My very first saw

Yeah. Lol. You couldn't get 1/2 a pull in before it came to an abrupt hault. It wasn't just a matter of enlarging the decomp hole either as it had none. It bled off around the shaft out the top. Drilling one did nothing. I replaced it with a genuine Stihl 661 decomp that had a hole with zero change. So I disassembled it and did two modifications. One, made the groove deeper that the three detent balls set in to make it stay locked open more firmly, second was to thin the shaft to allow more blow by between it and the decomp body. Trial and error using the gauge to measure compression with it held open, I got it down to 138 psi when pulling it over and it stays open till it pops. I re-flattened out the tip of the shaft so it can't fall inside the engine, heated it up and pushed a button back on. It melted its way back in and solidified when cooled. Now it pulls over like a stock saw. Sort of. Lol

 

I have 5 saws. One is dead and one needs an oil pump. My new 4910 is on the way here. My wife just does not get it.

 

I had 3 - husky's 40, and 435, and a Homelite ranger that was a gift and rarely used.

After a few years, the 435 was acting up. I got the 445 as a birthday gift to myself.

A couple years later, the 350 was gifted from WeldrDave. He claimed it was teaching his Stihls certain behaviors.

I then took the Homelite to a friend, Truckaa.

If you have one, you have none. If you have two, you have one. Redundancy/backup becomes a motivator when you're planning to cut and your one saw won't start.

 

I think you need at least 3...one to use, a backup for when #1 gets pinched, then a backup for #2 in case any won't start, misc issues, or also gets pinched

 

I had 2 Walmart Poulans and an old Stihl 041 before getting on FHC. For me the progression was bigger, faster, bigger, faster, bigger, faster...

Anti-vibe was also a motivator for me... These new saws are WAY better than the old had numbing, carpel tunnel causing vibrators...

 

I guess it seems like I gotta start looking for another saw
Oh where do I start any recommendations to go with the 4910

 

Echo 2511P for limbing and small stuff.

 

Anything Stihl! Definitely not a Husqvarna! Just kidding everyone.

Honestly, run that saw for a while and get used to it. One saw works fine for a lot of hoarders. If you find yourself scrounging a lot of bigger trees then a larger CC saw maybe a needed.

I ran one saw for many years and did okay. I like Stihl's as they have treated me well for nearly 40 years.

 

Thank you for the read that guide is very informative!

 

What is a slammer for the fireplace?

 

meaning a fireplace insert wood stove; usually a glass front stove that slides into a fireplace.. There are studies that show a fireplace actually lets more heat out of home then it produces.
Napoleon makes a good insert several members here have one

You know a device to burn your wood and get heat

 

Lyle, you know a "slammer" is the old style of insert. Those were the ones that didn't have their own dedicated liner and are pre EPA. The ones you'll see now, and for the last 30 years or so are EPA approved and use a SS chimney liner.

We ran a slammer in the 80's to late 90s in our house and that things was at least a lot better than the open FP, but nowhere near the heating unit that my quadrafire insert is that I run now. Granted,c the house my wife and I love in isn't 4000 sq ft either and doesn't have 20 plus foot tall cathedral ceilings, so it's hard to compare. I do know that if we had the quadrafire I have in my house now, in our house that we grew up in that we would've used less wood and it would've been warmer. We also had an add on wood furnace in the basement to go with the 2 NG furnaces. Oh the firewood that house vaporized....

 

Yes I know I just use slammer; to describe a unit put into existing fireplace; instead of a stand alone or other wood burning device. Pretty common here.

oh ImGunnar a Quadrafire would be another good choice.

 

I was just watching Jeff's video again cuz these are awesome saws, but even though the porting on his 4910 saves about 6 seconds in each cut, he loves the sound of that ported saw so much that he spends about 15 seconds pizz revving it between each cut admiring his saw...




I only noticed cuz I do the same thing when I'm cutting...

 

It ain't fun if ya ain't blipping the trigger...

 

Lots of good advice. Definitely learn to sharpen your chain. Even in clean wood, the chain will eventually need sharpening. You'll need to match your files to your chain size. After trying a few different sharpening tools, I always grab my 2 in 1 for my main saw.
Steel toe boots are also good to have.
Also, you need a couple of plastic wedges. They are a must-have for bucking logs.

 

The definition of a slammer is any stove shoved into a fireplace and and no direct connection to the chimney, or a liner...very dangerous setup!