First saw story

[MAF143]

I grew up on 6-1/2 acres of woods and my Dad never owned a chainsaw.  We had bow saws, one man and two man crosscut saws, and axes.  We didn't heat with wood, but we always had some clean up to do and Dad was a Scout Leader also.  We always cut all the firewood for all the campouts and always took 3 times the wood we needed to summer camp so we could share with some of the "city" troops.  We always had logs available for the scouts to build bridges, towers, and any other pioneering project they could dream up.  We had a red pine grove up on the corner of our property with a perfect camping area with a permanent fire ring.  Many summers I'm sure I slept there more than I did in my bed.  There were guys camping out up there a LOT and for sure almost every weekend.  My mini-bike ran 10 or 12 hours a day many a time.  I did most of the firewood cutting for all that by hand.  
One of Dad's co-workers came over once and cut a few shagbark hickory trees that Dad wanted removed and he had a Poulan chainsaw.  This was in the late 60's probably and I was impressed, but Dad wouldn't budge.  "We don't need one of those" he would say, "How would you stay in shape."

Fast forward to 1995 after the army and living in the city for a job several years.  We moved back "home" and was fixing up a house to move into.  There were some big white pine trees there and we had a big wet snow.  Two of those pines pancaked half their limbs off from almost the top of the trees and they needed cut so I needed to go buy a chainsaw.  I ended up with a 30cc Poulan woodsman 1800 for about 79 bucks.  That turned out to be a pretty good little saw and we even heated the house with a woodstove for a few years with that saw and a maul.
My older brother always heated with wood and he always had Stihl saws and he was wanting a new one and gave me a good deal on an early 80's 041 Farm Boss.  That made things way easier with the large stuff.

The Woodsman 1800 quit one day and I wasn't in the mood to wrench on it or carry the farm boss all over so I picked up a Poulan 3314 which was an ok saw, but was all plastic and didn't hold up well at all.  Those saws are all gone now, I just sold them over this winter and did muffler mods on both my MS-250 (the third new saw I ever bought) and MS-391 (another deal from my brother when he quit heating with wood).  WOW, how did I ever survive with those smaller saws.  The old farm boss was OK but would rattle my teeth and my hands would go numb after using it for a couple hours.  I have always been OK at sharpening chains, but have gotten much better at it over the last couple years and that's probably the first "perfomance" mod that new chainsaw users should work on.

Bottom line, I kinda miss my first little Poulan Woodsman 1800, but would I reach for it walking out of the shed to cut wood...  NO, the MS-250 would jump into my hand.  The 391 with 25" bar is all I need for the big wood here.  26-28" diameter at the base is the largest we have on our property for now.  The muffler mods made a big difference in both these saws because the mufflers were pretty restrictive on both of them.  Hearing protection is a MUST with them now.  Almost all hardwood cutting for both firewood and the sawmill.

[Iwawoodwork]

My first saw was a Homelite pro 2100 with a 36" bar  I purchased used from my employer (Weyerhaeuser) in  the early1970s don't know if I could even pack that beast now , and purchased my first new saw about 1974 it was a small Jonsreds (good saw) then about 10 years later I sold the Homelite and bought a used Husky 2100 pro with  36" bar from Weyco. which I recently gave  away, just to much saw, so now have two echo 670 pro saws for big saws and 029 stihl farm boss , 2 husky 240s,  stihl 023, echo 370 that is a great little saw plus jus about 2 weeks ago got a Home Depot Royibi 42cc could not resist the price $89. seems to cut fir just fine, going to get  a lot of use due to the unusual heavy snow here in the Eugene, Oregon area .  at 8pm tonite started on 9th day without power, using a Generator and bbq grill and melting snow to flush as gen won't power well pump but wife is happy we have, sat tv, lights, computer, cell phone wood stove and plenty of wood and gen gas, and just fill propane tank for grill so we will be warm, can see at night and cook on the grill and keep the fridge charged. 

[sawguy21]

Wow! I had no idea you were dealing with that, stay warm and safe. Wish I was around when you gave that big Husky away, I don't need one but want it just 'cause. ;D

[Air Lad]

I grew up on 6-1/2 acres of woods and my Dad never owned a chainsaw.  We had bow saws, one man and two man crosscut saws, and axes.  We didn't heat with wood, but we always had some clean up to do and Dad was a Scout Leader also.  We always cut all the firewood for all the campouts and always took 3 times the wood we needed to summer camp so we could share with some of the "city" troops.  We always had logs available for the scouts to build bridges, towers, and any other pioneering project they could dream up.  We had a red pine grove up on the corner of our property with a perfect camping area with a permanent fire ring.  Many summers I'm sure I slept there more than I did in my bed.  There were guys camping out up there a LOT and for sure almost every weekend.  My mini-bike ran 10 or 12 hours a day many a time.  I did most of the firewood cutting for all that by hand.  
One of Dad's co-workers came over once and cut a few shagbark hickory trees that Dad wanted removed and he had a Poulan chainsaw.  This was in the late 60's probably and I was impressed, but Dad wouldn't budge.  "We don't need one of those" he would say, "How would you stay in shape."

Fast forward to 1995 after the army and living in the city for a job several years.  We moved back "home" and was fixing up a house to move into.  There were some big white pine trees there and we had a big wet snow.  Two of those pines pancaked half their limbs off from almost the top of the trees and they needed cut so I needed to go buy a chainsaw.  I ended up with a 30cc Poulan woodsman 1800 for about 79 bucks.  That turned out to be a pretty good little saw and we even heated the house with a woodstove for a few years with that saw and a maul.
My older brother always heated with wood and he always had Stihl saws and he was wanting a new one and gave me a good deal on an early 80's 041 Farm Boss.  That made things way easier with the large stuff.

The Woodsman 1800 quit one day and I wasn't in the mood to wrench on it or carry the farm boss all over so I picked up a Poulan 3314 which was an ok saw, but was all plastic and didn't hold up well at all.  Those saws are all gone now, I just sold them over this winter and did muffler mods on both my MS-250 (the third new saw I ever bought) and MS-391 (another deal from my brother when he quit heating with wood).  WOW, how did I ever survive with those smaller saws.  The old farm boss was OK but would rattle my teeth and my hands would go numb after using it for a couple hours.  I have always been OK at sharpening chains, but have gotten much better at it over the last couple years and that's probably the first "perfomance" mod that new chainsaw users should work on.

Bottom line, I kinda miss my first little Poulan Woodsman 1800, but would I reach for it walking out of the shed to cut wood...  NO, the MS-250 would jump into my hand.  The 391 with 25" bar is all I need for the big wood here.  26-28" diameter at the base is the largest we have on our property for now.  The muffler mods made a big difference in both these saws because the mufflers were pretty restrictive on both of them.  Hearing protection is a MUST with them now.  Almost all hardwood cutting for both firewood and the sawmill.

Thanks for sharing you're story MAF143
I'll bet the hand saws made you guy's super fit in the early days mate
I have ms260c and 039 so we seem to have similar likes in these machines
Cheers

[Air Lad]

My first saw was a Homelite pro 2100 with a 36" bar  I purchased used from my employer (Weyerhaeuser) in  the early1970s don't know if I could even pack that beast now , and purchased my first new saw about 1974 it was a small Jonsreds (good saw) then about 10 years later I sold the Homelite and bought a used Husky 2100 pro with  36" bar from Weyco. which I recently gave  away, just to much saw, so now have two echo 670 pro saws for big saws and 029 stihl farm boss , 2 husky 240s,  stihl 023, echo 370 that is a great little saw plus jus about 2 weeks ago got a Home Depot Royibi 42cc could not resist the price $89. seems to cut fir just fine, going to get  a lot of use due to the unusual heavy snow here in the Eugene, Oregon area .  at 8pm tonite started on 9th day without power, using a Generator and bbq grill and melting snow to flush as gen won't power well pump but wife is happy we have, sat tv, lights, computer, cell phone wood stove and plenty of wood and gen gas, and just fill propane tank for grill so we will be warm, can see at night and cook on the grill and keep the fridge charged.

Great story mate. And hat's off to you for being so resilient and resourceful when faced with some challenges. And ....remaining upbeat and positive.
Thanks for you're input

[Air Lad]

Wow! I had no idea you were dealing with that, stay warm and safe. Wish I was around when you gave that big Husky away, I don't need one but want it just 'cause. ;D

Yep sawduy21. and today I come home and check our Gumtree (like E Bay)
A Jonsred 2050 Turbo giveaway... Sold pending pickup
At the Gold Coast .. 3 1/2 hrs drive .
Dayummm
would have been a good new project as we don't see very many here
Cheers 

[HolmenTree]

My first saw was a Homelite pro 2100 with a 36" bar  I purchased used from my employer (Weyerhaeuser) in  the early1970s don't know if I could even pack that beast now , and purchased my first new saw about 1974 it was a small Jonsreds (good saw) then about 10 years later I sold the Homelite and bought a used Husky 2100 pro with  36" bar from Weyco. which I recently gave  away, just to much saw, so now have two echo 670 pro saws for big saws and 029 stihl farm boss , 2 husky 240s,  stihl 023, echo 370 that is a great little saw plus jus about 2 weeks ago got a Home Depot Royibi 42cc could not resist the price $89. seems to cut fir just fine, going to get  a lot of use due to the unusual heavy snow here in the Eugene, Oregon area .  at 8pm tonite started on 9th day without power, using a Generator and bbq grill and melting snow to flush as gen won't power well pump but wife is happy we have, sat tv, lights, computer, cell phone wood stove and plenty of wood and gen gas, and just fill propane tank for grill so we will be warm, can see at night and cook on the grill and keep the fridge charged.

Great story mate. And hat's off to you for being so resilient and resourceful when faced with some challenges. And ....remaining upbeat and positive.
Thanks for you're input

Iwa, good luck to you hope you get through this ok.
Weather is crazy everywhere,  minus 40 windchill here yesterday at the same time a killer tornado ran through Georgia.
My Dad who used a Swede saw all his life was in his 60's when he got his first chainsaw, my older brother gave him a good running Jonsereds 621.
First saw I ever ran when I was 8 was my older brother's 80cc Homelite XL.
Snuck it behind the barn and felled a half dozen poplar trees off the cattle's wind break.

[chet]

As a kid cutting firewood for my mom's kitchen cookstove, my first saw was a Homelite C7. All I remember about dat saw, was it was really heavy, and da bugs never bothered me when I used it. Musta been da 16/1 mix ratio it used.  :D

[Air Lad]

As a kid cutting firewood for my mom's kitchen cookstove, my first saw was a Homelite C7. All I remember about dat saw, was it was really heavy, and da bugs never bothered me when I used it. Musta been da 16/1 mix ratio it used.  :D

Told the old school Father in law  about going to 40:1 and he replied with "I like to use 10:1 son cause I like to see a smoke trail "
Still unsure if he was having a lend of me
He is a very knowledgeable old codger
I am the recipient of my old deceased uncle's Brittish Seagull outboard and I am sure it's meant to run at 12:1. That is going to be a future project no doubt. Off topic but it's interesting how the older engines were so oil needy ? 
Cheers

[Air Lad]

My first saw was a Homelite pro 2100 with a 36" bar  I purchased used from my employer (Weyerhaeuser) in  the early1970s don't know if I could even pack that beast now , and purchased my first new saw about 1974 it was a small Jonsreds (good saw) then about 10 years later I sold the Homelite and bought a used Husky 2100 pro with  36" bar from Weyco. which I recently gave  away, just to much saw, so now have two echo 670 pro saws for big saws and 029 stihl farm boss , 2 husky 240s,  stihl 023, echo 370 that is a great little saw plus jus about 2 weeks ago got a Home Depot Royibi 42cc could not resist the price $89. seems to cut fir just fine, going to get  a lot of use due to the unusual heavy snow here in the Eugene, Oregon area .  at 8pm tonite started on 9th day without power, using a Generator and bbq grill and melting snow to flush as gen won't power well pump but wife is happy we have, sat tv, lights, computer, cell phone wood stove and plenty of wood and gen gas, and just fill propane tank for grill so we will be warm, can see at night and cook on the grill and keep the fridge charged.

Great story mate. And hat's off to you for being so resilient and resourceful when faced with some challenges. And ....remaining upbeat and positive.
Thanks for you're input

Iwa, good luck to you hope you get through this ok.
Weather is crazy everywhere,  minus 40 windchill here yesterday at the same time a killer tornado ran through Georgia.
My Dad who used a Swede saw all his life was in his 60's when he got his first chainsaw, my older brother gave him a good running Jonsereds 621.
First saw I ever ran when I was 8 was my older brother's 80cc Homelite XL.
Snuck it behind the barn and felled a half dozen poplar trees off the cattle's wind break.

Cheers Holmen
This story is funny to me because I think you may have been a bit spirited ( such as myself ) as a younger person .
A great start to a career in timber industry at the age of 8
Thanks for sharing you're story mate

[HolmenTree]

 Air Lad you're welcome,
yes easy to do when a young fellow has chores and duties to do outdoors, not playing with video games or computers like the latest few generations do.

Only trouble is now in my stage of life, for the last 8 years or so I'm seeing what it's all about :D