I'm thinking of buying a chain saw........

[No2W2004]

isn't there a company in Minnesota that makes 'em?

Damn...wish I could remember that company's name....

[Catch22Dem]

1. YOU ASK TONY BLAIR WHO MAKES THAT CHAINSAW!!!!

You ASK HIM!

[Philostopher]

2. NEED SUM WOOD?

Y'know to cut with your chain saw?

I do believe this is my 3,000th post! Weeeeee!

[Ron Green]

6. congratulations...I'll celebrate by doing my 400th with you!

I just need one more.....

[Philostopher]

7. Go for it! Congrats!

and NO2W, by the way, y'all, was waiting for this response.

Everybody, together now --

You forgot Poulan:

http://www.poulan.com/products/chainsaws.asp

[Ron Green]

8. Thanks! I was goin' to get everybody's opinion on this, but I just can't

remember the method. You know, how to find out what people are thinkin'.

[Bossy Monkey]

12. Oh all right. It's been almost an hour and nobody'll say it for you:

YOU FORGOT POLLIN'!

[Philostopher]

15. Dang -- I missed the spike!

I signed off and went to bed. Glad somebody got it!

[No2W2004]

10. awww...I feel like such a traitor now

damn!

[Wapsie B]

3. Two of the better one's are

Husqvarna (sp) and Johnsrud

Stihl's saws aren't bad either

[Lefta Dissenter]

4. .

[xray s]

5. Don't know about Minnesota, but Stihl makes a pretty good one

It's what I use...if anyone tries to rip up my Kerry/Edwards lawn sign...

[Old and In the Way]

9. Love my Stihl!

I've got a 50A woodlot surrounding the house and use it quite a bit for thinning, clearing, firewood etc. I've had (2) 024's for 10 years....great power, balance, and not too heavy. Right sized class for the ocaissional user.

[aQuArius]

11. Poulan makes a great 18" Wild Thing!!

no joke!

[underpants]

14. POULAN! He forgot Poulan!

:bounce:

[Vitruvius]

13. Be sure to get the protective helmet and pants. And beware of kickback.

And be especially careful if you're using it to cut brush.

P.S: Stihl has an excellent safety video -- most Stihl dealers will lend it to you for free.

[pdx_prog]

16. I have worked for one of the

major chain saw and accessory companies for the last 20 years. What you buy depends on what you need it for. If you want a very good saw for winter wood cutting (smaller wood) a Husqvarna 136 is a very good saw (made in USA too). Any of the Huskys are excellent. Stihl is excellent also, but pricy. Home Depot has a good selection of Echo saws, and Homelite saws. Makita is also coming up in the saw business, they make several good models.

[jmowreader]

17. Don't buy a Homelite!

The Echo saws we sell are decent, as are the Husqvarnas Sears has and the Jonsereds they sell at Lowe's. Homelites are terrible and I wouldn't buy a Poulan either, but Poulan is head and shoulders above Homelite. Given a Home Depot Consumer Credit Card and a mandate to purchase a saw, I would get Echo first, Poulan second.

(Fun trivia: in Sweden, Husqvarna and Jonsered co-own the factory that builds their chain saws. This helps them out because they get better prices on things like chains, gas tanks, fuel lines and fasteners by purchasing in bulk--and they only have to heat one complex. They do run completely separate manufacturing lines, though; Husky engine parts won't fit on a Jonsered.)

Stihl is expensive because it's sold only by independent saw shops; you'll never see Stihl at Home Depot or Lowe's. Lowe's only has the small Jonsereds and Sears only has the small Huskys; the big stuff loggers and farmers like are only sold at independent saw shops. If you go to an independent shop, some of them carry both Stihl and Husqvarna or Stihl and Jonsered, so you can compare. (I think Husky and Jonsered have the same deal with their big boxes that John Deere has with us--sales are only at list price so someone won't go to the independent store, beat the guy up for an hour asking questions then go to the big box to save ten bucks. I don't know if it's exactly like the JD deal, in which each Home Depot is paired with a John Deere dealer for service and setup, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were. In Fayetteville, you can't take delivery of an L100-series tractor from the dealer--he has one of each, but when you buy one they send you to us to take delivery of it. We get credited for the sale, so that's cool with us. They do it this way because of his location--he's in a place where he couldn't expand his shop to store lawn tractor inventory.)

[pdx_prog]

18. The new Homelites

are actually made by Ryobi now. There are two models at HD that are fairly decent....much better han they used to be. Right now, if a person wants a decent low-cost saw the Homelite 33AV and the Timberman 45 are a pretty good choice. If you want to move up in quality (and spend more) the Echo CS-345 or the CS-440 are a good choice. Electrolux owns Husqvarna, Poulan, Jonsered and Partner. The US Husqvarnas and Poulans are made in the same factory now.

Given a choice, I would go with Husqvarna....

[skygazer]

19. I recommend Husqvarna

I've used many chain saws in my long life but I've always preferred Huskys. Stihl is good, too but I'd rather have a Husky. Believe me, a chain saw is one thing you don't want to skimp on when it comes to quality!

If you don't already know how to do it, learn how to sharpen it - a dull saw is NOT a good idea. And don't use it like Dubya - with the log uphill from you and your foot on it! Every time I see that footage, I laugh - what a moran!