I bought an 18" Poulan labled as Craftsman 20 years ago at a flea market and fought with it the entire time. Finally burned it out and bought an 18" Husky - WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

Stihl or Husky and you'll be happy. Toss that old technology, or better yet, tie it to a tree like was said so it doesn't follow you home.

Dunno. I've got a Poulan pro 20 inch I bought
a couple of years ago.
It's been ok so far.. Haven't had any trouble
yet, but I guess the jury is still out..
But I didn't really want to pay two arms and a
leg just to whack a few trees out of the way.
Mine was about a $180-$200 saw at regular price,
and I got it on sale for $120. Not bad really
for a 20 inch saw. They also had Homelight saws,
and I thought the Poulan pro looked a bit
better..
A friend of mine bought a 20 inch Husky the
other day and it was about $400..
I'm sure it's a better saw than mine, but he
paid for it..
I think part of the deal is just keeping them
up, not letting gas get old in them, etc..
Varnish sure whacks out a lot of perfectly
good small engines. And today's stuff they call
gas turns to varnish pretty fast. Also you want
to make sure the gas/oil ratio is right.
Some of them don't like a lean oil mix too
much.
I've also got a battery chain saw with an 8 inch
bar.. "18v". I use it for small stuff.
It's also handy for prowling in the woods and
cutting tree branches out of the way, but not
having the loud engine noise follow you around.
BTW, if I had that 40 year old saw, and it was
just a minor problem, I'd still fix it even if
I ended up buying a new one. A backup is handy.

One thing worth noting on the "homeowner" saws is that they tend to come with bars that really are too long for the size motor on the saw. If 18 is good, 20 has to be better, right? Wrong. Given the same size motor, a smaller bar with a shorter chain will give you more chain speed. Low chain speed is why saws bog down. This goes for the professional saws as well, but it is more prevalent in the Box store/hardware store saws.

quote:

bars that really are too long for the size motor on the saw.

Aren't they gonna come w/safety chain that has few cutting teeth for the length of the blade?
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Mine slowed down noticeably from the extra 4". I kept 'em sharp and the bar free of wood debris and managed to fell several trees larger than the 20" bar.

I looked @ the orange Husky and wanted one.
I just didn't want to pay for one...

If you don't use the saw every day, dump the gas out when you're done and fire the saw up and run it until it quits. No gas, no varnish to clog the carb. It'll start right up with fresh gas the next time you need it. In a few weeks, I'm going to do it to the bikes and the jeep, none of which are used in the wintertime.

Yea, I've heard that about the bars since I
bought mine. In my case, there were only two
saws available at sales price. The 20 Poulan
pro, and a 16 homelite.
But... The homelight was missing it's case,
all instructions, etc..
The poulan pro had a nice carry case, had all
the instructions, plug wrench, etc..
So I went with that one. At the time, I also
really preferred the slightly longer bar, but
that was because I figured you could cut larger
trees with it without having to make multiple
cuts.
I didn't consider chain speed, etc..
Mine does have the anti-kickback chain.
It cuts pretty well though.
I use mine mostly up in OK where I've got a
lot of cedar trees down. Had a bad ice storm
last year, and I've still got a load of them
on their sides.. PIA.. Big ones too..
I'll whack a few here and there when I feel
motivated. I'm about to the point I need to
burn before I can cut too many more up.
I don't like a load of brush piles all around
sitting for months waiting to burn. Attracts
too many varmints, snakes, etc..

Boy does this bring back the memories. Bought a brand new Mac 10-10 in 1968. Best damn saw at the time. $159 bucks I think.Ran the socks off it. Cut wood for years. Sold it to Rod Porteus & bought another Mac 10-10 for $179. Used that again for several years. Think I ran thru 8 chains & 2 bars in that time. Gave it to my son 5 years ago. New saws are nice but the memories are better.

I have a Power Mac 6 which is great for when you are in the tree...very light. Last year I got some parts from a guy in southern CA that worked for them at one time.

You need two saws, one for limbing and one for the big stuff. A big saw will tire you out in a hurry and that is when things can get dangerous.

And yes, today's gas goes bad fast which shows up in the hard starting or not at all.

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Pull the plug and heat the electrode end with a propane torch or your gas stove until good and hot (not red hot) and reinstall quickly. Fingertight will work but don't forget gloves. Try to start quickly before the plug cools down.

quote:

I have a McCullough Mac 10-10A chain saw that is at least 40 years old.

I found the manual for the Mac 10 this weekend if you need a copy. It shows 1973 as the published date.

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