Was just wondering if anyone has any recent info or experience lately concerning buying and using a chainsaw. My Thai gf  says she asked at the shop and they said for the size of the one she is buying that she doesn't need to get the permit. I have seen older posts from 4-5 years ago that say any saw under 12inch bar did not require at one time and that the law was then changed saying all chainsaw purchases require a permit prior to buying. This is what I read from older posts and now that this shop told her that she doesn't need one I am wondering what really is the truth to all this. Has the law been changed again??  Appreciate any feed back

I recently investigated this. They have a daft rule which states that only the small chainsaws are available for sale in the shops. If you want a larger one you have to get a permit from the forestry dept.

 

If you go for a smaller one you should go for the 'Stihl' brand. Its the best one and german made. I would not buy any other brand to be honest.

I bought 3 years ago. Asking local government, was told any chainsaw needs permit. I bought one under 12". This was in nakhon pathom. Went to local forest district office and applied for license. They said we would be contacted when the paperwork was done. That was 3 years ago.... still waiting.....

The restriction l would of thought is to control illegal logging. 

if control is needed    would control of engine/ machine size would be more relevant 

as i am sure you could buy  different length chains/bars can be purchased after market

for most brand named saws   possible even more so for  other makes    mind you cheaper saws  never start after first use  (by comparison)

Anything over the standard size they sell in shops which is 12".officially you need a licence from the forestry people i aproached our head man with a sweetener and he procured a licence for me. Or borrow a bigger one of someone in the village as most houses seem to have one! 

Its amazing the size of trees you can cut down using a 12" job a good axe a lump hammer and some wedges. Combined with with a bit of elbow grease. 

There is Chinese crap around which is cheap, but usually breaks down after 5 or 6 uses for various reasons, none of which will be fixed by the manufacturer. I agree with a previous poster - Stihl is the best in chainsaws.

18 minutes ago, bazza73 said:

There is Chinese crap around which is cheap, but usually breaks down after 5 or 6 uses for various reasons, none of which will be fixed by the manufacturer. I agree with a previous poster - Stihl is the best in chainsaws.

 

Chainsaw laws   ???????

I got the Stihl MS-180 on Lazada for B7500. Seen them in stores for 9000.    It's in the 12" range.

There is supposed to be some way to derestrict them so they run at 2 hp. I could not find any such restrictor plate though.

But the saw works very nicely indeed.

1. Never scratch an itch with a chainsaw.

2. Never chop down trees and tree branches on Jomtien Beach Road with a chainsaw after spending your lunch break stopping a few from going sour.

Delete 2. Er .... that's it.

Surely an electric chainsaw must be OK. Cant go in the forest cutting down trees with one of them

Looking at Lazada, it seems you can buy an 11" Stihl for around 7500 baht, and a spare bar with chain of 16-18" for around 2000.

 

Just did a search on Stihl and limited the results to "ships from Thailand"

 

Edit:  Or you can buy a local model (Kanto, et al.) for about 1/3 the price.  Which is the way I'd go unless I had a forest to cut down.

 

Edited June 28, 20179 yr by impulse

49 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

Surely an electric chainsaw must be OK. Cant go in the forest cutting down trees with one of them

i have an cordless electric chain saw   go anywhere   legal that is

5 hours ago, advancebooking said:

I recently investigated this. They have a daft rule which states that only the small chainsaws are available for sale in the shops. If you want a larger one you have to get a permit from the forestry dept.

 

If you go for a smaller one you should go for the 'Stihl' brand. Its the best one and german made. I would not buy any other brand to be honest.

Yes, Stihl is a German brand, but not all their products are made in Germany. They have plants in the US, South America and China. Take a guess as to which country supplies Stihl chainsaws to Thailand. (think logistics) Even their chainsaws sold in Germany have parts supplied from China. 

3 hours ago, bazza73 said:

There is Chinese crap around which is cheap, but usually breaks down after 5 or 6 uses for various reasons, none of which will be fixed by the manufacturer. I agree with a previous poster - Stihl is the best in chainsaws.

I have a Robota 11.5" chainsaw that I purchased for 2700 baht. I presume it was made in China but cannot find the brand on the internet.

It is a great little chainsaw, starts easily and no problems after extensive use.

Sounds like some of you are 'brand scared'.

I have a Husqvarna chainsaw. 

 

They are easily as good as Stihl. I'm surprised that nobody seems to have heard of them. 

4 hours ago, Lamkyong said:

i have an cordless electric chain saw   go anywhere   legal that is

Any Thais reading this and have a good idea of what the posts say will be glad the news is out. Pretty soon they will be using them as weapons, E.G,the girl that was cut up and deposited in bins lately. that size, taxi drivers will have them under their seats, sons of policemen and other untouchables will be putting them in the bike seat, just handy in case there is a punch up in one of their karaoke bars, or night clubs.

I dread to think of a chainsaw in the hands of a pissed up/druggedup Thai. If it takes off, we will soon be reading,"man cuts up wife with chain saw" on face book.

Several Years ago, we went to the provincial big amphoe, to register our mid size chainsaw.   The thai peoples are using big electric chainsaws in the forests, powered by  generators , mounted  on the top of two wheeled diesel tractors.

I'd steer clear of the Chinese brands of Chainsaws in Thailand. Spare parts or manufacturer warranty service is spotty to non existent in Isaan. However I am real happy with the Husqvarna gasoline chain saw set up by a good repair technician to change a gasket. Longer genuine chain saw bars and chainsaw cutting blades for Stihl and Husqvarna are readily available in Buriram so they must be available in other provinces in Thailand.