If you are like me you get overwhelmed with all the chainsaw options these days, both Stihl and Husqvarna seem to have way too many chainsaw products available. All those numbers and letters.
More than once I have wished I could look at a chainsaw number and know exactly what it is. Is the saw from their PRO series or their Residential series? And what exactly are some of the differences in the models and features? Is it an old obsolete chainsaw (like my Husqvarna 257) or is it currently on the market?
Well if you’ve ever wondered this you’ve come to the right place. This information can be found elsewhere on the web but not in one place in spreadsheet form with links (coming soon) like this, (at least that I have found). So without further adieu. Here is a 2023 Gasoline Powered Husqvarna chainsaw product list, (with the specs that I care about in a table format).
The Chainsaw Specs That I Care About
The chainsaw’s NAME, its WEIGHT, the chainsaws HORSEPOWER, the chainsaw’s engine volume / CYLINDER DISPLACEMENT, the chainsaw’s ideal BAR LENGTH, the chainsaw’s SOUND LEVEL (over 85dB, hearing protection is recommended). The chainsaw’s VIBRATION and Husqvarna’s SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE(MSRP). The MSRP will help us to know what kind of deal we have found either on amazon or at another store.
Husqvarna Buying Table Gas Powered Chainsaws for 2023
Enjoy and good luck chosing a great saw! We plan to also share a table like this the Stihl chainsaw and perhaps with the other suppliers. There are many more chainsaws available today from Husqvarna and other suppliers, both gas and battery-powered. But you cannot go far wrong with almost any of the Husqvarna chainsaws.
Recently an uncle gifted me an Poulan Pro chainsaw. This chainsaw had been given to him by a neighbor who moved away and no longer needed it.
This chainsaw seemed to be well cared for and used lightly.
This saw had decent strength and the chain was sharp, well tensioned and oiled and started up with minimal problems. It had not been run for several years and it took a while to burn through the old gasoline within it.
But it filled in well for my Husqvarna 257 which was down, while splitting 12 ash trees worth of firewood in September of 2022.
Specs:
Engine size: 42cc
Engine tpye: 2 stroke engine
Gasoline type: mixed gas to oil ratio of 40:1
Choke is a pull out tab that was intutive and I was able to figure out how to run it quite easily.
Bubble push button six times to prime the gasoline.
Bar length is 18″
It’s weight was I’d say medium, and lower than my Husqvarna 257. But not as light as a battery powered saw.
This saw is not a professional grade saw in ruggedness and durability. I feel like I could break the saw if I tried to do too much with it. It is defineinyl ideal for smaller scale felling and firewood. I checked the price on a present day comparable Poulan Pro and it was near the $300 price point, that alone is telling.
Retail price for a quality pro series Husqvarna or Stihl these days is $800 minimum.
However, this saw is adequate for what it is intended, light duty intermittent branch cutting, small tree felling, and firewood cutting. If you are thinking of buying one I’d not pay more that $300.
Rented a Spitfire 2265 Hydraulic Gas Powered 18 ton, Log Splitter for the weekend. And I wanted to review it for my readers benefit.
I had 12 ash trees to split and I was tired of swinging my maul.
So I rented this log splitter, it came on its own integrated small trailer with a 2″ hitch.
Some of the ash logs that I was splitting were as large as 48″ in diameter. The unit I rented did not have a log lifter, which some do. So there were some logs I was just not able to split.
I split more than 5 full cord or wood this weekend with this splitter.
Specs:
Engine – Honda
Fuel type – regular gasoline
Manufacturer – Spitfire out of Canada
18 ton- Hydraulic
Ease of use – very easy. But they could add a way to lower the deck so large wood is easier to load. (But I guess I needed a larger splitter.)
Safety issues – regular gasoline, hydraulic-powered slow moving blade. Even my 7-year old was splitting wood with me.
Things I liked about this splitter:
It was light enough for me (with effort) to pull around my yard by hand.
I was able to split ~4 full cords of wood in ~3 hours with the help of my teen son.
It split most of the logs with ease (ash and cherry), even logs as large as 24″ in diameter.
It took regular gasoline.
It was relatively safe, the blade travels very slowly making it easy to avoid injury. As long as the operator recognizes potential safety hazards operation seems safe. I felt comfortable allowng my 14-year old son to split wood without me around.
Things I did not like about this splitter:
It could not split my massive 36″-48″ logs as it would get stuck in the wood. This suprised me given the extreme strength of this splitter. The distance that that crack in the wood had to travel was too far and the splitter blade would get stuck in the log. Requiring me to cut the log out of the splitter with a chainsaw or beat it out with a sledge hammer. One of the biggest reasons I rented this splitter was to split these specific logs. They are massive and are in the way in my yard and I wanted them to become firewood for the upcoming winter. I was able to split about half of these massive logs, the others I left for difficult chainsaw cuts and/ or bonfires, or perhaps as raised garden beds.
I did wish the blade was larger than it was because of these logs. However, there was a larger splitter available for rent that I chose not to rent. My mistake. And if I had done that I’d have struggled moving it around my yard like I did.
It was expensive, I paid about $380 for 5 days, this included a delivery fee. I think I paid too much, but I do have now about 5 full cord of ash wood ready for the winter. And the rental fee had nothing to do with the splitter itself.
Overall I would rent this again for normal sized logs. And I do recommend anyone do the same. But since some of my logs were so large > 36” diameter I have regrets.
I find the history of the Chainsaw quite interesting. It has had a major impact on the world and it gets little credit. Think of the increase in lower cost and higher supply of wood for building that the chainsaw has provided. Without a doubt the chainsaw for cutting lumber is an invention of Europe, and mostly by Swedish inventors. Sweden is heavily forrested and this explains their desire for a more automated way to harvest wood.
There was also a medical chainsaw used in the 19th century for childbirth. 😳 It was used to cut cartlidge to separate the pelvis in women while giving birth. Yes it sounds horribly barbaric, and is no longer used. Cutting wood with chains sounds like a much better idea.
In 1926 Andreas Stihl, who is known as the Father of the Modern Chainsaw, patented two-man chainsaws. The gas powered saw came in 1929, it was called a tree felling machine and it weighed 101 pounds. Which at least partially explains why it was a two-man saw. The second man held the tip of the bar with a handle while a chain rotated under the handle. This saw was called the “Tree Felling Machine”. Andreas Stihl’s company was founded in 1926 and is still making saws to this day in Germany and in the US (in Virginia Beach and Oregon). Given what I know about chainsaw cutting and seeing photos of this monstrosity, I would imagine that the bar twisted often and the chain frequently became stuck while cutting.
In 1950 Stihl’s company manufactured the first one-man gasoline-powered chainsaw. The saw weighed 35lbs. There are photos of this chainsaw and it is enormous. I bet only large lumberjacks could use these machines, in the 1950’s. Little guys need not apply.
Are you experiencing chain slippage on your chainsaw during cutting?
Earlier this year I changed the sprocket in my Husqvarna 257 Chainsaw and I thought it would be helpful to share how to do this.
The sprocket is the round ~1-1/2” diameter special gear, that converts the engine’s power into chain rotation. It is the mechanism that engages the chain and rapidly rotates it around the bar in its groove.
When chainsaw chains get loose, as they often do, these sprockets can allow the chain’s inward-facing teeth to skip. And over time the sprockets can become worn from the intense friction. The wear then leads to even more chain/ sprocket slips. This began to happen so much to me that I decided it was time to change my sprocket.
I considered taking it to my local Husqvarna dealer but then I figured surely I can teach myself this repair.
So I went online (Amazon), ordered the correct sprocket for my saw (Husqvarna 257), and taught myself how to change the sprocket. It was not too bad of a repair, if I can do it likely so can you.
In the photo to this post I show the old and the new sprockets side by side. The old on the left, the new on the right. As can be seen the old is worn due to many hours of use with chain slippage. This was long overdue.
Changing the Sprocket (on most Husqvarna’s)
Step one: remove the side cover by removing the same nuts that you’d remove to change the chain.
Step two: remove chain and bar.
Steep three: loosen locking nut that holds on the sprocket. This nut’s threads turn counter clockwise. So they loosen to the right. This nut was extremely difficult to remove. I recommend you use an impact wrench. I do not have a an impact wrench but after considerable effort it loosened. For this reason you may want to take your saw to a chainsaw dealer who does these repairs, or find a friend with an impact wrench.
Since my new sprocket I’ve had almost no chain slipping.
Another cause of chain slipping is a broken or non-functioning chain tensioner. I will summarize how to change this in a letter post.
Wooden ducks are very rewarding carving object becuase they are relatively simple and they make great decorations. Wooden Ducks also are used as decoys for the water foul hunter. So there is a well established market and supply ofdecoy ducks. Most ducks used in hunting are no longer made of wood but despite that the duck making industry is large and thriving.
My home has several carved wooden ducks that were here when we purchsed it.
So the steps to carving wooden ducks are as follows:
Ten Steps to A Wooden Duck
Step one, obtain your example duck. If you have a certain duck that you’d like to pattern a wooden duck after get a photo in hand. It is not necessary that you copy the duck exactly but it is nice to have an example pattern duck to go by.
Step two, obtain your wood, click here to find what tyes of wood are ideal for a project like this. For this exmple I plan to use pine wood from a tree removal project in my front yard. To do this you can purchase wood prepred for carving or just use wood that you already have. In my case I am using a pine log.
Step three, prepare wood by removing the bark and blocking the wood for easy transfer of the duck template.
Step four, draw the duck onto the wood from sides and top and bottom and front views. Sketching the duck onto the wood is a critical step for the beginner.
Step five, make the large cuts and the larger wood removal steps. For example cut out the wood behind the head. Large cuts can be made with power tools if wanted. .Tools like table saws or hand saws can be used to rough cut and remove large amound of wood. Major rounding around the body, around the head.
Step six, begin to carve with a sharp carving knife, this is where the duck begins to take shape. It is critical to have sharp blades during these steps. It is also helpful to re-draw your duck shape as you remove wood, take your time.
Step Seven, once the duck has taken shape and you are satisfied with its shape and have done the fine carving and feather lines. Begin to sand your duck.
Step Eight, move between sanding and line carving and making your finishing touches.
Step Nine, Paint and or Varnish the duck.
Step Ten, take photos, learn from your mistakes and do it again.
Share a picture of the duck you carved below. If you get brave try to carve a wooden duck with a chainsaw, it can be done. This article from my friend can get you started.
In summer 2021 I purcahsea a CS1400 EGO 56 Volt battery powered chainsaw. I immediately used it to cut up several small trees and branches that needed clearing in my yard. This chainsaw is surpisingly powerful for its small size and the fact that it is battery powered.
Features:
Bar oil reservoir
Chain tensioner with finger grips, (no need for screwdrivers).
Bar/ chain removal with hand tightening, (After years of changing chains and bars with bolts and wrenches, several times per use, this feature was my favorite feature, by far).
No need for the hassle and mess of mixed gasoline.
I got about an hour of continual use per charge.
Rapid battery charge took less than 45 minutes.
Power indicator on the battery itself.
However, one limitation to make note of is that I was not able to successfully cut logs that were larger than 6″ diameter. They seemed to be a bit more than the chain could cut from a power perspective. However if I cut slow enough and was careful to not allow pinching I was able to get through them.
I would highly recommend this chainsaw for the homeowner for general brush clearing, and branch cutting. It’sclean, its powerful enough and it seemed as safe as one can get with a chainsaw.
I purchased this at Lowes but here is a Link to this same saw on Amazon
Also, for more chainsaw reviews I have written click here;
Beginner Chainsaw Carving Tips From Michelle Thevenot Artwork
Chainsaw Carving is a unique art form that tends to fascinate viewers and carvers alike.
People often ask, “How did you start chainsaw carving?” And I’m eager to share a bit of my carving experience so far.
About a year and a half ago, I picked up a chainsaw for the first time, and decided to try my hand at chainsaw carving. Since then, I haven’t looked back.
But it didn’t just start with a chainsaw. The interest in woodcarving began about a year prior to that, while looking for ideas on homemade Christmas gifts. After watching a few YouTube videos and power-carving groups on Facebook, I decided to start small with a rotary tool.
I began sketching out basic designs of scraps of wood, made a couple of wood signs, Christmas ornaments, and etched designs on walking sticks.
I quickly grew impatient working with the small scale and wanted to work on larger projects, but lacked the necessary tools for the increased size. That’s when I started eyeing up my husband’s chainsaw. Not going to lie, it scared the crap out of me. The risk for injury was intimidating, so I soaked up as much info to start to feel comfortable with the idea. Geared up, which provided a reassuring sense of protection, and fired the saw up. Off I went on a determined girl-power mission to cut down a dead tree, dragged it into the yard, bucked it up, and attempted my first log carving.
The learning curve was steep. Just getting the feel for the saw, angles, pressure, and control took about 3 full carvings of “not great” results before improvements started happening.
Being “self-taught” has provided some really insightful learning through trial and error. I’ve worked through the kinks, found my groove, and techniques that works for me. But the learning doesn’t end – chainsaw carving is an ongoing journey of experimentation, creative problem-solving, and personal development as an artist.
I’d encourage anyone intrigued by the artform to at least give it a try.
So, you’re interested in chainsaw carving? That’s great!
Beginner Chainsaw Carving Tips
Here are a few tips that I learned from bumbling my way through beginning chainsaw carving.
1) Safety First
Chainsaw carving is inherently dangerous and it’s in a carver’s best interest to acknowledge the risk and respect the tools. Before even firing up the chainsaw for the first time, I read the manual (yes, the entire thing), took the chainsaw apart, put it back together, and just became familiar with the ins and outs of its operation. A bit of online research and watching videos on safe chainsaw operation were part of my self-imposed pre-use safety training.
Once I felt acquainted with the saw, I gathered personal protective equipment, which I feel is an ongoing requirement. This includes safety glasses, chainsaw chaps, gloves, and hearing protection. If I’m doing extra dusty work, I’ll add a face mask/respirator to keep the sawdust out of my lungs.
While the chainsaw may seem like the most dangerous tool in a carver’s collection, precautions are also necessary with other power tools that a carver may use. I have yet to have a chainsaw accident (thankfully), but its the angle grinder I’ve had a few knicks and near misses with.
So carve safe! And treat every tool like it could hurt you.
2) Start with Basic Shapes
Set yourself up for success and accomplishment by starting with basic shapes like a tree or a welcome sign. It provides opportunity to learn on a gentle learning curve, rather than jumping right into a complex 3D animal to start with. Just getting comfortable with the chainsaw and learning control is enough of a challenge at the beginning. Once chainsaw control becomes second nature, you can start challenging your sculptor mind with more complex subjects.
3) Start Small – But Not Too Small
Starting with small carvings has its advantages, and you don’t feel so defeated and wasteful when the first ones don’t turn out as anticipated.
But speaking from my initial experience, a smaller carving doesn’t necessarily mean an easier carving. My first carving attempt was on a little 2 ft log and I found it so hard to maneuver the saw around the small-sized carving and couldn’t get the detail I’d hoped for. Even using a 16-inch chainsaw bar, I felt the size of the saw was just too large in comparison to the log and I often unintentionally overcut areas.
On the other end of the spectrum, the phrase “go big or go home” could also lead you down an intimidating path of more work than you’re ready for.
A happy medium, in my opinion, is a 3-4 ft piece of wood for a starting size.
4) Anchor Your Work
To avoid tipping or moving of smaller carvings during carving, you can anchor the log to something to keep it in place. Anchoring methods I’ve used include attaching a wide piece of plywood screwed into the bottom center of the log to provide a wider base, or clamping it in a wood bench vise.
When working with larger, heavier pieces, they’re not likely to move with the pressure of the saw, so anchoring may not be needed during the carving process. If it’s a large cut log, I just ensure it’s straight and level before working on it.
5) Physical Care
The most vital tool to maintain for a carver is their own body. If the body’s broken, there’s no carving happening.
Without a doubt, chainsaw carving is a full-body workout that takes me to the limits of what I can do.
Think of carving like an intense workout at the gym. It will probably take time to get used to the muscles being used, building strength and endurance. For safety’s sake, maintaining a level of physical fitness, stretching, rehydrating, and taking breaks are key to avoiding injury and ensuring long-term sustainability. And by all means, stop when tired or hurting.
Post-carving self-care may call for additional measures at times. As needed, this may include an Epsom salt bath soak to ease sore muscles, icing overused joints, anti-inflammatory medication, and deciding to take several days off to allow recovery.
While some carvers may have the stamina to bang out a whole carving in a single session or carve for full 8-hour days, I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect that high-level performance from every carver, especially beginners.
From my personal experience, I can usually keep up the stamina for about 2-3 hours of work before needing to take a break to recover (for both the body and the mind.) It takes several sessions to complete a carving. The hard work and time that goes into creating a piece makes it all the more gratifying in the end.
6) Basic Carving Steps
While every carver has their own unique process and preferences, these are the basic steps I like to follow:
Pick what you want to carve and search for reference pictures. I print off a couple photos to look at throughout the carving process.
Make a scale drawing. I like sketching on graph paper to lay out the carving plan. My scale drawings usually include 1-foot markings on the height of the carving, and a center line down the middle. The grid makes it easier to copy to the wood afterwards. If you can draw 2 outlines (1 from the front and 1 from the side perspective) it makes carving a lot easier later on.
Draw/spray paint the grid markings onto the intended piece of wood, then the general outline from the front, referring to the scale drawing.
Carve out the front outline with a chainsaw.
Redraw the grid where cut off, draw the side outline, and carve out the side profile.
Complete the blocking out process with chainsaw by rounding off corners and removing as much bulk as feasible with chainsaw. As outlines are cut away, stop to redraw the layout often.
Detailing – some details/textures are done well with a chainsaw, but the finer detail is often enhanced with other tools such as a smaller chainsaw carving bar, a die grinder, or rotary tool with burr bits.
Finishing – sanding, cleaning the carving with compressed air, optional paint/stain/propane torch burning, and of course a topcoat sealer that’s ideally UV and water protectant.
That’s just a tip of the iceberg of what a beginner chainsaw carver might encounter along their journey into sawdust and two-stroke exhaust. The best way to learn is to get in there and try. Allow yourself the grace to make mistakes and learn from them. Have fun with trying something new and feel proud for challenging yourself!
No matter how it looks in the end, there will be someone out there that thinks what you’re doing is pretty darn SAWsome.
About the Artist – Michelle Thevenot
I’m a chainsaw / power tool carver hailing from Saskatchewan, Canada. I studied Art Education at the University of Saskatchewan. My artistic background originally focused on painting and drawing, but I craved a more tactile experience. Sculpture developed as a progressive challenge to try new things and test my limits.
As far as chainsaw carving goes, I learned through experimentation and I continually try to find what works for me, which is undoubtedly challenging, yet rewarding in a pure sense of developing a unique personal style. I carve in my “free time,” which can be preciously rare in addition to life’s adventures. Besides art, my days are filled with being a work-from-home Mom balancing office time with modern homesteader tendencies, property development projects, informal homeschooling, hunting, trapping, fishing, and other wilderness excursions.
Wood carving is much easier with the right tools. Heavy gas-powered chainsaws which most prospective carves own are not ideal for the beginner wood carver. Also sharp pocket knives are not ideal for the beginner wood carver for making anything more than whittling a spear at the end of a stick.
With chainsaw carving fatigue can be a major factor. My Husqvarna 257 is very heavy for me and after less than an hour of use fatigue sets in. If I were making a large detailed carve then I’d need to use a Stihl Msa200.
There have been great advances made in smaller chainsaws, even chainsaws powered with battery are available. These lightweight chainsaws are great options for the beginner and even seasoned chainsaw carver.
The weight of the electric battery powerd Stihl MSA20 is 10.2 lbs. The weight of my Husqvana 257 which is typical 20″ gas powered chainaw is over 30 lbs.
Thirty pounds may not seem like much but when wielding it for hours as is the case when carving matters…a lot. The only negative to a battery powered saw is the battery charge. According to the website with the recommended battery AP 300, the saw will run for 45 minutes. Just enough time to carve for a while then take a break. However with the AR 3000 battery this saw can run for 200 minutes.
If weight is not a major factor for you then a well running smaller chainsaw is fine for the beginner carver. As you might expect smaller bars/ chains might be more practical.
Tools for Beginning Whittler
I am not a professional whittler, I can carve basic things with knives and do own sharpened wood carving knives. However, I have spoke with some pros about this and they insist that the best tools to get started carving is a shortened carving knife. Stiff, short and sharp along with a 90 degree wedge blade. Shaped like a V. These two knives can get the whittler 99% of the cuts and shaping that we need. The versatility of what can be done with these two knives is very good.
There are many fancy options for carving knives and buying just these two knives is diffu=icult on amazon. This kit on amazon however contains these two blades, along with many others. Another option might be to go to a craft store and just buy individual knives.
For the beginner carver it is also advisable to use a pencil to sketch on the wood before you start carving. Also if possible, find someone that can help you get started with the basic cuts. I purchased a coursed on Udemy to help me get started carving with wood, and it was well worth the fee. My instructor was a woman who had been carving since the 1980s and she had developed extreme skill and enjoyed teaching.
So there you have it, the highly rated Stihl MSA 200 battery powered chainsaw and a $37 dollar knife kit. Are the best tools for the beginner wood carver. Once you get your beginner tools, keep them sharp and just get carving. I would recommend you start chainsaw carving chairs, then move to bears. And with knife carving start with little figurines then move to wooden ducks. You may be surprized at what you are capable of carving.
Recently due to job loss thanks to the Covid 19 panic, I had an opportunity to run a Jonsered 625 II chainsaw. I used it to remove an old stump. It made surprisingly quick work of the stump as expected. The owner wondered if I could get it started, but it easily fired up after I added fuel, the saw had been well maintained, the chain was tight and sharp enough.
Jonsered chainsaws are Swedish made, same as Husqvarna. This saw reminded me of a Husqvarna before I knew they had aquired Jonsered in 1994.
It had the small on/off toggle switch.
Husqvarna AB owns Jonsered Fabrikers AB and they still made equipment up until September 2022.
This 625 II that I was lucky enough to run were made between 1987 and 1997, I could not find an exact date on this saw. They have a 61.5cc engine, (3.75 cu inch). It is advertised as a 4 H.P. (horsepower) engine.
Notable Jonsered 625 II Chainsaw Features
This saw had an 18″ bar but probably could have handled more.
Weight is just over 13 pounds, which is lighter than my Husqvarna 257 so that was nice. They probably don’t make chainsaws with 4HP at 13 pounds anymore.
It had a pull-out choke that I had to manually push back in once the motor was getting fuel. The feel was not much different from the Husqvarna’s, perhaps slightly more difficult. I prefer having the choke easily accessible by my right thumb near the on/off switch. The Jonsered felt a bit cheaper than the Husqvarna. However it had a good deal of power as I ran it. I felt the torque as I revved the motor, which I don’t feel as much with my Husqvarna 257 or the Husqvarna355, however I have no reason to think it was more powerful than the others.
Overall I think I prefer the Husqvarna slightly but this saw certainly got the job done. And would be a good buy for the homeowner looking for a small tree removal or firewood saw.
You may be able to find replacement parts for your Jonsered 625 II HERE
Another review of the Jonsered 625.
Comparable Saw Being Sold Today
If I had to choose a comparable saw to this Jonsered 625 II being made today I would choose the Husqvarna 545 Mark II. at only 11.7 lbs with 3.7HP and an 18″ bar, I am impressed with this saw. In fact I am considering purchasing this saw at my local Husqvarna dealer, but Amazon sells it also.
