Help me pick a 60cc saw!

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Your certainly MUCH more ambitious than me if I were in the same circumstance. A used saw I would certainly dive into it like you did. A new saw absolutely not. I give you credit though. Impressive undertaking on your end. Glad it worked out for you. Guy has a Jonsered Turbo 2165 with little use posted for sale at $375 that I have inquired about. Haven't heard back from him yet. By the way, those dawgs are a bit large and obtrusive if you ask me on the Dolmar. Are they as 'bothersome' as they look to me?
 
Your certainly MUCH more ambitious than me if I were in the same circumstance. A used saw I would certainly dive into it like you did. A new saw absolutely not. I give you credit though. Impressive undertaking on your end. Glad it worked out for you. Guy has a Jonsered Turbo 2165 with little use posted for sale at $375 that I have inquired about. Haven't heard back from him yet. By the way, those dawgs are a bit large and obtrusive if you ask me on the Dolmar. Are they as 'bothersome' as they look to me?
 
W
KenLockett said:
Your certainly MUCH more ambitious than me if I were in the same circumstance. A used saw I would certainly dive into it like you did. A new saw absolutely not. I give you credit though. Impressive undertaking on your end. Glad it worked out for you. Guy has a Jonsered Turbo 2165 with little use posted for sale at $375 that I have inquired about. Haven't heard back from him yet. By the way, those dawgs are a bit large and obtrusive if you ask me on the Dolmar. Are they as 'bothersome' as they look to me?
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Well, I won't bash them too much because I haven't done any felling with it yet, only bucking. But for bucking they are kind of in the way, yes. I have some 40"+ oak on the ground behind my house, so I figured the 20" bar would be good enough, only to discover that it's effectively a 17.5" bar.

It's only 6 screws to take them off, but I am leaving them on until I get used to the saw. The saw is definitely a little safer with them on if you keep them close to the cut.

I had an unexpected kickback from a slight pinch yesterday that they caught. I was standing 90 degrees out of line and would have been fine if the saw had somehow flown straight out of the cut, but it was nice to see it catch on the spikes.

I suspect I will like them a lot for felling (as long as the tree is 35" or under; otherwise I may like them a lot less :) ).

It does seem like they could be an inch or so shorter without compromising their function at all. One wonders if the marketing department had a hand in their sizing. :)
 
Pro Safety makes three different aftermarket spike patterns for it.

PS spikes.jpg
 
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Those spikes do look large. They look cool though so I agree with the marketing department having input in the design.

I think you will like them for felling big stuff. Really that's all they are mainly designed for to help hold a heavy saw in a horizontal cut. Sure they can help to some degree with bucking but honestly I'd probably take them off it were my saw for bucking, or find a shorter pair ( or longer bar ) I wonder if Dolmar offers a smaller size spike ? If not they should so users can have options.

I suppose if your handy with one of those aluminum metal cutting machines and just happened to have a tooling machine capable of machining new felling spikes, this would be a great idea as a side business to produce , market, and sell smaller spikes online to fit this saw.
 
woodhog73 said:
Those spikes do look large. They look cool though so I agree with the marketing department having input in the design.

I think you will like them for felling big stuff. Really that's all they are mainly designed for to help hold a heavy saw in a horizontal cut. Sure they can help to some degree with bucking but honestly I'd probably take them off it were my saw for bucking, or find a shorter pair ( or longer bar ) I wonder if Dolmar offers a smaller size spike ? If not they should so users can have options.

I suppose if your handy with one of those aluminum metal cutting machines and just happened to have a tooling machine capable of machining new felling spikes, this would be a great idea as a side business to produce , market, and sell smaller spikes online to fit this saw.
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If I don't like them I will clamp them together and shorten them up with my jigsaw. As long as they still have points at the end and they're both cut the same, I don't think I could screw that up too badly.
 
jetsam said:
If I don't like them I will clamp them together and shorten them up with my jigsaw. As long as they still have points at the end and they're both cut the same, I don't think I could screw that up too badly.
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You did such a great job fixing your saw I'm certain your spikes will come out awesome.

Are the inner and outer spikes the same bolt pattern ?I suppose if you are ok with just one inside spike then you could leave one spike large for big felling and just shorten up one spike to use in other applications. That way you would have 2 different sized spikes.
 
I went to start it today and it wouldn't start. Started taking things apart again- Had spark, had gas, had air.... told it that it was the worst saw ever and that I couldn't be fixing it every day.... the I noticed the spark plug was wet in an 'operator error' kind of way.


Apologized to the saw and went to go cut wood. She ran like a champ. LA LA LA!
 
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jetsam said:
I went to start it today and it wouldn't start. Started taking things apart again- Had spark, had gas, had air.... told it that it was the worst saw ever and that I couldn't be fixing it every day.... the I noticed the spark plug was wet in an 'operator error' kind of way.


Apologized to the saw and went to go cut wood. She ran like a champ. LA LA LA!
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Jetsam, good story, and I admire your tenacity. Hope you get lots of use outta that new Dolmar, you've earned it.
 
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woodhog73 said:
I think though this depends on the dealer. Yes you can save by purchasing online I agree. But there is something to be said about dealer service.
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That's true. Certainly there are dealers who only want your bucks and don't remember you later Been there, done that. But it's been totally different here. My tractor dealer (Kubota, Husqvarna, etc) bends over backward on service and parts issues (even warranties). They did a recall service on a Honda generator I didn't even buy from them while I waited. They know that they compete with on-line sources and they know that their existence depends on local satisfied customers. And with every purchase I've made with them they have given me discounts and freebies that were worth more than I would have gotten by going on line.
 
I've had the Echo CS-590 for about 2 years now and couldn't be happier! I bought it from HD and used a Harbor Frieght 20% Off coupon (HD accepts competitor coupons for those of you that don't know). I use ethanol free gas from a specialty gas station with Echo mix as well as Echo brand oil. Runs great out of the box. I did the muffler mod and pulled the carb adjust screw limiters and it now runs unbelievable. I bought Echo's 27" bar and can plow through just about anything with it. Best bag for your buck IMO!
If it helps any, I also run a ripping chain on the 27" with my Granberg Alaskan Mill. The only time it has bogged down was when I was pushing it through a 24" red oak log. That was the result of a chain that was less then sharp as well as trying to beat the sunset!
 
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Last year I bought a Stihl 441 C M with a 25 inch bar. Easiest chainsaw to start I ever had and this thing just RIP's through big logs. It has become my go to saw due to its cutting speed and ease to start. My other saw is a Huskie with a 18 inch bar and the Stihl will rip through a log in a quarter of the time.
 
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As much as I love my Echo, I will say, that SOB is FRIGG'N HEAVY! I'm not old, but I'm certainly not young and I'm in average shape (whatever that means). Having to swing the 590 + 27" bar around for a few hours is a lot like shooting the Barret .50 cal rifle. It's a lot of fun at first but towards the end of the day you starting thinking "I don't want to do this anymore, I hurt!" Or how after you send the first 5 rounds down range you giggle like a school girl but after that it just feels like your getting punched in the nose. I think I'm getting off topic...sorry. The extra weight, however, works great for balance and control. Just don't try and take any overhead limbs with it.
 
21c.Hewer said:
I think I'm getting off topic...sorry.
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I wonder how big a tree you could fell with .50 BMG. As long as the round retained sufficient velocity to make a good sized exit wound, you could in theory control the direction of the fall, even.

I'd call for a field trip but the gun costs the same as my car and the ammo isn't cheap either :p
 
You do have a point! I was able to shoot it on the governments dime so I didn't have to shoulder that cost. Unfortunately, tree felling on the range wasn't in there plan! With some AP or incendiary rounds, you could drop a tree in no time! Good times
 
jetsam said:
I noticed the spark plug was wet in an 'operator error' kind of way.
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I once had an argument with the back seater in an F14 that OFF does NOT stand for ON FULL FORCE._g

Lets stick with two strokes for dropping trees.;lol;)
 
21c.Hewer said:
You do have a point! I was able to shoot it on the governments dime so I didn't have to shoulder that cost. Unfortunately, tree felling on the range wasn't in there plan! With some AP or incendiary rounds, you could drop a tree in no time! Good times
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I would think that AP or sabot would be worse than ball, since the exit wound might be about the same size as the entry wound. (I am guessing, having never actually shot a tree with AP.)

I've never fired incendiary ammo- could you really knock over a tree with it? I don't even know how the shells are put together or what's in 'em.

In other news, the topic of this thread is officially very outdated. :)
 
jetsam said:
I've never fired incendiary ammo- could you really knock over a tree with it? :)
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I would think so.

Actually if you got yourself an AR that's chambered in 308 and a 100 round magazine clip I'd venture a guess your standard 308 fired 100 plus rounds in a small tree like 6 or 8 inch softwood would take so much structure out of the wood the tree would fall. Less rounds on heavy leaners.

I've never tried it. 308 ammo is expensive I can't see blowing 100 rounds into a skinny pine tree. But at say 30 yards I think 100 plus rounds in the same general area would obliterate a small soft wood tree

Darn it now I'm curious I'm gonna go see how many boxes of 308 I have and take a walk in the woods. Lol :)
 
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