I’m going to be cutting down an apple tree with a 35cm wide trunk. Fan of Echo generally but what about their chainsaws, are they any good?

I’ve had stilh and now have a Husqvarna , I won’t be getting another stilh .
For occasional use how about an electric one ?

35cm? Do it by hand, canny seriously buy a chainsaw for one tree!

Get a man in

Chainsaws are dangerous in untrained hands.

That’s why I don’t have one.

I also have a Husqvarna 135 it’s excellent.

If your in Glasgow I’ll come and cut it down for you.

Where are you? In W. Lancs and I’ll cut it down. You’ll have to clear it away!

As above, don’t bother unless you are prepared to buy all the protective gear and go on a proper course to learn how to use it with minimal risk, and maintain it.

Get a man in for a one off job.

Just for balance

I’ve had stilhHusqvarna and now have a stilh I won’t be getting another Husqvarna

.
Both are very good.

But as above, why buy a saw for 10 mins work?

A good hand saw will get that down in no time.

While I find this place has many members with phobias of chainsaws, I’ll say be careful with the tree. 14″ diameter is a fair size to mess with.

now to the question. echo saws are great but do you have a necho dealer nearby for spares/repairs if needed? stihl and husky both have a good dealer network.

if you happen to be near crystal palace i’ll…..tell you where to buy your saw from

OOPS. If 35cm is 14″ then a hand saw is out. (I’m no good with French measures)

If the trunk is 14″ then there is likely to be many sizeable branches. Even “small” branches can take some dropping.

Get a man in

Get someone in.

if you’re near crystal palace I can also recommend a good man to get in (my tree guy buddy and supplier of all my firewood…which i cut with a husky and a stihl…both great and would recommend either)

Electric one. Quiet, really good brake can be had for reasonable money.

As far as should you use one I can’t say. Some people are not very good with potentially dangerous tools. If you are familiar with other high velocity tools and know how to stand how things kick etc then it will be commonn snese. If all you have operated is an electric screwdriver and you managed to nearly kill yourself, maybe a chain saw it not for you

P.s cool user name. First name “On a”?

If you know what you’re doing a Stihl is the way to go.

If you don’t know what you’re doing get someone in. If you’re Bedfordshire/Northants based then I can highly recommend the company Jnr works for.

I’m going on a chainsaw training course aswell as a pole pruner course and a stump grinding course. It’s going to be an expensive exercise, I’m aware of that, much more than hiring a team to do it but I’m thinking of carrying out ground-based chainsaw work commercially. Getting the other two certs will enable me to be more autonomous without the necessity of bringing in another set of hands. The tree’s ours, is dead and will make a very good training exercise since it’s not beyond the height of my pole pruner.

I’m not at this stage ruling out electric and I don’t intend to be felling trees on a weekly basis, perhaps no more than three times a year unless I find a team that’ll take me on over the winter and help provide me some experience.

Oh and thanks for the offers to cut it down but I really want to take this opportunity whilst it’s here. It’s not often that trees in the back garden die! Of course I won’t be touching it until I’ve had training.

If 35cm is 14″ then a hand saw is out.

Nonsense. More than do-able. Stihl here, great saw, but agree with the comments that say a) don’t get a chainsaw for one job and b) if you’ve not chainsawed before then they can be dangerous. You’ll need at least some protection in addition to the saw itself, so will end up costing a lot more than getting someone to do it, even without medical bills 🙂

Seriously, though, a good axe and a couple of wedges and/or saw and you could fell that without a chainsaw.

dead trees are more dangerous as they get brittle and can both drop limbs and snap the hinge very easily. mind how you go.

If you want to do tree work don’t get a little home owner saw, spend the extra on a pro model saw. Something like 50ccand a 15″ bar will do a great deal. Do your course first, and you’ll get the chance to use one or 2 and pick the brains of the instructors.
Stihl are not better than husky, both a great, so is echo, or dolmar/makita or jonsered. consider who your local dealer is and what they sell…if you can’t get a saw fixed you’ll hate it.

if you want better tips get on arbtalk, opefourm or arboristsite. the last 2 are primarily american but much more active than arbtalk.

@neilnevill I usually get my stuff from a shop which I’m sure you’ll know very well judging by your nickname 😉

Though I just realised there’s an extra ‘e’ on the road name in which it’s based.

For felling trees axes are alot of fun. Chopping them up not so much, and that’s where the skill and danger is.

On the other hand Aldie had some cheap electric ones in, or could have been Screwfix.

If you are getting rid of the whole tree then don’t chop it down. Much easier to lop off the branches and cut the trunk to a couple of metres. Then you can dig the big roots and use the weight of the trunk to push it over pulling out the remainder of the roots. Gets much more of it out, and it’s ready for landscaping without any grinding. You can probably do the branches with a bow saw. Once the trunk is over use an electric chainsaw to slice it (or put it on Freecycle and someone else will chop it up and take it away)

I’d say like others that what ever your local repair shop sells, makes life much easier. I run a Holtzfforma Stihl MS 660 copy with a 36″ bar for cutting up My big tree trunks it runs flat out for tank after tank but you wouldn’t want to get it around all day.

For small stuff I run a cheap Amazon 62cc easy start Parker chainsaw with decent chains on it, I’ve run it for two years, it’s a £100 if it goes pop I buy a replacement. I used to have all decent Stihl stuff till they all got stolen. I replaced twice and after that I said sod that.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/62CC-20-PETROL-CHAINSAW-CHAINS/dp/B00M9BBTT4/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=62cc+petrol+chainsaw&qid=1559595795&s=gateway&sprefix=62cc+&sr=8-4-spell

Nick, that’s a far too sensible suggestion. I just want to be a trained and qualified at ground-level chainsaw operator. Someday I’ll do the windfell course too but that is beyond reach of even my more money than sense attitude. Once I start doing commercial work that uses this skill then it’ll pay itself off.

Peppar, I completely understand how you feel about tool theft. It’s shit and is the bane of the trade industry. Really unfair. I’m paranoid of my tools, never let them out of my sight and have been fortunate so far. The maximum bar size will be 15″, I won’t be cutting more than 380mm until I can afford another training course. I’ve been looking at 14″ chainsaws. 36″ bar is a looooooooooooooooooooong way off lol.

@raggatip you mean lakedale power tools? No, pure coincidence! my user name IS my name

I see from google sreetview they do stihl. there you go. i see they do makita too. makita is dolmar sachs, excellent saws….but iffy customer service in the UK in my view….they took an age to fix a safety recall problem with the 7910 last year…I’d ordered one ….then the recall happened….2 months later i cancelled the order and got a husky.

where in north croydon are you? (pm me, don’t post!) if you are close and want a go on a 365 x-torq I might be able to let you try it…Although it needs big wood, and hard wood…it rips!

Having used a saw professionally for felling and converting for the forwarder for a number of years I would strongly advise to get somebody else to do it. Chainsaws IMHO are possibly the most nasty bits of kits I have ever used. Glad to see that harvesters have taken over the job I used to do. If you simply must  Husky is my preference with the shortest bar I can get away with +  all the PPE I can muster. Seen some appalling injury’s in the past that could have been avoided. Physically the hardest job I have ever done but very rewarding when you look at the nice stacks that you have created.

Using a chainsaw, especially felling trees, ppe alone won’t keep you safe. A proper understanding of the whole job and the machinery you’re using, as well as decent techniques/ skills/ experience (from working with others) are also required to keep you as safe as possible. You need to understand that even with this if you’re felling trees, you’re never fully out of danger. I’ve done a lot of chainsaw work over the yrs and although I enjoyed it at the time I shudder thinking of the close calls I had despite a decent understanding of the job, training, good equipment and mentoring from others.

I’ve done chainsaw training for an old job – I’d probably get someone in to do it.

Bloody horrid things chainsaws.

But rarrrr lumberjack, man , grrrrrr!

Will I die if I do the CS30 & CS31 and then use a chainsaw?

No.

I’ve done none of those, and have been using my husky for 10 years.

I don’t think I’m dead….

Stihl MS181.. small / light and will cut most things you will want to.
Get some proper ppe… trousers, boots and a helmet with visor and defenders.
Just be aware of how you will get kickback and maybe get a stihl sharpening guide as you wont cut much with a blunt chain.

If considering doing it commercially and starting with one saw then I’d have a Husqvarna 562XP. Two saws then 572 XP and a 550XP. I’ve had all and they will earn you lots of money whilst being trouble free.

Also be aware that for your CS30/31 there is criteria on the saw if you use your own. Your PPE must meet the ability of the saw. ie class 3 trousers etc. On my course a lot of people used the equipment supplied by the trainers. No compliance issues that way. Good courses and you will learn lots. Within a few weeks the saw and training will have more than covered itself.

@lotto as far as I know the only criteria is max 15″ bar and this would be the max that I’d want. Although I know some chainsaws can fit a smaller bar to replace the original. That 550XP would be more like it but still spendy for a first chainsaw.

Felling dead trees has additional considerations. I would be doubtful it’ll get covered in any depth in a beginners chainsaw course.

If I had any desire to do tree work I’d just buy a 550.

Regards the restrictions on using your own saw, I seem to remember there being a max power rating of around 3KW which effectively pushed you to 50cc and under?  Your clothing has to be rated above your max chain speed on the saw you use as well. I used my own 346 with type C class 3 trousers which was acceptable.

346 xp was a great saw.. would love to find a decent second hand one. Emphasis on decent.

Sure was. Especially ported. Mine is  still running strong. Incidentally you are not allowed modified saws on training courses. Mine was done a while later. A 346 ported is better out the box than a 550 mk 2.

There are handsaws that will do that – how about the Silky Katana Boy 650