who make them for JD andy boldy go CS81
Welcome to the forum. J-D dealers are now selling Stihl but they previously had Olympyk, Echo, and Remington re badged as a Deere.
didn't JD own Homelite for a short while?
Stonebroke
Quote from: stonebroke on December 28, 2008, 03:48:00 PM
didn't JD own Homelite for a short while?
Stonebroke
yes--
I believe the CS81 is made by Olympyk. I have one! I really like it for the larger stuff. I keep a long bar on it to trim stuff that won't fit my mill. I also have a 20" bar on it for woods work, just to give it some exercise. I think it is an awesome saw for the money. It is a bit heavy, but not bad for a big saw. It always starts and runs.
Husky and Stihl are not the only ones that make good saws, a 80 cc saw generaly wieghts around 16# + or - a litlle except for the Dolmar 7900 at around 14# and most will be within 1 to 3 seconds in cutting time in a 20 second cut. Steve
The current generation of Deere saws, which are being phased out, are made by Efco, an Italian manufacturer who is part of a larger conglomerate. I believe that Olympyk is the same as Efco or at least has the same parent company. Some of the older yellow Deere saws, I believe the smaller ones, were Echo. The larger old yellow saws may have been Poulan Pro? but I can't recall. Anyway, the current Deeres are apparently good reliable saws and they can be had cheap in many places right now. Future parts and service may be sketchy but I have been told that the Deere saws are substantially interchangeable with Efco, save the color. One of the forum sponsors, Bailey's, is an Efco dealer.
Stihl has now arranged to sell their line of power equipment at many Deere dealerships. I doubt you'll see green and yellow Stihls anytime soon, though.