Want your opinion
- Thread starter riverat
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Firewood Bandit
Minister of Fire
The OP wasn't clear on the type of brush he is cutting. For true "brush", nothing beats straight shaft commercial string trimmers with a metal blade.
No bending over whatsoever.
No bending over whatsoever.
+1 I'm not sure what the OP thought was "cheap" about the Stihl MS170 but it's, IMHO, one of the best limbing, brush-cutting saws on the list. The chain tension mechanism is fool-proof and the little beast just won't die. Yes, it's a clam-shell design, and most proponents of pro-saws say they are harder to work on. I've never had to work on mine so that doesn't really bother me.
I bought one used 5 years ago, it was the only saw I had at the time I started burning wood. I cut 20 cords of wood that first year (to get ahead on wood supply) and it devoured every bit of it. I did a muffler-mod and carb-mod to bump the power up a bit from stock, but that is all I've done to it.
Things I like about it:
High rpm (smaller reciprocating mass) and maintains good chain speed in the cut
It's light, light as a feather compared to any larger saw. I can cut all day with it and not feel nearly as fatigued as when I use my big saw...
Doesn't have the flip caps; just the plain old school screw-on and they work great
Doesn't leak bar oil
Super easy to find parts (bar pattern is common and readily available along with numerous chain combinations)
Do not get fooled clam shell designs are no big deal to work on. They are just different and they are not easy to modify in certain ways like dropping the cylinder. They are usually open port transfers also but if you rebuild one and not modifying it I think they are easier.
I agree, but they sure do get a bad rap among pro-saw purists... Either way, a muffler mod and carb-mod is all it took on my MS170 to make it enough saw for my needs... I've never had a problem with anything on mine and now, even though I have a large pro-saw for the big stuff, the MS170 gets used 80% of the time because I can cut small limbs nearly as fast as with my big saw but it doesn't fatigue me nearly as much.
Yea I hear ya on the fast and light.
I have a Poulan 295 that is a clamshell but I muff modded it, advanced the timing, widened the intake and exhaust ports, re-shaped the transfer ports, and dropped the cylinder by .015". For limbing trees for family or doing some clean up from blown down limbs it is what I carry in the truck and use. Fast and light.
I have a Poulan 295 that is a clamshell but I muff modded it, advanced the timing, widened the intake and exhaust ports, re-shaped the transfer ports, and dropped the cylinder by .015". For limbing trees for family or doing some clean up from blown down limbs it is what I carry in the truck and use. Fast and light.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Safety warnings aside, I wouldn't be without my top handled T435 for limbing. As was mentioned earlier, big saws don't work well for limbing the mess that is a downed oak or ash.
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