I have some experience with chain saws from thirteen years in logging in the Pacific Northwest. No longer in logging and no longer have need of a large professional gas saw. I looked at some less costly makes at local hardware stores but they were just to cheaply made. I went for this one and have no regrets. The soft start feature and overload protection make this saw worth the extra cost. Overall quality is great and balance is very good. This saw will certainly keep my residential property under control and will probably out last me. The first tree I took down was mature birch with an eighteen-inch trunk. Took about an hour to turn it into firewood and mulch and did it all on a weekend morning before the neighbors were up, they never heard a thing. If you are not trained or professionally experienced with the use of chain saws, please carefully read the entire operators manual and follow the instructions explicitly. I've seen many bad injuries with saws and they always happen in the blink of an eye. Safety first, always. Makita UC3530A Commercial Grade 14-Inch 15 amp Electric Chain Saw with Tool-Less Blade And Chain Adjustments
Ordered it 04-29-2010; arrived 04-30-2010.
Unkinking chain was longest part of the assembly.
Love the metal sprocket and gearing. And the
tension adjustment is superb - twisted a knob
inbetween cuts and the chain snugged right
up to the bar. No dismantelling or barked
knuckles from oily wrench slip.
Had to stub down a 30+ year old orange
tree in a hurry and had 8"+ diameter trunks
lying down for this Makita to deal with.
Absolutely no problem. Literally cut through
with just the weight of the bar and blade -
which with my Little old lady bad back was an unexpected
pleasure. Had three 12' trunk sections cut
to garbage can size in an hour and still had
enough back left to rake. Love the saw.
Just one piddly thing- have to turn it on it's
side to fill oil and the glass oil fill bubble is
rendered useless on it's side. So of course
oil flowed all over the saw and floor. But my
error, not the saws. Perhaps have the fill
cap on top not the side if they do a redesign.
Will for sure buy more blades as this saw is
a keeper. Oh- the tooless install is handy
once you get the hang of it. Five stars from
a 60 year old with bad back using a chainsaw.
Until I used this chainsaw I laughed at even the idea of an electric chain saw. I've been using gasoline chainsaws for over forty years. This little saw will amaze you. With a small Honda genset in the back of our Kawasaki Mule we run all over our place cutting firewood and taking out dead or dying trees. It will fall any tree of reasonable dimensions and will quickly clean it up. Keep it clean and filled with chain oil. We are pretty hard on ours and it shrugs if off so I'm guessing most users will never have a problem. And by the way, there is an enormous difference between this Makita electric and the electric chain saws you see for $[...]-$[...]. Don't waste your money on the cheap machines.
Aside from supporting what has already been said about this saw, there is little I can add to the reviews already given. I relied on them to make my decision to purchase it and I'm pleased to say it was not a "too good to be true" situation.
This is a well built saw. That fact became evident the time I first picked it up, when I noted it weighs, probably, twice what any of my previous three electric saws weighed. It appears to be built with the same standards Makita and the other big name companies apply in the construction of their heavy duty, commercial worm drive circular saws.
Installing and removing the bar, or adjusting the chain during use, is, as others noted, simple and requires no tools. I was leery of the "no tool" approach to chain tensioning; however, it works well on my high end [barrel handle] jig saw, so, I made the plunge and spent the extra nickles. Again, I'm not disappointed.
I have a couple cords of apple firewood to tackle each year and, from the little I've used it so far, I feel confident this saw is up to the task.
We use electric chain saws in our indoor facility to cut process scraps into pieces small enough to efficiently feed the grinder and puck maker. After spending a pile of money on multiple "handyman" quality machines by every other name in chain saws only to have them die quick and ugly deaths, I finally found a source for this "commercial quality" saw.
What a difference! This saw has plenty of torque, good balance, and runs very smoothly. Having used it for hours nearly every day in the month since I bought it, it continues to eat like a greedy 'gator.
I hope (and expect) it will give us long service.
I recently bought this saw due to a cheap Remington that kept giving me problems. I could not complain it lasted and did well for the years I used it.
This saw is a winner. Yes, it is expensive compared to the cheaper saws. The soft start is definitely a plus, it doesn't jump when started, it oils the chain and bar well and has enough power for the size it is. They should name it "Eager Beaver" because it goes on wood like one. I will tell you that it weighs a little more than the cheaper ones. Normally, anything that is well built will weigh more...that is a plus in durability and a minus on the muscles. I recommend this if you can afford it.
I needed to save some money on tree removal and I have a real fear of chainsaws. I bought this saw because I trust the brand and electric saws somehow seem less intimidating. That was a good decision. The saw is absolutely perfect for the size of trees I am cutting (3" to 10" thick). It is also incredibly quiet. I was going to leave some of the bigger trees to the arborist but now I will just cut the trees I want and leave the chipping and stumping to the professionals for about a 1000$US savings after buying the saw. - Chainsaw - Power Tools - Chain Saw - Chain Saws'
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