Harbor Freight electric chainsaw

It pains me to recommend buying from them but Harbor Freight has a pretty fair deal on a fairly good little electric chainsaw. Handy for resawing in the shop and for trim work if you have a long enough extension cord or a generator. Anyway, 14" Oregon brand bar and chain means they should be readily available at big boxes and on the internet even if there are only about three teeth to the foot on the chain. Cuts green wood OK although you have to just let it work at it's own pace, doubt you can bear down on it. I have been cutting up wet 10"-12" cherry logs with it with no problems.

The saving graces are simple. It is now, I believe, and has been on sale for around $50-$55 dollars. Add ten bucks for a two year guarantee and taxes, keep your paperwork in a safe place, and you have a two year chainsaw that doesn't make a bunch of noise or fumes for under seventy-five dollars. The best part of the deal for me is the extended warrantee, I have never been impressed with electric chain saws. I have to say that the Central Electric tools I have bought in the past held up decently. Maybe I will go over to the chainsaw forum and look for a bar and chain. Just joking, I'm sure this thing doesn't have the beef to pull a more aggressive chain and it seems like it goes through the 10"-12" log in less than two minutes, didn't actually put a clock on it.

Hu
 
Sounds like a deal!

I have two electric chainsaws, on inexpensive Makita that does a good job, but I know when I push it I can feel the whole plastic body of the thing flex and the other a used Shindaiwa monster I bought that runs a 50cm bar and really cuts wood. Nothing is as fast as a good gas saw, but the whole no fumes, noise and gas etc is a plus using it near the house or in the garage. Living in Tokyo I think it makes sense to own one for sure. The biggest thing is to let the saw work at it's own pace (sound like you got that one figured out!) and you have to keep that chain sharp, like really sharp. Learn how to file your own chain, it does not take long, buy good chainsaw files, not just round files, only buy the Swiss files, they seem to work the best.
 
Sounds like a deal!

I have two electric chainsaws, on inexpensive Makita that does a good job, but I know when I push it I can feel the whole plastic body of the thing flex and the other a used Shindaiwa monster I bought that runs a 50cm bar and really cuts wood. Nothing is as fast as a good gas saw, but the whole no fumes, noise and gas etc is a plus using it near the house or in the garage. Living in Tokyo I think it makes sense to own one for sure. The biggest thing is to let the saw work at it's own pace (sound like you got that one figured out!) and you have to keep that chain sharp, like really sharp. Learn how to file your own chain, it does not take long, buy good chainsaw files, not just round files, only buy the Swiss files, they seem to work the best.


Stuart,

I have a plan "B" on the sharpening, my brother has a grinder and I am the only one that has ever used it. Before they jammed some electronics in my side I liked working with a good commercial grade chainsaw. Gas saws without dogs and with the no kick consumer teeth are about halfway in between the little electric saws I have ran and the commercial saws. Of course they are a ton safer than the commercial saws which will kick back in a heartbeat if you use them wrong.

Just for future reference, do they make a mighty Shindiawa that runs on 110 volts? I did find a 100 volt DC cordless saw here but the saw was the cheapest thing if I remember right. The batteries and charger cost a fortune.

Hu
 
Heck, I'm no HF snob. Sometimes for tools you don't plan to use a lot, it's a good economical choice. I've got a big honking drill I bought from them to use for mixing mortar. No need for a high priced tool for that job.
 
Heck, I'm no HF snob. Sometimes for tools you don't plan to use a lot, it's a good economical choice. I've got a big honking drill I bought from them to use for mixing mortar. No need for a high priced tool for that job.

I'm not exactly a snob, more a matter of where I care to send my money. Too, I have been buying some things there for a lot of years. The quality of much of their stuff is lousy and often the price isn't great anymore. Some things like the Central Electric tools have held up well. I bought a half-dozen of their 4.5" grinders years ago figuring they were throwaways and I think they are all still ginning, well most bit the dust a few months ago when hurricane Isaac put almost two feet of water in my shop but the high dollar stuff drowned just the same as the cheap stuff did.

Like you I tend to buy my use a little stuff there and the stuff I am going to abuse or at least use for rough work. I buy leather work gloves there and wear out a pair in one long day. I used to get far better gloves but these days you sometimes pay the price for quality and get the same gloves and other items that Harbor freight sells for a fraction of the price. Sometimes I am frustrated that I can't find a quality made item at any price and buy at Harbor Freight or WalMart just because it doesn't make sense to pay three times as much for basically the same thing. Yeah, before anybody has to ask, I am an unWalMart fan too after they decided to source everything they can offshore after Sam left. Speaking of which, WalMart has a twelve pack of the foam brushes for $1.50. I was out of glue and looking for a larger container of CA. The brushes for less than fifteen cents apiece are crap but I painted old latex on the ends of logs with one and have done a few other tasks with them. I'll probably buy a few more bags of them sometime, cheaper than rags. I wouldn't recommend them for finishing anything, the foam brushes tend to melt or tear little pieces off into your work.

Hu
 
Stuart,

I have a plan "B" on the sharpening, my brother has a grinder and I am the only one that has ever used it. Before they jammed some electronics in my side I liked working with a good commercial grade chainsaw. Gas saws without dogs and with the no kick consumer teeth are about halfway in between the little electric saws I have ran and the commercial saws. Of course they are a ton safer than the commercial saws which will kick back in a heartbeat if you use them wrong.

Just for future reference, do they make a mighty Shindiawa that runs on 110 volts? I did find a 100 volt DC cordless saw here but the saw was the cheapest thing if I remember right. The batteries and charger cost a fortune.

Hu

Personally I don't like grinders, I think they take off way too much metal. in the field I just touch up with a file, freehand, but when I get home or if I do something stupid like hit a rock :doh:I will dig out my sharpening jig, it works great.

Yes my Shindaiwa is 100V.....

cutting_bowl_blanks.jpg



shindaiwa_A-303_C_zpsa42a01d4.jpg
 
Stuart,

I don't remember rather it was an educated elbow or the set-up but I was able to just kiss each tooth, pretty sure it was an educated elbow when I think about it. Saw shops tend to take an aggressive grind against a stop on each tooth, enough to clean up the worst teeth, to save time. Could be something to do with many of them sell chains too!

That saw does look like a beast as electric saws go. I'm good with 50-60 hertz, it shouldn't mind overdriving it 20% on the voltage, maybe I will have to try to find one gray market after I take care of forty-three more pressing needs. That one looks like I might be able to put a real chain on it. I was a little disappointed in one thing, 7.5 MPS. First thought to flash through my mind; holy moly, 7.5 miles per second, that is serious speed! Second thought, "Meters dummy, meters." Oh well that ain't shabby either. Would have probably melted the bar and chain at 7.5 miles an hour anyway. When we were kids we used to have some little matchbox sized slot cars that ran on an electric track with a transformer. When the parents weren't home at night we occasionally hooked up straight 110V to the rails and dropped one of the little cars on it. One screaming run in a straight line so many sparks flying everywhere they lit up the room as the motor melted into slag. I kinda envisioned the same thing with a chain saw for a second there. :D

Hu
 
This is very painful to say

I got a significant hardware and firmware upgrade one week ago today. With better shielding of the unit in my side I can now run gas chainsaws and several other things I have been restricted from. I own two and a half welders and have been restricted from welding for almost six years!

I got an almost new little 35cc McCulloch chainsaw in the deal when I bought out half a woodworking shop. One week since the little surgery, I scored some fair sized chunks of oak from my nephew and hurried out to fire up the McCulloch to whittle the oak up. The chain is in decent shape but this saw didn't do much more than make noise.

After awhile I moved my truck in range of an extension cord and gave the harbor fright machine a try. After cutting the remainder of a piece I tried with the gas saw and making another cut sixteen inches away, no doubt about it, the electric saw cuts better!

I had a 35cc McCulloch before they disappeared and came back and cut down over a dozen 16 to 24 inch trees with it and cut them up along with countless other trees and lots of trimming. This ain't the same beast at all.

Looks like time to start building a chainsaw fund!

Hu
 
Congrats on the new hardware and software, Hu. :thumb: When it comes to gas chainsaws, I'd say look no further than Stihl or Husqvarna. There are some other good ones, but those two pretty much own the market, and as a result, parts for them tend to the most readily available. McCulloch used to be a good brand, but they've lost a lot of luster over the years.
 
I have a cheap little one (reg $80 and on sale for $50) and it has worked just fine in the shop for trimming stuff for over two years.

By you statement your must have the Redneck Version. :D:D:D:D About seven teeth total? Would take a little while to chew up even soft wood.


even if there are only about three teeth to the foot on the chain. Hu
 
I've gone through 3 electric chain saws before I figured out that you got to have the right amp rating on your extension cord.... I have 3 100' cords and a coupe of 20's that I've collected over the years... all were industrial rated? and I though ample for the saws... two were Remingtons that I got a Lowe's, don't remember the third, but all were okay for the first hour or so, then all started smoking... not a fan of a machine smoking in my hands... finally bought another called a Worx... it does... but also noted in reading the instructions/owners manual (imagine that... actually reading the manual - ) that the saw required a 14 amp extension cord... all of my others were 12 amp. The extension cord cost almost as much as the saw, but haven't had a smoking saw in my hands since.
 
First, yeah I found out about power cords too. You can add decent skill saws, a whole host of stuff that doesn't like to run on lightweight cords when they start getting long. Before the days of cordless everything we used to string two, three hundred feet or more of cords up the side of a vessel in the plants. You find out in a hurry which cords are good!

I'm getting fonder of this little 'lectric toy all the time. Never thought it would outcut even a bad gas saw. On the other hand I was cutting today and I saw a piece of plastic fall. Then a much bigger piece of plastic. Then the chain and bar!! Hate it when that happens.

I know folks are talking fondly of the Huskies now and I'll probably take a trip over to the chainsaw forum before making a decision. Stihl used to be the only saw my friends with tree businesses would run. A lot of vines down here and Stihl was the only brand that you could hold the hammer all the way down and swing away at the vines with no harm done to the engine. As always I'd like to save a buck on a saw but I think anything I get will have to have a pro bar and chain available if not already on it. Nothing that totes a real chain comes cheap, nothing with a homeowner chain comes close to cutting like a pro chain can. Of course none of the homeowner chains can begin to kick back like a pro chain if you make a mistake but I'll go for the gusto. After not being able to saw for this long I want to see some foot long curls and serious chunks coming off of trees, not sawdust!

Hu
 
Hu, I made my decision in the Stihl vs. Husky debate based on advice from my local dealer, who sold both brands. He said most of the pros in my area were using Stihl, and he generally had less trouble getting replacement parts from Stihl than from Husky. That kind of thing can vary from one region to the next, so I'd try to find a dealer who sells both and ask their advice. I ended up getting the MS390, the biggest of Stihl's mid-level line. I got it with both 18" and 24" bars, and it'll munch some serious wood, especially with the long bar on it. As I recall, for $150 or so more I could have gotten the pro-level model, but I couldn't justify it for the limited number of times a year I'd use a chain saw. I still expect it to last as long as I do.
 
Hu, I made my decision in the Stihl vs. Husky debate based on advice from my local dealer, who sold both brands. He said most of the pros in my area were using Stihl, and he generally had less trouble getting replacement parts from Stihl than from Husky. That kind of thing can vary from one region to the next, so I'd try to find a dealer who sells both and ask their advice. I ended up getting the MS390, the biggest of Stihl's mid-level line. I got it with both 18" and 24" bars, and it'll munch some serious wood, especially with the long bar on it. As I recall, for $150 or so more I could have gotten the pro-level model, but I couldn't justify it for the limited number of times a year I'd use a chain saw. I still expect it to last as long as I do.

Vaughn,

I have been sold on Stihl for many years, I would have had to been sold on the Husky, would have to have a good reason to favor it over the Stihl. The parts deal makes it an easy call when I wanted the Stihl anyway. I'll take a very hard look at your medium duty saw. While I hope to saw a lot that is a comparative thing. My friends in the biz passed by the sharpening shop every evening dropping off chains and picking up sharp ones. They worked long hours and probably actually cut 4-6 hours a day or more. I'm planning to saw a few dozen times a year if I am lucky, but saw and stack a lot of wood if a big storm passes through which happens far too often. I just want something that will deal with green wood and fairly dry stuff to second cut blanks. I was cutting pretty big oak yesterday that had a few months seasoning, probably close to 24". I want something that goes through that in well under a minute instead of four or five. A lot easier on me! I passed on a pair of big commercial bow saws in good shape many years ago for $50 each. I kick my own bottom every time I think about it! Wanted them then, didn't have any use for them. Could have gotten an almost new backhoe dirt cheap too, another regret. One of these days I'll learn . . .

Hu
 
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