Chain Saw Review

[drtreelove]

Thanks to Getgoin on a previous thread about chain saws

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Chainsaws-Legal-Thailand-t253555.html&hl=chainsaw

I found the Home Mart on the Super Hwy in Chiang Mai that is selling the Makita. They were out of stock for awhile but finally got some more in and I bought one for 9900 baht; supposedly marked down from 12,000 baht. (The same saw was for sale at Montee's for 11,500). This 33cc saw is sold with a 12” bar, and I was assured by the salesman that no forestry department registration was required due to the small size of the saw and bar.

I learned that Makita bought out the Dolmar chainsaw factory in Hamburg Germany; I think the DCS model designation stands for Dolmar Chain Saw. The Makita website states that they are using the Makita motor technology with the Dolmar saw design. I have run Dolmar saws before in the US and they have always performed well for me. This little Makita was no disappointment; it started up right out of the box. I choked it for a couple of pulls, it tried to start, so I switched off the choke and it fired up on about the 4^th pull, and ran perfectly, idling, accelerating and cutting, without any carburetor adjustments. After it was warmed up it consistently started on the first or second pull without choking it again.

The rear handle power head is a little on the heavy side for a 12” saw, and has a high profile top cover and is kind of bulky looking to me (I’m a sleek, light weight Husqvarna devotee); and the 12” bar just looks small in proportion with the size of the power head. But it makes the cut with plenty of chain speed and torque, I’m sure it could pull a 16” bar and chain with no problem if you didn’t max it out on big wood all the time; if I can find one I’ll replace it; 18” would probably be pushing it for a 33cc saw. Besides a lot of small cuts, I made several bigger cuts to remove a 12 inch diameter limb of a large Bauhinia tree, and that little Makita ate it up. I am pretty impressed. It gets good mileage too, it seemed like I ran it quite a bit on one tank of gas.

Home Mart said they had a shop that could work on them, but I was there at closing time so couldn’t check it out to see what they really knew, what parts they had and what repairs they could do; I don’t expect much since this is a new phenomenon, chainsaws on the shelf of a home supply store here. But hopefully I won’t need anything for awhile.

The store didn’t offer the service of assembling the saw, testing and adjusting it, you are on your own. The bar and chain were disassembled in the box, but it’s no big deal to put it together if you have broken down a saw before for cleaning or chain replacement. It comes with a scrench (combo wrench and screwdriver) but no tiny slot screwdriver to make carburetor adjustments, and the store didn’t sell them. So I shot over to the nearby Home Pro to buy a little screwdriver, but as it turned out I didn’t need it to get up and running. They also didn’t sell two cycle oil and neither did Home Pro, so I stopped at a PTT station on the way home to pick up some gas mix (40 to 1), and some chain oil (I used 40 weight motor oil).

The manual is mostly Thai, but has enough illustrations to give you some good safety pointers. But the best safety tip that I can pass on is to pay attention. My first climbing foreman made a statement that I will never forget as he tied on a McCullough Power Mac 6 for me to haul up into the tree for the first time; he said “now Don don’t forget, it doesn’t care what it cuts, that’s up to you”.

So for the Makita DCS 34X, this old tree doctor says yeah, thumbs up, so far so good, a fine surgical instrument or a weapon of not-so-mass destruction. Please be careful and use responsibly, we have enough large hat racks around from the machete mutilation crews. don

[lannarebirth]

Hi Dr. Treelove.

Do you know if Husqvarna makes a 12" bar? I would much rather go to the trouble of importing my one handed 14"Husqvarna (sans bar) than buying the local saw.

[drtreelove]

Hi Dr. Treelove.

Do you know if Husqvarna makes a 12" bar? I would much rather go to the trouble of importing my one handed 14"Husqvarna (sans bar) than buying the local saw.

Lanna, I've never run anything less than a 14" bar on my Husky 338s, usually 16" and I wish I had one now, but I'm sure you could get a 12" bar, if not from Husky, then oregon or other; check with Bailey's http://www.baileysonline.com/ . But you may not need to worry about bringing in a 14" bar, I'm not sure if Thailand has a formal restriction on bar length for no registration requirement or what the story is on this issue.

This Makita seems like a tough, good running little saw, but it's definitely not a one hander (especially for my beat up old wrists) like the overhead handle climber saws put out by Husky, Stihl, Red Max and others.

[rkdrkd]

Any link to know more information about owning a chain saw in Thailand. I mean what is the exact government laws for this.

[getgoin]

I downloaded a manual in English on line. Mine is working good. They are not the strongest and it is my suggestion to take it slow and easy. A lot better and cleaner than the old machete. Problem is you never know how many trees you have to cut until you start to cut them. I had to pull the brother and law off the user list.

[drtreelove]

Any link to know more information about owning a chain saw in Thailand. I mean what is the exact government laws for this.

Maizefarmer summed it up best in the previous thread, there is no law against ownership of a chainsaw. It's more about how you use it and where you use it and the potential presence of illegal logs. Registration is required to provide some accountability for a chainsaw that may or may not be used for illegal logging.

I asked my neighbor who is a tree and landscape engineer for the Chiang Mai irrigation department to take me to the forestry department to register my new Makita. He said they'd laugh at me if I went in with a saw that small, don't even bother.

I saw another chainsaw for sale at Montri, a Mitsupower brand whatever that is, made in China. It's a 38 cc saw, but still with a 12" bar. Only 6500 baht. It looks good, a take off on the Husky design and a little lighter than the Makita/Dolmar. But I'd have to have more info and a good referral to by a Chinese made saw.

[Deke]

I have a copy of the "Thailand Chainsaw Act of 2002" but it's only in Thai. If someone would like to go to the trouble of translating it, or otherwise wants a copy, let me know and I'll fire it off.

[drtreelove]

I have a copy of the "Thailand Chainsaw Act of 2002" but it's only in Thai. If someone would like to go to the trouble of translating it, or otherwise wants a copy, let me know and I'll fire it off.

Here's the PDF that Deke sent me. I'm going to work on getting it professionally translated, but in the meantime:I don't read much Thai, but my wife summarized it for me and it appears that Maisefarmer was accurate. There is no law against owning a chain saw, only against logging. There are no size specifications mentioned, only general indications of large vs small. A small saw doesn't have to be registered if it is used for home and farm, small tree trimming etc. The importer or distributor has already done the registration required. Don't use or carry the saw into forest areas or national parks.

Thailand_Chainsaw_Act_of_2002.pdf

[drtreelove]

Okay here's a translation of the chainsaw act.

Electrical_Saw_Act_English.pdf

[Whitworthsocket]

Hello drtreelove

I have two of these little units. They are indeed made by Dolmar The Dolmar units are coloured Orange and grey.

Mine has had little use. I will pass on a few tips. It pays to be precise with the fuel oil ratio. I must have been a little imprecise and the spark arrestor guaxe in the muffler carboned up with a significant loss of power until it would not start.

The chain drive sprocket has a built in clutch drum which makes it quite expensive to replace. PM me if you want purchase details.

There are aftermarket units with removable sprockets.

The plastic spigot that use used to catch the chain if it comes off is a little fragile. So pay careful attention to chain tension.

I have to make up some thin g to repair mine (one day).

Im not sure if was wood dust build up. Or some other problem. that caused the chain oil tank to leak out (all over my toolcabinet) during a long storage session. I would reccomend draining the oil tank or placing it some where an oil leak does not cause problems.

The second unit that I bought off Ebay had the same problem.

Home built electric chainsaws seem to be popular in thailand. I saw one being used on a nearby property and was quite impressed until I discovered it was my power he was using to run it.

Happy sawing