Leave the McCulloch on the shelf....trust me on this. Husqvarna and Stihl both make great saws, I would choose between those 2 brands. I'm thinking Stihl MS-260 would be a good saw for your hubby. Go to a servicing dealer for your purchase, they will take the time to explain how the saw works, set it up so it is ready to cut. Home Depot and such will only sell you a saw in a box, with no service after the sale. A servicing dealer will be there for you after the sale if you have problems or questions, where the box stores will only give you dumbfounded looks.

The best advice I have to offer is this: stick with Stihl or Husqvarna. If you want to learn more about saws, generally, head over to arboristsite.com's chainsaw discussion section - this topic has been covered dozens of times there and you will learn tons in 15 minutes of reading.

As for what to buy, it is difficult to know without knowing exactly what your husband will be up against. In sizing the saw, remember that a 16" bar can cut 32" material, cutting from both sides. Also be aware that one can accomplish a LOT more work safer and faster with a big engine/short bar combination than with a smaller engine/longer bar.

As for size, most "general homeowner use" tasks (firewood, cleanup, etc) can be accomplished with something in the size range of a Husqvarna 350/353 or Stihl 250/260/270/280/290. Any of these saws will be happy with an 18" setup. Of the models listed, the Husqvarna 353 and Stihl 260 are pro-grade saws and the others are very solid homeowner-grade saws. Though heavy for its power, the Stihl 290 is one of the most reliable saws in Stihl's lineup, and is popular with occasional users because of its excellent price-to-power ratio.

I also second the suggestion of finding a good, local servicing dealer!

I recently purchased a Husqvarna 353 with a 20" bar. I also have woods and an old maple fell over in a wind storm. It was 24" at the base. The 353 cut through it very quickly although I had to cut from both sides a few times near the base.

Note that you can purchase a power head with your choice of bar lengths. The recommended bar lengths for the 353 are 13-20". I also plan to get a 16" bar and will probably use it more than the 20" bar.

I highly recommend the 353 for homeowners with more than a half acre of woods.

-Deerslayer

I think you could find an Echo saw for substantially less than a Stihl or Husqvarna, yet the quality is close or even equal. Stihl and Husqvarna are the favorites of the pros, and probably for good reason, and their prices reflect that. You probably won't be using the saw enough to really get your money's worth. The lowest price brands have a motley reputation for longevity and reliability, even when they aren't used that much.

At Speedway the Echo CS-520 18" costs the same as a Husqvarna 353 18". These are fairly comparable chain saws, however, the Echo has a slightly smaller engine. Here's a link to the Echo:

Echo CS-520

From the Echo you can navigate to the Husqvarna 353.

-Deerslayer

OK-I've owned a McCulloch 3200 for over 10 years. Never in the repair shop and I rotate between two chains. I have abused and neglected it royally. I stored it in an unheated, leaky garage and changed the spark plug twice. It has started everytime I needed it without fail. I have cut down hundreds of trees and sawed up all sizes of fallen limbs. I paid around $89. Do I agree that other brands are better, certainly. If it quit working tomorrow, I would have not one bad word to say about it.

Great advice above all. I'd add only that a 20" bar on a saw around 15# with fuel, bar, and chain can be tiring to use for limbing. I recently spent a LOT of time over at arboristsite looking for something a bit handier than my Husky 254 with 20" bar (a saw roughly comparable to the MS260 / Husky 353). I now use an MS200 and am tickled how well it performs. Not as powerful as my Husky, but way nicer to use for hours on end and actually faster for limbing. My 20" bar is going to see a lot less use now.

I agree on the name brand saws. I personally own an Stihl 170 with a 14" bar. It is the smallest lowest end saw Stihl makes. However on my .3 acre suburban lot, it is plenty for what I need. The saw is fantastic for my needs of about 10 hours per year. I have cut down a 20+ inch tree with no problems.

I wish I could own an acre or more again, then I would get a heavier duty saw. If all you are doing is occasional work and don't need to work very many larger trees, I would stick to the smaller bars (14-18") and lighter weight saws.

If your husband is like me, you may have a better outcome by taking him to the store and letting him pick the saw. Or maybe you go the dealer and let him know that you are buying a saw today that he may want to exchange in the next two weeks. He should be open to that, if not another dealer might be in order.

Good luck. Let us know what you and/or he decide on!

Been heating home for 15 years with wood, and pretty much all of it cut with one saw, a Stihl. Countless chains. Ignition went out first time this spring, labor and parts still under warranty(free)!

john1953...your McCulloch and the ones made today are a different animal. At one time, McCulloch made the best saws out there, in the 1950's and 60's. Nowadays, McCulloch is a "Made in Taiwan" disposable saw. Its a shame really. Check them out at Home Depot...pitiful.

go to a echo dealer and ask for their saw in the 50cc range.
im a stihl man myself. but the echo saws are definitly good value for the money. that along with being high quality saws.

Stay away from Poulon products. I went through 3 of them in th last four years and finally bought a Stil with the easy start feature.

Any of the power tools sold by the box stores and discount chains are not the quality of those sold by a dealer.

I have a McCoullough Pro-Mac purchased in 1974 that has cut a lot of firewood over the years and is still going.

Bought other saws because of parts availability on the older Macs.

Since you expect the saw to only get occasional use, I think that you would be wasting money buying anything more than a Sears, Stihl,Echo, or Husqvarna homeowner saw, especially if you buy an MS290 which because of it's obesity is a scourge to the average occasional user. It's also over $300.

I always recommend a good dealer for the purchase of a chainsaw but since you don't know what a good saw is, will you know a good dealer when you meet one? Chances are you won't yet you'll have the pleasure of paying too much for your name brand saw.

I would never dispute that pro saws offer better durability, improved anti vibe, better power to weight ratios and dealer support if you should need it, you are not assured of getting a pro quality saw simply by going to a dealer, nor are you assured of getting dealer support.

This statement is preposterous "the Stihl 290 is one of the most reliable saws in Stihl's lineup." since it is untrue. The 290 is a pricepoint saw aimed at the person who drives a pick up with a big engine for his daily 5 mile commute to the factory or office but who never hauls a heavy load. It's all show. The 290 is underpowered for it's weight and the performance is disappointing, not to mention that it's basic construction proved so fraught with problems that the updated models, the 270 and 280 are built differently. Leave this one on the dealers shelf. Save yourself a hundred bucks or more and get an ms180 or ms250 from Stihl, an 137, 142 or 340/345/350 from Husky, or a CS 440 or 520 from Echo. If the saw really won't be used more than infrequently, get a Craftsman, it will last as long as the ms290.

Another good place for straight answers seems to be chainsawperformance.com

I agree with barbedwire. Get a saw that fits your needs. No need for a pro saw unless you plan on heavy cutting which does not seem to be the case. On the other hand I disagree with the statement that the box store saws are inferior. The box stores sell the same saws as the dealers for some of the saws mentioned above. What the box stores don't have is a person that is knowledgeable and will be there to help you with any questions and service you need after the purchase. Your dealer should if they are any good. That is why I now by my power equipment at dedicated dealers. It's for the service and followup. Well worth the cost for me.

I also would recommend the Stihl MS170 over the MS180. The 180 has a little more power but not much for the cost difference. It also has some extra convenience features but nothing I found worthwhile. If you go the Stihl homeowner route talk to your dealer to get the information you need to decide. If you were going to go bigger I would then look at the MS210 and 230. They start into the heavier chains. Echo and Husky will have similar pricepoint models. Good Luck. Let us know what you decide, although I am thinking you have moved on. Good advice above though.

I have owned a few McCulloch saws in my time and they used to make a professional quality saw and a cheepie. The professional saws like the Farm Boss were great saws. Since then the company has gone broke and been split up, I recently needed a new saw in a hurry and purchased a McCulloch which I thought was at least a semi professional saw. Bad move it turned out to be a rebadged Poulan. The original McCulloch which is sold under the "Talon" Brand here in Australia is now made in China and frankly I would not touch one.
I use my saw for a bit of pruning and clean up after storms and for just in case a bush fire comes along and I need to cut down a burning or dangerous tree. There is nothing worse than an unreliable or hard to start saw when you need it in a hurry so go for a brand you can trust. My next saw will be a Stihl. I have watched the Arbourists and they all use Stihl because of their reliability and the fact they are easy to start. The bar length will depend on the size of tree you need to cut. I have an 18" bar on mine which is pretty good and allows me to cut up trees up to three foot diameter though you do have to take several cuts to do it but as that does not happen often I can live with it. I also have a 12" bar and chain for it for pruning.
If as you say, you live in a wooded area and need to clean up after storms you need a reliable saw so I would defiantly go for a Stihl. Have a look at the diameter of tree you need to cut and then go for a bar length that will cut through the most regular sized trunk, anything bigger then you can cut from both sides.

i agree he doesnt need to pay for pro sawes. thats why i like echo saws . one yr. pro warranty. so u pay less for a saw that ive found to be equeal in durability to the pro versions of the other saws...as far as ive seen echo just sells one grade of saw.the exception, ive seen is the little 30cc top handle.
it only has one ring. the rest have 2. ive got one tho and its not missed a lick in over 5 yrs of use.

I want to thank you all for your very helpful advice and taking the time to share your extensive chainsaw knowledge and experience ! I really appreciate you all not only naming brands but specific model numbers to look for! This will certainly help me make a more sensible and informed purchase. I live way out in the boonies and not too many local businesses here, but I will start trying to locate a dealer, that really seems like sound advice. Again, thank you, I will feel much more qualified now to buy my hubby a chainsaw for his birthday!
Linda

I bought an almost new "McCulloch" MAC-335 at a local auction the other day for AU$100, which is about half the price of a new one. The seller was the State Police department, so I assumed it was unclaimed stolen property. Unfortunately, I wasn't observant enough at the inspection to see that the chain-brake didn't work properly (i.e. I didn't start it). I only realised it was stuffed when I got it home and tried it... sometimes the chain wouldn't stop when I pushed the brake handle forward :((

As a chain saw novice, I initially thought the smoke coming out of the case near the chain's drive was just exhaust, but the smoke got worse after a minute or two, and then the chain-brake wouldn't work at all. When I looked at the casing on the chain-side, the sticker that the auctioneer had put on the case was bubbling and the case was melting! (I can only assume they put the sticker there to cover up previous heat damage to the plastic case!)

Removal of the casing revealed a charred mass of melted plastic inside, which had seized up the chain-brake mechanism :((

To rub salt into my wounds, when I rang around for McCulloch spare parts, I was told McCulloch went out of business ages ago, and it would be nearly impossible to find any spare parts. I then found out that the McCulloch brand (in Australia) now belonged to Electrolux. When I rang Electrolux they told me they had sold it to Husqvarna!

I took the saw into a guy who said he might have McCulloch parts from wrecked machines. He took one look at it and said it was in fact a re-badged Poulan, a brand name also now owned by Husqvarna!

If I had read Dock's post on March 24 I would have saved myself some grief :(

So off I went to a Husqvarna distributor and, after a bit of searching, he found out that the McCulloch/Poulan/Husqvarna parts I need are available for AU$80.

The moral of the story is... Do your research before buying a brand name and buyer be VERY aware at auctions.

That is what I refer to as education tax. It is the cost of learning and sometimes can be steep. At least it was only $100 this time.
Good luck and thanks for sharing.

At one time Stihl & MAC made the best saws on the planet.BAR NONE!!!
They were a great value and cared for never gave a person a reason to cuss it( unlike many of the new offerings)

Poulan is the largest manufacturers of chainsaws today and they manufacture many of the saws under other names.
AVOID ALL OF THEM!!!!

My reccomendation is to look for an older in good shape Stihl 009
Its a small homeowners saw for just what you are talking about.
It will run forever, and if you can find one you will likely pay around 100.00 for it.
Finding one can be difficult because the minute one gets traded in, people snap them up for camp saws.
Now some folks may think this saw is too small, my answer is they must have used one with a dull safety chain on it because with a good chain they cut like a Banshee with an attitude and will do so all day all week all year forever!!
They are still used by Many Northern Mn Loggers for limbing.

It has a 13" Bar and is capable of cutting up storm downed trees of Medium Size ( although not as quickly as thier larger counterparts) It will make short work of any trees with a trunk 16" across and capable of larger. It excels at limbing due to its light weight and ease of manuevering.

It is very easy to buy more saw than you need and if your husband isnt heating with wood anything more than the 009 is overkill IMHO

20 years from now it will still sell for around 100.00 too!!!
I have 2 now and will buy another if I ever run across one just to have it ( can ya tell I like em :o) )