Chainsaw recommendations

[indian]

I have looked at echo cs346 and stihl chainsaws. Anyone have any recommendations for me. I will be clearing some cedar on the property that I just bought here in San Antonio, Tx.

[wushaw]

I own Stihl and have had good luck with them. Husquavarna makes good saws too.

[65hoss]

I have an 026 Stihl that is a true workhorse. Bought it new in 1996 I think. I believe the new number is 260 for the similar model now.

Some people swear by Husky, I don't know...never used one. But I would bet they are a very good saw also.

[dvmcmrhp52]

A stihl ms250 is an excellent homeowner saw.

[Cutter LLC]

Ditto on the 026 or the 260 as now called

[True Cut Lawn Maintenance]

Stihl is the best on the market as far as im concerned, around the house we had used several discount brands before buying a stihl after taking down two 70 foot walnut trees

[dfischer]

Stihl or Johnsored.

Get one w/a compression release. Don't say I didn't warn you. Buy 1 size more then your dealers say's, at least. I like the extra power and a longer bar is both safer and has more teeth = less sharpening. Just don't get carried away and get an unwieldy length. Also, if you are into topping and etc.. then you'll need to stay as small and light as you can.

I use mine for rather rare clearing of pine or cedar tree's, perhaps on the order of 3 every 2 years, but have drifted to "buying the best tool you can".

I'm now using an MS 360 Pro and certainly have no complaints.

[Lawn Masters]

Stihl or Johnsored.

I like the extra power and a longer bar is both safer and has more teeth = less sharpening. Just don't get carried away and .
Where the heck do you people get these ideas? the longer the bar is the more cutters there are, which means more sharpening, its the shorter the bar is the less cutters there are to sharpen. I know, I worked as a groundsman for a tree service for a while, this is basic knowledge of chainsaws.

The trick is to buy the saw thats the next size bigger than YOU think you need, the dealer wont know what you're cutting, he'll just want to sell something. I can recommend a Stihl MS260, or Husqvarna 346XP, which are THE BEST saws out there for midrange work. The MS260, and 346XP will not run a bar longer than 20". If you're cutting bigger stuff, I recommend a Husqvarna 372XP, if you can still find one, or a Stihl MS440, which is VERY good, and quite popular for most timber fallers, its the ideal midrange machine, midrange being between a 50cc saw, like the 026, and the 100CC saws like the 088. I have an 024 Woodboss, its kinda old ,but its a good saw, I just have to replace the piston, the previous owner ran it REALLLY lean, and stuck a ring or two.

[PLM-1]

Shindy 488. Tough and reliable!

[dfischer58]

Oldsaw:

Ah yes, I see I didn't draw a complete picture.

More teeth means less time between sharpenings, ergo more time working. You know, less frequency?

I suppose a commercial operator might consider it same same, but the odd use residencial user won't, and that is the topic at hand.

Example: I keep two chains. In 3 or 4 years I'll pay a few dollars to have them sharpened. In the meantime I want them to be sharp when I want to cut, and more teeth helps delay the wear on a per tooth basis.

Of course, my comment was mentioned along with safer and get a bit oversized anyway, and I suspect most agree as well. In total, I stand by "get a bit bigger bar"

I do want to thank you for pointing out the lack of clarity in my post. Personally, I never dreamed somebody would think a longer chain had fewer teeth, but you've reminded me that there is always that one....

[indian]

Thanks for he recommendations guys. I will go to my local dealer and check out the stihl's.