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Recommend small saw for older guy?

Started by John Mc, April 13, 2018, 11:25:06 AM

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John Mc

I have a friend who is in his 70s, and a smaller, wiry guy. He's in good shape for a guy his age, but as he says, he's not getting any younger. He's well versed in engines (restores antiques engines) and takes good care of his equipment.

He has a 35 or 38cc Jonsered that has given him nothing but trouble for several years (and he hates the tool-less tensioning system on it). He is going to retire that saw (maybe keep it as a backup).

He mostly putters about on his 10+ acres keeping trails clear and harvesting some of his own firewood. It's mostly smaller trees, so the 16" bar and 35-38cc have been fine for him. As he put it, "it cuts what I need it to cut... when it's running".

He is strongly leaning toward Husqvarna. A pro-level saw is not in the budget - and really, his usage is light enough that he can't really justify the expense anyway. Weight is something he is concerned about.

I was thinking of recommending he look at a Husqvarna 440 (I think you can get these without the tool-less tensioner - can someone confirm that?). He did not really seem interested in looking at Stihl, though he might change his tune if there was a really good reason (i.e. something more compelling than just the usual "Stihl rules"/"Husky rules" argument.)
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

woodsdog2015

Unfortunate he isn't interested in Stihl because I would highly recommend my MS251 with the .325 yellow chain, its a very nice saw for the money, light and nimble, responsive and won't rob the bank.  I have really beat on mine too and I cannot complain.  It has more spunk then the older and more intrepid MS250 but that's a great saw too.  Also, I was just watching this youtube video the other night and the NEW Stihl MS201C looks like a real cool saw.  You can put a bigger bar on it too and its light and seems like it would do what your buddy needs a good saw to do. 

Swedish Homestead review of the New Stihl 201C
I'd rather be in the woods.
MS362CM
MS251
CS-300
Homelite 8800
FiskarsX27

DDW_OR

"let the machines do the work"

starmac

It has been a couple of years, but my husky dealer told me that if I wanted a small cheaper saw, to just go get an ecco, and he stocks the small huskys.
He claimed they are cheaper, just as well built as the small huskys, and he does the warranty work on them anyway.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

woodsdog2015

So an update on the Stihl 201C, for S's & G's I called a dealer in my area and the price of that saw is around $710-$730!!!! Whew!  He said he doesn't even stock these as they just wouldn't move at that price point.... even with his commercial customers.  He told me an MS 241 is in the mid $500 USD range.  It is a cool saw though.  
I'd rather be in the woods.
MS362CM
MS251
CS-300
Homelite 8800
FiskarsX27

John Mc

Quote from: woodsdog2015 on April 13, 2018, 02:52:35 PM
So an update on the Stihl 201C, for S's & G's I called a dealer in my area and the price of that saw is around $710-$730!!!! Whew!  He said he doesn't even stock these as they just wouldn't move at that price point.... even with his commercial customers.  He told me an MS 241 is in the mid $500 USD range.  It is a cool saw though.  
Which is one of the reasons he's just not going for a pro-level saw. He certainly appreciates well-made equipment, he just can't justify the cost for his light use.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

John Mc

Quote from: woodsdog2015 on April 13, 2018, 12:20:57 PMUnfortunate he isn't interested in Stihl because I would highly recommend my MS251 with the .325 yellow chain, its a very nice saw for the money, light and nimble, responsive and won't rob the bank.


I agree the MS250/251 might be a nice saw for him (though it is about a pound heavier than the alternatives he's looking at).
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

DelawhereJoe

The Echo cs 352 is under 9lbs, 34cc it was going to purchase one before I was given a stihl ms 180. Does he have any problems pull starting things? The ms 180 I have has the ez-start to it but has the stupid tool less chain tensioner. It has a counter wound spring to it so all you have to do is pull the cord out and when you are near the end of the cord it automatically cranks the motor over a few times.
WD-40, DUCT TAPE, 024, 026, 362c-m, 041, homelite xl, JD 2510

WV Sawmiller

   My wife has one of the EZ start Sthil 180 and loves it. She can't pull one hard enough or fast enough to crank but this works fine for her. I use it for trimming board ends and light work around the shop and it is a very nice little saw.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

wild262

For a small saw under 50cc, I would recommend a Echo 360P.  Weights 8.5 lbs.  35cc and shares the same motor as the 355T which is proven.  Retail is 389.00  On Echo's customer appreciation day's going on right now, he can take 20% off that.  I bought one and love it.  I have a bad back and knee.  And this saw is a joy to cut with. ;D

mike_belben

MS200T.  At his age being light and powerful will really pay off. 
Praise The Lord

knuckledragger

Ms170 is one of best saws I own/have owned. $179 I believe. I got my first one of the 170s in '02 and I still have that saw and it runs good. The ms170 is a Floyd Mayweather Jr. saw. Lite,quick, and has a good punch.

sawguy21

Mike, the MS200T, now the 201, is not a good choice for the consumer. It is the best on the market for the professional arborist but the top handle is downright dangerous in inexperienced hands and probably beyond his budget. If he wants to stay with Husky the 440 is a good choice but bang for the buck the small Echo's are very hard to beat.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

wild262

Quote from: sawguy21 on April 13, 2018, 11:13:36 PM
Mike, the MS200T, now the 201, is not a good choice for the consumer. It is the best on the market for the professional arborist but the top handle is downright dangerous in inexperienced hands and probably beyond his budget. If he wants to stay with Husky the 440 is a good choice but bang for the buck the small Echo's are very hard to beat.

I agree.  Echo's are one of the easiest starting saws I have owned.  A lot of other people will tell you the same thing.  Two pulls and mine is running.  This guy doesn't want a Stihl, and not a "pro" saw at that.  :)

starmac

Has he looked at the newer electric saws?? They keep getting better, and I keep getting older, so they are looking better all the time.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

Iwawoodwork

I have an assortment of saws, Husky, stihl, and echo, and the one I usually grab is the echo 370, purchased at a Box store on sale for less than $200 over 6 years ago. cut a lot fir and hard juniper fire wood, is light and with a 14" or 16" bar works great.  I will buy another when this one dies. 

47sawdust

John,I am 71 and I have a 42 cc Dolmar that is light and cuts very well.I use it for everything felling,limbing and bucking smaller logs for firewood.I couldn't be happier with it.Starts very easy.I bought mine off Ebay.There is a dealer in Sheffield Vt.,Chainsawr,didn't know about him until after the purchase.
Mick
1997 WM Lt30 1999 WM twin blade edger Kubota L3750 Tajfun winchGood Health Work is my hobby.

mike_belben

I suppose kickback is an issue with a tophandle in a new users hands, which the OP did not mention.  He said he was elderly and small, not inexperienced or lacking competence.  I dont know the man and am going by the description given.  If he has lived this long with a saw i presume its because he knows how to use it. 


I feel 3 times safer in the tree and on the ground with a tophandle.  Its small and light, gives me the free hand that so often saves me from a fall when im climbing around in the tangle, dicing up tops.  I also get wacked in the face much less and never let limbs pile up to trip me because i grab and throw each one with the free hand as im cutting.  I just cant go back to trim up work with a 2 hander now.   But i admit, you gotta be real aware and have a firm grip with a top handle to keep it from cartwheeling out of your hand and climbing you. 
Praise The Lord

sawguy21

And there lies the problem with a top handle. If it is operated with one hand there is no control over kickback, the brake can't be engaged. I refused to sell one to a consumer. In Britain anyone covered by compensation is not allowed to use one on the ground, rear handle only.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

starmac

I have never used a top handle, but have used small saws one handed much like what Mike is talking about, I would think the top handles would be much safer, myself.
Old LT40HD, old log truck, old MM forklift, and several huskies.

mike_belben

I realize society and legal industry at large will disagree, but i was raised in a stroller in the garage with dad, and taught very clearly that the responsibility for not getting hurt was on me.  That the cost for failure was pain.  Ive shook many an older hand lacking some digits on account of a bean picker, toolchange arm, spindle, chuck, buzz saw, snowblower.  I know because i ask, and there is always an admission that amounts to 'i made a mistake.'

I remember my grandfather screaming at me when i put my hands on the end of a plank coming out of the planer, safely away from the knives.  I thought he was being a jerk.   it only took me 35 ish years to understand him, when i started screaming at my boy to never run behind the truck or machine im operating even when he is 20 feet back.  I'm being mean to him out of love and someday he will get it like i did.

So my brain doesnt think 'dont recommend him the tool for the job' .. it thinks make sure he knows how to use the tool.  I dont see a saw as any worse than a hatchet.  If you can be deemed competent to drive to the woodlot, you can be deemed competent not to cut on the kickback side of the nose and not to put a body part in the path of the bar's plane.  They dont make arm or face chaps, we have to use our wits in place of armor.  That said, a certain amount of tragedy is beyond our control. 


I guess maybe its just a culture change as we creep away from being an industrial society and become some other sort of thing.   People in asia wear flip flops in factories and seem to live to a similar age as us.
Praise The Lord

Tin Horse

I completely agree with Mike. At times I'm criticized for working alone and with what I may be using. I know the consequences that can occur. But I'll never blame or accuse someone else if something did happen. My choice and my decision. My favorite saw is the Husqvarna  T540XP. It's light and good power for it's size. I'd rather not be working with something heavier all day when I don't need to. Years ago lots of saws around here were top handle. Now some would like to ban them. I don't believe it's someone else's right to decide what's best for anyone.
I also wouldn't want to promote that type of saw to someone inexperienced. The safety features on today's equipment are great; but it seems to have gone to far over liability issues.
Bell 1000 Wood Processor. Enercraft 30HTL, Case 580SL. Kioti 7320.

wild262

                  I myself wouldn't deprive a buyer from buying a top handle just because of a potential safety issue, unless I was bound by my insurance company.  Sure there dangerous. But no more than any other saw "if used incorrectly".  Its not up to dealers to be a regulator or to judge how a saw is to be operated.  And your doing that by not selling to them.  Last time I knew, people in this country were allowed to excersize free will.  That's our right.  Some may have no common since, but we still can't make deciesions for them.   Such thinking is what leads to everyone to losing  there  freedoms and rights.  Then before you know it, were no better off than the dictators across the pond. We have enough of George Soris's here the way it is.   I have used a top handle, and still do on occasion, "on the ground".  Still have all I was born with.  People need to learn to be responsible for there own actions, just as I too was taught at an early age. Sad to say, society is not recognizing this to be the case.   That's my rant for the day.  Some of you may like it, and some may not, but I could care less. 8)

John Mc

He's not going to be buying a top handle saw. He has used the standard handle for 50+ years and is comfortable with it. He's not going to change now.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

brianJ

People need to learn to be responsible for there own actions  @wild262 You are not in favor of payouts for very hot coffee?

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