Good first chainsaw for firewood and low-level pruning?

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I'm pretty terrified of the things but since moving to the country with 1/2 acre garden full of mature frees, I'm increasingly feeling it is a fairly essential tool.

I have no delusions of getting up into the trees - the tree surgeon can gladly be paid for that - but chopping up felled wood and pruning are things I can do myself.

An experienced friend had a little look online and reckoned for the Husqvarna 236 (14" bar) at £120 is a great option in terms of size/price - it even comes assembled and checked: https://www.worldofpower.co.uk/husqvarna-236-chainsaw.html

Would others agree?

I already have face protection but not special gloves or trousers or other gear.

Thanks!
 
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I bought an electric one, as I didn't want to be tempted to go away from home.
I think they are safer, when they are off they are off. I see petrol ones where the chain still moves when not in gear.
 
Chainsaw is too much for pruning, other options for chopping timber up, I use recip saw and chop saw to prepare my timber for the wood burner.
 
Would they cope with bigger bits - we had a beech with trunk 18-24" diameter, left in rounds 9-12" thick. I was recommended a splitter but they don't seem suited for such large bits. What'd you recommend for that?
 
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Really? That's a big lump of wood - I can only barely lift each round!

The tree surgeon who felled it recommended a splitter or chainsaw if I don't want to spend weeks chopping the several tons of wood he's created for me, my splitting ax is a decent one but even so...
 
Machine Marts Clarke log splitters are excellent, as is the Stihl MS181 chainsaw, if you are looking for recommendations!
John :)
 
I bought an electric one, as I didn't want to be tempted to go away from home.
I think they are safer, when they are off they are off. I see petrol ones where the chain still moves when not in gear.

If this is the case it's faulty. All chainsaws have a 'hand' brake for when it's not in use.


OP, give consideration to a recip saw and some decent pruning and demolition blades. Might be a little more work but much safer, cheaper and environmentally friendly.
 
I've got a reciprocating saw though I wasn't hugely impressed - got a Dewalt with their own blades for outdoor stuff. To cut a 6" girth yew tree down took quite a while... a chain would've taken about 5s I reckon :)
And of course it's amazing how good a decent hand pruning saw is!
 
I've got a reciprocating saw though I wasn't hugely impressed - got a Dewalt with their own blades for outdoor stuff. To cut a 6" girth yew tree down took quite a while... a chain would've taken about 5s I reckon :)
And of course it's amazing how good a decent hand pruning saw is!

Are you using blades fit for purpose and wedges to stop the blade from pinching? A chainsaw isn't much quicker if you're not helping it do the job.
 
Blades yes... wedges no. I mean it was better than using a hand saw but it wasn't getting stuck... just not the knife through butter I'd expected.

Dewalt DWE305PK-GB Reciprocating Saw, 240 V
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01LZQPBZQ

Unless these blades are not the super rough ones, though I thought they were
 
Blades yes... wedges no. I mean it was better than using a hand saw but it wasn't getting stuck... just not the knife through butter I'd expected.

Dewalt DWE305PK-GB Reciprocating Saw, 240 V
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01LZQPBZQ

Unless these blades are not the super rough ones, though I thought they were

I'd say those blades aren't suited to what you want them to do.

ae235.jpg
https://www.screwfix.com/p/bosch-s1531l-reciprocating-saw-blades-wood-240mm-5-pack/71339
 
@d000hg I can't comment on the Husqvarna. A friend, with more experience in the area, recommended a couple of chainsaws and I bought a Stihl MS171, https://www.radmoretucker.co.uk/product/stihl-ms-171-petrol-chainsaw

I have been very happy with it. I think I have less land than you (I have c. a third of an acre) and a lot of my trees [1] are not that old, self-sown laurel & holly up to 8" thick. So a lot of cutting down I do by hand and just use the chainsaw for biggest / hardest cuts and for cutting up felled pieces.

However in autumn 2016 a 30' tall oak (dead for several years) fell down. It was 18-24" thick and I cut it up into lengths and dealt with it okay. A 12" bar s/b enough for that but it lying down making the other side inaccessible, so I bought a 14" bar & chain which made a huge difference.

1. That is the ones I will work on. I have plenty of older & larger trees but there is a TPO covering hundreds of houses here so I can't do much to them (not that I want to), and as they date from the 1860s they are large enough that I would get a tree surgeon in to deal with them.
 
For stove use it needs storing for a couple of years, will be easier to cut then.
 

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