bit, but still keep on cutting.

I used full chisel on clean trees but won't on farm trees that often have sap spiles or bits of old metal fence in them. Wont' use it on trees that have been skidded either, once they are full of muck and small pebbles stuck in the bark.

A substantial problem with good grade full chisel chain is sharpening. It takes a certain level of skill, with a file or with a machine sharpener. I've seen many ruined when put on the machine because of the odd-ball angles it uses. I have to keep a chart on the wall of every make chain and the various angles each version uses. Many electric sharpeners don't even have the required angles.

Semi-chisel and round chipper chain is much more forgiving when it comes to hitting debris and with sharpening.

Considering you're in Texas and I'm in New York, there might be a big difference in the trees being cut. We rarely cut any softwood here. All white and red oak, Pignut hickory, hard maple, white ash, beech, yellow birch, etc. If I was cutting pine, fir, and other softwoods, chain sharpening wouldn't be such a big issue.

As far as Stihl versus Oregon quality goes? I've been working in saw shops since the late 1960s. We always carried Stihl and Oregon for our professional users. Also carried a lot of cheap junk like Laser, Windsor,Carelton, and cheaper Oregon versions of chain. I've never noticed any difference in quality between the good grades of Oregon as compared to Stihl. I will say though, that Stihl never compromised and made a bad chain that I know of. Oregon made many for the consumer market.
I've done a lot of logging and hardwood cutting over the years and also do a lot of machine chain sharpening. The metal in the good Oregon is just as hard as in the Stihl chain. Oregon also makes some softer chains, and some people actually like it because it's so easy to sharpen (I can't stand it).
 
I've noticed that both Stihl and Oregon both are somewhat sporadic in their chain quality lately. It's especially noticable when filing. Some are hard and last quite well and others are soft as $hit. They'll file away in mabey 10 sharpenings and nto do much more than 10-15 cord of blocking...
It sticks out to me because it's only the odd chain.
Mostly we use Stihl chain now because that's what's more often on the shelf around here but we went through a lot fo Oregon over the years too.

Rod
 
I don"t know about the other saws, but I bought a new Jonsereds 910E in 1981 and used it to cut 20 cords of firewood a week for 10 years while I was in the business. Used it as needed until it stopped running two years ago, no spark. Never gave me any trouble until it quit, if you email Jonesereds they will send you a list of people who have parts available. The compression release makes for easy starting, I used a 28" bar on it, nice balance and power. Bought a new Jonsereds CS2171 last year to replace it, not in the same class.
 
Thanks for all the advice and posts, but in upstate NY, I have never found a tree that a saw with a 20" bar, 3/8 58 ga. 72 DL semi chisel chain could not cut. The 266 XP, and 288 Work great in the woods, and the old 050 & 051AV with a carbide chain work well on the landing.
 
Oregon makes chain every bit as Stihl when you compare apples-to-apples.
Click to expand...

I cut trees for a living, and you couldn't pay me to run oregon chain. I've run a loop of everything oregon has to offer and it just doesn't hold an edge like a stihl chain, this is known by most that make a living with their saws round here. I would gladly pay double for a loop of stihl if it means i won't have to file the chain when 60' up a tree, or a mile back in the bush.
 
I have no idea how many different make saws Cub Cadet sold under their brand-name. But . . .

I bought a couple of brand new 55 cc saws cheap that Sears was selling for a very short time. Looking at the parts breakdown for them, they looked very well made. Came from Malyaysia. Well, they literally fell apart. Probaby the worst saws I've ever come across. Within one year, no repair parts available. I later found out the same saws were being sold by Cub Cadet.
 
I don't know what part of NY you're in. I cut in central NY (Otsego County) and further north on the Tug Hill Plateau (Jefferson Co.). I get a fair amount of hard maple that's 4 to 5' diameter near the bottom, along with old twin-trunks that are siamesed and even wider. For them a 20" bar and chain won't do the job. Close, but not close enough. Granted, probably 95% of what I cut can be done with a 20" bar or even 16", but I don't like to leave the other 5% behind to rot. These past few years, the power companies have been cutting down old growth hard maples all over the place, so I've been cutting a lot of huge wood that few other people want to mess with.
 
I have used a McCulloch 1-43 that I bought used for $35 in 1976. I know it's old, slow, & heavy but it runs very well. Tried a new Homelite, what a piece of junk. Last year I bought a very lightly used Dolmar. Weighs about 9# less and absolutely cuts like a fool. I heat with wood so cut quite a bit. Those old saws may not be so user friendly, but they are reliable. I don't want to go to the woods and have my saw fail to run. Rather work a little harder and come home with a full load.
Just my opinion,
Paul
 
Ive got an old Mall that still runs good.teeth are bout 11/2 inches apart.If anybody can lug it off they can have it. Hoss
 
That Jonsered 820 should one old but HD cutting machine.
I compromised on my 1st saw tying to have a trimming and treeing saw combo. I didn't realize what a toy the 2145turbo Jonsered was until using an ancient but powerful 70E Jonsered.
 
I grew up with a super xl 925 homelite with a 24 inch bar. It was heavy and you had to climb on top of it to start it but with a good chain it would really cut the wood.
 
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