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First saw story

Started by Air Lad, February 26, 2019, 04:54:31 AM

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Air Lad

I'll make it quick because dinner is almost up
Tell us a story about you're first chainsaw. Reason . Brand and anything else to add to the story
Ok I'm up first
Dealing with a huge Mango (type of fruit tree) climbing up high with a power cord and a circular electric carpenters saw to get this thing out of a future driveway site. Making good headway with the smaller/upper limbs the wife comments "will that thing be able to cut it all down ? " to which I replied. Mabye!
And then came the magic words......YOU NEED A CHAINSAW LOVE !!!!!
Local hardware sold me a Talon
This thing went fantastic. I don't know what the Chinese people based this one on but the engine/running gear never failed through a difficult time of a man being a learner driver and very hard on the poor thing.
Traded it in on Husky 2 years later but that engine still started/ran/restarted when traded
Cheers

samandothers


Cam460

My first saw was a stihl 024 av. When I bought it it didn't run well and I remember me and my dad pulling the carb on it to clean it. Slapped it back on tuned it up and it was a great running little saw. I cut a long side my dad for about 3 years until I got my own firewood business. 

sawguy21

In my teens when dad bought a Mac 15 for occasional use at the cottage. It was very occasional, I spent more time tinkering with that stupid thing trying to get it to run than actually cutting with it. Dad was not a mechanic. He finally gave it away and went back to a handsaw which he was very familiar with.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

offrink

My first (helped dad clear space for a barn and other wood chores prior) saw was a stihl ms 390. We bought a house and heated primarily with wood. I took/take great care of that saw. Blow it out with compressed air after every use. I don't use it much anymore but it was a gift from my late wife so it will never leave me. 

lxskllr

In 2012, a durecho blasted my neighborhood. Tons of wood down. The damage was so bad, we had news helicopters flying overhead. A big branch from one of my locusts smashed the windshield of my jeep, so it was dead in the water. Previously, I had done pretty much all work with hand tools, down to an egg beater drill when I needed to make holes. I had waaay too much big wood in my yard for my handsaws, so I walked .5 miles to the walmart, and bought a shiny new PoulanPro4218. Say what you want about Poulan, but it was good to me. Took care of the mess in my yard, and got infrequent use cutting firewood when I got stuff too big(or me too lazy to use) a handsaw.


Fast forward to March 2018. I had this come down in my yard...






Got what I could with my machetes and good old PoulanPro, but I needed a new bigger saw. Was debating between Husky and Stihl, and went with Husky cause the dealer was closer to the office. Got to the shop, and contrary to the website, they were closed. I then went to the Stihl dealer, and got a ms362cm with a 25" bar. I then decided this woodcutting stuff's pretty cool, and I'm ~$3k in to my new hobby. Got a 362(not cm) that I got a good deal on, an echo cs400, and an echo cs2511t. Add to that, a spur climbing kit, reels of chain, an axe, and miscellaneous stuff, I have the beginnings of a solid tree care company  :^D


Oh, PoulanPro died. After I got my Stihl, I quit using corn gas, and started feeding good fuel to the Poulan also. Took it out ~six months later, and it wouldn't run right. Same thing happened to my mower. Corn gas for years, give it real fuel, and it quits working. Coincidence? Not sure what's going on there. My theory is the real gas loosened up some crud, and plugged stuff that shouldn't be plugged, but I dunno. Poulan's waiting to be torn down for a postmortem, and I got enough use out of the mower. The motor's good, but it's missing the hood, and is rigged up with wire and stuff. Got a new to me Craftsman to take its place.

Al_Smith

It was and is a Poulan S-25 or S25 DA circa early 70's branded as a Dayton model painted orange .It's still a good runner even after all these years .

Inaotherlife

Couple or three Poulans. 3400. And some smaller saw that didn't stick around. And then later a wild thing, that eventually also got moved along.
Used to cut mesquite on government land that was to become a lake, for firewood that I sold by the pickup load in the local grocery store parking lot. And occasionally to cleanup around the farm.

Why these Poulan saws? I couldn't tell you, except the wild thing was just convenient at the time.

And then a used Stihl 009L, as I wanted a small compact saw for around the house, climbing up in trees, and camping and stuff. But it's also seen it's share of firewood duty.

The 3400 and the 009L are still around, but don't get much play anymore since I went on a buying spree and got three new Echo's. A 490, 2511T, and 361P.

Why Echos?

Well the new 490 was one of those too good to pass up deals. And much lighter and easier starting than the old 3400.
I considered replacing it with an older 024AV and an 026 Pro, but then I remembered why I chose to buy new saws in the first place.

The 2511T I think is a best in class saw, and I really wanted a super small-superlight saw for in-tree work and pruning large shrubs. It'll cut some big stuff too. It's a great little saw.

The 361P because I wanted a new sub-9 pound rear-handle saw with some guts and AV to take the place of the 009L in the lineup. And on sale it was $400 less than a MS201CEM. 

For now, I'm real happy with the 3 Echos.

And also bought a bunch of other used saws recently whenever I thought I found a deal too good to pass up. Now I plan on selling all these recent new to me used saws, except the Husky 372xp and the Echo CS-346.
The 346 I'd like to set up as a carving saw.
And the 372 is there just in case I need it I guess. I could probably sell the big Husky and not miss it much.

A small history compared to most around these Forestry Forum parts.

Air Lad

Ixskllr you have shared a cracking yarn mate. Like you I have seen my collection snowball in more recent times. Thanks for sharing everyone smiley_chop

Inaotherlife

Oh....and I have a 20 year old Fiskars pole saw that I just replaced last year with a PPT-2620.
My most expensive saw. Just under $700 out the door including the 4' extension.
I figure doing what I've done with it so far, I'd have probably spent around $200 in rental fees. But the rental pruner doesn't come with the extension. 
And I've got another 2 or 3 days of immediate use for it. So that should get it about halfway paid for, not counting the convenience factor.
It might be a couple more years before it's fully paid for itself.

Air Lad

I have a goal to get a pole saw next.
Just waiting for the next broken/dirt cheap/quality brand to manifest in the world of second hand land
Love fixing broken quality stuff on the cheap
More satisfaction than just buying new stuff
Just a hobby though, If it was a business then that would be different 
Cheers 

starmac

I would like to have a pole saw, it doesn't need to be very long or big, but I would like it to be battery powered.
Do they make such an animal?
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

Old Greenhorn

I had to think hard about this because I guess I was using saws for many many years before I 'had my first'. My Dad had a BIG Mall saw when I was a kid that I think he bought used to clear a lot for a summer cottage they bought. It had a 36" bar and you could not lay it on it's side, you had the release and rotate the bar 90° and lock it in again. It was a heavy saw. Mall also made a model with a longer bar and a handle at the far end, the power head had handle bars, remember those?
 Anyway, as time went on and I got old enough to care, other saws just kind of 'appeared' and got repaired and used over the years. People would just give him broken saws, or he would buy them at yard sales for $5.00. When he retired and moved north, he really started picking them up, mostly the bigger homelites, but some smaller ones too. I never kept track, and when I needed to cut, would just borrow one from him. He usually had one he had just 'finished' and wanted me to test. We (I) got used to carb problems and fiddling with them a lot to get through the day. That was life. When Dad passed and we needed to make some room to start cleaning up, I decided that I could not store and then dedicate a lot of time to fixing and maintaining all this stuff. My nephew and I spent and afternoon collecting all the weed whackers, lawn mowers, chainsaws, leaf blowers, lawn tractors, and parts for same and piling them on a tarp to 'take inventory". When we sold them, as a lot, there were 27 weed whackers, 25 chainsaws, I chipper, 3 tractors, 6 blowers, 15 hedge trimmers all fully assembled. There were also 6 Rubbermaid garbage cans filled with parts for them, engines, bars, tanks, belts, etc. It filled 3 1/2 ton pickups, including the jump seat to the brim. There were a ton of boxes that had a dozen carbs, pistons, ring kits, gasket kits fuel filters, you name it of a given style, all cleaned or new and ready to install. 
 I took my share of the proceeds and bought my first ever brand new saw, a Husky 450 for general work. I was 59 years old. I guess that was my first saw. I think my Dad would have liked it.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Ianab

Quote from: starmac on February 26, 2019, 04:31:23 PM
I would like to have a pole saw, it doesn't need to be very long or big, but I would like it to be battery powered.
Do they make such an animal?
Yep.
HTA 85, tool only - Powerful cordless telescopic pole pruner
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

reelman65

Quote from: starmac on February 26, 2019, 04:31:23 PM
I would like to have a pole saw, it doesn't need to be very long or big, but I would like it to be battery powered.
Do they make such an animal?
for light duty, i just bought a refurb ryobi 18v from HD for 86.99. i has an oiler and angles down a little which makes cutting high limbs easier. they also make a 40 volt, but i wanted the 18v, in case i wanted to buy any of the other  "tool only" units in that series. 
75 Acres of hardwoods that i want to try to optimize for HW growth, health and habitat. Also interested in creating a few small stands of fruit/nut trees and sample of different native species

overclocking

I cant really say what my first was as I used school and work saws long before actually buying one, maybe a jonsered turbo late 90s era.

I can share my first experience though as a amateur with a saw.

I was hired on a crew with asplundh tree service and the foreman (before filling out any paper work) liked to test his potential recruits. They would do stuff like put the chain on wrong and make you mix the fuel as a test to see if you were bullshatting them on the experience part.

First thing I noticed was backward chain, then I mixed the fuel. They said good job... tossed me a pair of chaps and said have at it. Clear that row of trees under the power lines.

So I trudged off like a scene from die hard into the waste deep florida swap and ran that saw with all its glory for about 20 minutes until I felt like I was gonna die of heat stroke and fatigue. Eventually I ended up hanging that saw in the chaps and got the chaps all tangled up in the clutch.

Came back out ready to just head back to the house feeling like a moron and apologize for the chaps.

They were laughing so hard I started to get irritated until they said.. "Don't sweat it cuz' that's a 120cc saw with a 20 inch bar we sent you in there with, the last guy only lasted 5 minutes.. your hired!"

That was a fun job!




starmac

I guess I should check and see if milwaukee has come out with one. I have a lot of 18 volt stuff and multiple batteries.

I would rarely use it, but occasionally there is a limb, usually small sticking out of a load to high to reach with an axe.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

Air Lad

Quote from: starmac on February 26, 2019, 04:31:23 PM
I would like to have a pole saw, it doesn't need to be very long or big, but I would like it to be battery powered.
Do they make such an animal?
I am sure they do mate smiley_beertoast

Air Lad

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on February 26, 2019, 04:50:38 PM
I had to think hard about this because I guess I was using saws for many many years before I 'had my first'. My Dad had a BIG Mall saw when I was a kid that I think he bought used to clear a lot for a summer cottage they bought. It had a 36" bar and you could not lay it on it's side, you had the release and rotate the bar 90° and lock it in again. It was a heavy saw. Mall also made a model with a longer bar and a handle at the far end, the power head had handle bars, remember those?
Anyway, as time went on and I got old enough to care, other saws just kind of 'appeared' and got repaired and used over the years. People would just give him broken saws, or he would buy them at yard sales for $5.00. When he retired and moved north, he really started picking them up, mostly the bigger homelites, but some smaller ones too. I never kept track, and when I needed to cut, would just borrow one from him. He usually had one he had just 'finished' and wanted me to test. We (I) got used to carb problems and fiddling with them a lot to get through the day. That was life. When Dad passed and we needed to make some room to start cleaning up, I decided that I could not store and then dedicate a lot of time to fixing and maintaining all this stuff. My nephew and I spent and afternoon collecting all the weed whackers, lawn mowers, chainsaws, leaf blowers, lawn tractors, and parts for same and piling them on a tarp to 'take inventory". When we sold them, as a lot, there were 27 weed whackers, 25 chainsaws, I chipper, 3 tractors, 6 blowers, 15 hedge trimmers all fully assembled. There were also 6 Rubbermaid garbage cans filled with parts for them, engines, bars, tanks, belts, etc. It filled 3 1/2 ton pickups, including the jump seat to the brim. There were a ton of boxes that had a dozen carbs, pistons, ring kits, gasket kits fuel filters, you name it of a given style, all cleaned or new and ready to install.
I took my share of the proceeds and bought my first ever brand new saw, a Husky 450 for general work. I was 59 years old. I guess that was my first saw. I think my Dad would have liked it.
Thanks for taking the time to share the story of how you arrived at you're first one. In a way there were many prior that led to the Husky 450
And at the ripe age of XX . Bet the Husky has done a great job for you smiley_beertoast

Air Lad

Quote from: overclocking on February 26, 2019, 09:33:35 PM
I cant really say what my first was as I used school and work saws long before actually buying one, maybe a jonsered turbo late 90s era.

I can share my first experience though as a amateur with a saw.

I was hired on a crew with asplundh tree service and the foreman (before filling out any paper work) liked to test his potential recruits. They would do stuff like put the chain on wrong and make you mix the fuel as a test to see if you were bullshatting them on the experience part.

First thing I noticed was backward chain, then I mixed the fuel. They said good job... tossed me a pair of chaps and said have at it. Clear that row of trees under the power lines.

So I trudged off like a scene from die hard into the waste deep florida swap and ran that saw with all its glory for about 20 minutes until I felt like I was gonna die of heat stroke and fatigue. Eventually I ended up hanging that saw in the chaps and got the chaps all tangled up in the clutch.

Came back out ready to just head back to the house feeling like a moron and apologize for the chaps.

They were laughing so hard I started to get irritated until they said.. "Don't sweat it cuz' that's a 120cc saw with a 20 inch bar we sent you in there with, the last guy only lasted 5 minutes.. your hired!"

That was a fun job!
Awesome story Mate
Thanks for sharing smiley_beertoast

Pine Ridge

Dad bought me a Homelite super EZ when I was probably 10 or so, I made it mighty rough on the flint rocks with that thing.
Husqvarna 550xp , 2- 372xp and a 288xp, Chevy 4x4 winch truck

Wallydawg

Mine was a hand-me-down (aka wore out) from my Dad's logging Co. He said, Get the Mac in the back shed. You can use that to cut firewood. I was 15 and looking to make money. The 'Mac' was a model I-86 w/38" bar. I thought I was a man, but that saw said I wasn't :D I had to start it on ether and it finally died for good. I took it to the saw shop to fix (Homelite dealer as Mac dealer had closed), and he said I ain't fixxin no more of your old man's Macs. Here, take this here new Swede saw out back on the log and see what you think. It was a Jonsered 621. Wow, what a difference. Wish I still had that saw. Some bonehead stole it and other tools from my Dad after I moved out. I've since stuck with Stihl and Dolmar
They say I'm lazy, but it takes all my time. - Joe Walsh -
Timberking B-20

wild262

My first saw my dad bought me was a new Homelite 150.  I was 12-13 yrs at the time.  Our church had a wood stove and the whole congregation would meet every 2 wks to cut wood together.  The men cut, women & kids piled brush, and teens would load in the trk.  My job was to help with the limbing.  Dad ran an ole heavy Pioneer.  I could hardly lift that thing let alone run it. :D  He limbed with a lime green Poulan that was in the shop more than it ran.  I remember dad cursing that thing all the time.  He finally got a Stihl 024av in the early 80's for firewood cutting.  At that time I bought a new Olymphk 950 super.  Darn good 50cc saw.  When I went into the firewood selling business in '89, I bought a new Husky 262xp.  Had a 3-saw trio then.    I still have the old 262 and 150 to this day.  Love that 262.  Best saw I ever owned.  I like lightweight saws now because of my bad back.  Still burn wood, at least for now.   Got a lot smarter over the years letting equipment do the work instead of my back.  Just wish I had listened more to my elders when I was younger.  Now paying the price with hearing aids, and back surgery. :)      Now I got 4 grandboys to teach.  Hope they listen better than I did. :D

Air Lad


hedgerow

I didn't grow up around chain saws. When I was a very young kid of 5 or 6 the elm disease came to our town and changed the look of our town forever. My folks were in the fuel business we sold heating oil and propane. Any tree work that my folks needed done was completed by a farmer friend of my dad that also drove truck for my dad. I left that area after high school went to tech school and bought a farm that needed a lot of cleaning up. I became friends with a old guy in my area he had Homelight chain saws and I repaired them and used them for a number of years and finally bought a Stihl 038 new and that was my first saw. I still own it today and it still runs. 

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