As you know we heat with wood and I have also built a pole barn and heat it with wood too. In the past we would go through about 30 face cord of wood a year and for several years I even sold firewood. Not that this makes me an expert but I do know my way around chain saws. Greg was absolutely correct about the Husky. However, when it comes time for me to replace my old John Deer 55 I’ll probably go with a Poulan of the same size. Poulan is owned by the same company that owns Husky and uses the same technology across the board, just not the same heavy duty construction.Many thanks to both Greg and Brian for their advice and for improving my vocabulary (I had to look up face cord). My first weekend using my new chainsaw went quite well and I look forward to many years of future and safe usage.Greg is also correct about the safety equipment. I have up close and personal knowledge of the fact that a chain saw will not cut through safety chaps. I’m 55 and have used a chain saw since I was 16 and had not made a mistake until a few years ago – but all it takes is one mistake. Another safety issue. Keep your cell phone buttoned in your shirt pocket. There is a lot more that can happen to you than getting cut with the saw and the phone won’t do you any good back in the truck if you are pined under a tree. ALWAYS PUT YOUR CHAPS ON BEFORE YOU EVEN START THE SAW! Sorry for yelling but it is that important.
Here’s where I differ with Greg. I carry 5 or 6 chains with me when I’m in the woods. They don’t cost that much (especially if you can afford a Husky J ) and switching to a fresh sharp chain takes less time than sharpening the one you are using. Always use a sharp chain. First, it is safer. Second, a dull chain generates heat and heat is the enemy of anything sharp and chain saw bars. Also, carry an extra bar, preferably an old one with a little use left in it. If you get your primary bar pinched in a tree, simply take your saw off it and install the backup and cut the pinched bar free. It will also be of benefit if you have to cut a dirty trunk or in a risky area to switch to the old bar. I also carry a flat file to file the bar down once it starts to “peen over” from wear.
LOL -- He just THOUGHT he was going to be cutting solo! I was right there with the phone :)
I grew up on a farm. Whenever my father was using the chainsaw, one of the children went along just to watch. This was before common cell-phone usage. Having a "watcher" kept my mother from worrying. Just that little extra-bit of safety. And we all heard the story many times of the man that lived next to the Simpsons that chainsawed alone, cut his leg, and bled to death. (We also heard about the Harper girl that was blinded by fireworks, and that Kirkland boy and snake-bites, etc).
When I was a teenager, I was the "watcher" the day the chain snapped back and caught my father across the neck. For some reason, the chain just stopped. He had a serious scratch from the flat impact of a big chainsaw hitting him in the neck. But, he wasn't decapitated. It made an impression on me.
(Its just as well AQ got advice from Greg and Brian because I was really leaning toward the newer "pastel" colored saws at Lowes.)
Not to scare anyone, but growing up we had a family friend kill himself with a chain-saw (hit a nail while putting on too much pressure due to a dull chain) This was long before safety bars. Chain saws are a tool, and like any tool, safety MUST come first.
So... when do you start juggling them?
ALWAYS safety first - ALWAYS
the real trouble comes after you get comfortable with the tool, then you start to take chances that you would never have done when it still scarred the pants off you - case in point is my tablesaw - it threw a piece at me, and had even said to myself: 'Self, should NOT leave that there, it's going to throw it' but I did, 'cause I said: 'it's just for a second, I'm turning off the saw anyway...ooof!...D*mn....sh*t....that's going to leave a mark....thud [the last was my sorry backside hitting the egg crate....the saw had grabbed and thrown a 7 1/2" x 2 3/4" x 3/8" chunk of pine at me and caught me in the ribs. I lucked out as the carbide tooth the was broken off in the process missed me. I was too lazy to put on the feather boards etc for the cut - knew I should have, but didn't. At leat I had the presence of mind to have my son stand well back and on the safe side of the saw....I was lucky, it missed anything vital (perhaps it should have hit me in the head??) and left only a very sore bruise for about a week as a souvenier for my troubles.]
However, I have never gotten hurt (knock on head) with a chain saw, but know someone who did - he's lucky to be walking on 2 feet - in this case it was a 2 man job, his dad had sawn half way through his shin before either of them realized it, he was holding the end of the log up while dad cut through it - nice scar - made big impression on impressionable 12 year old holding onto first chainsaw (I was a big 12 year old) one that I wont soon forget.
Your dad was a lucky man. No question about it. The husky would do no worse in the same situation, the chain will be stopped before it hits AQ's neck - though I have never broken a chain yet (watch the chain tension and you wont have problems....don't tighten too much when it's hot or else it shrinks and overstrains itself when cold - if you do have to tighten a lot when hot, loosen a little before it cools, or watch it when it's cooling off....chain should be able to be pulled through by hand ensure that kill switch is in the OFF position, preferably with the plug wire disconnected with moderate effort, if you feel you are pulling hard, or it's biting hard into your bare hands, then it's too tight and only waring out bar and chain faster than it should) As stated someplace before, the chain sprcket and clutch freewheel on the drive shaft while you are doing this, so you are NOT pulling the piston through it's cycle, however, a hot engine with a left over charge, or partial charge, in the cylinder could under specific circumstances result in a single "pop" which, could result in a shredded hand. The kill switch works by groundingthe spark plug circuit - very old and very reliable process - but pulling off the wire is the extra insurance that takes only a second to do.
ALWAYS ensure that the kill switch IS working. Normally, the day will start by prepping the saw for work and then starting it right there at the garage and running it for a minute or so, enough to get it to run smoothly - just to ensure that anything like a fouled plug, or clogged jet isn't going to end the day early and make the round trip a waste of time. Then shut the saw off using the kill switch. If it DOES NOT shut off with the switch, place on firm surface (like the ground) and hold it down with one hand and your foot (through hand guard,but off of throttle) and then pull the plug wire off the plug or otherwise ground the circuit. FIX THE SWITCH right away. I have had this happen from time to time, a wood chip or small stick has gotten into the works - some such switches use to be just a metal blade that was pushed into contact with a ground by moving the switch - I'm fairly sure that all new stuff use completely enclosed switches - these can still fail.
Another little safety trick is the throttle jab, this enaure that your finger is not somehow binding up the throttle and that when you let go, it let's go. Gloves can get caught up in the throttle from time to time and you don't realize it. This is the same as the drag racer sitting at the line and gunning his engine....before you clamp down hard on the throttle to make a big cut, just goose it a touch, just to be sure that you have response - it becomes second nature, doesn't seem to bother the saw at all, and as all these littel stories do, has proved valuable on occasion.
Have fun, be safe (I just can't seem to keep these short...sorry all)
This is Greg by the way...
I can't deny any of Brian's comments, Sage advice if ever I heard it. The suggestion of only 1 extra chain and no extra bar was due to Don Quixote's concern with budget on the initial purchase - I wanted him to get enough to work with AND the saftey gear, the rest he will collect over the years.
As Brian indicates, over the years you ammass a nice collection. We have several bars and chains on the wall, or "in the truck" - our wood lot is adjecent to the house/barn/shed etc so 99% of the stuff stays there. We also have a collection of saws for different types of cutting, so as opposed to bringng a second bar, we just bring a second saw - there are usually two of us out there as well. If the morning goes well, I dress up the chains at lunch and we go back out for the afternoon - hit a rock in the field and it's a bit of a bummer. Can't stress enough the goodness of a sharp chain - I've even gone so far as to resharpen one if I got it wrong (it's all about geometry, each chain has it's own preference) rather than fight with a poorly cutting chain all day. A sharp chain cutting in clean green wood will stay sharp for a good long time (1/2 day anyway) and can be dressed up while you finish off that bottle of pop from lunch (with practice)
What we have is a dedicated tool box which holds all the various files and sharpening guides etc. If we are going to range far and wide, the tool box, grease gun, fuel mix, and bar oil, extra bars and chains goes with us.
Over the years, the desire NOT to have to resharpen the chains got me/us good at not hitting the ground etc. Dirty trunks (either the outside being encrusted with mud, ingrown barbed wire - an all time favorite - or you suspect hidden stuff like nails and old signs or CHAIN - I've hit it all)are the defenite chain killers. Hit something good and the chain is junk, or is going to take a lot of work to get back to shape - the worst part is that ALL the teeth must be the same profile, so you can end up filing away a lot of good chain to get them all even - these become your "junk chains" for use in this sort of cutting.
As Brian indicates, replace worn out items (chains and bars) while they have some useful life left in them, they come in handy.
Cell phone in pocket - BUTTONING pocket is key, you do a lot of bending and standing and the phone WILL fly if you rely on the belt clip or just drop it in - of course, there is always a rock or piece of roadway for it to land on (thus spake the voice of bitter experience)
As for the difference between Poulan and Husky - the heavy duty construction is a very nice thing in terms of smooth running and reliability. The commercial saws also have a chromed cyclinder wall, this makes a big difference in wear in air cooled engines. Other than that, I guess it's a matter of pocket book and color preference (I was not aware that Poulan had been bought by Husky)and having been a man of orange for not quite as long as Brian has been with Green, I suspectthat I will remain loyal. That saw has never let me down. But before this degenerates into a shouting match over who/which is better, it must be said that lumberjack and saw should be a VERY comfortable fit. As I told Don Quixote, in our collection of saws we have brands other than Husqvarna - price and intended use were prime considerations at the time of purchase...but all are well balanced and comfortable to hold (other saws are Echo - for working up in the branches of a standing tree - light weight and about $300.00 cheaper than the Husky counterpart - but clearly not as good a machine - whe have a STHIL - were it not for the addition of an 8 tooth rim sprocket upgrade for the saw we would have gotten rid of it, machanically it's sound, but in terms of cutting is a far second to the Husky, Johnsered's - prior to the company being sold, this saw is 20+ years old and it was THE saw (better than the STHILs - and hands down better than the Homelites that we first started with but soon got rid of those loud, smoke beltching, bone chattering things and got the Johnsered's thus was the beginning of the "commercial grade chainsaws or don't bother" era, and lastly we have what is effectively another echo - it's a pole pruner and is specifically a form follows function sort of thing, again Husky version was WAY out of price league, though I think that they have a competative model now. We have other Huskys too.
Bottom Line: Get what feels good and has a strong safety record. I've always felt that buying the heaviest dutiest tool that I can will serve me best in the long run.
In the case of Don Quixote, he initially had some criteria of choice and of those Husky was hands down winner, I sort of scared him into the 346XP over a less costly husky alternative, but that was based on the fact that he stated that he would be doing a bunch of his cutting SOLO. The extra $100.00 for the safety features seemed like really cheap insurance, as Brian said, it only takes once - I haven't had my once yet, and hopefully never will (but I'm going to buy some chaps very soon - haven't had them "all these years" but I've managed to scare myself into a pair as well - seems that now that I'm not a singel teenager I don't feel so invinsible anymore.... Apparently Mrs. Quixote was happy with that part of this deal.
At 30 face cords a year, Brian knows from where he speaks, we only did about half that at the peak - two guys on weekends around family concerns and general upkeep of machines and property, I think we did okay. Dad is Brian's Age and I'm about 20 behind that. (presented for purposes of realative sageness) and I speak for my Dad here too, so combined perhaps we have more sageness ???? whatever.
Chainsaws are incredible tools (just try it with a buck saw and and an axe!) But they have the potential to be very nasty with a strange taste for flesh and bone.
Be careful, be safe, enjoy those winter nights by the fire!
(WOW!! That turned out pretty long - sorry. And yes, I could certianly keep going)