[BrimwoodFarm]

Was browsing online to try and find a decent, compact chainsaw and I suddenly thought - 'someone at TAS will know' 

I'm looking for a relatively small chainsaw that can be run off either petrol or battery <- I know NOTHING about chainsaws. It's for some forestry and hedge management I need to do but the land is a 2hr drive away so I need to something I can throw in the car and easily power up at the other end with a decent amount of usage time.

Any ideas? What do you all use?

Geoff

[pgkevet]

I have petrol chainsaws.. a small aldi one and a large stihl 25" bar which does get heavy. The aldi one is OK and cheap for occasional use. I used to have a small stihl which i sold to buy the bigger one and that was a nice saw but as an individual it was a bit  of a pig to start. Both the current ones go first or second pull.

It really depends on what you're cutting and how long you plan to cut for. Battery would be nice if the usage time is long enough or you have extra batteries. I noticed that lidll have a battery pole saw on their special purchase list.. a cheap price for that and claimed to have 60mins run time. If i didnlt own a petrol pole saw I'd buy it.

Don't forget the safety equipment. I almost came a cropper last year when I was too lazy to put the chainsaw pants on and had the nearest possible miss (destroyed the jeans but didn't touch me)

http://www.frjonesandson.co.uk/products-page/machines/chainsaws-pole-saws/

[farmershort]

Whereabouts are you? Your local farm retailer should probably be able to advise you a bit.

I've just got a stihl 361 to replace my aged ml310. The 361 is a little less torquey than the old 310, but much lighter and still more of less as powerful.

That said, the 361 will happily run an 18 inch or even 20 inch bar, and from what you've described, that make be severe overkill for you. I'm not sure on the 2 models down from a 361, but if I were you I'd probably find the stihl saw options which are shipped with 14 inch bar as standard. You won't need more than that for a bit of hedge and coppice work.

Someone will be along shortly to tell you about chainsaw courses no doubt

[BrimwoodFarm]

I have petrol chainsaws.. a small aldi one and a large stihl 25" bar which does get heavy. The aldi one is OK and cheap for occasional use. I used to have a small stihl which i sold to buy the bigger one and that was a nice saw but as an individual it was a bit  of a pig to start. Both the current ones go first or second pull.

It really depends on what you're cutting and how long you plan to cut for. Battery would be nice if the usage time is long enough or you have extra batteries. I noticed that lidll have a battery pole saw on their special purchase list.. a cheap price for that and claimed to have 60mins run time. If i didnlt own a petrol pole saw I'd buy it.

Don't forget the safety equipment. I almost came a cropper last year when I was too lazy to put the chainsaw pants on and had the nearest possible miss (destroyed the jeans but didn't touch me)

http://www.frjonesandson.co.uk/products-page/machines/chainsaws-pole-saws/

Great to know there's some decent battery ones out there. And thanks for tip about safety wear; I certainly don't want an accident - esp two hours from home! I'll have to keep my eye out for the Lidl one; their website doesn't offer a search function which is a little frustrating. I've a couple near me so might pop in and see if they have anything.

[BrimwoodFarm]

Whereabouts are you? Your local farm retailer should probably be able to advise you a bit.

I've just got a stihl 361 to replace my aged ml310. The 361 is a little less torquey than the old 310, but much lighter and still more of less as powerful.

That said, the 361 will happily run an 18 inch or even 20 inch bar, and from what you've described, that make be severe overkill for you. I'm not sure on the 2 models down from a 361, but if I were you I'd probably find the stihl saw options which are shipped with 14 inch bar as standard. You won't need more than that for a bit of hedge and coppice work.

Someone will be along shortly to tell you about chainsaw courses no doubt

Yeah, I don't need a massive, heavy duty thing. The largest trees I'll be dealing with are some sycamore saplings which haven't grown too huge. Thanks! I'll have a little browse of those stihl's.

[Womble]

There's a Husqvarna 'landowner' range that would be well worth checking out (like this 236 model for instance). I think a nice small lightweight saw with a 13" or 14" bar would be perfect for the work you're talking about.

I started off with a Black & Decker electric chainsaw, but TBH in comparison with a decent petrol one, it was a toy (and a flimsy unsafe one at that!).

[pgkevet]

The lidl stuff available 1st sept.... http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/our-offers-2491.htm?id=932

If only a few small saplings then a question of whether you even need a chainsaw. I'm currently dealing with a couple of my hedges that have been neglected since before my time here. It's a mix of hazel, willow, sycamore, hawthorn and some sections of awful blackthorn including self-set shrubs invading the field. The amount of overhang intrudes into the field by 8 feet and stops me getting the tractor/topper right up to the fence line. It's actually easier to use a mix of  long-handled loppers and a silky : http://www.frjonesandson.co.uk/products-page/forestry-equipment/pruning-saws1/fixed-blade-saws/

I can cut 2" willow with the loppers or 1.5" blackthorn. Anything thicker and a few strokes of the silky and it's sawn through - and one can saw level with the ground without resharpening a chain. Since it also needs constant tugging of the brash out of the hedge and care handling the blackthorn I don't end up with petrol saw just ticking away on the ground or being restarted. I can also reach over the wire into the hedge with the loppers and get into spaces a chainsaw wouldn't. Also I don't need to wear sweaty PPE - just good leather chainsaw gloves to handle the thorns.

Compared to cheap pruning saws a silky is amazing and tucks into a belt sheath.

[chrismahon]

We also rely more on a Silky hand saw combined with Fiskars anvil loppers. We also have a Silky pole saw for the high stuff.


We still have a Black and Decker electric chainsaw which, as said, is flimsy and dangerous and is on its last legs. Having bought two Stihl electric appliances and found them excellent (hedge trimmer and strimmer) our next electric chainsaw will be a Stihl 14". When necessary they are run off a Honda EU2.0 generator.


We have a Stihl 18" petrol chainsaw but it is thirsty and heavy and is therefore very rarely used.

[BrimwoodFarm]

Oh awesome, thanks for that [member=16228]pgkevet[/member]. I've got a couple of Lidl stores near me so I'll pop in on Thursday and hopefully be lucky. Based on your and [member=23925]chrismahon[/member] recommendation I think I might get a Silky hand saw too. I could do with a new handheld pruner so might as well get one now.

[Foobar]

I have a Mountfield Freedom48 battery chainsaw, and two 4Ah batteries.  Works great for me.

[chrismahon]

I'm out using the Silky atm BrimwoodFarm. It's a straight bladed 330mm item called a 'Yamabico' model 407-33 and as such is also very good for general woodcraft. Built our chicken enclosure gate frame from logs using it- no screws, all cut and pegged joints.

[BrimwoodFarm]

Well, I popped down to Lidl and grabbed the £60 chainsaw that [member=16228]pgkevet[/member] originally mentioned. I'll take it up to the land this weekend and see how it does; also check just how much of that 60 minutes battery life you get.  The only downside is that is it's quite bulky being a pole saw....even when fully collapsed, it's still a good 6 foot long.

I think I'll definitely get a Silky too after all the mentions and recommendations.

[pgkevet]

A pole saw gets heavier the longer you use it  . My petrol jobbie has defo got heavier over the last 5 years.......

[BrimwoodFarm]

It will take some getting used too, the balance is totally off to what I'm used too. I haven't actually tried it on yet, but even with the shoulder strap it's quite heavy on the blade end.

[pgkevet]

It needs to be balanced like that. A preliminary cut upwards from below.. but no more than 1/4 thickness or you risk the blade getting crimped by the bough weight - then use the tip weight to cut down from above... but be ready to lift the saw off before it swings down.
First year here a large oak came down (missed wife's car by 1 inch but took out the wood store roof) and stayed 8 feet off the ground supported by it's  several snapped branches - root end up on the hill. A conventional saw would have been dangerous on a hung tree like that. I cut the whole thing up with the pole saw from safe positions - even cutting large wedges out to work my way through the thickness and then as I got back to each supporting branch taking that out. It took a few days and my shoulders were sore as heck but was a) safe b) showed what you can achieve with a small saw if you have to.