Survival chain saw

The best cheapest way to get a decent chain saw sharpening rig going is get the harbor freight chain sharpener and put a $100 diamond sharpening wheel on it.

 

When I started out in the High Risk Fire Fighting arena, I had a pretty steep learning curve, but I always had what my Dad and Grand Dad taught me about chain saws, and safety! I had a mentor that taught me as much as he could, including how to use a saw in a fast paced setting and how to be safe despite the dangers, which are MANY! During the average year I may fell 200 or more trees, and I am plenty apt to clear a fire break where I can attack from, then up and move several hundred yards and start all over!

I use mainly Stihl and Husky saws in the 470 to 660 range! There are several specific reasons i use the saws I do, I have found that on softer woods like fir and pine, the Stihl cuts much faster as long as the tree isn't much bigger then the bar length, the Husky's have way more grunt for pulling a more aggressive chain through large trees, and especially if I have to make a rolling cut using the bucking spikes, the Husky's will actually out run the Stihl's when the cuts are big The odd saw out is a 1978 Homelight professional series 60cc power house, and this saw gets a 24 inch bar with a double cut carbide ripper chain, this unique saw is the fastest cutting chain saw I have ever seen or used, and parts are still available today for it, so it gets used a LOT for limbing and light bucking! The Stihl's are more general use and light felling, and the Husky's are for larger felling and heavy bucking! Bonus is, for my home saw mill set up, the Big assed Husky gets mounted to the saw table and I run big beams through it! The larger of the two Stihl's can also work in the saw table for ripping boards or planking!
IF I were to recommend a good all around saw for some one just starting, I would certainly go with a Stihl and use Stihl chains on it. I would generally go with the Farm Boss, but that is a bit on the large side for some, so the 350 or 370 is usually the top of the list, and lighter as well! I wouldn't recommend an auto oiler Husky, too many problems that can happen, the good news is that it's pretty easy to convert one over if you do have one, and use a manual oiler from the older Husky's and for bar oil, I use used diesel oil from my Isuzu as it gets sooted and acts like a graphite lube, and I add a pint of Lucus Oil additive to a gallon for the bar oil res. Nominal chain life for me is one week of hard use, and I only use carbide chain which requires a electric grinder with high speed fine stones! If I hit a rock, the chain gets tossed in the used pile and a new chain gets installed as soon as I am able, and I hit rocks a lot! The used pile gets sorted out later when I have down time, and I can fix damage and dress them properly! I usually get 6 to 9 sharpening s out of my chains, and the non carbides can get as many as 7 before they get tossed!

 

@Bandit99 , If you get snatch blocks get them rated at 5 ton and buy four.. They come in handy with more than just falling a tree. Like pulling the truck out of the creek bed in the winter. Oh, and lots of wire rope! 150 foot is not to much.

 

I second what ghrit says about rope, cable tends to build memory, especially when it is used on a spool, and it gets hard to run cable once it looses it's suppleness, and like he says, any damage will tear your hands and other parts pretty good!

 

@ghrit @Don't @Ura-Ki Logging as a kid, I set chokers and remember specifically one time I got in a hurry and grabbed the high-lead line (this is the cable that the choker cable connect to in order to pull log out of the forest) and drove metal splinters right to the bones in fingers of the right hand, actually felt them scratch the bone. Hurt like hell! So, I normally use rope and just got a new 150 footer which is rated for 20,000 lbs (link below). Arborists use them and they are not cheap but hell'va lot easier to set up in the woods than cable. I got the 100 footer also and put it through hell for the last couple years without a complaint. I do need some blocks (pulleys) and a come-along so if anyone has recommendations, I am all ears.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YFPSIVY/?tag=survivalmonke-20

 

We have three stihl saws. I keep gas in storage to last for 4 years. Enough to cut tens years worth of cooking and heating wood.

 

Another thing I do is run sand anchors, some times called pull palls, and they are really handy for an off set pull, I can run cable from the winch or the truck bumpers to the anchor and then rope to the tree, makes choking much faster and easier! Most good 4X4 shops should sell these.

 

Can't say as of these days, but when I worked for the Navy, in Guam, they bought us 3 new Husquvarna chain saws, and they were work horses. Run 'em 3 hours before, and 3 hours after lunch, with zero problems out of them.

Of course, compared to the old "pulled from DRMO, and made to run....who needs a chain brake, anyways?" saws they replaced....

 

I got the carbide chain on my modded electric saw. I'm going to use it on the next dry crack and dirt filled wood I encounter.
My electric came with a 6 tooth and I made a 7 tooth sprocket the same way, back around 2006 or 2007.
Even with a 7 tooth it has insane torque. I think I should make an 8 tooth for it.

I also took my original old warn out 7 tooth drive sprocket on my echo machined it down to accept an 8 tooth rim sprocket which I welded in place. Now my echo will take a standard 64 drive link chain. It will also limb a tree like a light saber but will want to bogg if used on anything more than 6 inches thick because I eliminated about 14% of it's chain torque.
I still have the standard 7 tooth sprocket for normal cutting.

 

I ran the carbide chain for hours the other day on dirty wood, still real sharp. Definitely worth it.

 

I was at Lowes the other day and saw a chain that fits my saw. It was marked 90% off.
Apparently they let idiots return chains. Even if it's dull a new chain for $2.60 is hard to pass up. Just wish it was a stihl.

 

I think I finally need to sharpen my carbide chain. It has stayed sharp at least 5x or 6x longer than a normal chain.

 

There finally upgraded to a 60cc echo.
I wanted their 67cc saw but the dealer here didn't have one.
For 7 more cc and a little bigger oil and gas tank probably not worth the extra up to $200 it would have cost.

 

Just finished cleaning up my old and well used Stihl 021. It got a bit of a workout on the last hunting trip. Dropped both chains into the Stihl place near home for a sharpen (last one I will get out of the older chain - so I will also grab a new one when I collect them). While I had the cover and bar off I took the chance to give it a damn good clean out. I need a new air filter as well.

Many many years ago I managed the Gun/Hunting 1/2 of a business, the other 1/2 was outdoor power equipment. We were Stihl and Husky dealers and service agents. The workshop guys always stressed preventative maintenance, CLEAN the damn saw and inspect it for issues when clean. Keep the chain sharp and use quality fuel and lubricants. Those simple points would have prevented a whole bunch of work coming in to them in the first place.

I would probably not own a saw that was not a Stihl, though Husky was not bad, the Stihl saws just seem to keep on working !!!

 

All the companies, even Bosch has finally caved in, make several different models with different pricing for different audiences. It may well be that two models of the same company's same size saw are 30% different in price. Hopefully one uses German bearings the other Chinese and similar differences all the way through. Fix tools for a living and a good Metabo or Bosch 4 1/2 grinder will run you about $150 and as a welder you may get a year or so of use out of it. A Harbor Freight one may run you $20 and as a welder you may get 2 days out of it. My limited opinion is that in a survival situation, having most of my cheap tools, generators, shoes, etc, fail 3 months into the SHTF may not be good. In this present life I have rifles, tools, pots and pans, etc that I use, some daily, that belonged to my parents and grand parents.

 

I blast mine off with compressed air. Also use compressed air to clean off around the oil and fuel caps if I am near compressed air before I put more oil and gas in.

I use ethanol free gas and shindowa red armor 2 stroke oil.
I will also take a little bit of that oil, such as when I am about to finish a bottle and dump the last of it in a 4 stroke's gas tank. The gas oil ratio is at last 100:1 when I do this.