Chainsaws
It is usually an annual pleasure to sit and write the chainsaw roundup, a chance to reminisce about the good old days when we felled trees with howling saws in pouring rain or blistering heat, then dragged the poles through the mud or dust before crosscutting with a big saw that was always blunt, prior to hand stacking every single muddy or itchy piece of timber before a lorry came and its driver would issue those immortal words, “I don’t think there’s a load here you know.” Those were the days! Having just paid last month’s diesel bill, I have a hankering for those days. Things certainly don’t look so good at the moment with too many big diesel engines guzzling expensive fuel in an effort to empty the on-site fuel tanks as fast as the local fuel supplier can fill them.

It is almost painful to watch the skidder driver passing the fuel store day after day without stopping when everything else on site seems to stop there at least once a day. Is it time to look seriously at slimming the operation down and going back to high-value low-volume production? Just why is red diesel suddenly so expensive? Compared to the rise in road fuel prices, the increase is out of all proportion and it is threatening the margins of contractors
everywhere. I think that the chainsaw might just about have seen the end of its decline in commercial forestry contracting. It is certainly cheaper to run in the right circumstances. I have always done well out of jobs where we have had to resort to using chainsaws rather than a harvester for reasons of access, tree size or environmental considerations.

It’s obvious that we aren’t all going to park up our harvesters, but sure enough some people will, due to shrinking margins and rising costs during the economic downturn that is coming. So it isn’t such a fanciful notion to suggest that more people will return to using chainsaws, although it is obvious we will not see large-scale harvesting done in the same way it was 20
years ago. We are doing a clearfell of near tonne average larch at the moment and I have just accepted a job for an estate that is based around the needs of the shoot that contains
a mix of timber, including some big Douglas that will return a rate almost twice that of the larch job, but it will need lots of chainsaw work, and the skidder will be kept busy for a few weeks! If you are going to have a bash at picking up a saw and taking on some high value work, what is there on offer in the chainsaw market today?

The two big makers still dominate with good ranges of professional saws to do any job the contractor is likely to come across. In day-to-day forestry work where a single saw is needed for felling and dressing out softwood, under brashing or felling in tandem with a harvester, the two saws most likely to be used are Stihl’s MS 361 and Husqvarna’s 357XP. There is little to choose between these two excellent saws – they are well developed pieces of kit that have been around for quite a while now. The Husqvarna has a long heritage and a strong following that has grown over the years. It is a well balanced, robust saw that can run a variety of bar lengths from 13 to 18 inches in either 3/8” or .325, although it is more usual to see the .325 option.

That can be a little bit of a drawback for some users, although it is arguably the configuration that suits the saw best. The 357 is well equipped with top quality antivibration equipment and a heated handle variant that further adds to user comfort. Stihl’s MS 361 was the saw that brought Stihl back to the forefront of pro saw popularity because it was the first Stihl for a long time that could not only match the competition but could better many comparable sized saws in many ways.

The MS 361 is powerful, smooth and reliable. It works well with bars from 13 to 18 inches using 3/8” chain which, as it is Stihl’s own superb RSC low vibration design, is a big plus point. The 361 has proved to be durable and robust over a long lifetime and is now becoming
accepted as one of the very best saws on the market. It is also available as a heated handle variant. If you have never used a saw with heated handles it is an option everyone should try on at least one saw at some time in their career. I found them good when felling pole length or under brashing in winter, but of little use when shortwooding as the saw needs to be running at full revs for a lot of the time and both hands have to be on the handles to get
the most benefit; but in cold wet weather they are most definitely worth the extra few quid and they are supposed to be a major benefit to anyone liable to suffer from vibration white finger in later years. Taken together it’s difficult to split the MS 361 and the 357XP.

Equipment is almost the same and performance is very comparable. Personal preference comes into it slightly, although it shouldn’t, and the Husqvarna is a little bit cheaper, but the bar and chain on the Stihl is so good it is a selling point on its own. I suggest anyone who wants a saw in this 55 to 60cc range should try these two saws and make up their own mind, but there are other alternatives.

Makita has a very good saw in this category in the DCS6401. This is a slightly different type of saw in that it is the smallest in a group of three saws that are almost identical save for their engine capacities. The 6401 is a greatly over-engineered 64cc machine that we found to be extremely rugged and powerful but still good to use, with some nice detail touches like the decompressor button being close to the starter handle and a large radius front handle.

The 6401 is physically a little bigger than some saws in the class. It is best suited to at least a 15” bar and it carries an 18” bar better than some. It is perhaps a good choice for someone who only wants one saw to do all their jobs. Jonsered still features in the pro saw market with a good choice of saws that fit into this category – perhaps too many choices really. It
was only last year that Husqvarna and Jonsered split from the giant Electrolux group of companies and now they are part of a group of smaller companies. There is a choice of the CS 2156, CS 2159 or the CS 2163.

Shadowing these models is the CS 2165 which is Jonsered’s stand-out saw for everyday use by contractors – a hard-working durable saw that despite not setting any performance records has proved itself to be very popular. Husqvarna makes a similar saw that merits a special mention: the evergreen 365 that just keeps going on and on and on and, according to Steve Bennett at A&B Services, remains one of their best sellers. In the slightly bigger sized saws the Husqvarna 575XP is proving that new technology needn’t be a worry and users are getting to grips with this now not-so-new model from Husqvarna in greater numbers, its 70+cc engine and good fuel economy proving a worthwhile investment.

Stihl’s MS 441 is the other saw that users looking for a seriously powerful but still handy machine in this category are turning to in large numbers. The MS 441 is a break with tradition for Stihl with a new look and some modern styling touches that don’t detract from its exceptional performance.

Makita’s DCS7301 and 7901 saws offer a more traditional approach to heavy-duty saw work
and, though they don’t share the technological advances of the Stihl and the Husqvarna, they are robust machines with some nice detail touches. Efco have made a sudden but very welcome leap into the 70 to 80cc category with two new saws, the MT 7200 and MT 8200 are much modernised, and more powerful, replacements for the 171 and 181 respectively. The new saws have much improved anti-vibration equipment that uses a combination of steel springs and rubbers rather than the less effective rubber-only system.

Jonsered has two models that have been around for some time, in the 71cc CS 2171 and the top of the range CS 2186 that displaces almost 85cc. It will be interesting to see where the Jonsered range will be taken now that the brand has broken away from the Electrolux group as for some time the red machines have rather unfairly been seen as a bit of a poor relation. I can remember when the Jonsered 630 was seen as a very popular saw by many users who liked its good manners and reliability.

The really big heavy-duty saws fall into two categories, felling and limbing saws and pure felling saws. Stihl’s new MS 650 is a multitasking saw that can handle a wide variety of roles and can be used for one man one saw working when it is easier to have one saw on site that
can carry out all the jobs that need doing during the day. Husqvarna’s 390XP falls into the same role at around 88cc with good ergonomics and that familiar Husqvarna feel. The really big felling saws that have been around for quite some time are the all-powerful Husqvarna 3120XP that comes in at just under 120cc, and the Stihl MS 880 at just over 121cc. These are dedicated hardwood felling saws that generally run the longest bars available and .404 chain. Both Stihl and Husqvarna offer smaller ‘big’ saws in the 395XP and the MS 660 which is the continuation of the highly regarded 066. Both these machines displace around 90cc.

Professional ranges from Efco and Echo still offer some saws that may be of interest to the pro user. Efco’s 162 is worth a look. It is a classic 62cc machine with no frills at a reasonable price that has really quite startling performance and good handling. It could find favour with users who are looking for something a little different.

Echo in the meantime is still continuing with the CS6702 that, despite its exceptional build quality and good equipment, has issues that I still feel need addressing before it would find its way into my saw inventory. Zenoah gets a mention in this year’s roundup only because the company was recently acquired by Husqvarna: the new company is called Husqvarna Zenoah. Zenoah has been well known for its advances in two-stroke engine technology so the tie-up with Husqvarna should produce some interesting results in the near future. At least for the time being the new company’s products will not be available in the UK.

It is worth noting that Zenoah was ahead of the pack when it introduced the GZ4000 a number of years ago. With its Strato-Charged engine it was one of the first saws to use the clean-burn two-stroke technology that is rapidly becoming mainstream technology in chainsaw engines.

Finally, small saws are becoming more and more important today when a few years ago no one would be interested in anything much under 60cc unless it was the allconquering Husqvarna 254. This has all changed. It could be because working methods are different, or timber isn’t as big, or maybe small saws are able to match the performance of bigger saws
from the past. Whatever the reason, they are selling in larger numbers. Husqvarna has the very popular 346XP that is now a full 50cc, and is used as a felling saw by some contractors
I know locally, who say its light weight and high speed make it great for work in small timber, and a 13” bar will fell reasonable sized trees in the hands of an experienced operator, which is fair comment!

Stihl offers the MS 260 that has been around in one form or another for decades, and has long been a favourite of training schools due to its robustness. It too is just on the 50cc mark and it provides lightweight sawing but without the furious speed of some other machines. Jonsered has a plethora of small saws in this category. It is the 52cc CS 2152 that features as the small, fast saw for high speed delimbing with the features common to most of the top line equipment in this category: side chain tensioning, toolless air filter access, some type of easy starting system and either see-through fuel tanks or toolless filler caps.

The less well known manufacturers tend to be more focused on the smaller saws as the market for saws closer to homeowner-sized models is still growing, although with a world-wide recession looming that could be about to change. Makita produces a very good 50cc model. The DCS5000 is now very popular and is currently the saw the British Army uses. It is a fast revving, durable machine with good build quality. The 5001, in common with other variants ending in 1, is the decompressor equipped model. Makita’s much heralded fourstroke
saw that was similar in size to the 5000 was demonstrated at the last APF but hasn’t yet made an appearance on showroom shelves here in the UK.

Efco, Echo and Solo all offer small ‘professional’ type saws that may or may not be seen as fully committed to the full pro market. Efco’s machine is the 51cc 152 that Efco classes as a saw for intensive use. In common with almost all the saws in this grouping it weighs just about 5 kilos. Echo has a brand new saw that replaces the CS5100 and the CS5500. The new saw is the 49.3cc, 5.1kg CS510. Solo offers a 51cc professional machine, the 651, that again weighs 5 kilos and is a very traditional, nofrills piece of kit.

So there we have it – a chainsaw for every task, and a bewildering array of saws on offer if you were to collect up every brochure from every manufacturer or browse every website. But in reality there are only a limited number of saws that we as professional users will consider
using. It can be down to sticking with what we know, or a preference for the feel of one brand, or in my case the feel of one saw for one job. I have nearly a dozen saws at my disposal and they are not all from one maker – in fact they aren’t even split between just two – so it isn’t a rule that you have to stick with what you know. There are some excellent saws out there. There is only the odd lemon, and those really are pretty easy to spot!
Simon Bowes