Shindaiwa Chainsaw

Hey everyone, i'm in the market to retire my Johnsered 450 and was currently set on a Shindaiwa (492) and was looking for first hand experiences and reviews of any who's ran/runs a Shindaiwa. Bonus points for experience with a 492.

 

It pretty much the same saw as the Echo CS4920.
They are decent saws. I'd say they are mid level home owner saws.
For the money, I'd go with the 591. Which is the same saw as the Echo Timber Wolf.
For the money, the Timber Wolf is hard to beat.

The 591 is a 60cc saw. There is a big difference in power.
And it's only about $80 more.

Echo and Shindaiwa are owned by the same company.

 

This is good info, thank you. Especially since the price difference between the 492 and 591 is 40$ locally for a few more weeks.

This isn't a deal breaker but does the 591 also have a magnesium crankcase like the 492?

 

No, the 591 does not have a mag case.
The Echo CS620P is a 591 with mag case.
But it's more....like $175 more.

Shindaiwa makes a good saw.
But Echo gets priority over them.
Echo owns Shindaiwa, and they keep the "better" saws under the Echo name.

If you don't plan to burry the bar in anything bigger than 18", the 492 will be fine.
That saw (492) will run better with a 16" bar and limit the diameter to 14" or less.
Will it cut 18"? Sure, but it will be "slow".

I also don't think the 492 has an adjustable oiler.
Where the 590 does.

I guess it all comes down to weight. If you can handle a 13 lbs saw.
I'd go with the 591

If you think you lighter is better for you.
go with the 492.

All said, If you like "lightweight" it is REALLY hard to beat a Stihl MS261.
But......it's expensive.

 

Ahhh not a Stihl! I kid, all my buddies run Stihl's and swear by them.. I like to go against the grain though.

I guess a better idea of my goals with the saw are to get firewood but with all the easy deadfall getting rummaged already by amateurs, it's mainly turning into dropping dead/severely forest fire damaged trees that are still standing.

The Johnsered I'm presently running has an 18" bar on it and that's all i've honestly ever used. Our trees don't get massively thick around here so having to slice from two sides is feasible for us for the odd "chunky boy" we encounter.

In the future, my Wife and I want to eventually end up off grid(-ish) in the Yukon/Alaska and although one saw isn't good for every use, I'm hoping to get a well rounded, durable and easy to work with saw.

I was just looking into the 591 a bit more and it's appealing. The CS620P may be overkill but i'll check it out in person and talk to the saw shop anyways. Maybe in our climate it's the only way to go

 

Jonsered is now a Husqvarna.
I don't care for the Husky clutch lock system. (Chain lock)
I had the damn clutch lock pop out of the handle 2x now.
It always does it when you pull the cover off.
And its a royal pain in the ass to get it fixed. That spring is hella tight. And the Scrench tool ain't cutting it.

Needles to say. My 455 Rancher had no chain lock. I was dangerous, as a kick back would have been BAD news.
$90 later, I had a new cover. Not a big deal. But still.......

Huskys tend to runs faster than Stihl. And probably cut about 10% saw vs saw.
It's a Ford vs Chevy thing.

I'm just a Stihl guy. (That also owns a few Huskys)