You get what you pay for, and sometimes more!

So today I'm going to take a break of talking beekeeping and try something new.

We all have those stories of wasted money on products that just weren't worth a hill of beans. But how many of us have something that has out performed what we paid for it? I want to share one of mine, a Jonsered chainsaw that I purchased used 21 years ago for $100. I actually bought 3 of them from a logger who bought all new saws at the end of the year for tax purposes.

All three saws were the same model, with one being a year older than the other two. I lent my dad one to use, put a 36" bar on one with an Alaskan Sawmill attachment, and kept the 3rd for cutting my firewood. I soon learned that the Alaskan Sawmill was good when you are in a remote area and can't truck in lumber or need some really long timbers, but not that great for much else. It is a slow process and by the time I account for my time and the gas burned, it is actually cheaper to buy from a local mill. So needless to say the 36" bar and sawmill attachment have been collecting dust for quite some time now. Funny thing is I still have some 2" slabs of hickory in my basement that I cut with it that are still waiting for a project to use them.

I burn between 6 and 8 cord of firewood a year. Considering the amount of wood I have cut in the last 21 year, these saws have performed incredibly well. Yes I have worn through many chains and bars, but that is no different than putting new brakes on your car. They are wear items. I've also lost a few chain tensioner bolts to vibration. Do to the age of the saws, parts can be hard to come by. So although all 3 saws still run, I have had to steal part to keep them running. I have broken one chain brake handle and a couple of rubber handle mounts. For a while I was able to find heavy spring replacement mounts, but even they break after a while. So currently I am down to 2 functioning saws and one parts saw.

Today I went out and cut up a few logs. One of them was actually bigger than the 20" bar so had to be cut from both sides. The saw performed flawlessly. It's like it knew I was going to be blogging about it and didn't want to let me down. Even at 10F outside, it started on just 4 pulls.

In less than 30 minutes I was done bucking up the 8 logs. Tomorrow is another day and I will finish off the splitting.

I know I got a steal of a deal on these saws, but even if I had paid full price for them I would still be very pleased and felt I had gotten my money's worth.