What's everybody Packin'...................

Husqvarna 346XP. It growls.

A 9mm Ruger semi-composite P95, although I haven't carried in years,

And a Stihl MS 310 with a 20" bar. I've been impressed with how lightweight and powerful this saw is. Very easy to start too. The only thing I don't like is that it tends to stall idling when cutting timber on the ground (pointing the saw down) unless the tank is more then 3/4th full.

Work saws: 346XP & 357XP

Personal saws: 262XP & 372XP

Husky 355 rancher. She gets it done

What's yer fave?

I think it is a toss up between the 346XP and the 357XP depending on the task. These days a work as a steward for a land trust, so I am mostly packing (for real) my saw on trails to deal with wind throws etc. I try to use the 346XP when ever I can, but if I know there is lots of larger cuts to be made I pack the 357XP. I really cant go wrong with either.

At home I use my 10+ year old 262XP for firewood cutting, and it is still working like a champ. The 262XP in my experience has always been hard on the chain brake parts (the band in particular), but other than that the saw has held up very well. I think I will get myself a new 357XP when it goes. The 372XP is a first generation one that I got for a few specific forestry jobs, and while it is in great shape, I rarely have any need for something that big.

stihl 021
stihl ms390 (work)
stihl 026 (love it)

1) Homelite 14" Home Depot special for use in the trees, if I drop it, no biggie
2) Jonsered 510sp 18 and 20" bars-the saw just won't die
3) Stihl 028 with 16 and 18 inch bar completely rebuilt to "super" specs -my favorite saw
4) Stihl 056 with 36" bar for the big stuff, just a little 87cc torque monster
5) colt 25 cal pocket auto in the back pocket for the coons and critters that don't like cutting down their home
6) S&W;model 457 .45 cal for everything else

As my signature. The 028 AV Super keeps ticking, cant believe the power for the size of saw. Ive had her since I was 16 (20+years)
Bought it for camping @ the time. The 266sg is late 80,s era also. Has heated hand grips ,60+ccs 4.5 HP I think is what they
said on the saw site. Had it for ten years paid $200.00 for it at a garage sale. I use it for all my bucking & yes I cut larger wood with it than whats in the pict.

Welcome Sealcove. That Land Trust wouldn't by any chance be MCHT ? Are you who we think you are ? :lol:

I stopped by looking for info on a new stove, and of course all of the other forums sucked me in

Now you need to give me a hint!

Have a stihl farm boss 029, a pole pruner, and not enough room for the others to list them. Been really getting into the tactical stuff lately

By the way highbeam, don't laugh...go look at the berretta neos, cheap and a lot of fun

Hints: MCHT. Seal Cove Boatyard. Deer isle/Castine/Cape Rosier. Does your first name begin with D ? Last with M ?

Buy the stove yet ?

Fancy meeting you here! It just goes to show how small the world is even on the internet. I was pretty sure that I had you figured out based on the info below your posts, but I never would have caught it you had not noticed me first. At first I was thinking that you might be someone I know from Lubec, but I found anther post where you referenced a 3hr drive to Portland and 1300ft of shore front on Pen Bay. The hints confirm my guess.

How was winter in your neck of the woods? I have been in Castine quite a bit, but I have not been in your area since last December. Our salvage/thinning project is back in gear again in Witherle Woods (a large area in there has really well drained soils allowing us to do work this time of year), and things are progressing quickly.

On the stove front I ended up going with a new Jotul Firelight. We are doing a pretty major renovation and expansion of our existing home (taking a 950sq timber frame to a 2200sq hybrid) over the winter, and it was time for a stove upgrade. The project still has a little ways to go, but we are expecting our first rug rat in the next few weeks, so I was trying to get all of the buying done early!

Any major boat trips planned for this year?

Douglas

welcome aboard sealcove. There are some amazing people with vast amounts of heating, burning knowledge in this forum.
good luck with the new arrival. another timber framer. sweetheat

We gotta stop meeting like this !

It was a long winter, too much snow to work the woods for awhile, even the skidders and harvesters had a tough time. The snow fell so fast and heavy from November on, that the ground was still wet and soft. Hard going.

Finally got the harvesting done by March...then some rain. Love it. Now the Black Flies. We burned more firewood this year since 1999, near 6 cords in both stoves.

Good choice of Firelight. How is Mrs. Mc doing ? Wish her our best.

The cost of diesel will limit any serious trips over the summer; just island overnights, visits to island friends for drinks, fog escorts, those kind of things.

Success on the new place and new addition. Give us a notice when the gift comes?

a

PS Castine Piano recital ( free) this Saturday, 10 May @ 1600 @ the Trinitarian Church. M. Reed plays with me in the Castine Band. Excellent pianist !

I have been using a ms 361 for about a year

Thanks, Gooserider-
It's little gems of info like this that make mining these forums especially rewarding...

Hmmm, lessee- Homelite 33cc 16in. Bought at HD a few months back. I should be running a 12in bar, eh? One of these days when I buy a better saw, this one will probably become more like a limbing and brush saw, I guess. And yeah, maybe a 12 or 14in bar. It's good and light- I like that.

I did pick up one good tip here regarding the chains. Turns out that ditching the unexciting OEM safety chain in favor of a more aggressive Oregon 91vx56 made a tremendous difference. I really like this saw now! Yeah, it does bog down occasionally when the blade is in deep. Now I know why. But I'm pretty happy with what is basically an inexpensive starter saw.

“Sledges, wedges, and mauls- oh my!” That is cool!

I'm running a old Sthil 028 super 16", a newer 280 16" but with the smaller .325 chain, and the 441 with a 20 and 30" bar. Once and a while we have an old hackberry or pecan tree go down and the 30" bar is not quite enough to cut through even from both sides. On those days I go borrow from a buddy who has all the toys, his Sthil 880 with a 60" bar. It is a different feeling to finish a cut and have a saw dust pile around your leg as tall as a Red Wing boot. I will add this though. A 4 1/2 foot thick Black Jack Oak can and will bog the 880 down if you are not careful even with a good chain. After 6 cuts through the black jack the chain needed sharpening.

I use a Husky 350 with a 20 inch bar. Love this saw! It has all the power I need 95% of the time. When I bury the bar on a big trunk, it could use just a bit more punch, I have never pulled it down to a stop, but it does bog down just a tiny bit if I am buried to the tip in really big tough stuff. (read.. 36" or larger Locust) I am very happy with it, and the service I get from the dealer is second to none.

I started with a Craftsman saw with an 18" bar and it just wouldn't do it. It would run strong for 45 min. and quit. After several trips to the shop for warranty work, they told me "that's just how these saws are". I told them to give me my money back, that I needed a saw that would do the job. I took the money and went to the Husky dealer the same day. I had to pay more for it, but the difference is night and day! I will never look back!

Stihl MS460

how you like the 361 not been out that long?

Stihl MS 230 with 16" bar.

Just looking into burning wood with oil prices so high. Been mostly cleaning up lots of cedar windfalls around the property.

Love it so far.

I use a Stihl 034 AV with 20" bar. It's a hand me down from my father inlaw. I'll probably look into getting a new saw next year.