Would you choose a Makita chainsaw?
Consider it seriously.
Sad to say I tend to have racist tendencies towards chainsaws. That is to say that, unless they are orange, or orange and white, I tend to look at them with some disdain. Likewise, for many years, I never bothered with small saws, as most of what we cut was sawlog size hardwoods. Thus a decent sized chainsaw was the tool of choice. But as my father regularly borrowed (?) one of the felling saws for hedging he started complaining about its weight – so a small saw was in order. The result was the purchase of a Stihl 260 chainsaw, an excellent saw in many respects. Therefore, when asked to test the Makita DCS4301, it was firstly against my natural preference, and secondly it would be compared to our current small saw.

The DCS4301 uses a similar colour scheme to the other saws in the Makita range, being blue, black and grey. The first impression, gained whilst taking it out of its box, was that it is a well made saw. Looking over its design and construction, it seemed to be a well thought out
saw, with only one slight criticism that we will look at later. Some design faults common on many other saw makes have been eradicated.

It is plain to see that much thought has gone into its design. The saw was delivered, new and unused. After filling up, a quick check over and setting the bar and chain, one or two pulls and the saw fired up, ticking over nicely. And that is the beauty of this new saw from Makita, it is so easy to start – no great tugs or a starter rope pulling back. The DCS4301
doesn’t have a decompression button, which is now so common on many new saws, but it’s the easiest saw by far that I have ever started.

The Makita DCS4301 is classed as a professional saw. I was therefore surprised that it was supplied with a low kickback safety chain, as such a chain is hopeless for boring cuts or other such specialist cuts. It seems that the reasoning behind this idea is that Makita believe that, due to its extremely easy starting characteristics, its dealer network will no doubt sell many to the homeowner market, and having a safety chain fitted will help to avoid accidents. For
professional use, once the original chain is worn out, its replacement can be a more standard chain offering better performance. The saw, like so many other manufacturers’ saws, is supplied with a star sprocket, which, once worn out, can be replaced with an off-the-shelf rim or Powermate sprocket.

The anti-vibration system is comprised of a steel spring system, providing good operator comfort. A criticism of some Makita saws in the past was that their air filters weren’t large enough. I’m pleased to say that this is one issue the designers at Makita have worked on and they have provided an adequately proportioned air filter. The start system is very positive, with a primer bubble if needed. The starter system is strong and, especially considering that this saw will probably be continually switched on and off, it is a vast improvement on some of the current saws on the market.

Another feature of interest is the exhaust port. I was slightly doubtful about it, as exhaust seems to exit from the muffler close to the front handle, yet it didn’t heat up our hands or any such inconvenience. By being situated near the centre it avoids being built up with the
inevitable crud that will accumulate, when using such a small saw which has the exhaust port on its side or corner near the bar, to limb softwoods. Having the exhaust port near the centre also helps to avoid making dry moss or lichen start to smolder, which does happen if the exhaust port is close to the bark, especially during felling cuts. As mentioned earlier, the prime benefit of this saw is its easy starting when there is a need for continual stopping and starting. This is especially so with tree surgery, when the worker needs to tie a branch, partially cut, then retie and complete the cut.

Unfortunately the tree surgery that we undertake is mostly that used for tree falling, where
surgery or limb removal is purely to save the quality sawlog, and by its nature it involves the removal of large limbs, or their crippling with boring cuts. Thus, for the trial period, the DCS4301 was mostly used at the timber yard cutting seasoned and fresh-sawn boards to customers’ orders. During this time it easily cut anything within its capacity ranging from kiln-dried 4” thick oak to part-seasoned 8x5 oak beams.

During the trial we had quite a few timber framed components to make. Generally we use a chainsaw to remove the vast bulk of the waste on the joints and then use chisels to shave down to size. Thus, the better the chainsaw works, the easier it is further on. For this purpose we found that the Makita DCS4301 was easy to control, good to handle and easy to start, despite the countless stop/start cycles. We further used the saw on some thinning work. This basically involved thinning very densely grown small diameter naturally regenerating ash, material which was ideal for this saw. Time and time again my staff and I enjoyed using the 4301 – it was well balanced, and as some said, a sweet saw to use. Some of its perceived downsides were merely that and were unfounded, but I do have concerns with one particular aspect of the design.

The sprocket cover is mostly plastic and not too rigid – in fact it gets some of its rigidity from
the chain catcher, which is moulded into the sprocket cover and rests against the saw body. In an ideal world nobody ever throws a chain, but if awkward cuts are taken, especially if the chain is a little too slack, it might easily run off the guidebar and get caught by the chain catcher. The chain catcher being plastic will possibly be damaged by the chain, so what happens if this was to occur once or twice? The chain catcher will no longer provide a supporting role for the sprocket cover. Hence there will be a need to replace the complete cover with its integral chain catcher.

Overall, all those that used the Makita DCS4301 were pleasantly surprised. All regarded it as a very sweet, user-friendly saw to use, and apart from the small issue concerning the chain catcher, we would be more than happy to buy a Makita DCS4301 should we need such a
saw. Arwyn Morgan