can we talk about CHAINSAWS??? Help the NOOB

So....

Electric? Gas?

Brand?

Mods?

What's up???

I practically destroyed my buddy's 16" homelite and barely used the damned thing. I can't afford to be pissing good people off borrowing their stuff & wrecking it, so it looks like I'm buying my own saw.

Help a brother out.

The Carvinator 2000!

get a makita electric with an in-line motor. They are tough and they spin up real fast and cut great
Search for chainsaws and find every post there was about chainsaws and it's fast.

This should help: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=13826&forum=7

Are you going to be using it for anything other than carving?

On 2009-06-25 22:36, seeksurf wrote:
Are you going to be using it for anything other than carving?

Nope. Maybe an occasional yard chore from time to time, but 99% of what I'm getting this for is carving.

Also, I've noticed Sears Crafstmen electric chainsaws are CHEAP, and with the warranty you could pretty much burn 'em out & keep returning 'em & getting new ones forever. Is the Makita so much better to use that it warrants spending $250 as opposed to $50? I'm kinda thinking about trying the Sears.

Should I absolutely not do this? Should I just bite the bullet and buy the Makita? Is the Sears really a horrible unit to use and not worth money saved?

Even though the stuff I've carved is total crap compared to what 4wd & some of you other guys are doing, I'm still having fun & plan on keeping it going, so should I just not be a cheap-ass and pony up the cash for the Makita if I'm in for the long haul?

Don't be afraid to be completely blunt here!

Gas

-At least two powerheads

-One setup for 1/4 pitch and one for 3/8 pitch chain

-Run a sprocket tip and a quarter tip bar on the 3/8 pitch

-Run a dime tip bar on the 1/4 pitch

Or

-Get any cheap electric saw and beat the hell out of it........then get two gas saws set up as above.

-G

I would google the sears saw with the words "review" and "opinion", to find out how people that bought them like them.

Also, I thought the craftsman lifetime replacement warranty is only on hand tools, not on any power tools. That's what they told me when I bought a drill, anyways.

My bottom line, I never used an electric, but for $50, it would be a great tool to learn on.

Get what ever you can and use the heck out of it. You'll never know what you like until you try some. Tail handle? Top handle? Chizzle chain? Safety chain? Sprocket tip bar? Quarter or dime tip carving bar? You can find used gas saws for 25 - 50 bucks. I see them a lot and I have purchased two or three in the last few years. I gave or traded them away too. MBL has one :) You'll likely find Poulan and Craftman saws at yard sales or flea markets. I found a Poulan for 15 bucks. It ran like a raped ape. Look in the paper or on Craig's list. Bottom line.....get one and start carving. It doesn't matter if it is gas or electric or nuclear - just get one cheap and start having fun. Oh, yeah, and wear saftey gear!

-G

On 2009-06-29 17:29, GMAN wrote:
Get what ever you can and use the heck out of it. You'll never know what you like until you try some. Bottom line.....get one and start carving. It doesn't matter if it is gas or electric or nuclear - just get one cheap and start having fun. Oh, yeah, and wear saftey gear!

-G

True ... true. If you like carving and plan to stick with it, then get the one that Benzart suggests. I use a Dolmar electric, which is basically a re-badged Makita. I've had it for sbout 4-5 years now. Remember though, it is not the saw, but the hand that guides it.

On 2009-06-29 17:29, GMAN wrote:

.....It ran like a raped ape.

-G

HAAA HAAAAAAA HAHAAAAAA HAAAAAAAAA. MAN thats the phrase that pays!!!! I laughed my ass off when i read that. I bought an electric craftsman for $20.00 new on ebay. so far it works better and quieter than my poulon...lighter too. i figured starting out a cheaper saw is my throw away until i get better at what i do.

...raped ape....dman thats funny. thanks for the laugh GMAN.

:)

I wanted a chainsaw, so I went down to the Home Depot and bought the small Homelite electric model. It now sits collecting dust in my work shop. I figured that since I wasn't going to use it but to carve tikis, I could go cheap and be ok. I was wrong. It ran ok for about 5 cuts and thats it.

I don't know if anyone else has a Homelite that they like, but my experence isn't good.

I spoke to the dude at Sears, and essentially I can get a 3 year unlimited exchange warranty for their electric and extra 12 bucks & change. I figure that at about 70 bucks with tax & the warranty, it'll be a good, cheap learner, and maybe a back-up saw if I decide to upgrade down the road.

I took 4wd's advice & read a few online reviews where they tested it side by side with some other more expensive models and most were pretty positive.

Baby steps....

Hey there... first post of hopefully more. Been lurking through here and wanting to post but feeling unworthy still.. But.. I can contribute here somewhat.

I bought a Sears gas chainsaw at an outlet center, re-conditioned, for $70. I've used it to chop down and prune trees (was into landscaping). The thing is still running like a charm, never had to service it and only needed to sharpen the chain every once in a bit (and I'm brutal with it). I loooove it! Maybe I just got lucky but I would say if you want to go Sears, I've had zero issues.

But we'll see, I'm hoping to get it into some carving so maybe I'll kill it yet...lol

Done deal.

Just got back from Sears, and it was $70 bucks out the door. I guess it's actually a discontiued item, but they'll give me full purchase value if I burn it out.

We'll see how she flies.

Read through the post and have some questions. Here is my plan, and please correct me if any part of this is wrong. I plan to buy a electric chainsaw at Home Depot and purchase a separate carving bar. As far as the saw, I am wondering what Horse Power is recommended. I have seen 1.5HP - 4HP. I assume the more HP, the faster and cleaner it will rip through the log. And as for the carving bar - dime/quarter, I have read that you can use a standard chain (as in the stock chain that comes with the saw) on the quarter bar but NOT the dime bar.

All in all I need the saw, an extension chord, and the bar - correct? Any modifications or changes when putting the quarter bar on?

Appreciate the help.

-PutiTiki

Have you used a chainsaw before? Have you carved any tikis before? What size tikis are you planning in carving?

IMO, I would use the bar and chain that comes with whichever saw you buy. Use it for a while, get as good as you can with that bar. Chances are, it'll do fine for you, unless you're going to do scrollwork on a 1 foot tiki.

I would get the highest rated HP you can. I would also get a chain file and learn how to keep your chain sharp. It makes ALL the difference!

^ ditto that ^

A dull chainsaw is about as useless as big boobs on a nun! (and almost as frustrating).

Hey bro, go get one from Sears like I did and pay extra for the exchange warranty, that way you can just keep killin' em and switching 'em out.