Chainsaws

Nov. 25, 2003

Let first start off that I'm somewhat of an environmentalist myself so don't panic (if you're a tree hugger) when you see the title or the subject matter!

End of last week I bought a Jonsered 2094 Turbo chainsaw from a fellow who had a listing on ebay but I didn't bid fast enough to meet the reserve amount and forgot to set the automated bidding up. Anyhow, I hooked up with the guy later and we settled on a price.

(actual pic is a 2095 without chain brake)

Jonsered is the sister-company to Husqvarna and some of the models share parts with each other. As an example the Jonsered 2094 and 2095 saws share the piston with the Husky 394. On the smaller saws shared parts are even more common especially the older models.

If you own a Jonsered 2094 send me an email to tell me your story about it.

Want to see a quick video clip of it in action? This is the link. (right-click and select save-as) 3.5mb in size.

Here's a comparison picture with my 2250 Poulan with 16 inch blade:

Then again, this is a nice big chainsaw but take a look at these monsters! (video download)

If you are in need for a spare parts listing of the Jonsered 2094 or an operators manual for the 2095 let me know. I have these in pdf format and will email them to you. You can also contact Jonsered for the same documents. They are most helpful and responded pretty much the next day on questions. Thank you Jonsered!

I'll be leaving my impressions of the saw on this page once I get some cut-time in.

I also own a smaller Poulan 33cc saw with 16inch blade that I bought at Home Depot 2-3 years ago. It's a good little saw. Very reliable, quite light and has never let me down. It just can't handle the big stuff.

Recently, with family, we acquired 10 acres of property on Keats Island and put in an offer for another 10 acres, both pieces south-facing oceanfront. It's somewhat steep rocky terrain from the water to about 1/2 way up the property. The top half is second grown forest with the largest trees approaching 3-4ft diameter.

Eventually a cabin or two will be built and they will be heated with a combination of wood heat and solar thermal. We won't be cutting down any live trees, just widow-makers and trees that have fallen on their own or are a safety hazard. There is so much wood that cutting healthy trees just isn't necessary.

A few weeks ago I cut up a couple of dead trees that had fallen on the intended building site with my little Poulan and it was obvious I needed a bigger saw. Hopefully the Jonsered 2094 will handle the job. I think it should, after all it's 7.1hp compared to the Poulan at 1.7hp!

One thing I noticed from all the new saws for sale at Home Depot and most hardware stores is that they use a "safety" type cutting chain. These chains have nubs that stick up between teeth and once you've sharpened the chain a few times the nubs tend to stick up higher than the cutters of the chain so you end up making dust and not cutting through the wood. This gets very frustrating and you'll think your saw is defective. You couldn't even cut your leg off if you tried wearing shorts! First thing to do is visit your friendly local chainsaw dealer and get a replacement chain that isn't a "safety" chain. I can tell you that with the new regular type chain my little Poulan started cutting through wood like butter. No kidding! What a relief.

Anyhow, that's all for now and I'll be adding some more to this page as time goes.

Cheers,

Peter