Your Opinion of This Chainsaw

I used to run a craftsman (which is really a poulan) 36cc 16 inch bar and it worked very well for its intended purpose. I used it as a homeowners saw for mostly small trees but did get a chance to use it on some big white pine where it showed its limitations. I loved the weight of the thing, air filter was easy to clean and reinstall. Noise level was decent for a gas chainsaw and there was very little kickback with the factory chain. I did not care for the easy adjust bar and chain. It needs to be adjusted alot more than a typical screw adjustment but then again it was quick and easy. For a hundred bucks you can't go wrong, if you buy it and don't like it you could get most of your money back by reselling it. I put mine in a garage sale for 50 bucks and that was after 7 years of use.

eh, I don't know about that. 40cc sure isn't much. It ultimately comes down to how much wood you plan on cutting. I've got a bigger saw that is still at the very low end of the spectrum (Stihl 260 pro) and I've already seen its limitations, but it was really all I could afford at the price I got it for used.

There isn't much to recommend it, but for $100...shoot, why not?

The saw is a Poulan, complete with all the problems that flow from that pedigree. If you do buy the saw make sure (a) that you take very, very good care of it - good fuel/oil (90+octane, no ethanol, synthetic 2-stoke oil), good bar oil, keep it clean, frequent air filter cleanings, keep it tuned properly, clean the muffler screen on a regular basis (especially if not running synthetic 2-stroke oil), don't leave gas in it for a long time; (b) that you understand that using the customary 3:1 cc:bar length ratio calculation, it should be running a 13" bar for best performance with that little motor; (c) that you understand that the chain that comes on it is not going to be very inspiring and you should get some additional loops of a more enthusiastic 3/8" LP chain such as Oregon VX or VS, Stihl PM, or the like; and (d) you must accept that if/when something goes wrong it will be weeks or more before the parts show up and you get it back up and running.

The irony in all of this is that these saws can be made to run well in the hands of someone who knows how to work on saws, which is the very opposite demographic from the target market for the product. But if you recognize and accept this, and are prepared to go above and beyond what the average weekend warrior does in caring for his saw, then you will likely be satisfied with your $100 purchase. Heck, you might even be thrilled! A friend's father went the cheap route some years back and bought a 33cc Homelite Ranger and it has actually been a good little saw once the stuff I mentioned in (a) and (c) above were adhered to.

One more point: if you open up the muffler on these little saws (assuming the carb has an adjustable hi-speed jet that can be richened back up to keep from lean-seizeing the saw post-modification, of course) you can actually get some respectable gains in performance out of these throwaway homeowner saws. There was a video on YouTube that a fellow who frequents Arboristsite posted where he did a muffler modificaiton on a 33cc Homelite and the results, well, you'll see that they were VERY impressive: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Obe6uu5zrM.

Hmmm.... No PPE on the legs, shorts, sneakers?, no earmuffs, no gloves, minimum eye protection, drop starting.... Very impressive! however it did look like the muffler mod helps, of course no details on how he did that either...

Gooserider

(I'll admit, I brace my saw against my leg when pulling it, but I don't drop start it - the saw doesn't move!)

EatenByLimestone said:

Good luck with the saw. I have the next larger model and it's worked well for me.

I put my foot inside the handle for my right hand. My left hand is on the top handle and I pull the cord with my right. I don't want to take any chance on that saw moving on me. It's not worth the risk.

Matt

Click to expand...

I think thats the "approved" method for starting, but I found it didn't work well for me, especially after the "squeeze trigger" interlock started to malfunction - ended up taking that out, which also removed the throttle lock-on button. I just couldn't get a good pull while holding the trottle down with the saw on the ground.

What I do now is to hold the saw by the throttle grip in my right hand, and with my right leg forward, knee slightly bent, I put the left hand bar grip over my knee and pull back with my throttle hand, which holds the saw quite rigidly in place while I pull with my left hand. As soon as the saw starts, I swap my left hand from the pull cord to the left grip, start pushing the choke in, and go... This probably wouldn't work with a bigger / heavier saw, but does well with the lightweight Poulan that I'm using for now. It actually feels like the saw wants to move less this way than it did when I was putting it on the ground. When I move up to a heavier saw, I will probably change to doing a ground start on it.

I don't consider this the same as a "drop start" which I don't consider safe at all with anything bigger than one of those cute little limbing saws with the 10" (if that) bars - (I've actually thought one of those might be handy for dealing with trimming up a tree once it's on the ground...)

Gooserider