Thread: Chainsaw Size for Docking

Originally Posted by weisyboy

i am currently running 3 30-40 year old stihl saws an they run mutch better than the new stihl and husky i have.

Just for fun I posted a poll on the Aborist Site Chainsaw forum asking them how old their working saws were. (not their collector or parts saws, just their everyday work saws). The main reason I asked there was in just under 10 hours I got more than 100 responses from all around the world.

The results are as follows

The folks on that chainsaw forum represent a wide range mix of pro-arborists -millers and fallers, saw racers, saw modifiers, collectors, serious amateurs, through to weekend warriors who just cut a couple of trailer loads of fire wood a year. A lot of people in this community own old saws so this community has a very positive attitude to old saws. What I wanted to see was how much they actually use their old saws on a regular basis.

In terms of hard numbers
44 out of 100 people use saws that are on average less than 5 years old.
65 out of 100 people use saws that are on average less than 10 years old.
3 out 100 use saws that are on average over 30 years old.

Originally Posted by Burnsy

Answered your own question there........... and who knows what else they will come up with in the next 40 years - laser saws with no noise, sharp chains or vibration Equipment choice is very individual but I have made money off my tools long enough to know that buying new quality tools, looking after them and replacing them regularly is one way of reducing some of the frustrations that come from being a business owner. I have more important things to worry about than whether my 40 year old saw will start or my blunt circular saw blade will bite, kick back and get me.

my 40 year old stihls have all those saftey features.

and start every time first pull.

i like the older low reving saws that have higher talk.

that is verry interesting bob.

i am running an 032 that ws teh first model out with anti vibe handle. althow its not as complex as modern anti vibe it works pretty good. iv got an 026 that is as old as teh hills. and just retired an 034 and replaced it with a slightly newer 034.

Originally Posted by weisyboy

i am running an 032 that ws teh first model out with anti vibe handle. althow its not as complex as modern anti vibe it works pretty good. iv got an 026 that is as old as teh hills. and just retired an 034 and replaced it with a slightly newer 034.

Sorry Carl but you need to get your facts right, none of these models are 40 years old.

The 032 is the oldest and was introduced 31 years ago.
The 034 was introduced in 1984
The 026 was introduced in 1993

That makes these 3 saws at the very most an average of 24 years old and because they were all produced for some time they more likely to be on average less than 20 years years old.

The 032/034/026 are all fine saws but even so I'd take a new 290 over those 3 saws any day of the week. More grunt, lighter and higher working chain speed. Sure the 290 won't last quite as long but performance and longevity in quality tools are always a trade off, The 290 will get the job done faster, safer, and with less wear and tear on the operator. Even though the 290 has more plastic on it, it should last for at least 10 years and by then it will have well and truly paid for itself in added productivity and won't owe anyone anything.

I do like older, all-metal, blue-smoking saws and have several myself but the day of using 40 year saws for day to day use are over for most people that need to get a job done to earn a quid.

Bob over 60% have saws between 2 and 20 years old.

In fact 40%+ are between 6 and 20 years

Cheers

Originally Posted by Calm

Bob over 60% have saws between 2 and 20 years old.

In fact 40%+ are between 6 and 20 years

Cheers

Sure, there are lots of interest comparisons to be made but none negate my original point that 2/3 of saws are still 10 or less years old.

By using the mid-point of the ranges, weighted by the number of saws in each range, an approximate average age of ALL saws can be calculated to be 9.6 years

Whatever the case, the survey says that a saw savvy community uses very few (<3%) 30+year old saws.

Bob it would be interesting to see these figures for people that use their saws "often" say at least every calendar month for more than 5 hours.

Or whatever is considered a reasonable useage - maybe commercial users. (excluding schools and Govt departments which change saws unusually often)

Cheers

gee you blokes get technical real quick burnsy even though i'm too late, i run a husky 385 xp with 24" bar and quite like it but when i put the 36" bar on to dock packs of sleepers it bogs down a bit and i wouldn't recomend going over a 30" bar for it

Originally Posted by Calm

Bob it would be interesting to see these figures for people that use their saws "often" say at least every calendar month for more than 5 hours.

Or whatever is considered a reasonable useage - maybe commercial users. (excluding schools and Govt departments which change saws unusually often)

Cheers

I agree, it would be very interesting to see a complete saw ownership and usage profile. My guess is that many more hours are done on newer saws than older saws. Saw enthusiasts, collectors, amateurs, weekend warriors and home and property owners are more likely to have older saws and also use them relatively infrequently compared to pro operators.

The limited number of "earn a living from it" pro faller and tree lopper outfits I know personally, turn their saws over pretty regularly. Their basic saw fleet is typically 5 years old but they still have a few old clunkers they break out from time to time. It is only natural that the newer lighter more powerful saws will be picked up and used more regularly by most commercial operators. It makes no sense for them to arrive excessively knackered at the end of the day from running an all metal boat anchor. Safety wise a heavier, slower saw is potentially more dangerous than a lighter quicker saw. Risk is a product of factors like operator fatigue and exposure - less fatigue, less exposure reduces risk.

Sometimes when I go to the milling yard I forget to bring my own trimming/docking saws (a 1 year old 441, and 7 year old 066). So I wander over to the saw shed that contains a dozen+ Stihls, from pole trimmers through to an 880, plus a few of older saws like an 041 and a nice looking 056 . Trimming up usually takes no more than 30 minutes so what do I pick? usually the newest looking 660 or maybe the 460. Why would I want to use anything else?

Don't get me wrong, I really like old saws. If I had space and $, much to SWMBO annoyance, I would have sheds full of them, but not to use on a regular basis.

Originally Posted by charlsie

gee you blokes get technical real quick

Yeah - only high quality technical BS here charlsie. I'm only posting/writing so much because I'm still crook with the flu and can't go down the shed and do something useful.

Originally Posted by weisyboy

my 40 year old stihls have all those saftey features.

and start every time first pull.

i am running an 032 that ws teh first model out with anti vibe handle. althow its not as complex as modern anti vibe it works pretty good. iv got an 026 that is as old as teh hills. and just retired an 034 and replaced it with a slightly newer 034.

Just for interest I'm wondering just how much use those 40 year old saws have had? Have they been rebuilt at all?
If not then they haven't seen much work as 40 years without a rebuild is a lot for any saw no matter how good they were made.

Burnsy, you'll like the 7900 mate and I'm glad you got one. If you have any dust issues with the filter either oil it with filter oil or get one of the new HD kits. They work a treat.
Despite what people may think they will pull a 32" bar in hardwood with a 7 pin sprocket and non skip semi chisel. Those who say they can't haven't tried it. If in doubt try some skip semi chisel. Have fun

i don't mind the technical stuff at all, bobl, hope your'e up and about soon