Rod was pressed onto the crank, other than that, you need to 100 percent assemble it. Entire saw needed to be assembled, which was alot of fun.

These are completed parts kits, not the pre-assembled saws. I purchased 2 of their kits a few years back.

They are simple and easy to work on but the same is true of the real Stihls they copies of, and you can still find those used. The clones are of models that are 2 or 3 generations old, so they will not have the features the modern ones have like spring based anti vibe or Mtronic or fuel injection in the case of the 500i. A bunch of people on chainsaw forums have bought from them and while there have been some issues, they're the typical ones that happens with (nearly) all vendors, like incorrect parts shipped or shipping damage. The company is legit though, and all my purchases arrived properly.

I think the more popular clones like the MS660 are done better than the less popular ones. Are they good enough? Depends on the model and your needs. For example the clone pistons have thicker walls, which makes them heavier and the saws vibrate more. My experience is that you need to be willing to tear the clone down and fix assembly problems, and also that the parts are not as good as real Stihl parts. I've bought a couple of their Stihl clones, and worked on a bunch of real Stihls. but I'd rather spend 15% more and get a brand I trust. I'm sure the rebrand is fine (after all, Echo saws also work), but there is a difference.I can see it, I can feel it when I pull the throttle or pull the chain on the bar. We have a local ag shop, they sell both some rebrand 'pro' chinese stuff and Stihl. Mind you even Stihl is building stuff in China, but they control all aspects of their manufacture there. and if I feel 'lucky' I'll go to the casino, not the cheapo chinese dealer. They were a fun diversion, but I had stuff that needed doing, and after that, I decided I'd rather (in that case) cut metal than repair brand new tools from China. Remember the famous 'Cut 50' plasma cutters we grouped on? Sure, they were cheap, and once the issues were fixed (and IIRC EVERY ONE OF THEM had issues) they ran for a while, but. How much is your time worth? Is it so cheap that you can spend time you would be otherwise doing stuff that you can do a full rebuild (and repair/replace parts) on a not yet used saw, or is it cheaper in the long run to pull it out of the case, oil, gas, and install a good bar, and run the thing?Īnd no disrespect to your friend, but I seriously doubt a zero hour saw you have to tear down and futz with before you even run it 'as good as a husky or stihl'.

Motor city casino assembly line