Yeah, while I love quality equipment, my Poulan 2250 starts on the 2nd pull even when it's sat for over a month's time and it will buzz through anything less than 12" thick. I always find it interesting that people love it when their Stihl's or Husqvarna's start on the 4th or 5th pull and I have a Poulan that starts on 2nd pull (2250) every time and another Poulan that starts 3rd pull every time (2375 Wild Thing) - both saws have 50+ hours of runtime on them so it's not like they are shiny clean and new.

Touching up a chain is a waist of time, especially when you have to do it every tank fill up of the chain saw. How do you get any wood cut in a day, if all you do is file the chain, that much? Sorry. I used to use a filing guide by Oregon, and file my cutters till a wired edge (just enough to catch on your thumb nail as you dragged it along the length of the cutter) started to form across the cutter. Then you cutters are good and sharp. I can pretty much cut fire wood all day before I have to replace it with a sharp one. Trick is to keep the nose out of the dirt. Now I use bench chain grinder, from Tecomec (same place that builds them for Oregon out of Italy, but a lot cheaper then Oregon). I can sharpen chains a lot more faster than I cam or could with a file, or filing guide. Every tooth is the same as the previous, Same length of cutter, and degree of the cutter. I bought it 7 years ago, and it paid for it self in less than 6 months. I cut an average of 20 and one half, full cords a year for myself, along with approx 30 to 40 full cords to sell per year. I also sharpen several chains for others, aswell. Worst thing that I found, is give the chain two or three stokes, here and there is harder on a chain, than giving it 6 or 7 strokes to get that wired edge to form, and you will be able to get a lot more cutting done, before the chain needs sharpening again. I have tried several things, with sharpening a chain, to see what works the best, and getting that wired edge, is the best way to get it done right. This is just my opinion though. Bruce.

Wow there is a lot of things to consider that I never thought about. You guys know your chainsaws. I've using a chainsaw that my mother bought because mine is a cheap one that is now broke down. My mother's chainsaw is a Dolmar 111 52cc and has an 18 inc bar with 325 chain I think. (I'm kind of like Tom, I don't know a whole lot about the whole mechanics that's involved in chainsaws) Anyway, this Dolmar just came out of shop from repairs. I believe they either put a new carb on it or they put a carb kit in it. Well I was cutting a little bit of everything with it and started to cut a cedar limb that was maybe 5 or 6 inches in diameter and it started bogging down. Even after I took it out and gave it gas without cutting anything it would start to die. It sounded like something was blocking air intake so I took the cover off and the found a very unique looking air filter, but it was super clean. So I'm not sure what it is that's wrong. Do they have floats? Because I was thinking maybe that is stuck. Also it has 3 adjustment screws, one has S by it and it looks like it would be for the idle, the other two has L and H by them I'm guessing those stand for low and high. Do you think I need to make an adjustment on those screws? Any ideas about my problem would be appreciated. Another thing the first time I started it after getting it out of the shop I gave it gas and the chain didn't take off right away, but when it warmed up and took off it felt like a solid tight well built machine!!! I like it and hope I can figure this out, thanks for any input!

Chainsaw Wilbur appears to either be an idiot by birth or by deliberate attempt, at any rate, his blog offers nothing of value. Is his blog an attempt to act and speak the way he assumes that chainsaw users can relate to? The Kevin Kelly link is actually a testiomonial by someone going by the name of Charlie Brooks, not that it makes any difference because it`s obvious that Charlie doesn`t really know anything about saws either. I`ve owned and tested many saws including both the 353 and the ms280. If I were to buy one of the two today it would be the 353. Although it has slightly less power than the 280 it`s of minimal consequence in this comparison. The 353 is also noticably lighter and substantially cheaper. The fact that the 353 has a vertically split magnesium crankcase vs the horizontal clamshell design of the 280 is important to some however I don`t think it`s a big deal for this range of saw. Both saws have excellent air filtration, unlike many Stihls. The ms280 is a good example of Stihl`s most modern design features. Neither saw is excessivly loud or hard to start. One gripe that I have about the ms280 is that the anti-vibe is too flimsy. The felt vibes at the handles are low like those of a Husky, Jonsered, or some Dolmars, however the buffers are so soft that the saw feels as if the powerhead is moving around in the cut. I don`t like that feel at all. This is the primary shortcoming of the 280 IMO. In all honesty though, I think the average person would have significantly above average satisfaction from either of these saws.