Good saw between 35cc and 50cc

[Skisawyer]

@livemusic what saws are on your contender list now in terms of your original question? The “pro” construction requirement narrows the field pretty quick.

 

[FergusonTO35]

If I had the disposable income for a third 40cc saw right now, the Redmax GZ4350 would be my choice. It's supposed to be a real made in Japan Zenoah saw, not a Jonseredmax.

 

[00wyk]

Somewhere on here there are weights of a 241,421 and 543 and they are all right there with each other. The dolmar wasn't the heaviest either! Plus in my experience they are right there with the 241 in terms of power.

Did someone summon the chainsaw weight genie?

The 543 is very light, but the build quality is also very light...if you know wot I meen.

The Dolmar is a pro build quality. I have one that's been in firewood duty for 5 years, that I've ported, and it's not missed a step. I would highly recommend the 4300/420/421, especially ported.

The 241 is also an excellent choice. It cost quite a bit more than the dolly, but it does have a much larger carb that responds well to porting. It's MTronic, tho - which I admit I am not fond of.

This Echo/Shindaiwa 390ES is an alternative if you can find it, but they are not what I would call a limbing saw. These make stock Dolmars seem like 346xp's. They are slow revvers, but have a lot of pull at about 10k rpm. We had one I muff-modded for the estate I work on that was stolen. And, quite frankly, I think they stole the right saw. I prefer most other 40cc saws to it. Still, a nice handy saw, if not cheap like the 50cc Echo's are. This pic is with the cat in it - the cat weighs about 4-5 ounces. So it is super light for a pro build

One thing to consider is most saws that are very lightweight achieve this by having lightweight AV - usually hard rubber(as you can see in the photo above). The Dolmar and Stihl 40cc offerings are spring AV.

 

[Skisawyer]

I’d like to try a 543 as well, the problem for me is they are $525 usd here, and from what i have seen in videos run a second slower in 10” wood than 421.

Someday i’d like to have a 543 muff modded and ported. I think maybe Brad Snellerized did this to a red max and he found it to be very fast. i think.

 

[Skisawyer]

Not that speed is everything. i like a cat-less well tuned echo 352 (36cc) quite a bit. Excellent build and anti-vibe for a plastic clamshell.

 

[00wyk]

I dunno what the various zenoah brands are for the 543, but perhaps you can find one and pay less for the Husky name plate?
Zenoah, redmax, uh... muriyama? Erm... shoobadoo badoop.

 

[pavel408]

I dunno what the various zenoah brands are for the 543, but perhaps you can find one and pay less for the Husky name plate?

Redmax GZ4350 / Zenoah GZ4300

 

[huskyboy]

Bang for your buck is hard to beat with the little 421 dolly. Especially after de-catting it. Built quite tough as well.

 

[Skisawyer]

I felled and bucked a 32” at the stump softwood with my dolmar 421 this Summer. With a 16” bar. It did fine. I would reach for a 60cc if I was doing that frequently, but in a pinch that little saw has the guts to really pull a chain with a short bar burried. It just puts a smile on my face every time it use her. Smooth, light, strong, low price. I’d own a 241 and 543 also if i could afford it just for fun. But for a one small saw plan, the dolkita is just the cream of the crop.

 

[Skisawyer]

Yep. The 501p is a sweet saw as well

 

[Skisawyer]

We really are spoiled for choice. I can only imagine that porting any of these little buggers results in light sabers...

 

[00wyk]

We really are spoiled for choice. I can only imagine that porting any of these little buggers results in light sabers...

 

[Skisawyer]

That dogs bite is louder than his bark! I really ought to ship my 421 off to Miller mod saws and have it worked over! I swear your ported 42cc saw cuts faster and stronger than my stock Stihl 261.

 

[00wyk]

That dogs bite is louder than his bark! I really ought to ship my 421 off to Miller mod saws and have it worked over! I swear your ported 42cc saw cuts faster and stronger than my stock Stihl 261.

And that red oak is rock hard, too. Take a look at these rings:

That one has had some very invasive surgery. I've added eyebrow ports after I saw how effective they were reading up on open port porting on the RC airplane engine forums. I was lucky enough to have a spare cylinder to try it out on. This is the first try in the photos. I have since found a way to be a bit less invasive with the eyebrows, and still have them be very effective. I dunno if you can tell in the vid, but it not only makes the saw powerful over all, but it makes it rev instantly.

This is the saw the final cylinder ended up in - Andews 4300f in the UK here cutting sycamore:

And here is it's sweet sweet idle before I cranked it up to 3K where it should be(it's idling like a freaking 288xp in this vid at like 2400 rpm):