What Did You Buy Today?

I keep an 18V Milwaukee recip. saw in my pickup when out in the woods. I use a 9 amp battery in it and a long demolition blade. I can cut through a 6" diameter limb pretty quickly, and worry my way through a somewhat larger piece if I am patient. The big battery is necessary, and a smaller one won't put out the needed power. If I am going out after a storm, I throw in the gas-powered saw, since I often encounter debris that are too large for the recip.

I find that the recip. and demolition blade are good for cutting off roots. The blade doesn't dull in dirt like a chainsaw does, and it gives good access and control.
 
We have a 40V Ryobi pole saw which is decent though the only other one I've used is a 14V (?) B&D Worx. My biggest problem with it is the battery life (depending if I'm using a 2 Ah or 5 Ah) isn't sync'd with the bar oil. My Stihl gas saws run out of gas before they run out a bar oil; no risk for a dry bar. With the electric, the bar oil on our pole saw is gone WAY before the battery goes. I'm lazy and like the poka yoka of the gas; with the electric, the burden is on me to diligently check my oil level which is a PITA through the nearly opaque reservoir. But, it's better than the alternative, which was the fiberglass pole with a pruning blade.

Bruce
 
Larry$ said:
Long ago, when I was heating on wood, I had a Stihl with a 32" bar. It started and ran well for years until someone broke the lock off my garage. I had bought it when I was working heavy construction clearing land for rural dams. A local pallet mill would give me logs that were either too short or crooked for their mill. Stihls are worth their price.
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I have a 1977 McCulloch 610 that is getting more difficult to locate parts for but it has been such a great saw....
 
Last year I bought an 8",18V Milwaukee chain saw, and used it for clearing/trimming scrub oak on the trail system I'm building on the top of my 30 acres, along with the top of my neighbors place. I had my doubts, but it is a real work horse, and one 6.5ah battery generally lasts longer than I do. The chain oiler on it works well. Mike
 
It would be interesting to know what type and size trees you guys are cutting. All the "cordless" chainsaws I've tried sorely lacked for power and battery life. For me they seem to work ok on soft woods like pine, birch, cedar and similar less than a foot in diameter. They don't work well for oak, ash, and hickory over 6" to 8" in diameter.
 
projectnut said:
It would be interesting to know what type and size trees you guys are cutting. All the "cordless" chainsaws I've tried sorely lacked for power and battery life. For me they seem to work ok on soft woods like pine, birch, cedar and similar less than a foot in diameter. They don't work well for oak, ash, and hickory over 6" to 8" in diameter.
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This applies to gas chainsaws, too. I use my Stihl MS260 for fir and Maple up to about 12" diameter, but drag out the 044 for anything bigger, and Oak above 6" diameter. I keep a 20" bar on the small saw, mostly to keep from having to bend over as much. I use a 24" bar on the 044, unless the diameter is over 2 feet, and use a 32" bar for the big stuff.
 
Ultradog MN said:
The caps for the gas and bar oil are a little newfangled and I didn't get the one for the bar oil on right.
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Maybe newfangled for a guy used to a husky! Those are the same as on my MS290 from a decade ago. I like the design, they're quick to open!
 
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