Choosing a saw for brush and TSI

[Jbpeyton]

Hello!

I'm shopping for a saw for work in nature preserves. Most of the work will be clearing honeysuckle and other invasive brush, as well as some maples and such to help oak regeneration, and some harder trees like osage and mulberry. Not felling anything too big: bigger than 12" or so I'll probably just girdle and leave standing as habitat, but I will be running the saw all day, nearly every day, for a few months at a time. Some of the honeysuckle thickets are right on the line between being a chainsaw job or worth hiring a fecon.

I'll be carrying it a good distance with some topography (by Illinois standards), so I don't want to go too heavy. I have an aging Stihl 025 that's served pretty well, minus some bogging down in bigger stuff, but it's time to start looking for a successor. There are Stihl and Husq dealers nearby, but the local stihl folks are a little more reputable, so that's the way I'm leaning. Any thoughts?

[DeerMeadowFarm]

To me it sounds like you need two different tools; a clearing saw for the invasives and a chainsaw for the thinning. I just did a bunch of work on 10 acres that was choked with invasives. I hired a Fecon for some of it, but there were areas he couldn't get into and that was left for me. I bought a Husqvarna 555 FX clearing saw which worked awesome! I already had chainsaws for anything larger. I'm a Husqvarna guy but you go with what works for you. I will say that I looked at Stihl clearing saws at the Bangor logging show two years ago and the ones they had at the Stihl booth were not in the same league as the Husky 555 FX, but maybe that's all the dealer brought...? Good luck!

[davewittwer]

We have a lot of Buckthorn on my hunting property.  We have been trying to get ahead of it.  Sound similar to what you are needing.  We have a STIHL FS-560.  It's amazing.  Will take down a 2-3" tree and just burns through the smaller stuff.  I've used it on buckthorn and sumac with great results.  Both species of brush are out of control on this property and have grown into trees.   I will saw keep a couple extra blades handy, working that low to the ground you will hit rocks and they do a number on blades. 

On a side note, anyone have experience sharpening these blades?  If so a PM with a tutorial would be amazing. 

Dave

[John Mc]

On a side note, anyone have experience sharpening these blades?  If so a PM with a tutorial would be amazing.

Clearing saw blades are pretty quick and easy to sharpen. I use a 7/32 round file in the same jig I use for sharpening my 3/8 pitch saw chain:

 

There are left and right handed cutters on these blades, just as there are on saw chain. Instead of the 25˚ or 30˚ angle used for saw chain, use a 15˚ angle.

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Sharpening a clearing saw blade is easier than a chain IMHO.... This video helped me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNs4LWwBKvk

I bought a Husqvarna tool which has the bending feature at the end for setting the teeth:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EWFEN8Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Jbpeyton]

Clearing saw is a good idea for the thick areas. I have an fs550 that needs some work; maybe I'll get those parts ordered and fix it up.

Anybody have experience with those Forester circular blades that have chainsaw teeth stuck on around the rim? Any advantage to those things?

Even with the clearing saw, I still need a new chainsaw for the other stuff. Nothing real big, but extensive daily use. Can I get away with something in the farm/ranch line in those sorts of conditions, or do I need to go with a professional saw. I'm leaning toward an 241 or 261. Not sure if the 241 will do or if I need the 50 ccs, but I have a board of directors that I need to justify the expense to, so I need to craft a good argument.

[DeerMeadowFarm]

I'm not familiar with the Stihl offerings. That being said, I use my 346XP for 90% of my felling and limbing. I run a 18" bar with a Stihl chain on it and I find the size to be a great all around saw. I really only use my bigger 372XP for cutting it to firewood length off the pile. Mostly because the weight and 24" bar length work quite well for that work. I used to have a Rancher 55(?) which is a home owner saw. I used it for 10 years for everything and my buddy still runs the saw. The biggest difference was the pro saws run at a lot higher RPM.

[DelawhereJoe]

If you can't pass a pro saw to them the husky 450 rancher has like 3.2 hp, (I believe) 3.2 hp was what the old 026 were rated at. Should work for you and doesn't carry the pro saw price and only around 10 lbs. It should compliment a bushsaw well...but if you can squeeze a pro saw out of them go for it.

[ReinkeFandS]

One thing that I found with my clearing saw, which is only the Husqvarna 223R, was that the money spent on the top of the line harness was the best purchase I have ever made. It made a huge difference in how long I could run the saw. The blades I found that worked best were the Renegade Blades from amazon. With two of those and two 32oz jugs of premix I could pretty much cut for 8 hours straight with a blade change at lunch.
Also early spring is a great time since the honeysuckle is the first thing to green up, at least where I'm at, and you don't have to identify anything just cut the green stuff.

[newforest]

the newest Husqvarna harnesses are excellent. I would recommend them for use with Stihl saws. Stihl USA won't even give out the "Forestry" harness, which includes a buckle across the chest for better weight distribution, with their clearing/brush saws, because they sell so few of these they know very little about their operation. They think that because their "Universal" harness sells for $5 more, they are doing you a big favor supplying the Universal harness with a Forestry saw.

Either insist on getting the Forestry harness from Stihl (widely used in Canada and Europe), or just buy the Husqy "Balance XT" harness, which is better than the Stihl Forestry harness anyway, and worth every penny.



Meanwhile, both manufacturers sell a simple file guide/bracket for sharpening clearing saw blades. It includes a line on the tool to get the 15º angle correct - this is different than chainsaws, and chainsaw sharpening gadgets have a different angle on them. With the correct bracket, sharpening a circular clearing saw blade is quite simple. Without it, users will sharpen at the wrong angle, or mimic what they see on circular saw blades used in carpentry. Dull blades will wear out the clutch faster, and make users feel these saws don't have the power that is present in the designs.

But neither Stihl nor Husqy gives you this little tool that likely costs them less than $5, when they sell you a saw that costs some $1,400 for the 40-50cc models. And most of their dealers in the USA don't even know the clearing saw sharpening guide even exists, either.

In certain species of hardwood, it is worth sharpening the blade on every fuel-up. In softer woods, once a day is sufficient.

I still can't decide if I ever really need to worry about bending the teeth though.

[CTYank]

Anybody have experience with those Forester circular blades that have chainsaw teeth stuck on around the rim? Any advantage to those things?

Yes. I use 9" Forester chainsaw-cutter blades a lot, for all the heavy cutting clearing jungles of invasives here and there on hundreds of acres of local preserves. For $15 for the 9-incher, it's a no-braner to me. They have no problem with big privet clusters- those stems are pretty tough.
They're super-easy IMO to sharpen with a 3/16" file, and seemingly quite un-fussy about how you sharpen them. So far, they seem to go about 6 hrs between sharpenings.
When using those blades be sure to use a face-shield AND keep your mouth closed, unless you like the taste of woody chips. You'll find your pockets lined with chips too.
That blade, and 12" 3-lobe Husqy blade are my preferred attachments on 21 cc Echo, 25 cc Husqy, and 27 cc Tanaka brushcutters. On neither of them do I have to open the throttle much at all. The 3-lobe blade for the smaller stems, then the Forester blade down to ground-level.