Chain saws I've recently acquired

[ebinmaine 77,751]

Several months ago one of the other drivers at work mentioned he'd been given an old chain saw by his neighbor.

 

He already had a newer one and his first thought was how Trina and I harvest our own firewood. He's been here to help and take some home in the past. 

Never even tried to start it or compare it to his current saw.  

He's not normally a person who keeps extras of anything so he offered the saw to us. 

 

That saw is a 1990 something Jonsered 2054 Turbo. The numeric designation back then meant Jonsered installed a 20" bar and the saw has a 53.6 cc engine. Round up to 54. 

No pics of it yet because I took it straight to my favorite small engine repair place.  

They'll check it over and advise. Likely (hopefully) just needs a tune-up and a bar & chain. 

 

I got to texting back n forth with @Stepney about it and he mentioned that he had another Jonsered that maybe I oughtta own. 

He came up for a visit yesterday and we swapped some machinery around. He showed up with TWO saws & left with a tractor. The Workhorse GT1800. 

 

The saws are a Jonsered CS 2171 and a Stihl MS291. Pics below. The label pic is of the Stihl. 

The 2171 is a 70.7 cc. Currently outfitted with a 24" bar. There's also the original 20" bar. That may end up on the 2054 if it'll fit. 

Interesting thing about this 71 cc saw is that I've occasionally wanted a larger more powerful saw than my current 49 cc Echo CS490. That's a great saw but every once in a while we tackle a larger tree. This year we're clearing more land and felling several bigger hardwoods. Excellent timing. 

 

The Stihl is a 2017 Model year. 56 cc. It'll need a repair to the spark plug threads and a tune-up, at minimum.  

 

I'll post follow up info as the repairs are done.  

 

With any luck I'll have three saws larger than the 49 cc.

 

 

 

[Skwerl58 811]

Those saws are good workers for certain. They Stihl has very good parts availability and those Jonsered are known for their power. I have a couple of  Husqvarna and they have been very good saws. 

[ebinmaine 77,751]

29 minutes ago, Skwerl58 said:

Those saws are good workers for certain. They Stihl has very good parts availability and those Jonsered are known for their power. I have a couple of  Husqvarna and they have been very good saws. 

 

My impression of Jonsered quality has always been very good. 

In my reading recently I've seen that my 2171 is very similar to a Husquvarna 372xp. Parts availability for those is excellent as well.  

 

IF the 2171 needs cylinder repair I'll likely put a Big Bore kit on. Brings it up to approximately 75 cc.  

 

 

 

[Oldskool 6,676]

You won't be disappointed with the Jonsered. 

Short of bolting a bar to a dirt bike engine you should have all the power you need to drop a large tree.

With all the other saws you have you have a perfect selection for sectioning a tree without lugging a saw any bigger then needed for the task. That in itself will help things along more swiftly.

No need to use a big saw on small branches. 

[ebinmaine 77,751]

17 minutes ago, Oldskool said:

You won't be disappointed with the Jonsered. 

Short of bolting a bar to a dirt bike engine you should have all the power you need to drop a large tree.

With all the other saws you have you have a perfect selection for sectioning a tree without lugging a saw any bigger then needed for the task. That in itself will help things along more swiftly.

No need to use a big saw on small branches. 

 

 

Agreed.  Should be well set up for a long time.  

[Pullstart 69,194]

5 hours ago, Skwerl58 said:

Jonsered are known for their power.

Growing up, I recall a deck of cards that were Jonsered.  That’s what I know the company for!  

[ineedanother 1,964]

I have my brother's MS291 in my shop right now for a once-over and it's a really good saw. Good power for the weight and parts are readily available. They typically have metal limiters on the carb which frustrates owners when they can't get it adjusted well enough as the carb ages but that's a pretty easy fix. Put a good semi-chisel on it and it should serve you well  

[ebinmaine 77,751]

2 hours ago, ineedanother said:

I have my brother's MS291 in my shop right now for a once-over and it's a really good saw. Good power for the weight and parts are readily available. They typically have metal limiters on the carb which frustrates owners when they can't get it adjusted well enough as the carb ages but that's a pretty easy fix. Put a good semi-chisel on it and it should serve you well  

 

I've been reading on several forums that the MS 271 & 291 are good saws while they're good... when they get to a point of needing repairs it may be a questionable saw to spend much money on. 

This one will need the upper end disassembled to repair the spark plug threads - at the least.  

It may be more labor cost than the value of the saw to make it right.  

 

We'll know in a week or three.  

 

 

 

[ineedanother 1,964]

3 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

I've been reading on several forums that the MS 271 & 291 are good saws while they're good...

With some luck the spark plug got cross threaded before it had too many hours on it. You'll know for sure when they pull the jug.

[ebinmaine 77,751]

10 minutes ago, ineedanother said:

With some luck the spark plug got cross threaded before it had too many hours on it. 

 

We believe that to be the case. It's nine years old but not super heavy usage.  

[wallfish 19,489]

25 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

No pics of it yet because I took it straight to my favorite small engine repair place.  

2 strokes are pretty simple engines and fairly easy to revive if they weren't abused or run without oil in the gas. No need to take them somewhere because you definitely have enough skill to go through them yourself. 

 

Quick search on the Jonsered. 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Jonsered+CS+2171+rings&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p4624852.m570.l1313

[ebinmaine 77,751]

6 minutes ago, wallfish said:

No need to take them somewhere because you definitely have enough skill to go through them yourself. 

 

Much appreciated John.  It's a skill set I'd like to develop more in the future for sure.  

 

[ML3 2,177]

Nice score of saws! Although I no longer heat w/firewood I still keep my  Husqvarna 455 Rancher. Have a carbide chain installed & its best $$ I spent. Ported & polished the head & matched/smoothed exhaust @head. Made a big difference in performance. Its definitely a handful & not for a novice. Cut a lot of wood for about 15yrs with this saw. My last house we would burn 7-10 cords of wood a winter.