Finding The Right Chainsaw
Contained in this guide is a framework to help you make an educated choice about what type of chainsaw will suit your needs. Questions you should ask yourself. Questions you should ask sellers. How to do your research so you can make the right decision. Safety information.
Picking a Saw
My first advice is that first time buyers should get a smaller, inexpensive saw to learn on before moving onto a pro size saw. Larger pro saws are more powerful and more dangerous, not to mention more expensive to fix if you make a beginner's mistake.
Top handle saws are light and run short bars. They are designed primarily for cutting small limbs and branches, sometimes called limbing saws or arborist saws. They are suitable for cutting limbs, branches and small diameter trees (generally nothing over an 8" diameter).