Chain saw and a mount grapple for a bucket?

[saltbranch]

Case 485. 72" bucket...I need a good, economical grapple to mount. Prefer a 2 section grapple. Looking for recommendations on a chainsaw. I will narrow it down the an Echo with 20" bar or less. Light weight and easy start is a must

 

[skyhightree1]

There is only one chainsaw to choose from a Stihl.....
The grapples from this company are excellent and well made I had nothing but luck from them

https://www.wrlonginc.com/grapples

 

[MtnCows93]

depends on what your cutting but a husqvarna 562 is what i use, lightweight and cuts like a striped ape

 

[Nesikep]

Echos are good saws.. As are Husky/Jonsered, Stihl and Makita/Dolmar... With this sort of stuff, chose the brand based on local dealer support and the one that'll be in your corner should you need warranty work. After that, it's displacement and power-weight ratio.. A light saw with bad antivibe is at least as bad as a heavier saw.. but it also depends on how much you're going to be using it...
What sort of wood are you cutting? Softwoods I'd look at about a 55cc saw (for 20") while if you get into really tough hardwoods you want to go up to close to 75cc.
Are you looking for a new saw or a good used one?
I don't know the models of the 50cc class saws very well but if you're looking at a bigger one, you really can't go far wrong with something like a Stihl 044/440/441 (different generations of the same saw), or in Orange flavor a Husky 272 or 372... In the blues, the Makita/Dolmar 6100 or it's big bore brother the 7900 is apparently an amazing saw.

 

[jltrent]

On the chainsaws a 50cc Stihl MS260 or a 62cc Stihl MS360 as you will have to buy these used. The newer emission friendly saws that replaced them are more expensive to keep running and harder to keep running right. Another poster mentioned the MS440 which is a 71cc saw and one of the best.

 

[Dave]

Any chain saw is better than a cross cut saw. But any make other than a Stihl is just barely better than a cross cut. I burnt 2 gallons of saw gas a day for 20 years and I wouldn't buy anything other than a Stihl. Having a little extra power in a saw is a good thing. Keeping your chain sharp is essential.

 

[Nesikep]

I thought the west coasters were all Husky guys... I have only seen a couple 056's up here, every other saw is a Husky, usually 2100's and 288's

 

[skyhightree1]

I thought the west coasters were all Husky guys... I have only seen a couple 056's up here, every other saw is a Husky, usually 2100's and 288's

Nope just the dumb ones

 

[greybeard]

I'm guessing he will be cutting mesquite and juniper...lots of it from some of the pics I've seen him post in the past.
I 2nd Stihl.
I have two MS290s. FarmBoss they call it. One still going strong since 2008, other one is only a couple years old. Both have been trouble free and easy start. I abused the crap out of the 1st one--cross ties..telephone poles, lots of cedar, red & white oak from hurricane ike and 2011 drought and chinese tallow. A little heavy for it's hp, but well made. At 67, I can easily start and handle it.

Don't know what my neighbor has, but his smaller Stihl has an easy start of some kind and cuts like a dream. 18" bar and he could almost keep up with me and my 290 when we were cutting a oak tree off the road so we could get out.

 

[Atimm693]

On the chainsaws a 50cc Stihl MS260 or a 62cc Stihl MS360 as you will have to buy these used. The newer emission friendly saws that replaced them are more expensive to keep running and harder to keep running right. Another poster mentioned the MS440 which is a 71cc saw and one of the best.

I have had a Husqvarna 545 for almost 3 years now.. It still works great. Have cut probably a dozen cord with it. It's actually a Jonsered but they're the same saw with different paint.

It has the electronic Autotune carb, haven't had a lick of trouble from it, and it's always in tune.

The MS360 is an old saw, and are tough to find used. The MS361 replaced it, and the 362 is the current model. All good saws though.

The Echo CS590 is the best saw for the money in that class. Make sure you get it tuned right, as they are set very lean from the factory.

 

[jltrent]

On the chainsaws a 50cc Stihl MS260 or a 62cc Stihl MS360 as you will have to buy these used. The newer emission friendly saws that replaced them are more expensive to keep running and harder to keep running right. Another poster mentioned the MS440 which is a 71cc saw and one of the best.



I have had a Husqvarna 545 for almost 3 years now.. It still works great. Have cut probably a dozen cord with it. It's actually a Jonsered but they're the same saw with different paint.

It has the electronic Autotune carb, haven't had a lick of trouble from it, and it's always in tune.

The MS360 is an old saw, and are tough to find used. The MS361 replaced it, and the 362 is the current model. All good saws though.

The Echo CS590 is the best saw for the money in that class. Make sure you get it tuned right, as they are set very lean from the factory.

Good information, the problem I run into is yes they are set to lean and it does shorten their life, but the new saws either don't have a "H" (high side to turn more fuel lubrication) setting on the carburetor or have limiters that if removed pretty much destroys the carb as they don't have a spring on the stem.

 

[NoEsc]

Any chain saw is better than a cross cut saw. But any make other than a Stihl is just barely better than a cross cut. I burnt 2 gallons of saw gas a day for 20 years and I wouldn't buy anything other than a Stihl. Having a little extra power in a saw is a good thing. Keeping your chain sharp is essential.

You'll need to see what you're doing to set it up initially, but once that's done you can sharpen your chain by braille.
Save the box your chain came in because it'll tell you what size file to use and what angles to set the file guide at.
I don't see a power grinder saving me any effort that's worth the added complexity and chance I'll ruin the chain's tempering by over-heating it.
Manually operated, air cooled, and gravity assisted.
Plus this thing has a cool, old-timey look to it.

 

[jltrent]

Case 485. 72" bucket...I need a good, economical grapple to mount. Prefer a 2 section grapple. Looking for recommendations on a chainsaw. I will narrow it down the an Echo with 20" bar or less. Light weight and easy start is a must

Going back to the OP almost 2 years ago. IF a chainsaw is still needed probably an Echo CS-490 fits what you described. An Echo cs-590 would be good, but they are heavy. Prices on Echos are less than Husqvarna/Stihl, but parts are super high on the Japan built Echos as there is very little used parts/aftermarkets available. You will pay more on the front end for that Stihl/Husky, but in the long run cost very little if any more.

I found a beater Echo CS-490 cheap I was going to tinker around with, check out and repair....after I priced a few parts/tried to find used that POS is going online and whatever it brings is good riddance.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Echo-CS-490-20-Bar-50-2cc-Engine-Professional-Grade-Gas-Chainsaw-New/173952204364?epid=6030522332&hash=item28805bfe4c:g:KrkAAOSwr31c5DCV

 

[dvcochran]

I thought the west coasters were all Husky guys... I have only seen a couple 056's up here, every other saw is a Husky, usually 2100's and 288's

I have a Husky 288 with a 36" bar that is very good at putting trees on the ground. It is heavy and will give you a workout if used to cut up the rest of the tree. I have a Stihl 260 Farm Boss and a 009L that you can run with one hand. Great saws to finish up once the tree is on the ground.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Every husky I've had my hands on, took a lot of pulls to get started, hot or cold. 2 or 3 pulls cold starting a Stihl, and she's ready to go.

 

[callmefence]

If you got much get you a shear. You'll come out ahead in the end.
I really prefer the clamshell type grapple for piling brush. But the two sided ones have their place. Don't get a bucket grapple with sides. You want the sides open for handling brush.
There's a brand new one at that little implement yard on the north side of lampasas for 1950.00. don't recall the brand.

 

[Dave]

I thought the west coasters were all Husky guys... I have only seen a couple 056's up here, every other saw is a Husky, usually 2100's and 288's

I have a Husky 288 with a 36" bar that is very good at putting trees on the ground. It is heavy and will give you a workout if used to cut up the rest of the tree. I have a Stihl 260 Farm Boss and a 009L that you can run with one hand. Great saws to finish up once the tree is on the ground.

Hardly ever saw any Huskies. It was over 95% Stihl. But you are talking old saws. I did run a couple of 2100 Huskies back in Alaska in 1981. Back then Stihl was 075 or down to 045. The 045 was too small and the 075 was a heavy beast (I did wear out several 075's. I was a lot younger and tougher back then) The 2100 sort of fit in the middle. I did wear out a number of 056's but the last time I ran one of them was in 1988. That was 31 years ago. Even the one 066 which I still have is over 25 years old. It is a lot better saw than a 056 or the Husky 288.

 

[dvcochran]

I ran a 066 several times. I would say it is personal preference but I like the 288 better for putting a tree down. It is quicker I think because they rev a good bit higher. Of course a lot has to do with the chain and how they are filed. I have the lands on my Husky pretty low.
I also misspelled; it is a Stihl 280. Good all around firewood saw.

 

[dvcochran]

My 288 hasn't been started this year and I would bet money it would start in 2-3 pulls. I hope so anyway; even with the compression released it is a bear to pull.

 

[Nesikep]

I have a few 288's, I like them but unless I'm falling and bucking trees over 20" I'd rather have a 70ish cc saw.. a Stihl 044 or Husky 272/372 is plenty.. I have a few 394's ported and those are awesome, would like to get a 395 to try out.

My 064/066 is miserable, 210 lbs compression.. it didnt' have a compression release when I took this vid, it was actually playing nice this time, some times there was just nothing you could do to start it, it would fire and no matter how hard you held that handle it was ripping it out of your hands
https://youtu.be/KGqaitWLAFw