I have A stihl 360. It is concidered a pro saw i baught it last fall and i have not had a problem yet. I have cut about 40 bush cord and it is stihl running strong. Also have a stihl 009 and it is about 30 years old and it stihl runs just as good as the day it was baught. Stihl is unbeatible.

 

I prep fallen timber for skidding out of the woods (cutting logs to a drag-able length and trimming off excess branches) and drag them to a central location with my Grizzly (I’ve had to beef up my hitch though because I broke it twice while doing this kind of work). I’ve used a Pulan “Wild Thing” which is a good economical saw but have since upgraded to a Stihl 360 Pro. If you click onto my photo page you can see some examples of my log / firewood work…

 

Nothing wrong with Stihl, but as someone mentioned a while ago, the chain speed is a bit slower than the Huskys or Jonsereds. Makes for slower cutting, and I don't enjoy cutting wood THAT much. I've got an old Jonsered 2041, had it for almost 15 years now. I remember when I got it, I knew folks who laughed and said, "Plastic chainsaws won't last in the heat of the summer, and they aren't tough enough to keep going year after year. Most of them stopped laughing after a couple years, and the rest just seemed to disappear..lol.

I use my 400 Foreman to pull out quite a few trees for fenceposts, typically stuff like 25-28 foot long juniper. We use 8 foot posts (horse fence) and I like to get three posts out of one tree. No problem with power, if you can get traction. If I were going to do it in the muddy season (like now) I'd be looking for a logging arch to keep most of the tree off the ground.

If you're looking for a new saw, check out the vibration numbers in the brochures. Every manufacturer has a few saws that are noticeably smoother than others, and that's my choice. If I'm going to be using it all day, a few less cc's and a smoother running saw makes a great choice.

 

I use my 02 700 polaris and a Nichols logging arch to make a living in the winter. I cut about 10 cords a week of pulp, mostly hard maple and white ash. The arch and machine are real workhorses, but work best during the winter months with chains on. I use a Husky 257 and that's all I've ever needed. It's about 7 years old, but still cuts great. I do have a Stihl 026 as a backup saw, but I never really need it. In the Nichols forum you will see my log pile, mostly Ash sawlogs. Sorry the download is so slow. if you are serious about logging with an atv, look at the Nichols logging arch as well as the Nova Jack page for ATV forestry stuff. The Nichols arch is bullet proof!

 

Hey, tack - tell me about that Nichols arch. I've been looking at it, but that's a pretty big pile of jack that they want for it. How large a log can you move with it?

I have a few large oak trees down on my farm, which is pretty rough territory, too rough to get the tractor near them. Been wondering if the arch would help me move them - they're 2 - 2.5' across the trunk, and solid as oak - well, they are oak - so they aren't exactly lightweight. Plus the odd white walnut and cherry tree, but they aren't nearly as large or as heavy. Would love to get those logs into the barn - in a few years, I could be making some nice furniture.

 

JohnO,
Here's the deal with the Nichols logging arch. The arch can take some decent sized wood. I would say that you could haul those oaks at least by diameter, but by weight is another thing. I found that a 2' DBH log is friggin heavy. The arch will take the weight, but moving it can be difficult, the quads aren't heavy enough to get serious traction. If the area is flat or downhill you're golden, but uphill, forget it. I use a winch on my fourwheeler to get up hill with a load on, works ok. If the logs are short, that will help too. If you are thinking of getting the arch from Nichols I have some advice. Do not get the warn works winch with the arch. I stripped out 3 1700 and 1 3700. I now have a superwinch 2300 and it's lasted longer than all 4 warn winches. Tell Gil (at Nichols) you want the superwinch with it. They are an awesome company that really stands behind their product. Good Luck.

 

Man, have you guys ever heard of a skidder? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Seriously, a hunk of oak like that is extremely heavy, especially if green, and more than I would want to try to drag with a quad. I would think it would be pretty hard on the tranny and the rest of the drive train as well. If you can't afford a skidder, John Deer tractors are pretty good, too! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

JC

 

Oh, I know what a log skidder is, I just don't have one handy. Have a nice tractor (JD 1050), but those trees are down in a pretty rugged spot, halfway up a steep hill. I might get the tractor near them but I probably wouldn't live to tell about it.

Here's the Cat holding a smaller oak tree in place while I trim the top off:

Cat grabs tree

Mind you, it has nowhere near the pulling power to actually drag that log uphill, it's just keeping the log from rolling down into the creek. Even the winch won't do much more than just hold it.

 

Nice looking piece of property you have there. I suppose you have your share of deer, eh?

 

I have an old homelite xl130 it is a dinosaur but I have cut a mountain of wood with it and it still seems to run as strong as the day I bought it ,it is a little loud and heavy so I find myself looking at new stihls from time to time because they sure are a nice saw but then I look at the price tag( around $ 600 CDN)and think to myself I can do quite a few mods to my quad for $600 and what do I need a new saw for anyway the old homolite should be good for at least another 10 years. Upnort just wondering why you use the 500 ho in the bush as opposed to the 700?