Yet another question on which chain saw to get but can only spend up to $250

i was lookin at same price u were but wasnt happy with what i could afford so i decided to go with the stihl ms250 what a beast so glad i spent more. save more money
dont rush.

Pulled a boner earlier this winter. Had the saw up in a pile of 4 footers in the back of the truck, thought it was secure. I should have put it in the cab but it was kinda oily and smelly. Just got up to speed and the darn thing fell off the side of the truck. Smashed the handle and ground up the clutch cover pretty bad.
Cost just under $250 to repair that Jonsered. Guess what I'm getting at is $250 don't go far towards buying a good saw. Heck up here in Canada it will just fix a bone head blunder on a good saw!

update wensday feb 18 : customer listens to dealer & walks out with ANOTHER NEW SAW lesson learned. (hopefully)
customer tells of wanting to go ice fishing earlier in the day of "accident"......if fishing wish ever comes again that's what's he's gonna do,to hell with logging :coolsmile:

Hmmm... That is one where I'd be hesitant about fixing the saw for the guy if that broken casting can't be repaired... It sounds like the result would be an unsafe saw, and I know that way back years ago when I worked in a shop, the boss gave very specific orders that we weren't to fix a product if the result would be a dangerous item (as in more dangerous than either what the customer brought us, or than it came from the manufacturer, not as in don't fix chainsaws period...) - including things like taking off annoying safety guards... His argument was that it exposed us to a potential liability if somebody got hurt because of a repair that we did... In a case like that we were to either give the customer back his box of parts, or offer to let him trade for a good deal on a replacement - something that we let the boss deal with (and mostly let him make the "give it back in a box" call)

I'd probably do a combination about not feeling right if customer hurt himself because the saw came apart in a kickback, and that your business liability insurance won't permit it, then offer some sort of sweetener deal on a replacement saw... I figure it would be better to give the guy a new saw at your cost than to unleash a known unsafe saw on the world (what if he turns around and sells it w/o mentioning the potential problem to the buyer?) and likely you'd get plenty more repair business from the guy afterwards...

Gooserider

Here is the Jonsered shrapnel......... When I took it to the shop, Earl told me he'd give her a good going over when he replaced the handle/fuel tank assembly.
When I asked him to replace the clutch cover as well he gave me a funny look over his spectacles and said "it just a saw!"............ I said "yeah but it's a nice saw",
he muttered something like.........."Why did you smash it then?"..................... What could I say?

Before leaving the shop I ended up buying another 2152c, a couple of chains, files and oil just so Earl knew that I don't mess around! Wow that was an expensive load of wood. Next time I get greedy and load the truck right to the nuts and there's no place for the saw in the back, I'm going to put that nice saw in the cab even if it's oily and smelly!!

I saw a Poulan 46cc at Wally World yesterday for $150. While I can't couch for the Poulan either way the price looks good. It matters how much you cut and how long you'll be using the saw at each cutting. just as the fellow who makes his living turning wrenches the comfort and balance afforded by a Snap On surely can't be matched with a Craftsman wrench. But for the weekend shade- tree cellow the cheaper wrench will serve just as well..................

sounds like spring is in the air over in earl's shop too