Help chosing a chainsaw

[maple flats]

After having good luck for several years using 16-18" poulan saws I got 2 in a row that dissappointed me. I am now ready to go with a better saw. Most of my cutting seems to be in 14-24" with an occasional one up to 42-48 but the sizes in the 40's are on my mill and not standing. I saw for both sawlogs and firewood. I do not yet sell firewood nor do i plan to at this point but I burn about 3-4 full cord in my home and another 6-7 cord potentially in my evaporator.  I have narrowed the choice I think to either a Husky 346XP or a Husky 359. Both have adj oil pumps, and appear to have good vibration issolation. The 359 has what Husky calls "quick start" which is a decompressor and the 346XP doesn't. The 346xp weighs 10.6# plus bar and chain and the 359 is 12.1# plus same. The reason I did at one time like the poulans was the light weight and ease of operation. The 346XP is rated 3.4hp and the 359 rated @ 3.9 My basic saw will sport an 18" bar but I have the option of going 20 on the 346 and 24" on the 359. Hope i have not clouded the pool too much but I want pro's and cons for going in either direction. Which do you suggest given the use I described. I will use my LAST poulan to limb with til it dies and then I may only have 1 saw for a while til i get one big enough to handle 60" logs which my mill will take, most likely just over 30 x 2 maybe 36 max but that might be a while

[sawguy21]

The longer bars will fit these saws but IMHO, 18" would be the practical limit on the 346 and 20" for the 359. This will result in a light well balanced saw with good power. If you need the 24" my suggestion is the 365 or, better yet, the new 570. It has a nice broad powerband and is comfortable to use.
If you really want a 359 with the 24", try full skip chain to allow the saw to rev. Just my .02cdn worth.

[thecfarm]

I always say bigger is better in most cases.Having too big of a saw is better than too small of a saw.If you plan on doing any cutting when it cold out get the heated handles.I don't have to warm my hands on the exhaust of the tractor any more.

[maple flats]

I though of that but at this point my hands don't get cold. I only work out down to about -20F with no wind, or windchill -20. I do ok down there. I did ask and If I needed at a later date I can add the heated handles. My dad in his 80's did need to warm his on the tractor muffler, but not til then, if I'm as lucky the saw will be old enough to be replaced and I can then get heated. I do well in the cold, don't do well in the heat, today was hot enough I shut down and it was only about 85 or so, humidity about 99.9%

[limbrat]

My beloved 034 super was recentely liberated from me. >:(  So i went looking for a new saw i looked at the stihls and the huskys and chose a dolmar. I was looking for a 3.0 so i got the ps510 and that is one sweet saw its lite and powerful has great vibration control and cost a little less than the other two brands mentioned. They run a 3.9  ps.6400 that is rated for a 32" bar if its anything like the 510 it is worth a look.
The only problem i have had is not in the saw its in me, the choke/kill switch is reversed from the stihl so some times i will finish a cut and flick my thumb to kill it and choke it dead instead of turning the swich off. :-\

i dont sell saws, i sell cajun food

[limbrat]

wait my mistake the ps.6400 is 3.9ci. at 4.8bHP and the ps5100 is 3.1ci. at 4.0 bHP
When you mentioned 3.4 and 3.9 i just automaticaly thought cubic inches.
dog gone apples and oranges

[maple flats]

Thanks for the input. I settled on and got the 359/20 solid bar. Tried it out for 2 cuts in an 18' at cut ash. So far so good. Didn,t try to go as fast as possible, just a relaxed pace. After I have 8-10 hrs on the saw I will see what it can do (Husky recs 10 hrs). Now i need all new accessories, files diff size, need file jig and depth gauge etc. I've been using Poulan full synthetic mix oil 40:1, Husky says 50:1, as I finish the half gal I have mixed should I make new or just add a fresh gal mix at 50:1 into the existing (1 week old) and go from there. Can i run it 40:1 all the time? That is what my trim saw calls for and don't want to carry 2 mixes. 8)

[Raphael]

Can i run it 40:1 all the time? That is what my trim saw calls for and don't want to carry 2 mixes. 8)

Stihl recommends 50:1 if you use their mix and 25:1 if you use a generic 2 cycle oil, so I doubt running 40:1 will cause you any problems.  You may not get the saw's full rated power from 40:1 but what you lose in power you will gain in engine protection.

  My brush trimmer/weed wacker wants 40:1 and sees far less use than my saws.  I mix 50:1 2.5 gallons at a time in a 5 gallon can and 40:1 by the gallon, if the 40:1 is going to get old before I use it again I'll dump it into the 5 gallon can with a fresh 2.5 gallons of gas and a bottle of Stihl or Husky's 2cycle oil.  I figure this gives me a small safety margin on my fuel mixture.

Enjoy the new saw.

[rebocardo]

 > Most of my cutting seems to be in 14-24" with an occasional one up to 42-48

That pretty much describes what I cut. I liked the Husky 365 enough that I bought two of them, though  it struggles a bit even with a 28" full skip, when buried in green hickory. White oak is fast enough though.

Most of my stuff is 20-24" so I find the 20" bar the one I use the most because it is lighter, has a nice balance, and with the 30RC full comp chain I get form Bailey's plenty fast enough in the hardwoods.

If I had to do more then the occasional hardwood over 26" inches, then I would go with the Husky 372 or the Stihl 660 (?).

[SawTroll]

.... I settled on and got the 359/20 solid bar. ...

Good choise, the 346xp was originally concieved as a limbing and thinning saw, primarily with a 13" bar. Full bar cuts with 18-20" bar would easily pull it out of its rather narrow power band, and make it struggle and bog.
The 359 is much more forgiving.

[oldsaw]

You done good.  345 would be a good limber/backup saw, but you need at least a 60cc class saw to really get some work done, IMHO.  After the big ice storm we had a few years ago, I was cutting with a bunch of guys.  I had my Super XL, and a friend of mine had his XL12.  The other saws...let's just say they were green and came from Walmart, about as green as their owners when the old Homies started cutting.  60ccs makes a good "all arounder".

Mark

[pallis]

Ordinarily I go for the richer oil mix, not to argue with anyone, but if your 359 has a catalytic converter, you might not want to run it with a richer oil mix.  Anyhow, it's just something to think about.  I really don't know if it would be a problem.  Enjoy the new saw!

[Max sawdust]

Good choose, the 346xp was originally concieved as a limbing and thinning saw, primarily with a 13" bar. Full bar cuts with 18-20" bar would easily pull it out of its rather narrow power band, and make it struggle and bog.
The 359 is much more forgiving.

I agree that with an 18-20" bar the 346xp could be pulled from it's power band quite easily.  BUT, I think people lug around much more horse power than they ever need. (Big timber area's are the exeption) The 346xp with a 16" bar is all you need if you are logging in a forest with tree's mostly under 20" diameter.  Think about it 3 cuts for felling maybe 3-6 cuts for bucking, the rest of the work and most of the time on a tree is limbing and brushing ;D

Just bucked up a 32" red pine, buddy had his 372, I had my 346 both had to make two passes to buck, I feel my 346 was faster because of the higher RPM's

max

[rebocardo]

> most of the time on a tree is limbing and brushing

Yep, once the tree is on the ground, my little saw is what gets the most work in the next ten minutes. Though on the pines I am getting use to using the bigger saw to delimb it by just leaning over the other side of the trunk and running the 28" bar down the length of the tree. I can see why someone posted about the 32" bars being popular. You do not have to lean at all I imagine for anyone under 6 feet.