Farmall Cub

Well, I am chainsaw poor and I am thinking of buying a Stihl after having a couple of Sears saws in the past. (One lasted 10 years, the other 2 years)

I don't cut wood for a living or anything but we have a large property to take care of and I do cut down a tree about once a year.

Anyone have any recomendations.

Thanks, I am looking at a Farm Boss I think it is Model 290. 18" bar.

Thackery

Thackery:

I have had Homelite's, used them for years - wore em out and now I have a Poulan. For me that is all I need and the price was right. If you are going after a Stihl then you are going to have a good saw. Stihl, Jonsered and Husqvarna are very good saws.. any model in that group will serve you well for years. Course that is JIMHO...

Doug, the Farm Boss is a good one. You should be happy with it.

i use a husqvarna 55 rancher, i have used it fot over 10 years. i am very happy with it. stihl are good too.

Stihl is a top notch saw, you will be happy with the farm boss, I even have an automatic cranking one for the wife, will have to look at the # tonight on it. My brother has had a 028 for years

All my wood cutting buddies are nuts over their Stihl saws. Those mentioned above are all good saws, except I've seen too many problems with Poulan. Add Echo to the list of good ones.

Doug,

I “inherited” several Stihl gas yard power tools from my father in law 20 years ago, that were purchased new in the mid 70’s and have always been sound machines. One of which was a chainsaw, and I have used it reliably off and on for anything from light trimming to felling many trees (though not anywhere near Cowboys level! ). If you go that route it will likely last many years.

I went the “value” route on yard blowers and after running thru about 3 of the cheapies I bought a Stihl blower, a much nicer machine for sure and hopefully will last a long time.

I did finally decide to spend a few bucks on the chainsaw and had all the rubber vibration bushings replaced and it tuned up. I was a bit dumbfounded by the dealer telling me that neither the tune up parts (points/condenser), nor the tool needed to access them were no longer available. My son in law “knows someone” who said he would fix it, so hopefully that will be the case, I love that saw!

Good luck,

I have heard that the Sears Craftsmen saws are really Poulan. The last Craftsmen saw lasted about 1.5 years, then the cylinder started binding up. I looked in through the spark plug hole and could see flakes of metal. I know that my gas mix was always correct, I just think it was poorly made.
The chain adjuster was a constant problem also.

Actually I just think I can justify a higher class saw.

Heading out this morning with the intention on getting a Stihl of some sort, I'll wait to see what the dealer has to say.

Thackery

Thackery
Just went yesterday and got A new trimmer . Stihl dealers around hear have a sale going on , I own 2 Stihl saws and haven’t had any problems --Dave

Thachery
I'm big with Husqvarna. I recently Purchased a 455 rancher that is a mean saw. I opted to get the 20" bar on it which for me was a good idea. In the past three weeks I have dropped around nine trees and cleaned them all up without a problem. total i have dropped about 25 trees with it so far. The saw cuts great as it should. Just have to be ready if it bites in to something. has a lot of torque and will yank you around.
Just my 2 cents.
Mr Joshua

MS 250 is the EZ start stihl that I got my wife

I have a 290 Farm Boss.
Good saw with a good heater.

I ended up getting a MS 290 Stihl Farm Boss. Cut a couple of smaller things and had great results.
I hope this saw will last me for the next 20 years. I don't cut that much so it should cover that with no problem.
I'm helping to clean up an old timber frame barn, that's being demolished, and will be making some cuts on that as well.
I'll do my best avoiding nails, dirt, and non-wood items.
Thanks for everyones input.

Thackery

Hi Doug,

I've been cutting firewood for over 30 years and have always used old school homelite XL-12's. Last year I went shopping for a new saw and I bought a
stihl ms290 farmboss. For the money it is a lot of saw and I didn't realize what I had been missing all those years! I opted for the 16 inch bar, but I use the chisel chain, which is a very aggressive chain that throws chunks, not sawdust!

Paul F

ps-put your rockshaft on my 52 cub this week and it works great.

I looked at the more aggressive chain, which the dealer warned me had kick-back I should be prepared for.
I went with the original chain.
Thackery