Another stupid "what saw should I buy" thread

[Woodpecker]

Never worried about doing business with Bruce, stand up person! Always been a pleasure to deal with.

Same here. Nice dude to deal with!

 

[jetsam]

in my younger days I was once told by an old farmer after I said I had a log burner.... "oh you'll never be cold with a wood burning stove, you'll always be cutting f###### wood"
How right he was

As kids we never said we were cold inside, because our dad would always apply his favorite remedy (send us straight outside to split wood).

He never forgot to ask if we were still cold when we came back in, either.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

I would agree with @bradb123 I bet the 572xp would be a good option I have not ran one yet but autotune is the way of the future and they look like strong saws

You can get a brandy new 7900 for under $1k. Parts are in the same situation, but a new 7900 should last a firewooder a long long time.

If I were trying to stay super simple, 272XP and snag a new top end for a spare. Everything else on that chassis is super supported by aftermarket and the quality is really good. I don’t have to warranty what I do for myself, the aftermarket crank seals, fuel lines, av mounts etc are excellent value at less than half the cost of OEM.

I have a 266SE, 268XP, and a 272XP and those will be the last saws I ever sell. I have about 5-6 builders of this chassis, and other than 266 top covers and 266/268 top ends (272 are still available) every other part is still new OEM available.

I would venture to say all the reputable builders here could put you a nice 266/68/72 saw together for a reasonable price.

If the husky 572 is anything like the Stihl 462, then it's worth buying. Just today I saw a 462 and a 500i advertised second hand for under a thousand.

The husky 61 chassis idea is a great one too, every single part is available everywhere around the world, second hand and new.

 

[jetsam]

So as an update on this....

The 565 has been through a bunch of tanks of gas and couple bar flips. It has a chip on the handle and it's all dirty... now it looks like a saw.

These days I take my Dolmar 6400 and the Husky into the woods, and leave the Echo behind. I've been using the Husky for limbing and felling, and both saws for bucking.

Here's what I've thought of the change so far:

Autotune: I was wary of autotune. People said it was good, I had a hard time believing them. I have ears and a screwdriver (and tachometer), and adjusting a carb takes only a couple minutes.

My verdict after living with it for a while? It has ups and downs. I wouldn't want it if I was a tractor pull speed cutter, but as a wood getter, I can live with it.

What I don't like: This saw doesn't 2-stroke, and it therefore sounds girly next to the dolmar. That's not just a vanity issue- the Dolmar is getting out more RPMs under the same load because it's tuned just so. The Husky also feels a little less powerful, but that's not a fair competition (the Husky is 7cc bigger, but it has an unmodified stock muffler and is pulling more links around a bigger bar).

What I do like: The husky is almost impossible to stall. My dad always said, "speed cuts"... well, you could run this saw if you didn't know what that means and you were deaf. If my jacket covers the saw's air, it slows down a little but keeps going. I can hear that happen right away with the Dolmar.

Overall I don't love autotune and I don't hate it. The head will probably last longer since it's running a little tamer than I would have it running if I was in charge of the carb settings.

I'm still wondering if I even should clear out the muffler a little (something I usually do for all my saws)- will that screw up the autotune thingy? We'll probably find out one of these days!

Bar nuts: Love at first sight for the idea of captive bar nuts. I actually had some trouble figuring out the right torque for them and had them come loose a couple times (I was using the miniature scrench that came with the saw and tightening them gingerly so as not to damage them), but I landed on "use a regular scrench and tighten them like any other saw", and that's been fine. It looks like a delicate assembly, but it holds up fine to some torque.

Starting: The husky takes more pulls than the Dolmar but it is less finicky.

On the other hand, I could hand the Husky to pretty much anybody who knows what a chainsaw is and they could figure out how to start it without flooding it. I wouldn't expect someone who doesn't know the Dolmar to figure it out on the first try (or maybe at all ).

Cutting:
I ground the chains the same and took both saws to the same wet ~20" red oak. They both made me happy. The Dolmar was a little quicker but not a lot, and as noted above that's not a fair contest.

Little stuff:
The Dolmar's gigantic comedy dawgs are not present on the Husky. The Dolmar loses a couple inches of useful bar length because its dawgs were designed by the marketing department. (I should really change those out.)

I'm on the fence as to whether I like the Husky's toolless fluid caps. Good idea in theory, I guess, but when am I going to be running a saw and not have a scrench with me? I do like the way the semiflush design lets you brush off the area before opening the cap, but it also gave me a little trouble at first (I was being too careful with the little plastic bits and didn't torque them down enough). They still look delicate and out of place on a working saw.

Overall: It's a good saw so far! I'm hopefully going to put a lot of miles on it.

 

[Shane¹]

Did you end up getting a muffler for your dolmar? Couple decent priced used ones on eBay right now if you are still looking

 

[jetsam]

Did you end up getting a muffler for your dolmar? Couple decent priced used ones on eBay right now if you are still looking

I didn't but I will go check it, I definitely need one. It's hanging on the saw by the grace of hope, wishes, and oversized washers right now.

 

[Shane¹]

Dolmar 7300 Muffler | eBay

we have a good used muffler for a dolmar 7900 chainsaw.comes with 3 mounting screws and gasket.any questions feel free and thank you for looking.....

www.ebay.com