# chainsaw recommendations



## StrongBuilding (Mar 25, 2013)

Anyone that uses a circular saw with out an Anti Kickback blade has got Nothing to say about how dangerous a chainsaw is.

It is amazing they still sell those.


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## Railman (Jan 19, 2008)

I suggested an electric saw mainly for the safety reasons. It's more predictable, easier to handle, less likely to get away from you, & yet has enough power to do the job. It's extemely quiet, which allows you to listen to the cut. 
It also is way simpler to maintain...ie no gas to deal with.
They run about 1/3 the $ also.

Joe


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

rjconstructs said:


> So there are other costs to factor in when thinking, 'chain saw'. Not only the price for the saw but chaps and other safety equipment. It could add up after a bit. What does a set of chaps go for?


There are quite a few kinds in the $50-100 range. Helmet with face mask and hearing protection is another $40-50.

IMO, you learn to use a saw so that there is as close to 0 chance of getting hurt without PPE, then you put the equipment on, just in case. That's how I learned. I see some guys today do things that are unnecessarily dangerous, but seem to feel safe because of their PPE. Once a saw gets away from you, there's no guarantee it's going to hit your PPE. I've seen guys limbing from a bucket one handed (smaller saw). If it weren't for the chain brake, it'd be a good way to lose an arm or worse.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

StrongBuilding said:


> Anyone that uses a circular saw with out an Anti Kickback blade has got Nothing to say about how dangerous a chainsaw is.
> 
> It is amazing they still sell those.


Circ saw kickback is common compared to chain saw kick back. There are plenty of anti-kickback blades and chains out there. I use anti-kickback chains on my saws and haven't really had a problem.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Railman said:


> I suggested an electric saw mainly for the safety reasons. It's more predictable, easier to handle, less likely to get away from you, & yet has enough power to do the job. It's extemely quiet, which allows you to listen to the cut.
> It also is way simpler to maintain...ie no gas to deal with.
> They run about 1/3 the $ also.
> 
> Joe


Not a bad idea. Either way, I'm not sure a chainsaw of any kind is a good "school of hard knocks" candidate. Kind of like running a big table saw, and figuring out not to stand in line with the blade - it'd be nice to be told or shown how to do it safely. When that piece of board goes flying across the room and through a door, it's always a good feeling to still have your testicles...


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## StrongBuilding (Mar 25, 2013)

Electric chainsaws are a great tool. But they aren't toys and need to be used with the same care a gas saw does. 
I didn't know any thing about circ saws kicking back the first time my new Skill 77 with the supplied 32 tooth blade exploded out of a sheet of 5/8 cdx . If I wasn't above average in strength and used to things going wild in my hand I would have been bleeding bad. . It ruined the sheet, blew about a 10" chunk out of it. . 

Anti kick back chains are a good thing. Especially on short bars. Its all I put on my wife's little 235 Husky. And IMO are the best for residential carpentry.


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## trowlan1 (Feb 6, 2013)

X2 for the husky or the Stihl. very nice


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## DuMass (Feb 6, 2008)

If you're still considering a chainsaw, I bought a neat little 16" Worx WG303.1 electric saw last year from Tools Plus for like $89.00 on sale. It's the first and only electric chainsaw I've ever owned and I think it's only a Handy Harry Homeowner grade tool, so was pretty surprised at the power and cut that it has. That thing really comes in handy for all kinds of cutting jobs I don't want to break out the 20" gas saw for. It's rated at 14.5 Amps and usually needs a 12-gauge extension cord, but it runs on my small 3000W generator without issue if needed. It's got a chain brake and came with an Oregon low kickback chain. The replacement Oregon S57 chains are fairly inexpensive, usually under $15.00.


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

Kinda off topic, but anyway...

My uncle Wendel must have been just about born with a chainsaw in his hands. He grew up in northern Ontario during the Depression. By the time I knew him he was an accomplished research scientist and had done some traveling, even lived in the Soviet Union for a while in the 50s and 60s. Came from some very hard times, lived a very conservative personal life, but was as non-judgmental a man as I've ever known. 

When I knew him even as a small child I suppose he was already retired, and what I knew about him was that he cut down trees, on his tree farm, and the big old dying elms on the farm he and my aunt and my cousins lived on. He was a living lesson in careful, meticulous work habits around powerful tools. He'd lay out his work area, give himself a clear escape route, set up his footing, and take down a tree. Then work his way down the tree taking it into sections. I spent one summer splitting firewood from elms he'd taken down and sawn into sections. Rolling around these 200-lb sections, tapping a wedge in place, and winging a sledge - I was about 15, and I put on about 25 lbs that summer.

He always used a big saw - maybe a 3-foot bar. He used it well into his 80's; each year he'd tell the mechanic something was wrong because it wouldn't start for him. The guy would humor him and fiddle with it - mess with the compression so an 85-year old could pull the cord. Finally the mechanic told my uncle he couldn't do anything more with it. My uncle passed away not long after.

I must be getting old, wanting to talk about my uncle just because the subject is chainsaws. Time to go put together a schedule for Monday morning....


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## MALCO.New.York (Feb 27, 2008)

Husqvarna Rancher 450. It is like an extension of ones own arm for demo and Arbor maintenance. It is NOT for felling larger trees. 

Relatively affordable and is BULLET PROOF. It will last you for many years.


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## RCCIdaho (Jun 3, 2011)

What are these chaps and safety gear you guys speak of? :whistling

Is there any place to rent one where you're at? I think HD has those Makita ones?


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