Which Saw?

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planner steve said:
The saw arrived and I got a chance to check it out. I like it! Cut up the Holly that I had gathered in no time. And on our morning walk found they had cut down a red oak in a park nearby, free for the taking. Ripped through that in no time. The last saw I used was Mac Cat Home Depot saw, so you can imagine how much difference I experienced. Liking it so far.
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Here is a drama filled update. I got the saw and ripped through a bit of wood I had in the backyard. I was loving it until the third time I tried to start the saw. No luck. Tried everything. Nothing. Winded up taking it to dealer. Turned out a gasket had been installed incorrectly and resulted in the saw running lean, ultimately scoring the piston. Henderson Turf and Wear in Milwaukee, OR, the dealer replaced the saw no hassle. I cut some more wood tonight and all appears OK. I'll update after some run time.
 
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Well, that is discomforting. Was it manifold/bulkhead to cylinder gasket? Carb to bulkhead gasket? Surely, not the base gasket? Hope the new one doesn't air leak.
 
Repaired or replaced? Unless it was basically new I see them repairing it. Have to go back n reread about the saw.
 
I see what saw u got now and was new. Hate to hear that
 
clemsonfor said:
I see what saw u got now and was new. Hate to hear that
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Yes, it was a bummer to have that happen. But they did replace it with a new saw so they did stand behind their product. Hopefully that early death was a fluke. The technician at Henderson Turf and Wear told me that with the data he was able to get from the ruined saw that he could see how wrong air to fuel mix was and how the auto tune was trying to compensate. I didn't realize that saws had that kind of data collection. Sounds like it also collects hours of operation and number of starts and stops.
 
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Yea they can pull all kinds of data, hours starts max min temps I guess and peak rpm's.

Some amazing stuff. I have the 555 and its a mean saw!
 
Check out a dolmar 6100. Good all around saw. I have run it with a 24" bar with a full skip tooth chain and it actually did quite well
 
I have a MS650 and run a full comp 32" bar. It pulls it well burried in oak!!
 
clemsonfor said:
I have a MS650 and run a full comp 32" bar. It pulls it well burried in oak!!
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Uncommon saw. There's a nice one for sale near me right now, but the price is way too high for me to be interested. Same seller has a pretty 440, also priced optimistically.

My big saw is a 100cc Homelite 1050 Super Automatic. It's heavy, loud and hard to find parts for (if I ever need to) but it only cost me $50 plus $1.25 for a piece of fuel line, and last weekend it milled 150 board feet of 24"+ honeylocust.
 
firefighterjake said:
I've been a one saw guy for quite some time . . . wife bought me a Husky 350 way back when for a Christmas gift. Used it for many years around the house . . . and since 2008 it's been my only saw for cutting firewood (burning 24-7 about 90-94% of the season). For some reason a lot of folks seem to think you've got to have a bunch of saws and you've got to have a saw with gobs of power. The 350 has got the job done admirably for many a year.

That said, I am ready to step up soon to a new, more powerful saw and I am about 90% positive that the 555 will be that saw after having test "driven" its bigger, badder (and more expensive) brother the 562.
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ive had my 345 for over ten years and has treated me great. Take care of your saw and it will last years . I put an 18" bar on mine . nice and light as well
 
Jon1270 said:
Uncommon saw. There's a nice one for sale near me right now, but the price is way too high for me to be interested. Same seller has a pretty 440, also priced optimistically.

My big saw is a 100cc Homelite 1050 Super Automatic. It's heavy, loud and hard to find parts for (if I ever need to) but it only cost me $50 plus $1.25 for a piece of fuel line, and last weekend it milled 150 board feet of 24"+ honeylocust.
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I bought it out of the back of a local saw shop as a SIB (saw in a box) . Had a tree dropped on it. I think I paid $30 for it. Came with a useable but well used bar and almost new but dull 25" chain. P/C was good.

I think I have just over $200 into it now? Cut a lot of wood with it so far!
 
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planner steve said:
Here is a drama filled update. I got the saw and ripped through a bit of wood I had in the backyard. I was loving it until the third time I tried to start the saw. No luck. Tried everything. Nothing. Winded up taking it to dealer. Turned out a gasket had been installed incorrectly and resulted in the saw running lean, ultimately scoring the piston. Henderson Turf and Wear in Milwaukee, OR, the dealer replaced the saw no hassle. I cut some more wood tonight and all appears OK. I'll update after some run time.
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This has been a real trial. I had my first saw score the cylinder. And the second. And the third. Got my fourth 550XP today. While I applaud Husqvarna's commitment to their customers, it has gotten a bit old. Apparently the original diagnosis was not correct. The latest is that a bolt on the crankcase was over torqued at the factory and stripped. After a few hours running it vibrated loose and allowed too much air into the engine. Put about three hours on the new one this afternoon and so far so good. Needless to say I am going to run it a lot immediately to see if I have another failure. Really glad I bought Husky's gas so we didn't have to argue about fuel. If you have had a Husky fail you may want to see if you have one of the affected saws.
 
Wow, that's quite a run of misfortune.
 
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