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chain saws???


Pooh

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I believe it is only the new Huskys & Jonseruds that are the same. I had a 70 at one time but gave it to a guy on our crew as a bonus. Great saw but big & heavy.

I have an old Jonserud 351EV that is just a beast. I pluped with it ....a winter 30 years ago and after not being used & running for...10 yrs + the carb was cleaned and she fired right off.

My understanding is that as long as the magnetto / ignition keeps working they can be fixed. It is the electronics that are no longer available. I have also seen parts & complete parts saws for the sale on community and auction type sites.

I used a bro in laws Stihl 280 FarmBoss? Cut good but heavy & thus like the 70 a saw for bucking but not for felling / limbing.

I like that my Jonserud has Carlton chain. The Stihl has Stihl chain. I'd mark a tooth, drop the file-a-plate on the bar and in 3 or 4 minutes touch up the chain. Then I'd gas and bar oil up the saw.

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Another vote for Stihl own a 028 wood boss with a 16" bar that has been cutting wood for 23 years. As a handyman that saw has been used for everything from dropping large maples to cutting railroads ties to landscaping timbers. Cut an easy 100 cord of firewood with it and other then plugs, and chains have not done a thing to it.

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Another vote for Stihl...many, many cords of firewood for the stove have been cut with mine. Like Bobby, mine's an 028 wood boss, and I have an 18" bar.

Like has been mentioned, I think Husky's are great saws too. The Stihl/Husky thing is kind of like Chevy/Ford, Jiffy/Strikemaster, etc. All good stuff, just a matter of what you've had and had luck with.

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I have an old Stihl 025. It's 14 years old and keeps running. I'm going to get something bigger next year. I looked at Beisswengers, at the Jons. The guy said they are both good saws. Kind of the Ford , Chevy thing.

If I remember right he did say that the Jon. is a step up form the Husky.

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what ive been told is that the jons is a commercial grade of the husky. they are almost the same saw, some of the parts are interchangeable. theyre just diferent colors, and i know alot more people with huskys than a jons, why i dont know.....

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I can't remember what the guy at Beissweingers said. But that sound right. The Jons are more heavy duty , they compete with the "professional" series from Stilh. But are less. They do come with a two year warranty vs a one year from stihl.

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i know alot more people with huskys than a jons, why i dont know.....

I think it's because you can find more stores that carry Husky's than Jonseruds. Heck you can buy a Husky at Fleet Farm! I know the Jonseruds used to be more expensive than the Husky's, but I don't know if that is true anymore?

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I am really suprised how may people have Stihls!

I bought a 026 Stihl with an 18" bar off C List last fall, realy like that saw and like the 18" bar. Makes for a lot less bending over! Buddy has a Dolmar, he always braged about how fast it cuts. He brought it out one day an HOLY SMOKES that thing flys! Runs crazy RPMs and doesnt bog down. I would not turn down a deal on one of them!

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I was a professional timbercutter in my younger days, and I still have a Jonsered 751 that I bought new in 1971. She's semi-retired, but will still fire up anytime with a couple of pulls. I also have a Jonsered 630 Super for a firewood saw. This one is the same as a Husky model 61 or a 266 XP - same parts, only red instead of orange. Must have been sometime in the 80's when Jonsered was merged with Husqvarna. I remember the model 70e Iceman was talking about, and they are a very good saw. The important thing about chainsaws is to buy a popular brand so you can get parts for it, and buy a big enough saw to do the job - nothing worse than an underpowered chainsaw. And keep the chain sharp.

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I cut for years with whatever cheap saw I could find but got sick of them running in and out (and the Poulan and McC saws would not idle when they got hot). Since then it's been a combo of Stihl and Jonsered. I have a Stihl MS290 that I've been cutting with for over five years now, and I go through 5-10 logger's cords of hardwood with it for home heating each year. I like both Stihl and Jonsered just fine, and would happily cut with either of them (we bought a new Jonsered for the lake cabin last year). But then, I drive Fords, Chevys and Toyotas, and as long as they are dependable and tough, I don't care much which it is. I did get to cut with a Sachs-Dolmar saw quite a few years ago to get through a couple cords of oak, and that saw was a real sweetheart, too.

I never fooled with anything over an 18-inch bar. Even when I did tree work professionally or helped clear some woodlots, 18-inch bars were plenty. I never liked the weight or balance of long bars much (totally a personal preference matter), and I recall some cottonwoods with 3-foot-thick trunks that fell just fine to the 18-inch bars. But again, it's what you like best that matters.

The saws I cut with now just have 16-inch bars, though I'm not using safety chains.

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Worked my way through high school & college cutting pulp and

diseased elm tree's,(dutch elm). I cut pulp in the winter and

worked for a tree service in the summers. I either owned or ran

dozens of saws, from homelite, husky, jonsrud, stihl to the old

lombards. The two I still have are a 1983 husky 266 professional

with a 20" bar, and a 1982 jonsrud 930 turbo 20" bar, used to have a 48" and 60" for the 930. Yes the husky and the jonsrud are both made by the same company, the electrolux vaccum cleaner

company in sweden. I have cut hundreds and hundreds of cords of

wood with both of these saws, and as long as you keep the air filters and carbs clean they keep on running. Now my wood cutting is a cord or so for the cabin and a cord or so for the

deer shack. My two cents is all the new saws are made very high reving with out much torque, as long as you keep the chains sharp they cut very well. They are designed to do the work for you, you don't have to lean on them to make them cut

fast. Where is with my old saws they are not as fast rpm wise,

but have so much more torque, I make my own chains up and still have spools of full chisal chain, on which before I put

them on the saw I grind down the racker teeth so that I am taking chips that are 1/16th" inch thich and 1 1/2" inches long out of the log. Don't try this at home, very dangerous, increases the risk of kickback by about 900%. The new chains you buy now have a totally redisigned racker set that prevents the chipper teeth from taking to big of a bite, thus reducing

the chances of kickback.

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I'm glad this turned from a "which brand is best" to "what makes a good saw good"

Any of the top brands will outlast you if you take care of it. Some people are harder on equipment than others.

I worked Forestry for 8yrs doing year-round trimming and removals. I would rank my saws as #1-Stihl, #2 Jonsered, #3 Husky. The only reason I mention Husky is because they've done some great things with their big saws (385/395).

As you can see a Stihl Pro is generally top of the line and their are priced accordingly. They aren't available at Menards or Home Depot, and Mercedes aren't available at the car lot in Aitken. I think these are the best for everyday, every week, every month use. The homeowner/ranch grade is a little more middle of the road, but still high quality parts and design.

I love the Jons as a working mans saw or for the cabin/ranch use. Its super tough, dependable, reasonable priced and reliable. It doens't always have the every day use durability, but thats not a knock. Most things aren't made to hand that kind of abuse. Since they are cheaper, it makes it easier to rationalize replacing one after a few years. If I didn't already own 2 Stihls, I would buy a Jons 2159 with an 18" bar.

Pay little attention to "how fast is cuts" arguments. Nothing will make a sweet saw look bad like a dull chain. A dull chain doesn't just cut slow, it also wears on the rest of the parts in the saw from the bar edge, to the nose, to the sprocket and the added wear on the motor because its working harder and longer to cut a piece of wood and its creating dust instead of chips that will clog the air filter faster.

We cleaned our saws daily and I still clean mine after every use. That isn't about being anal, that's about how you make a pro-series saw last 8 years and still runs and looks new despite having thousands of hours on it. I wish it had an hour-meter so I knew.

For the average guy I would suggest the Jons 2159. Its a perfect everything saw and you can cut across a 36" tree with an 18" bar. Its light enough, powerful enough, priced right and will last the average guy long enough to pass it on to his kid. If you want the best find a Stihl 260 Pro or a 361 for a little bigger motor. You can't go wrong.

I personally have an 8yr old Stihl MS200T w/ 14" bar for tree climbing and ground work. Its light, fast and easy to handle. My "big" saw is a 5 yr old Stihl MS460 Pro with a 24" bar. Its mean, reliable and has only been beaten by a 60" cottonwood.

I run semi-chisel chain on the 200 and full-chisel chain on my 460. Someone who knows what they are doing can put a better edge on a chain by hand than any machine. Its a skill worth learning. It has gotten so easy now with tools with the angles built in, I could teach anyone to do a better job than a bench grinder. Hand sharpening also extends the life of the chain because you remove less material and it doens't heat up the chain.

If you want a thrill, find a Stihl 660 Pro or the Husky 395XP with a big bar and a sharp chain. Its like sweet music to me and seeing a mountain of 2" chips laying on the ground is so satisfying.

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I have to agree with Powerstroke in that the ability to file the chain sharp is as important as the saw you choose. A couple of strokes and the edge is back on, invaluable in the woods when you tick a rock by mistake.

I used to have a chainsaw mill attachment that I ran on a McCulloch 750 saw, and with that tool I cut hundreds of board feet of elm, maple, oak, and other hardwoods. If that chain wasn't dead sharp it was a waste of time. I learned how to set up the chain for the rip cut, starting with a .404 skip tooth chisel chain and filing every other tooth off to score. The rest of the teeth were filed at 90 degrees with a 45 degree cutting edge. Still have lumber in the garage today and the saw still runs great!

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I run 2 Jons a 625 II, 2159 and really old Stihl 009. A couple years ago I asked a Jons dealer if Jons and husky were the same saw. I thought he was going to come over the counter and let me have it. He siad that there is a big difference in the bigger saws. I have also heard that Jons and huky use different distribution networks in the U.S. I know that I live in a pocket of MN that has no Jons dealer and that is dissapointing for the couple of times of have needed parts. My favorite saw is the stihl. Not because it is a better saw but becuase of it's size and power to weight ration. I don't use a 65cc saw for limbing and I don't use smaller saw for felling trees. Each saw has it's place in the lineup. I cut about 5 cords a year plus misc. cutting. I think if you keep em sharp and don't let the gas get old you will be happy with Jons, Husky and Stihl. IMO people get way to caught up in brand loyalty.

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