Wow, this site has been here for 11 years. Every complaint under the sun and not one real solution to the problem of companies like HD and Lowes getting by with selling trash for what they call "Top Soil". I own a resort where we have no less than 2 acres of landscaped flower beds and 80 foot trees. I have been buying "top soil" from the two companies mentioned as well as from Walmart and one or two feed stores. I realize that top soil is not garden or potting soil, but I have been using it for planting and bedding material for over 35 years. I have gotten buy with using it in a mix of approximately 1/2 topsoil, 1/3 cow manure, one or two 2 lb coffee cans of peat moss and a can or two of vermiculite. This has given me tremendous success in planting everything from maple trees and crepes to using it to "enrich" the soil around a bulb. I have seen a great deviance in quality of "Top Soils", but have never seen anything like is being offered over the last 6 months. I usually buy 40 - 80 bags at a time, several times a year. I have used some for filling holes and dispersing it over soil that needs a little help with creating runners in the likes of Bermuda. But it is mostly used as stated above. In the last 4 months I have never experienced a "top soil" that has actually tainted the surrounding soil to a point that you cannot even grow a rye seed mix with fescue in it. Everything it touches gets killed or at least strained to the point of withering away. At first, I thought it might be one lot of soil that came in, but subsequent lots were contaminated as well. If you go back an read one lady's complaint about her Top soil smelling like gas, it tells me that the main problem with today's soil has been around for sometime. It has been mentioned that decomposition of manure and products like moss, or wood shavings may play a roll. Maybe so, but I suggest all you have to do is to wonder what is happening to the thousands of miles of road surface that has been hauled away during the repaving of our black top roads? Could it be that the petroleum odor is coming from ground up tar. Same color and everything. Most important, have you ever seen grass seed grow on the blacktop surface? Poor a little oil over your fresh seed and see if it grows. One final observation. Someone said to cut open the bags and let them dry out. Try it with todays "Top Soil" and you will end up with a brick. I used some to freshen up my Xmas poinsettias. When it dried, water would not penetrate it. When customer service was approached and aske to take it back, the answer was the same as it was years ago. Bring it back in the bag it came in and they will refund it. Right!! Beware, the "topsoil" you may be buying today is not suitable for use in a planting mix. I doubt you will be able to use it with out your skin burning and your nose running. I wish I had an alternative. Lowes did.....buy the mix already in the bag at a cost of 3 - 4 times the cost of today's Top soil. Captainjim

Sears never made their own equipment but had major shares in suppliers like Tecumseh and AYP. To answer your question about differing drive link counts, it has to do with chain pitch, the spacing between the drive links, and bar/saw design. Your Craftsman probably uses .325 pitch which usually means 72 drivers for 18". Stihl's 18" uses 74. The krauts just have to be different. 3/8 chain on a 16" bar is a minefield. 56 links is the most common but Shindaiwa takes 57. The old Homelites used 59. Stihl calls theirs a 15" and uses 55 drive links. Go figure.

FYI the original bar (painted "Husqvarna") has a scratched up part #. After doing a little guesswork and trying a few substitutions it appears to be "5089261-72" Q: Is this designed for narrow kerf chains like the 95VP? Can it also handle the standard kerf chains like the 20LP etc from above? FYI#2 - 2 teeth are broken off the chain next to each other. After sharpening it still cuts OK. Any problems continuing to use with a couple broken teeth next to each other? Thanks for your patience w/ all these questions - I just like to be safe and informed with the chainsaw. Rather ask the question here than learn something the hard way!

Husky's and Stihls are both great saws, no doubt about it. I've been cutting firewood for 30 years and selling it for 20 years. My personal preference is Husky. I run 2 saws while cutting firewood. A Husky 350 with an 18" bar for smaller branches, trimming and slash and a Husky 460 with a 24" bar and a skip-tooth logger's chain for the bigger stuff. One of the main reasons I prefer Husky over Stihl is honestly the anti-vibration in the Husky's. It's just a little better on a Husky. When you're running a saw for 6-8 hours a day, it makes a huge difference. Both saws are great and the top saws in the world. I've got logger buddies who will swear Husky is better and others who swear Stihl is better. I honestly believe you won't know for sure until you run both. It's all about personal preference. Se people like Ford's, others like Chevy's, and still others prefer Dodge. I've cut hundreds if not thousands of cords of hardwood, (oak, maple, locust, elm, pinion), as well as softer wood, (ponderosa, fir, grey and blue pine), with my saws and never had to do more than filters and lugs in them and they both still run great. And what I'll tell everyone that thinks that because, Husky's are available at box stores like Lowe's, they are an inferior saw, you are mistaken. The biggest Husky saw I've seen at Lowes is a 350, which is about the biggest saw you'd want for small things like home landscaping. You will NOT find Husky professional saws at Lowe's. I've seen Stihl's at Home Depot, but only small home owner models. I own a small Stihl MS210 with a 14" bar that works great when I'm trimming back the trees in my yard. I actually found it in the dirt while cutting firewood in the western foothills of the Sierra's. It looked like it been there several months in the spring, which is the rainy season of the Sierra's. I primed it and pulled about 7 times and it fired right up with a little spitting and sputtering, I adjusted the high-low and now she runs great! But I only use around the yard as it's too small to cut firewood. But it is a great saw. The best advice I can give anyone looking for a new saw, find some friends that have a Husky and a Stihl and try them yourself. You'll find your personal preference and will be happier than just buying something without trying. Most people test drive a car before they buy and you should do the same with a saw as well. For those of you that don't know, Husqvarna is the parent company that manufactures McColluch, Poulon Pro (which makes saws and other small gas powered items for Sears-Craftsman), and the now defunct saw company Johnesred (which in my opinion, was one of the best saw company's ever!), as well as some other smaller brands you may or may not have heard of.