New Chainsaw Question - What Blade Length?

Brent Dowell

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Reno NV
So, My trusty old 16" 1970's Montgomery Wards (not JC Penney like I said before) saw is getting on my nerves. Having trouble getting a blade the right length.

Oh I'll get it fixed up eventually, but I'm thinking of picking up a new chainsaw tomorrow and thought I'd ask a question about blade length.

All I'll really use it for is a bit of cleanup around the property and occaisonal chopping of logs into firewood size.

But lets just say that maybe I really want to get into bowl turning and stuff and hunt down fresh logs and stuff for turning :rolleyes:, What size chainsaw do you think I should get?

Any brands to avoid?
 
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I think you will be really amazed at how much nicer modern chainsaws are to use :thumb:

The best brand, well that is a Ford vs Chevy thing..... or is that Chevy vs Ford.... :huh:

My advice on the best chainsaw to get is to find a good dealer, one that has a shop to work on the saws, and then see which brand they sell. You should get the best service and advice from a good dealer, yes, you may pay less from a big box or such, but, you usually get little service, down the road. Sometimes the dealer will have good deals on reconditioned saws, these can really be a good thing, but I don't know if you will find this kind of thing in your neck of the desert :huh: :dunno:

For blade length, well the kind of work you do I would imagine an 18" blade would be lots, and with an 18" blade you can cut 36" (cut from both sides) but if you find you REALLY need a second longer blade and chain, they are not that expensive down the road to buy.

For what you are planing to do, I'd not get too big a saw, you will most likely not use it anyway, and you can get a lot of cutting from a smaller saw, just make sure you have a sharp chain.

I hope this helped :wave:
 
http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/
Pick one:thumb:
At one point I had a super 38 with a 20" bar for felling and a super 28 with a 16" bar for limning and small stuff. I still have the 28 and find that all I need is a 16" bar.
One thing to keep in mind is that to small a cc saw will run a bigger bar ut not as good. It's that more power thing:thumb::thumb:
 
I'm a Stihl fan all the way. Last year bought a model with the easy start feature. Wish this had been invented a half century ago.
For what you describe, I believe the 16" bar is very versatile.
 
Well, hate to disappoint the Stihl fans out there, but I went with an 18" 42cc Poulan... The price was right...

And to top it all off, I apparently didn't kill the old Montgomery Wards (not JcPenney as I said before) chain saw when I cleaned it with simple green and a hose. Darn thing fired right up today! Just have to go find a new 54 drive tooth chain and then I'll have 2 chain saws.

I figure I'll use the New one for general use, and the old wards for when I'm cutting stumps close to the ground and the rocks...
 
Gotta keep the pic police happy :D

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Hey Mark do ya feel bad that we made Brent get up and go outside to take a pic of a saw in the middle of the night?:thumb::thumb::thumb:
I don't :rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Well, hate to disappoint the Stihl fans out there, but I went with an 18" 42cc Poulan... The price was right...

And to top it all off, I apparently didn't kill the old Montgomery Wards (not JcPenney as I said before) chain saw when I cleaned it with simple green and a hose. Darn thing fired right up today! Just have to go find a new 54 drive tooth chain and then I'll have 2 chain saws.

I figure I'll use the New one for general use, and the old wards for when I'm cutting stumps close to the ground and the rocks...

Good luck.
 
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