chainsaws

Peter,
Haven't read 8596, but I can tell you that almost everyone where I live uses Stihl. Just make sure it is a German build and not a US build saw. the retailer should know this. Down here they actually advertise MADE IN GERMANY as part of the display. Hope this helps
Rolande

Bought the Talon, have had no problems at all. I did however change the original chain, it was a cheapy that went blunt pretty quickly.

I have used about once per month for track clearing and cutting fire wood for the camp fire. On one particular track we were using both the Talon and a 14" Stihl, both cut either end of one big log at the same rate.

One word of advice though, being a male the last thing you do is read the instructions. As a result I had all sorts of trouble trying to start the thing. Swore at myself for going the cheapie. Then SWMBO read the instructions which said......"prime the fuel with 10 pumps of the primer, 4 pulls of the starter cord on full choke and 4 fulls on 1/2 choke", bingo starts that way every time ! Needless to say SWMBO giggles every time I go through this starting procedure.

Another advantage is the fuel mixture is 25:1, same as the lawn mower so I don't have different cans of fuel for my 2 strokes.

Cheers

Buggerlux

Hi Peter,
I have the Talon. Really only bought it to cut firewood at home but has come in very handy on trips too. I too had to replace the original chain, It does the job very well. Have had no problems at all.
I use synthetic oil for it as i have an old It175H trail bike that requires a mixed fuel, so i the same fuel for everything i own including chain saw mower.

regards Angelo

Peter
Both are good saws but i use the Husqvarna which starts every time and goes great
Each to their own i guess
Tim

My Dad gave me his Stihl. Its at least 35 years old and has cut up many trees. Has only ever had chains replaced. If I was buying a new one it would have to be a Stihl.

Gaz

A fellow in the logging industry once told me that you can't go past the Husquvarna in the small saws. I bought one and have not had any problems in many years of use. Have gone through quite a few chains, it has never been in for a service - I just clean it regularly and check the plug once every so often. Usually cheaper than the Stihl.

I use a Shindaiwa and find it great. They have quite a good name as well as Stihl/Husquvarna (sp?).

Stihl's are famous for being hard to start and some have a mean kickback. A great saw for pro's though. Ive used many different saws and huskies are a good buy imho for the handyman user.

matt

Peter I have a 28yr old MacCulloch and a 2 yo Stihl only because I broke the Mac and bought the Stihl and found a part for the Mac for $50 and repaired it all myself. The stihl is lighter and has the same power but the Mac cuts better due to its heavy weight. If I was buying new I would go the Stihl, then maybe a Husqvarna or Poulan. FWIW

I was lanscaping for 15 years and had a number of Stihl's couple of Shindawa's, never heard of Talon, always wanted a Husky but cost more and crew did'nt value tools like I do. All usually gave good service. Toward the end of my career I was told by the shop (Stihl supplier) that they were now using pressed conrods in their smaller models. Since then I have bought a Husky 128T 14", used about 4 times over the last 12 mnths, firewood and track clearing, still on the original blade. A spare was was thown is because the shop wouldn't give me $ off. Cost about $300. Buy a Husky if you can!
Regards Shane

Sthill, Husky the Shinys all good saws. I ran a lopping biz for 4 years (5 years ago) down in Sydney and we ran Husky and Sthill and found the larger Huskys to be bullet proof and the small purpose built climbing saws by Sthill where better than the eqeivalant Huskys. Now I run a Large area lawn mowing and landscape managment biz and all my guys love the Shiny gear and would pick up one of our Shinys over the Huskys and that go's for Brush cutters, Chainers, Pole pruners, Back pac blowers and all the rest. All I buy now is Shiny gear cause the guys like it so much. But having said that, they don't use and never have used saws on a daily basis and when it comes to saws I would (me personaly) go in the Huskvarna direction. I use a Husky 55 Rancher and a Husky 395XP (32" Bar... lol) around my property and can't fault them.

All three brands make good saws in diferent ways. It's what ever tickles ya fancy at the end of the day. User,Conditions,Power,Wieght etc all contribute to make a saw that fells right in YOUR hands, conditions and expectations.

Most good Power Equip dealers will let you demo before you hand over the cash and I would take this opt if I where you.

If you want my biast opinion I would say a Huskvarna 55 Rancher would/is a great all-rounder with pleanty of power for ocasional use but a little heavy. A lighter more operater friendly alternative would be a Shindaiwa 360.

Hope this helps.

I am in the tree lopping business and if you just want a chainsaw for track clearing and firewood you couldn't go past a Stihl, if not then Husqvarna.

I've got a Talon. I don't use it often enough to warrant anything else. Cost me $194 from Bunnings. It works very well. No doubt the Stihl and the husky are best but for value for money Talon is the go...Yep, starting is a bit to get used to!

cheers
mike

Stihls have mean kick back? any chain saw in the world has "mean" kickback. in my expierience any husky under 60cc is of poor build quailty, may not be in all cases but with frequent use parts wear, and quickly, never had any problems at all with any stihl. other then your broken clutch spring every now and again,(frequent use) i suggest if your going into the boonies with a saw you learn how to do basic maintenance ie, sharpening chain, replacing clutch springs, flushing fuel and oil tanks, cleaning air filters adjusting idle and fuel ratio, bla bla bla. the standard chain on all saws is supposedly "sharp" but it aint, they all need a touch up, there maybe different types of chain out that stays sharper then others, but if you want to keep your chain sharp try and refrain from cutting too low to the ground, or through dirty log nothing makes a chain loose its edge quicker then dirt or hitting the ground, obviously nails etc... are the worst but if your out in the scrub clearing tracks it shouldnt be too much of an issue... 1 final thing though the most dangerous of all saws are the small pruning saws stihl 020t etc.. just because there so small people tend to be less cautious with them rather then the BIG saws. if you havent used a chain saw b4 ALWAYS

Stihls have mean kick back? any chain saw in the world has "mean" kickback. in my expierience any husky under 60cc is of poor build quailty, may not be in all cases but with frequent use parts wear, and quickly, never had any problems at all with any stihl. other then your broken clutch spring every now and again,(frequent use) i suggest if your going into the boonies with a saw you learn how to do basic maintenance ie, sharpening chain, replacing clutch springs, flushing fuel and oil tanks, cleaning air filters adjusting idle and fuel ratio, bla bla bla. the standard chain on all saws is supposedly "sharp" but it aint, they all need a touch up, there maybe different types of chain out that stays sharper then others, but if you want to keep your chain sharp try and refrain from cutting too low to the ground, or through dirty log nothing makes a chain loose its edge quicker then dirt or hitting the ground, obviously nails etc... are the worst but if your out in the scrub clearing tracks it shouldnt be too much of an issue... 1 final thing though the most dangerous of all saws are the small pruning saws stihl 020t etc.. just because there so small people tend to be less cautious with them rather then the BIG saws. if you havent used a chain saw b4 ALWAYS read the saftey instructions, or get some one to show you that does!...
my 2 cents...

Thanks to all - no wonder this site is so popular. I have my shortlist and am off to check them out and see what deals I can get. Have used borrowed and rented saws before and did not really care or bother to notice what they were as long as they did the job for a couple of hours. Bit different when you are buying to keep!!

Thanks again

Peter

I looked around and got the same range of opinions. Went and saw a bloke who repairs a range of saws. For what I wanted - middle of the range - he recommended Jonsered (which is the same as Husquvarna). He showed me a comparison with the equivalent Stihl models - J had more alloy and less plastic, better vibration reduction, better air filter, better design generally. He wasn't bagging the Stihl, just pointing out J's more modern design and better value for money. In the higher range saws, he thought Stihl were better.

We got the Jonsered 2145, cost $650 + accessories. Very happy with it. De-compression starting makes it easy to start. Vibration is minimal.

Be careful with really cheap saws. You might quickly regret the lack of power with the base models. The repair guy also said that a lot of cheap saws break parts easily and aren't economical to repair. You do get what you pay for.

And don't skimp on cleaning and maintenance. Makes a lot of difference to the life of the saw.

Chain saws have role however being part of a Search and Rescue team we carry two chain saws in the kit but over the years the item weve used most instead of the chain saws has been the bow saw, its lighter easier to grab and providing you look after it will last for years and doesn't need fuel. Just a thought Cheers
Rolly

After all the advice research and suggestions I went to do the round of the shops and ended up buying a little Jonsered: 40 cc motor, 14" - have used it for a couple of weeks and other than being a bit hard to start at times (more likely an operator not a saw issue) it has been great with a couple of mid-sized trees and fire wood. I particularly like the anti-vibration feature because I can still feel my fingers after a couple of hours cutting. Lets see how it pans out over time. Thanks to everybody who gave their advice and experiences.

Peter