I wouldn’t be afraid of the jonsered a friend does tree work with his dad and the only two saws they will run is jonsered or echo. They refuse to run stihl because the chain speed is too slow, and the husqvarna cost too much otherwise they’re great saws. Personally I run old echos but I do very little cutting so I just keep them going.

I don't know about the slow chain speed on the Stihls, Trapper Les and I logged of a good portion of Kansas with one quite a few years back.

Zim

Scuba that hp difference is the block off plates. I'm just giving you what info I have already researched. The 2188 is a much bigger saw than the 372 and if it is the same price as the 372 it would be a easy decision for me.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Jonsered professional chainsaws.

Zim running a longer bar is not so tough if using a skip chain. I would think that a full comp chain on a bar of 30"+ is going to require a 90 cc or bigger to pull it through any type of wood. I like the idea of a longer bar if only for stability ( having the rails farther apart ) I'll have to figure out how to configure and re grind a chain for efficient ripping of mostly hard wood.

I own both but would probly lean towards the Stihl if I had to choose one. The biggest thing is, what dealer is close to you to service the saw if something goes wrong.

I fix stuff for a living. Right now I have a old two smoke outboard and a Husquwarna chainsaw a Honda generator and a super cold machine refrigerator unit on my healing bench all from customers of mine. So I am not concerned about having a dealer close by. I get parts online and wrench things myself.

That’s just been my experience and theirs but I know there is a lot that can effect it I work on my own and so do they and the stills I’ve been around were worked on by other people so maybe they had it set to run slower or i might have had my gas mixed a little leaner. So I can see where that wouldn’t be true in every case.

I do love the Stihl brand chains in bubble packs you can get in the store. Great quality chain that will cut all day long without needing touched up.

I don't know if you have seen them, but there are chainsaw attachments that run band saw blades. I have used one long ago on an 090 Stihl. Much less resistance than a chain of course . The bands were fairly fragile but there is a tool to repair them. This was at least 20 years ago soI'm not sure they are even around any more

Darn it. Now I have found a Stihl MS660 Magnum with a 36 nth bar for 1200 bucks new in box. Would that be overkill or should i just get it and then build the mill around that one ??

I recently have some experience with this. Buy the biggest mill you can afford.
24" is only about 16 with the nose wheel, and bumper spikes - this set up was a stock stihl 660.
36" is about 28 - this set up was a stock husqvarna 372.

I ran a jonesred 820 with a 24 inch bar on a 48 inch mill, I was only able to get about 18" logs through it.



Don't go less than 70cc. I always tell customers you can never go to big with a new saw purchase. you can go too small and be disapointed.

Darn tootin….

I still have, and run every year, the first one I ever bought in 1984. Jonsered 450. No telling how much wood I have cut with it. It is just one , of several Jonsereds. Yep, you'd do fine to own one.

Husky owns them now, I think.

I wont sit here and act like i dont want a monster husky or stihl....but in lieu of dropping 2k i opted for some antique muscle...a homie sxl925. Its only 82cc but at 100 bucks in good condition i couldnt pass it up. It turns over and puts out with no persuasion. Only problem is finding parts when i need them...and i will at some point.

Husky and jonsered engines are the same, both built in the same factory so I have been told. I run both brands.

Not overkill. That's what I got to setup my mill. Nice thing about the 660 is it's easy to work on and aftermarket parts are available. I've milled with 70cc saws and they worked ok on in 12" -14" softwood. 90cc saw is much faster cutting.

https://www.arboristsite.com/community/

Check out the above website for a wealth of info.
Husky and Jonsered used to share the same research facility, maybe still do. Years ago for wood cutting and logging I used a Jonsered 2083 (83cc). Only made 2 years (late 90's) but a great saw. Husky used to offer a 395 (95cc). Loggers loved them for big work. My brother has always used Husky 371/372's. A little lighter in weight, the new 372 cuts as good as the old 2083. I could bury a 30" bar in a red oak with the 2083 and still run full speed.
Get the biggest saw you can afford.

So I guess it boils down to go big and whatever color has the best offer at the time. I saved up some material from fabrication jobs and can pretty much build the mill out of stainless steel at the cost of a little bit of argon and some tig wire. So the saved money on that part goes into chains for the saw I think. Going to Tennessee in a couple of weeks to look at some property we picked out. From then on things are going to get real pretty quick i think.

I could use a chainsaw mill at times then it would set, type of deal. They would sure be a nice tool to have. I can't add much more then to say bigger would be better IMO.

One thing is putting on a shorter bar/chain that would give more power for the saw. If you don't need that long bar size it down for more power.