poulan saws

[mshillbilly]

I have read a lot about poulan saws in many diffrent forums, not very much of it good. I currently own a husky 272, sthil 390, 017, little poulan 2075,306a. i use the little 2075 all the time I've had it for about 4 or 5 years. IT starts easy 3 to 4 pulls, good chain speed , Its worn out two bars. Now I do keep my chains sharp filters clean . Use good oil in all my stuff . I've talked to a lot of folks that own poulans an haven't really found anyone that  dipleased with them . They are home owner and farm saws not logger stuff. I haven't used any of there big saws. I don't think they even make one any more.

[logger]

Poulan still makes the poulan pro 330 even though it is not on their site.  They still make the 295 and the 245. 

[Firewood Farm]

...I've talked to a lot of folks that own poulans an haven't really found anyone that  dipleased with them . They are home owner and farm saws not logger stuff. I haven't used any of there big saws.

Perhaps that's because they have no point of reference. They pick up a cheap saw at the discount mart, home center, or ag store, run it till it dies, then buy another cheap saw. As long as it lasts a few years, they think nothing of it. Their only concern is that it starts and will cut a few chords of firewood a year. And let's face it, a lot of folks simply cannot think beyond the price tag.

When you rely on a chainsaw to make a living, the standards for performance, durability, and dealer service are much higher.

Just my 2 cents.

Joe

[mshillbilly]

Thanks Y'all, I don't make my living with a saw but one always ins up in my hands since i was about 10 . long time ago. same problem with horses. All I'm  saying is they ain't bad for the money. If I did depend on a saw it would be a stihl or husky. but its clearing land and fenceing that I do most of.

[rebocardo]

I bought my Poulan Wildthing for $139, then the next day went and cut down four trees for $160 for a neighbor and my ROI was done. It was all profit after that for the probably 200 hours I used it before the engine went. I still used it even having a Husly 365 with a 28" bar and I still enjoyed using the saw. 

My little Stihl MS180C I just bought cost 2x as much as the Wildthing. Sure, it feels better and all that, but, it cost 2x more! 2x more is always 2x more and I think anyone other then a professional type users woudl find that tough to swallow.

I think they are good values.

[Firewood Farm]

After reading the two previous posts, I did some checking. A Poulan FarmBoss 2900 (46cc) is $198 at Home Depot. A comparable new Stihl, the MS250 (45.4cc) is $260 from your local dealer.

As you can see, all Stihls are not 2x the price of Poulan.

While we could argue all day long which is the better value, I will gladly pay the extra $62 for a quality product with local dealer support and service.

[fishhuntcutwood]

Good points from Firewood Farm.  I'm not a pro, but I use Stihl because I only want to buy that saw once.  Use it for years, and then rebuild it, because it's worth putting a brand new jug and piston on a saw of that quality.  There's nothing wrong with disposable saws, but buy it three times after each fails, and you could have had one quality saw that is still running strong.  Then there's the dealer support you don't get from Wal Mart or Lowe's.  I think it's worth it if I need a new hand guard, fuel cap, or something like that.

Jeff

[mshillbilly]

The only saw i"ve run with a 20" are longer bars have been over 50cc Stihl or husky, now the poulan 306a witch don't count because it was built when poulan made logging saws. When I burry a bar in a tree and it don't come out the other side I won't all the power I can get no bogging . I'm just saying the little poulan suprise me. It ain't dead yet.

[mshillbilly]

That $62.00 could make the difference on how many groceres are bought that week.

[jjmk98k]

Jeff and Joe both brought up very good points in thier reply.

you get what you pay for and you get what you need...

some firewood cutters only need something to get by with, others who really get into some hard core cutting, are better off with a saw of better quality.


just my .02 as well

[Riles]

Bought a 16 inch Poulan from Sears close to 20 years ago. I'm not a professional, in fact I have almost no mechanical skills (probably shouldn't even be using a chainsaw, come to think of it...) It's made it through 3 hurricanes now and the one time I had to take it apart to replace the cracked fuel line, I had a local shop to supply parts and advice. Guess I'm still getting my money's worth.

[Cuz]

My first wife bought me a Poulan 3400 back in the early eighties when they first came out.  I've still got the saw.  And, I've cut a heap of firewood over the years with it.  Gone through a couple of 20" bars, carb kits, etc.  It's starting to get a little tired and I had a big job coming up on my place and some big logs to be bucked so I got a Husky 372 xp w/24" bar.  Thank goodness I did! But, it's not really fair to compare those two saws. 
My choice if possible is the little Poulan with the 14" bar!  I don't dream of sawing in my sleep.  That's work brother!

[DonE911]

I bought a "wildthing" shortly after they came out.. you know, just had to have them cool colors... I didn't know much about chainsaws back then, but I did remeber to mix the oil with the gas and even cleaned the filter from time to time.  It lasted a long time...  can't remember how long I had it exactly but it was 3-4 years and I used it alot ( more than the cord or two of firewood guy). 

I just gave it to my new neighbor since he has a couple that still run and needed a parts saw.

I don't own one any longer and probably never will again unless I get it for nothing or darn near, but if something was to happen financially and I couldn't afford anything else I'd be running a cheap wild thing with a smile

[johnjbc]

Chainsaws are like cars. Some people can’t get to work without a Mercedes  S class. Others get there in a Ford or Dodge or even a VW 

[Chris J]

Hey, Johnjbc, when was the last time you priced a new VW  ?

From what I've read the Poulans will do the job they're designed for, & will hold up fine when properly maintained.  I suspect that quality control at the factory hurts Poulan; they let too many saws out that should've been pulled & redone correctly.  Hence you hear stories of folks who buy a new Poulan, have immediate problems with it, return it, & then tell everyone about the POS Poulan they had.  I read a post where a fellow said he used a Poulan 3300?? for 10 nearly trouble free years, & he summed it up well with "the Poulan don't owe me nuttin'."  Of course this was a man who took care of his saws, including minor repairs.

Chris J.

[mshillbilly]

Is VW made by Stihl.

[Firewood Farm]

Hey folks, I don't think anyone ever said that Poulan never made decent saws. So the fact that many people owned saws from years ago and had good luck with them is no surprise. I owned one in the early 80' and don't recall any complaints or problems with it.

The question is what are they building today, and would you recommend one to a friend? Not me!

Joe

[johnjbc]

Mucha_Nada
I agree with you. I currently have a Wild Thing that I use most of the time. Have been using it for 4 years now and the only problem has been screws coming loose but for $119, with a spare chain and a case, I can tighten a loose screw now and then . Bought my first Poulan(Sears) in the early 70’s and still use it with a hedge trimmer attachment.

Mshillbilly
From the price you would think that Stihl was made by Mercedes


Every time I read post about how bad Poulan are I think about a friend I had that had an old Pontiac with 200k miles on it that he had bought new. Well he got married and his new wife wanted him to get a good car. So he went out a bought a new Audi. Cost about 3x what a new Pontiac would of cost. He drove(had) it for about 3 years but for every day he drove it to work it spent 3 day in the shop.  The topic of the day was how much Ken’s last repair bill was.
The moral is spending more doesn’t always get you the best.

Let the flames begin

[Firewood Farm]

...The moral is spending more doesn’t always get you the best. ...

And buying cheap doesn't always get you better value.

Bottom line: It's your money, do what you want with it.

[Chris J]

If something happned to my saws  , & I had a tight budget for a new homeowner saw (all I really need), I'd take a look at two saws via the net:  A reconditioned Poulan 295, & the Echo CS345.  To be honest, I'd lean toward the CS345.  Although I've read posts by experienced users who have good luck with 295, which isn't an 'early' Poulan.

Now a twist.  There is a full page color ad (very expensive in the Houston Chronicle) in yesterday's paper advertising Stihl power equipment.  Shows a MS170 w/ 14" bar for $159.99 (8 1/4 sales tax brings it to $173.20).  Since a CS345 on the net might be roughly the same price with shipping, I'd have to give the MS170 a good look.

Stihl wouldn't rule out a Poulan, though.  ,,,,,Chris J.

[mshillbilly]

To Firewood farm, depends on what they were going to do with it. I personally have not run there saws over 50cc . If they have a need for a big saw i think not. If a small saw is what they need with a bar no longer than 18 inches maybe use it twice a week , yep. If I run a saw with a 20" are longer bar I won't some umph behind it. I would like to run some of there bigger stuff like a 3750 or 335 to see before I answer this . with a 3/8 full chisle chain .  Al

[Firewood Farm]

mshillbilly,

Have you noticed that all of your recommendations for Poulan come with some kind of disclaimer such as "depends on what they were going to do with it" or "ain't bad for the money"?

Joe

[mshillbilly]

I just can't stand to be wrong . AL

[Firewood Farm]

No right or wrong, just a different perspective. The important things is that you like your saws and I like mine. Everybody's happy! I use a Macintosh computer, so I know what it's like to hold a minority viewpoint.

I sincerely hope your saws continue to serve you well.

Joe

[tony_marks]

ive noticed many that have success with poulan..
 being in the buisiness of various wk for the elderly.. i see more of these green saws not running, in tool sheds, than running.. the second most common i run into is old echos.. almost always still running..jmo
 my personal experience has been mixed but some real poor saws .
 totally junk in m,y opinion..of course i was a bit spoiled as i was using an 028 wood boss. real dependable ,and able to stand abuse

[Rockn H]

I'll be honest, I never owned a Poulan.  A close friend has two Wildthings from wally world.  One is 5 years old and he recently decided to buy a second saw, another Wildthing.  He sawed firewood as a second source of income for two years with the first one.  I've seen him saw everything from plywood to cresote poles with nails.  The only thing he has replaced is the pull chord and chains, and he still keeps the new one as a backup.  From watching him, if I need another saw for backup or trimming, I'd buy one.

[jjmk98k]

Yes, sometimes it's as simple as what you want , what you need, and what you can afford.

[Chris J]

Tony Marks:  I'm not trying to be difficult, but didn't you post some positive comments on the Poulan 295 over at AS?

Chris J.

[jjmk98k]

and the pin drop echos.......

[bassfisher]

jHave never been a fan of poula n, run a pair of stihl 034's and 026's along with my pioneer-partner 39.  the p39 gets pulled out whenever there is real hard cutting of large diameter to do.
the air filter recently deteriorated to bits on the p39 and i found out that poulan had bought out rights to this make of saw, the repair shop guy pulled it our of his poulan.
that being said, i also remember some guy on timbersports using an old pioneer 41 which had been walkerized to blow away all the huskies and stihls in the class.  and it blew them away, not fractions of a second, but serious time.
this changes my opinion of poulan seriously.  the pioneer-partner is kinda badly balanced and heavy, but boy does it ever whistle thru hard maple and ironwood!!!

[mshillbilly]

I give, I don't know who builds what any more

[Chris J]

I don't have any experience with Partner, but I've read/heard that they are strong running saws.  I was eyeing a clean 500 (5000?) on eBayware a few months back, but couldn't justify another saw, or the divorce it might cause  .

Back in Poulan's heyday a lot of companies sold relabelled Poulans (still do, actually).  I know one fellow that gets old, big Craftsman saws for a song because most folks shy away from Craftsman.  If the saw does the job to your satisfaction, why worry about the label?

[tony_marks]

a lot depends on the user.. i bought 2 festivas in 90.. wrecked one at 188. thousand. still runninning.. the other at around 300.000 thousand.. i say around as the milage meter quit at 238.000. now a lot of stuff is slowly going bad.. seals etc. but she still will get it if i ask for it.. one day im gonna gear dn and stomp it and somethins gonna give. but the cheap little things were good to me .i think mostly due to the fact i was good to them.
 stihl im goiung with a pro saw preferably with adjustable carb,in .

[felton57]

Yesterday, I went a picked up my Poulan Forester 3300.

It was the first time it had to be fixed. (fuel line had a crack in it)

The amazing thing is: I bought it in 1987 (New) That's approximately 20 yrs ago.

Also I change the spark plug for the first time last week.

[johnjbc]

Felton57
Congratulations on the good service you got on your Poulan.
Thought I would update everyone on my Wildthing. Its almost 2 years older and still going strong since my post above. It has cut up almost all the trees on my power line right away  (2000’  X  50’) and another acre or so of cabin site as well as keeping several miles of logging trail open. Oh almost forgot relocating about a ¼ mile of my driveway.
Have had one repair. A small tree rolled on it and broke the handle. No problem I got on the internet and located the nearest dealer, about 10 miles away. I took the saw in so we could ascertain the model number and he had my new handle in 3 days. Real nice fellow. Didn’t give me a hard time because I bought the saw from Northern Hydraulic.   

[rebocardo]

I have repaired a variety of saws for tree removal customers. If you leave gas for six months in a Poulan or any other saw and never change the spark plug, you have starting problems. I kept a log of how many hours I put on my 2375 and stopped after about 150 hours, mostly because I couldnt be bothered anymore because "the saw didnt own me nothing" 

I have seen Echos not start because the primer bulb cracks and starts to suck air.

Had one guy that couldn't get his Stihl running because ... he couldn't unravel the loops to put it on the bar, the logic escaped him. That was my easiest fix on the most expensive saw ever

[sawmilllawyer]

Just my .02 worth, in 1997 I bought a Poulan 2150 w/ 16' bar, paid $129.00 for it went out that day and earned $100.00 with it in a couple hours. Saw is light, lots of touque, quick. Saw is getting older now been through couple bars and a bunch of chains. It don't owe me nothing, but did use it yesterday to cut up some sticks of firewood which were to long. Started right up and cut like a champ. In 1999 bought a Wildthing #2375 w/ a 18" bar still have it and still use it some. Got my money out of it to.
   That said I bought a Stihl MS-361w/ 20" bar in December 2005, great saw really, really like it. Love the anti vibe setup, lite enough to use all day. Bought a Stihl MS-460 September, 2006, put a 25" bar on it. It is a cutting machine but a little to heavy for all day use.
    Probably, would'nt buy another Poulan unless my economic situation changes but at the time of purchase was the best  I could swing. The Stihls saws while substantially more expensive are to me a long term purchase with an anticipated life expectancy of 20 years or more. Mind you, I take realy good care of my tools, good oil, sharp chains, clean air filter and change out element when it starts to show wear.
     I think all four saws have their place. At least they do for me. All four still run great. If I want to do a little lite cutting or brush clearing I grab one of the Poulans. Learned their not an a day saw, tend to die if run to hard.  But for the big stuff or to cut all day I reach for the Stihl's every time.  Got a good dealer network here for the Stihls. That way i know I am going to bring the meat home. so to speak.  Well, rambled long enough.

[Bill]

Seems I might fit into the Stihl camp but can't say anything bad about my Poulan. A few years back I bought a new Stihl 019T for small ( 4"-10+" ) jobs and its doing fine. Much bigger and out comes the Poulan 245A that I bought new way many years back - it don't owe me nothing . With either the 20" or 25" bar it runs good enough for my once and awhile firewood cutting. Nothing like hearing that 4.5 CID engine barking out the rusted out exhaust .    Would I like an MS660 - sure but it'll have to wait till the 245a dies. That said I don't know about those new Poulans . Looks like alot of plastic on them ( and most of the new saws ) Would I buy a new Poulan - depends on what I was trying to do I suppose. . . .  and probably what the other ones offered - I do like stuff I pay good green for to last.

Just my two cents

[Cut4fun]

I love the stock magnesium cased poulans, you cant beat them for the money and they out cut the name brand homeowner stuff. I have owned the 3750,330,305,2000,1800,XX and one plastic cased poulan 220 that out cut the little stihls 2 to 1 in the same cc range.
But after getting into modded saws, the open port design on the poulan cylinders wasn't  desirable. So now i have alot of closed port design stuff for the faster cutting of cookies.

[snowman]

A saws life is measured in hours not years. If you cut 20 hours a year a cheap saw will last you forever, if you cut 8 hours a day a cheap saw will not last a year.Long time ago, I took a job thinning during spring breakup. Didn't want to use my good saws for such low wages so i bought a little homelite that I worked 10 hours a day 7 days a week. It ran great, did the job, then right before I went back logging it blew up. It only had like 500 hours on it. KABLAM!  I was only making 10 bucks an hour but as i remember the saw only cost 200 bucks so it was paid for in a couple days. It truly was a disposable saw. Hours not years.

[kbdeere4450]

i own an early 70s 245a, a 78 306a, and a 1987 2000.  they are all good strong running saws.  when they were still biard poulan, they knew how to build them.  nowadays they are all cheap junk.

[beenthere]

Welcome to the forum.

Is that by chance Baird Poulan ?  Bought out by Electrolux in '88 ?

I hope you do a lot of reading on the forum. You will get a feel for how we enjoy positive input from your experiences and expertise.

Look forward to you pulling up a stump and having a good discussion.  

[Bill]

+1

[Woodwalker]

Given enough time I guess everything changes. Back in the 60's and 70's my Dad worked for a Poulan dealer. I worked there summers while in high school. In this part of the world, Poulan was "top of the line", Homelite, Mc Culloch, Pardner, Sears, David Bradley were usually hard to get parts for or find someone to service so most all were considered low quality and junk. Stihl, Jonesred, Husqvarna, Echo weren't sold anywhere around here.
Early Poulan models used letters identification, "F, K". All were big, heavy, loud and turned the chain a lot slower than modern saws. If you marked one tooth on the chain you could see the marked tooth every time it made a round.  A lot of guys ran what we called the "big" 1\4" chain and I've seen my Dad sharpen chains that would throw out long chips curled up like  "worms" that would uncoil to be three or four inches long. (cutting SYP) Most of the old saws I worked on had only a 2 digit model #. 45, 46, 65, 66, 68, 98. Odd numbers were direct drive and even gear driven.
Sometime in the late 60's Poulan started painting the saws green and came out with a small saw designed for the homeowner, model 362. Smaller, compact and ran at higher RPM's. Popular saw around here which Sears and Homelite sold clones of.
Smaller, faster saws replaced the old power houses starting in the early 70's around here. Stihl entered the market place here and Poulan now had some serious competition.  I watched a Stihl Rep. at a County Fair re-assemble a new Stihl without rings on the piston and then start and run the saw.
My Dad and I both got out of working on saws so I didn't keep up with them for years. Then I got to seeing them in places like Lowe's and Home Depot. Also starting hearing they were designed more the weekend warrior than the professional. I've still have a 45, 66, super68 and a 72. Haven't ran any of 'em in 25-30 years.
As stated above, lack of a source of parts or a service center can magnify a minor problem with any manufacturer  and turn that brand name to "junk" in the eyes of guy holding onto the handle bar.

[JHBC]

I owned two big early eighties? saws, one use branded poulan pro, it was a p60 or p61 I can't quite remember and yellow and black, the other branded pioneer, a p62 I think, pale green.  I got them both very well used about twenty years ago.  They were very good, big firewood saws.  Slow turning, but handled big 28 and 37 inch bars well. The saws were interchangeable and had husky 058 bars.  Very uncommon and hard to find local parts for, I gave them away to a relative last year.  But they were not junk saws, just odd.

[kbdeere4450]

Welcome to the forum.

Is that by chance Baird Poulan ?  Bought out by Electrolux in '88 ?

I hope you do a lot of reading on the forum. You will get a feel for how we enjoy positive input from your experiences and expertise.

Look forward to you pulling up a stump and having a good discussion.  

my 245a and my 306a saws were baird poulan, but the manuel i have for the 1987 poulan 2000 i believe says electrolux. it was either that or poulan weedeater co.

[Al_Smith]

I suppose Poulan is the most kicked on saw there is but many people who tout them as such have even ran one .Most of the Craftsman branded models were indeed targeted for the casual user and as such do a fine job for that .Some contend they were only designed to run twenty hours ,now where that idea came from nobody wants to fess up to but I suspect it to be erronious .

Some of the older models ,s-25 to be exact were at one time the icon of trimmers saws .Many survive today including two in my shed  which run  as good as if they were brand new .I assure you they have way in excess of twenty hours running time too .

Don't get conned into just forming opinions based on a brand name ,some might be a surprise to you .

[SPIKER]

I have 2 Poulan saws that both have treated me well.  Both are 15 and 10 years old green plastic style and run well.   I have cut a lot of wood with them and a lot of railroad ties as well    I am by no means making my living with them and probably wont mainly as it is too much work for me    however like I have heard from others they are good saws for the money.   I have more than gotten out what I put into them.   I have wore out several bars on both saws and a number of chains as well.   up until I replaced the plugs both started up easy as pie. the NEW plugs (split fire plugs) they seem to not care for as far as starting goes.  Running OK still on them but the splitfire plugs (might be diamond fire?) have been un-reliable.   I kept the OLD plugs and swapped the 14" old plug in and it fired up and run like a top...   My brother bought a NEW wild thing 4 maybe 5 yrs ago that has a starting issue that once I tuned it up works well now and it also needed a fuel line.   I think that he used some bad gas or E85 in it that caused its issues though.

Mark

[Al_Smith]

Come spring time the garage sales will abound .Low and behold every so often there lies a Craftsman branded Poulan .Looks good but won't start for love nor money .

Odds are great it was used a little bit then layed in the corner of a garage for 5 years full of old gas .They almost give them away .Chances are all they need is a carb rebuild .Cheap usually under ten bucks  for the parts .

You just never know though because my buddy picked up an 026 Stihl at a garage sale with a new chain and a funky carb for the paltry price of 25 bucks .Fact is I rebuilt the carb for it during  my coffee break at work for him .

It's just amazing the amount of servicable equipment that  gets jettisoned for the most simple of problems .

[Saw Dr.]

Given enough time I guess everything changes. Back in the 60's and 70's my Dad worked for a Poulan dealer. I worked there summers while in high school. In this part of the world, Poulan was "top of the line", Homelite, Mc Culloch, Pardner, Sears, David Bradley were usually hard to get parts for or find someone to service so most all were considered low quality and junk. Stihl, Jonesred, Husqvarna, Echo weren't sold anywhere around here.
Early Poulan models used letters identification, "F, K". All were big, heavy, loud and turned the chain a lot slower than modern saws. If you marked one tooth on the chain you could see the marked tooth every time it made a round.  A lot of guys ran what we called the "big" 1\4" chain and I've seen my Dad sharpen chains that would throw out long chips curled up like  "worms" that would uncoil to be three or four inches long. (cutting SYP) Most of the old saws I worked on had only a 2 digit model #. 45, 46, 65, 66, 68, 98. Odd numbers were direct drive and even gear driven.
Sometime in the late 60's Poulan started painting the saws green and came out with a small saw designed for the homeowner, model 362. Smaller, compact and ran at higher RPM's. Popular saw around here which Sears and Homelite sold clones of. Smaller, faster saws replaced the old power houses starting in the early 70's around here. Stihl entered the market place here and Poulan now had some serious competition.  I watched a Stihl Rep. at a County Fair re-assemble a new Stihl without rings on the piston and then start and run the saw.
My Dad and I both got out of working on saws so I didn't keep up with them for years. Then I got to seeing them in places like Lowe's and Home Depot. Also starting hearing they were designed more the weekend warrior than the professional. I've still have a 45, 66, super68 and a 72. Haven't ran any of 'em in 25-30 years.
As stated above, lack of a source of parts or a service center can magnify a minor problem with any manufacturer  and turn that brand name to "junk" in the eyes of guy holding onto the handle bar.

I believe you are speaking of 1/2" chain there.  1/4" has always been the smallest chain.  1/2" would have no trouble throwing the chips you mention.  Someday one of us is going to bite the bullet and have the chinamen re-pop a pallet full of the stuff, as it is getting pretty scarce these days.

I have never heard of a 362 Poulan, there was a 360, 361 (shown), 400, 401 and several other variants.  Sadly Poulan was not the first to this scene.  This style of saw was copied by almost every manufacturer, and was based on the ubiquitous Homelite XL-12 series.  Despite them all running pretty similar, the Homelites always reigned king.

 



For any of the doubters, I have included a few pics of my bigger Poulans.  Either one of these will cut with an 066 all day long, and be just as durable.  First up is a PP505 at 83cc. 
 



OK, OK, your technical guys are going to say that the last one isn't really a Poulan.  That is correct, it is a Jonsered 2083 in yellow clothes.  Whatever.

Here is a true-blue Poulan.  This one is an 8510 cutoff saw.  I have the parts to convert it to chainsaw duty, but have not had time to replace the crank bearings on it.  I have seen too many cement saws with lunched bottom ends to chance it here.  I bolted the bar on this one and made a few cuts without an oiler, and it really rips!  This series of 5200/5400/8500 saws is very stout, and the last of the all-Poulan saws.  They also came in Craftsman colors, and possibly Dayton.

 

[Al_Smith]

      This style of saw was copied by almost every manufacturer, and was based on the ubiquitous Homelite XL-12 series.  Despite them all running pretty similar, the Homelites always reigned king.
   

The XL -12 was  likely the most copied design in history .It's always been in doubt if Homelite actually gave license to the clones or like designs or weather they were pirated . However as far as power ,a larger design of that famous saw ,the Lombard AL-42 series of 4.2 cubic inchs would cut circles around an XL 12 .That said though the XL-12 is an icon of chainsawdom . Many still get-er-done yet today .

[ErikC]

Come spring time the garage sales will abound .Low and behold every so often there lies a Craftsman branded Poulan .Looks good but won't start for love nor money .

Odds are great it was used a little bit then layed in the corner of a garage for 5 years full of old gas .They almost give them away .Chances are all they need is a carb rebuild .Cheap usually under ten bucks  for the parts .

You just never know though because my buddy picked up an 026 Stihl at a garage sale with a new chain and a funky carb for the paltry price of 25 bucks .Fact is I rebuilt the carb for it during  my coffee break at work for him .

It's just amazing the amount of servicable equipment that  gets jettisoned for the most simple of problems .

I know a man whose wife works for the solid waste dept, who tinkers with saws a lot. She brings him about 1 a month that someone threw out, often for the same reason. A lot of cheaper homelites, poulans, etc--but a few smaller huskies and stihls have crossed his path and a couple of pretty nice pro saws. Seems like every time I see him he is working on a few new ones. He won't spend much money on most of them, but I bet he gets 2 out of 3 running again. 

[Troublermaker]

kbdeere that 245 was one tough saw. I know a man who ran a saw mill and that was all that he use. I had a couple that I ran till I couldn't get parts for them any more. The most trouble I had with them was with the muffler wouldn't staying tight. They was one tough saw.