Chainsaws , again

[Rick1970]

Anybody had experience with the small makita saws, namely the ea3301? Local husky guy steered me away from their small saws, and said go look at the ms170/180 STIHL s.

Already have a shindawia 488,just looking for something smaller to replace my currant (and dead) chinky pos for use on small stuff I cut for a fuel stove.

Rick

[INter674]

Anybody had experience with the small makita saws, namely the ea3301? Local husky guy steered me away from their small saws, and said go look at the ms170/180 STIHL s.

Already have a shindawia 488,just looking for something smaller to replace my currant (and dead) chinky pos for use on small stuff I cut for a fuel stove.

Rick

Saw ha ha..a Makita in action in Vic couple years ago..seemed to work okay. From memory it was a re branded Chinese unit and the owner did not expect it to last. It really struggled on bigger logs..good for limbing. We take a Stihl 064..20" bar on 4wd trips..bit of overkill..but it has got us out of trouble many times...and makes firewood gathering fast and easy.

I would stick with Stihl..go mid range size ...you will get more money back if sold later.

Seen an electric Milwalki in action too..quite good in many regards but battery life is a limiting factor..so I would not go there..esp since the fires many trees will be down in NSW and Vic eg.

We do firewood too and use a MS 661 25" bar on everything..big heavy saw you say..yes but it cuts waay faster so your not fighting it all day long. After 30 years of woodcutting.. going from Farm Boss to 036 (really good..get one 2nd hand if you can) to 064s (best saw ever made) am a fan of big Stihl saws😎

[rick130]

Makita don't do rebranded, Makita bought Dolmar in Germany three decades ago, their top end pro saws are a match for anything from the big two.
The problem is that back up for their OPE is crap, the local sales arm treat it like the red headed step child.....
They do make consumer saws in their own factory in China, just as Stihl and Husky do, but I have no idea what the current ones are like.

[INter674]

Makita don't do rebranded, Makita bought Dolmar in Germany three decades ago, their top end pro saws are a match for anything from the big two.
The problem is that back up for their OPE is crap, the local sales arm treat it like the red headed step child.....
They do make consumer saws in their own factory in China, just as Stihl and Husky do, but I have no idea what the current ones are like.

Okay thanks for the advice re Makita..i was going on what the owner said re Chinese etc. Dolmar were a good saw in the day..as are some Husky models...usually better NVH than Stihl too IMHO.

BTW..i would only buy Gernan made Stihl saws not Brazil or anywhere else..realising of course that some components are PRC made ..eg carbys on some models. Pity cause the German carbys were brilliant eg on the 064s...they just don't give any trouble☺

[rick130]

Dolmar branded saws are still available in Europe and other parts of the world, but they dropped Dolly red here about 7 or so years ago.
AFAIK saw design still comes from Germany, and they still build their pro saws there.

[speleomike]

Hi all

I have a Makita DCS231T (that's a lightweight 25cm bar chainsaw) and a Stihl Wood Boss. I use both for cutting wood for the fireplace, pruning branches, chopping up fallen trees and fencing on the farm. I actually got the smaller Makita as the Stihl is more tiring to use as its bigger and heavier and just tires my arm out. I use the Makita far more and its just brilliant at doing anything up to a foot in diameter. If it's 2 foot dia I'd get out the Stihl.

If my Makita dies I'll be getting another one as I am so pleased with it as I use it lots more than the Stihl.

For small stuff like a fuel stove you do not need a big heavy saw. Its tiring.

One other thing - I'll never buy another Stilh until they get rid of the quick lock-unlock fuel and oil caps. They are badly designed and when they wear they are hard to get closed. There was nothing wrong with the old screw threaded caps.

(Makita says its now discontinued the one I have, here is a pic of it DCS231T 22cc Lightweight Top Handle Petrol Chainsaw (https://www.makita.co.nz/products/model/DCS231T))

Mike

[rick130]

Hi all

One other thing - I'll never buy another Stilh until they get rid of the quick lock-unlock fuel and oil caps. They are badly designed and when they wear they are hard to get closed. There was nothing wrong with the old screw threaded caps.

(Makita says its now discontinued the one I have, here is a pic of it DCS231T 22cc Lightweight Top Handle Petrol Chainsaw (https://www.makita.co.nz/products/model/DCS231T))

Mike

Yeah, most everyone hates flippy caps!

Except the Stihl dealers [emoji849][emoji23]

[DiscoMick]

I fried a small petrol Stihl cutting small logs for firewood. Replaced it with a small electric Ryobi which does the same job with ease and is brilliant. So it's electric for me from now on.

[Rick1970]

I fried a small petrol Stihl cutting small logs for firewood. Replaced it with a small electric Ryobi which does the same job with ease and is brilliant. So it's electric for me from now on.

Yeah, have an electric. Use it at home for cutting small stuff, quite suprising how good it is. Lecky not much good up in tbe hills tho.....

[DiscoMick]

Yeah, have an electric. Use it at home for cutting small stuff, quite suprising how good it is. Lecky not much good up in tbe hills tho.....Just get more batteries. We have a collection of Ryobi tools, batteries and chargers.
The little electric chainsaw is like a circular saw with a long blade. Surprisingly effective with a sharp chain.

[Rick1970]

Just get more batteries. We have a collection of Ryobi tools, batteries and chargers.
The little electric chainsaw is like a circular saw with a long blade. Surprisingly effective with a sharp chain.

When i say electric, its 240v. Old and cheap GMC, but seems to work ok.

Used a mates Stihl cordless, very impressed, but a few more dollars than i really want to spend.

[DeanoH]

We do firewood too and use a MS 661 25" bar on everything..big heavy saw you say..yes but it cuts waay faster so your not fighting it all day long. After 30 years of woodcutting.. going from Farm Boss to 036 (really good..get one 2nd hand if you can) to 064s (best saw ever made) am a fan of big Stihl saws😎

I gave the old Canadien 24" bar saw away years ago and replaced it with an 08S, which for us non super human types [bigsmile1] is without doubt the best saw Stihl has ever made (fighting words I know), but IMO probably the best mid size chainsaw ever built. I also use a 009L which is a superb 16" arborist type saw, beautifully balanced and a joy to use on small to mid size stuff. Unfortunately it now languishes in the corner with the 08 as I now use my battery saw for just about everything now.

The battery saw I'm referring to is an AEG 58 volt 16" saw as sold by Bunnings. I tossed the standard chain replacing it with a carbide tipped one and don't know why I didn't make the change 20 years ago. It's brilliant. I do a lot of traveling up north cutting real hardwood for the fire, not the soft southern 'hardwoods' but mulga / desert oak etc and reckon I cut about 30 metres or so before it needed a 'lick'. Wasn't cheap to buy at $120 or so but worth every penny in time, effort and output. [biggrin] Eats the local southern hardwoods for breakfast. Completely reduced a 50' X 18" dia stringybark to 18" lengths using 2 1/2 batterys yesterday, a very capable chainsaw [biggrin]

Deano :)

[JDNSW]

Replacing the stay on a gatepost today, took the load of the wires with a hand winch to a suitably located tree, removed the old stay and fitted the new one. I had to slightly modify the socket in the side of the post to suit the new stay, using the chainsaw. Got a little close to one of the wires, and was astounded at how easily it cut the wire!

I haven't resharpened it since this, but I will be interested to see if there is any tooth damage.

[INter674]

Replacing the stay on a gatepost today, took the load of the wires with a hand winch to a suitably located tree, removed the old stay and fitted the new one. I had to slightly modify the socket in the side of the post to suit the new stay, using the chainsaw. Got a little close to one of the wires, and was astounded at how easily it cut the wire!

I haven't resharpened it since this, but I will be interested to see if there is any tooth damage.

...there will be😞

[INter674]

I gave the old Canadien 24" bar saw away years ago and replaced it with an 08S, which for us non super human types [bigsmile1] is without doubt the best saw Stihl has ever made (fighting words I know), but IMO probably the best mid size chainsaw ever built. I also use a 009L which is a superb 16" arborist type saw, beautifully balanced and a joy to use on small to mid size stuff. Unfortunately it now languishes in the corner with the 08 as I now use my battery saw for just about everything now.

The battery saw I'm referring to is an AEG 58 volt 16" saw as sold by Bunnings. I tossed the standard chain replacing it with a carbide tipped one and don't know why I didn't make the change 20 years ago. It's brilliant. I do a lot of traveling up north cutting real hardwood for the fire, not the soft southern 'hardwoods' but mulga / desert oak etc and reckon I cut about 30 metres or so before it needed a 'lick'. Wasn't cheap to buy at $120 or so but worth every penny in time, effort and output. [biggrin] Eats the local southern hardwoods for breakfast. Completely reduced a 50' X 18" dia stringybark to 18" lengths using 2 1/2 batterys yesterday, a very capable chainsaw [biggrin]

Deano :)

Wow..that's impressive cutting with the AEG...might have to give one a go ...120 bucks..wow🤤

PS how'd u find the carbide chains?

[Red90]

Find a used pro saw. Life is so much better with a saw that always works and works well.

[JDNSW]

...there will be😞

Sharpened it this morning. Two teeth slightly chipped, ground out in about 20s each.

[twr7cx]

Local husky guy steered me away from their small saws, and said go look at the ms170/180 STIHL s.

A couple of years ago my small McCulloch (while the company is now owned by Husqvarna company they were selling the base model for cheap as a Bunnings special for a while) had died during the warranty period so I received a full refund and I went off to buy a Stihl Mini Boss MS170 < MS 170 - STIHL MS 170 Mini Boss™ Chainsaw (https://www.stihl.com.au/STIHL-Products/Chainsaws/Homeowner-Chainsaws/2212-1571/MS-170.aspx) > and came home with a Husqvarna instead. I'm not sure which Husky I got though I believe it to be a 135 - looking at their website they seem to have increased their small offerings substantially since. At the time the Stihl was $250.00 regular price and the cheapest entry level Husky was $449.00. When I went shopping Husky had a sale on reducing the difference down to only $50.00 which bought a few more cc's (maybe 8cm3 or so), 2" longer bar, and, importantly according to an independent small engine repairer that worked on these, a repairable carby where the Stihl is apparently a sealed unit and throw away - and the total package only added 0.7kg in weight.
It's been used fairly heavily over the past few years s (think it still has the original spark plug in even). The only issue I've had is with the chain tensioner but I actually damaged this sometime ago when I did a stupid cut on a limb up high clearing a track - it still works and is on my one day job list to fix properly...

[DiscoMick]

Used the little Ryobi 10 inch to cut up a surplus treated post today to make a post for a fence. It looks like a toy, but it whizzed through it no worries.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200601/135ce88f4f3772bed7eae90c6a3c390f.jpg

[INter674]

Find a used pro saw. Life is so much better with a saw that always works and works well.

Have to agree with that 😉

[Rick1970]

Went and seen local stihl dealer today, they had 0 petrol saws in stock, waiting on back orders to be filled [emoji21]