I need to stop looking at Craigslist.

[Jon1270]

My wood racks are packed solid. I've got a few extra piles of wood sitting around outside the racks, plus a cord and a half CSS on someone else's property that I would get out of his way if I had anywhere to put it. I have no reason to cut firewood for at least a year. A couple of days ago I drained the gas from my one and only chainsaw (Husky 350), cleaned it up and put it away. And yet, I am in the habit of reading about different saw models and trolling CL for bargains. Today there's a like-new (broken link removed to http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/3789014570.html), and a clean (broken link removed to http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/tls/3797544523.html), each for $200. My saw works fine, but it's so hard to look away...

 

[NH_Wood]

Good prices on those saws - 026 looks to be in great shape - almost reconditioned and the 5100 doesn't look bad either - if closer I'd be having a look. My advise is don't start buying saws - doesn't seem to be an easy thing to stop . Cheers!

 

[Jon1270]

I find myself imagining scenarios that would make buying a second saw seem rational -- what if I'm in the middle of cutting something, and the 350 goes kaput? I'll be stuck! Nevermind that I ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH WOOD.

My 350 was a secondhand purchase too. I knew very little about chainsaws at the time; it started and ran, so I gave the guy his $100 and walked away with it. Subsequent inspection exposed some mild scoring on the exhaust side of the piston, but I can't complain; the thing still starts easily and throws chips the way it's supposed to.

Last week on CL I saw an 036 listed for $100. Blurry cell phone pic of a saw with several extra chains draped over the bar, nothing about whether it even ran or not... but an 036 for $100! We had guests on the way, though, and I couldn't spare the time to go check it out. It disappeared within hours.

 

[HittinSteel]

I'd buy that 5100 in a heartbeat. Nothing like that ever comes up for sale around me. All I see is people selling well used stihls for near retail

 

[MrWhoopee]

First: You NEVER HAVE ENOUGH WOOD! Consider the possibility that an early season injury sidelines you and you can't cut wood for a season.

Second: Assuming that you're not cutting on your own property, you should always have a second saw with you. Without one, a saw that won't start means you lose a day of cutting and the fuel it takes to get there and back. A pinched saw costs you the same, plus you have to leave your bar and chain until you can get back with another saw to free it. It doesn't have to be as good as your primary saw, though, at those prices, there is no need to buy a lesser one.

This is the year I will get one full season ahead, even though fire danger will probably close the forest early. I will cut wood whenever the opportunity arises, regardless of how much I have. You never have enough wood.

 

[Jon1270]

I'd buy that 5100 in a heartbeat.

you should always have a second saw with you.

You guys are not helping. The Dolmar appeared last week at $300, and he just reposted it with the lowered price. I'm a little surprised it's still there.

Nothing like that ever comes up for sale around me. All I see is people selling well used stihls for near retail

I see those here too, but usually those ads just get recycled week after week as if the sellers think the reason nobody has responded is that nobody's seen the ad yet. But I came here from NE Ohio, and I think there are more saws on the market because there are so many more trees. The hills are too steep and rocky to make sense as farmland, so the woods stay.

 

[mikefrommaine]

You guys are not helping.

You came to the wrong place if you want to be talked out of buying a saw.

I'd say get the dolmar.

 

[gmule]

Life is short. Buy both saws.

 

[Danno77]

What's this "my saw works fine" thing of which you speak? Why would that stop someone from buying another one? I'd like to subscribe to your newsletter for more information

 

[Thistle]

LOL yeah.Why stop at 1 when 6 (and counting) are even better?

 

[BrotherBart]

Wish I had known three years ago you were into junk saws. Paid a buck for one of those old Remingtons at an estate sale. Really rough looking. Gassed it, hit it with ether and it started and ran. Was running really rough. Looked close and there were no bolts holding the jug on but the thing was running.

Took it to the dump a year or so later.

 

[HDRock]

I was out yesterday taking an ash tree down, bamm, broke the rope on my Husk 61, I had the the little Echo limber, but also the 445 , I was almost done bucking the trunk , finished with the 445 , no time lost got the job done no prob

 

[bogydave]

A decent running back up is a good thing.
Have used mine little craftsman 3 times to bail me out in the past 2 years.
Don't know the specs on the 18" Dolmer, & the Stihl posting was gone
50CC?

Isn't that what you have,, a 50 cc.
It's nice to have 2 sizes, small & one big enough to do most of what you cut.

But at the right price, hard to pass up a decent running saw. Can always flip it.

 

[blades]

13 or so years ago I had one little 36cc , now there is 2--80cc, 3-60+cc,1-50cc, & 2-45cc and still looking for something approaching/exceeding 100cc + a larger trailer as the box of the truck is full of saws and a small tractor with a FEL ( have SS already). And yes I have a full blown cases of saw and firewood AD. Because I have at least 3 years of firewood CSS ( working on 4th) I have also become a FWS ( Firewood snob). You know its bad when a tree service comments on the amount of css wood I have around as well as the current pile of rounds being processed. ( couple of trees threatening the power lines, in a fashion I can't/will not attempt to clear on my property, reason for tree service guy. just need them grounded self preservation)

 

[Jon1270]

Don't know the specs on the 18" Dolmer, & the Stihl posting was gone 50CC?

From what I read, the Dolmar is indeed about 50cc, but it's designed to run at unusually high RPMs, and I think has a bit better power:weight than my 350. Everything I read about it in forums was positive, except for one guy who burned his out trying to rip a big log lengthwise with, I think, the wrong type of chain. My guess is that it hasn't sold yet because it's way out in the country, whereas the Stihl was in a more heavily populated area closer to the city. The latter disappeared on the day the ad was posted.

It's nice to have 2 sizes, small & one big enough to do most of what you cut.

Yes, the idea of having a bigger saw was a major reason why I started looking at the listings. My 350 has an 18" bar, with an effective cutting length closer to 16" beyond the spikes. I've been able to cut through (bucking, not felling) a ~24" log of red oak, but it was a slow and inelegant process so I of course immediately started coveting the big saws I'd seen the tree services use. But the angel on my other shoulder reminds me that most of the wood I scavenge is already bucked before I get to it, so a big saw might just sit on the shelf most of the time. My lust for better tools is heavily balanced by a feeling that it's a sort of tragedy for good equipment to sit unused. When I first got interested in furniture making I was young and had no money to speak of. I answered a classified ad (paper, not Craigslist, about 17 years ago) for a set of chisels I wanted, and found myself in somebody's neglected hobby woodshop in the basement of a McMansion. It was full of expensive equipment I'd seen in magazines -- stuff I couldn't imagine being able to afford -- and it was all just sitting there gathering dust. I have a persistent fear that I might become that guy.

 

[NH_Wood]

Jon1270 - sounds like you are a smart man - no need to buy tools and equipment you don't think you'll use, that is for sure. Sounds like you can wait for the super great deal to come up and then grab it - if you stick with high quality saws in very good shape and get a great deal on one, you really can't go wrong - keep it in excellent shape and if you find out you actually didn't need that saw, you'll get your money back - the good ones keep their value very well. Cheers!

 

[rkusek]

+1 on having a 2nd saw on hand. I'm surprised my $100 40cc Mcculloch 18" Harbor Freight cheapo still works after 5 years. I have had to replace the clutch and make my own air filters though. A Stihl dealer in Omaha was actually able to order the clutch and the impossible to find spark plugs. He will get my business when I buy a new one. I should probably do it before this one blows since it would make a great backup since it's light and easy to operate. After reading more of these posts, I'm thinking now 3 instead of 2 would be ideal. One new or almost new quality 18", the McCulloch 18" backup, and a decent older big saw for a big oak & walnut I have down.

 

[blades]

+1 on having a 2nd saw on hand. I'm surprised my $100 40cc Mcculloch 18" Harbor Freight cheapo still works after 5 years. I have had to replace the clutch and make my own air filters though. A Stihl dealer in Omaha was actually able to order the clutch and the impossible to find spark plugs. He will get my business when I buy a new one. I should probably do it before this one blows since it would make a great backup since it's light and easy to operate. After reading more of these posts, I'm thinking now 3 instead of 2 would be ideal. One new or almost new quality 18", the McCulloch 18" backup, and a decent older big saw for a big oak & walnut I have down.

Oh Oh CAD setting in. Look where it led me a couple post back

 

[Jon1270]

(broken link removed to http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/grd/3799225149.html)

I feel like I'm starting a Deal of the Day column.

 

[Ashful]

Jon, on worries about a bigger saw sitting and collecting dust, I found that buying a big saw is like posting an ad you're looking for wood. I told a coworker about the saw I bought, and he told two buddies, they told two buddies... next thing I know I have people approaching me who want downed 40"-60" oaks and ash cleaned up off their property. I'm into more free wood than I can shake a stick at.

Only down side is that I only get calls for real big stuff, and its hard work moving those rounds home. Most folks around here with land and trees will cut and keep the more manageable sized stuff for themselves.

 

[Danno77]

(broken link removed to http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/grd/3799225149.html)

I feel like I'm starting a Deal of the Day column.

somebody buy it. $200 cash would be about right if it runs well.

 

[HittinSteel]

I still want that dolmar !

 

[Jon1270]

I still want that dolmar !

It's only a little over 3 hours from Cleveland to that saw. You've been wanting to make a day trip out into the hills and woods anyhow, haven't you?

 

[blades]

Dolmars are not that well a known name as theS & H saws and the dealer net work isn't as large as well, There is also the blue versions ( Makita) same saws, different color. I have one odd Johnsered the rest are all Dolmars (well one is blue).

 

[muncybob]

(broken link removed to http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/grd/3799225149.html)

I feel like I'm starting a Deal of the Day column.

Somebody should start a Deal of the Day thread...unfortunatley I don't see many around these parts.