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Why 40cc saws sometimes are the best choice

Started by weimedog, May 24, 2015, 09:09:13 PM

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weimedog

Husqvarna 365sp/372xpw Blend, Jonsered 2171 51.4mm XPW build,562xp HTSS, 560 HTSS, 272XP, 61/272XP, 555, 257, 242, 238, Homelite S-XL 925, XP-1020A, Super XL (Dad's saw); Jonsered 2094, Three 920's, CS-2172, Solo 603; 3 Huztl MS660's (2 54mm and 1 56mm)

ladylake


   You wont catch me milling without 2 40cc saws, one for each side of the mill. I do have a 60 and 85cc saw in the truck but they rarely come out.   Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

sablatnic

About 80% of my sawing is done with saws in the 35 - 45 cc range, Stihl MS 200 and Husqvarna 346. Why carry more weight around than necessary.

I did when I was young and foolish, a 70cc saw will cut small stuff too, so why not?

bandmiller2

Must admit those small saws are a joy to handle but all my cutting is horizontal large logs, give me 20 more CC's please. Frank C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

HolmenTree

My smallest saw is a 39cc Husqvarna 338XPT which I use regularly doing aerial work . But for a ground saw my 562XP is the smallest I will cut with.
I guess what I'm saying is physically I can run a larger saw with no complaints and get er done with less time fiddling with a small under powered saw.
My 346XP just sits and I only used it brushing small diameter undergrowth  for a ROW job a few years ago, barely got 40 hours on it.
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

John Vander

I've had people laugh at me because I use a small saw, but when climbing with 20kg of gear on your back plus a saw in your hand the laughter seems to fade soon. Felled some heavy storm dammage the other day. No machinery can get in there. Gear (cables, hand winch, rope etc.) on my back plus 40cc saw. Got the job done.
Tree and saw accidents nullify years of forestry experience.

HolmenTree

Quote from: John Vander on May 25, 2015, 09:34:04 PM
I've had people laugh at me because I use a small saw, but when climbing with 20kg of gear on your back plus a saw in your hand the laughter seems to fade soon. Felled some heavy storm dammage the other day. No machinery can get in there. Gear (cables, hand winch, rope etc.) on my back plus 40cc saw. Got the job done.
John good comment.
Yes my little 40cc 338XPT  does alot of work for me too which I hang on my saddle doing aerial tree removal.
But to get all my saws ,fuel cans and gear to the tree no matter how rough the terrain is I rely on my Muck Truck. Little guy at 285 lbs can carry over a 1000 lbs up a 30° flight of stairs......best worker I ever had ;D


 

Check out this video.....

https://youtu.be/VNqe_K2xC14
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

mad murdock

That is a real cool little power tool there!!
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

John Vander

Very cool machine! Would work wonders here in Japan.
Tree and saw accidents nullify years of forestry experience.

Spike60

I get Willard's point about his preference for the 562, but 2 comments come to mind. A ground saw in tree work needs to cover more variables than what Walter was doing in the vid, so the 562 is better suited to that. Second, in a commercial situation, the old "time is money" thing comes into play, so a more "let's get 'er done" saw is needed. There was really nothing in the vid where that little 440 was overmatched and a larger saw was needed.

Coincidentally on the same day, me and another cohort were doing some volunteer tree work at a local Boy Scout camp down this way. Job consisted of removing hazards, blow downs, leaners, busted tops and such from the campsite areas and opening up the roads a bit. Jimmy's motto is never carry more saw than you need for the job. I often like to have a little extra power on hand, but being a hot day, and figuring we'd be up there a while, I stuck with small saws. We did have a 2172 for the few large tasks, but Jimmy mostly worked with his 2055 and MS200, and I went back and forth between a 550XP and 543XP. Like I said, this is volunteer work. Doesn't matter when we get done and we aren't running in high gear. We're doing this because we enjoy it.  :)

550 wins on power, 543 wins on weight. 550 also gets the nod in acceleration. Anti vibe is a tie. Either saw was fine for what I was doing. Up around 10" diameter wood, the power gap was more pronounced and anything beyond that the 550 was clearly the better choice. But most of the work was no bigger than 4-5 inches. So then it becomes the standard power vs weight debate: How much power do you give up, (or gain), for the difference in weight. And we're all gonna look at that a little differently. When I first went from the 543 to the 550, I really didn't notice the additional weight at all. But when returning to the 543 later in the day, the lighter weight was nice.
Husqvarna-Jonsered
Ashokan Turf and Timber
845-657-6395

weimedog

yup. now its about getting done but just fast enough to where I can still get to my real job in the morning (With out too much pain). Weight get more and more important every year...
Husqvarna 365sp/372xpw Blend, Jonsered 2171 51.4mm XPW build,562xp HTSS, 560 HTSS, 272XP, 61/272XP, 555, 257, 242, 238, Homelite S-XL 925, XP-1020A, Super XL (Dad's saw); Jonsered 2094, Three 920's, CS-2172, Solo 603; 3 Huztl MS660's (2 54mm and 1 56mm)

HolmenTree

Good post Bob and nice video weimedog.
The 550XP is a impressive powerhouse for a 50cc saw ,  the  Rev Boost makes hyper throttle response.
I'm  very impressed with the three 550s  my Husqvarna  dealer sponsored for dedicated saws for my saw competition  events. Cutting 10"x10" timbers like there's  no tomorrow.
I may have to buy one to replace my 346.
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

CTYank

There are other variables, for some of us. Whenever I'm working on a deciduous tree for personal firewood, the majority of the cutting is in the smaller wood of the crown. Over the course of a few tankfuls, I can get a lot more of that done with a ~40 cc saw than a 60. A LOT more. Smaller saws yet have a place doing that work.

Before even cutting up that small wood, I really like my 25 cc polesaw. Lets me cut lots of small brush off the top, while moving my feet very little. Great for the stuff that's overhead too, of course. That saw did an enormous amount of (ongoing) work for me preparing for reforestation work. Lots of tops of big deciduous trees had to be dropped and "whittled" to enable planting of seedlings in their midst. Really made it doable, safely.

I do lots of volunteer work, and like to be able to do it efficiently and safely. No clock-watching, but wanting to move on to other projects. And ... when I have to hoof it some distance into the woods for such work, it's easy to carry fuel for hours of work with the smaller iron, especially stratos.
'72 blue Homelite 150
Echo 315, SRM-200DA
Poulan 2400, PP5020, PP4218
RedMax GZ4000, "Mac" 35 cc, Dolmar PS-6100
Husqy 576XP-AT
Tanaka 260 PF Polesaw, TBC-270PFD, ECS-3351B
Mix of mauls
Morso 7110

John Vander

 

 
Two of my border trees that had to come down. Pretty tall, but bent all the way down...extreme bind in the stem.


 
I put all my gear on my back and made it down to the bottom border of my woodlot. My saw being small made it easier for me to perform smaller precise cuts. Used a twin scarf with a safety rope (just for in case ;D). For this kind of work I really prefer a small saw. I sometimes employ a baby saw (ms170) for fine work. My handsaw (Gomtaro) is at my side too. I must also say that my small foresters axe got me out of several situations where I could not get in with a saw.
Tree and saw accidents nullify years of forestry experience.

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