Craftsman  38cc 16 In. Gas Chain Saw

Bought this saw (Craftsman 38cc-16") saw ~10 years ago to clean up after an ice storm had filled the back yard with branches. It did a bang-up job, but wasn't really tested by the branches that were 4" or thinner. My in-Laws bought a place that was surrounded by trees. Most were various hardwoods with trunks in the 20" thick range. Between my father-in law's 18" Craftsman and my 16" Craftsman, we managed to drop and block up over 75 full trees at his place, a walnut tree and some pine trees at my place too. This little saw has more than lived up to a "homeowner" level machine several times over. For reviewers having trouble finding replacement bars/chains, they are Oregon brand, and the Oregon website provides a handy lookup. Their products are carried by many hardware stores. My 2002 vintage saw uses the S56 chain. Great little saw, plenty of power for heavy jobs.

If you use this saw according to the manual you will enjoy years of service from this product.This is as good a saw as any on the market and way more than what is needed for most homeowners. Don't expect to make your living off of it, because that isn't what it is intended for. Gas her up and off you go!!!

Be a nice saw if I could keep the chain from coming off the bar every 2 minutes. I realize this is a cheap saw but the chain should stay on. I have had other saws and never had this problem with them.

I enjoy how simple it is to start it and to adjust the chain. The saw works well once it has been broken in. A con would be that it does not allow carbuerator adjustment without a special tool which can only be purchased if one is in bussiness. Also, it stalls almost as often as my smaller 36cc 16 inch craftsman chainsaw. Overall it would still be a good saw for a few a trees around the yard or to cut a cord of wood for the winter.

I have used only this model, since it is easy to start and use. I've never had a problem with this product. After 33 years, I'm on my second Craftsman saw. I wore the other one out!

Got rid of my old chain saw cause it would not start. Opened this new box, put in fresh fuel and chain oil....but saw would not stay on. Starting was fair but whenever the trigger was pulled the saw would die. After many tries it finally stayed on so I could use it. Not looking forward to trying it again!

Summary: Chainsaw engine failed; Sears refuses to honor warranty; Poor customer service

Purchased 11/11 for $120 (Thanksgiving sale).  Also purchased 2-stroke oil, gas can, and bar oil from Sears at same time.  Worked great first couple of uses.  Then this summer it started having hard-start problems when hot.  Then it would simply quit.  Then no start.  Brought it back to the same store for warranty repair.  They called a couple weeks later and quoted me $127 to fix it due to a failed piston and cylinder...said it was not covered under warranty due to improper fuel/oil mix led to lack of lubrication.  So it'll cost more to repair than it cost to buy?!?

Now, I know how to mix fuel and oil and how to take care of my tools.  I have another "lesser" brand chain saw that I have kept alive for 15 years.  I used the aformentioned oil in 1 gallon of gas, as the directions state.  Same as I use for my other 2 stroke tools.  Yet, the "elevated customer service" rep states that they cannot override the technician's decision that it is not covered and they refuse to do anything about it.  I was polite with the woman on the phone yet she got testy with me and would just keep repeating the same thing over and over.  It was one of the worst "customer service" experiences I've ever had.

If they do not resolve this issue I will never again buy another piece of equipment from Sears.  FYI:  I have a 16 year old Craftsman rider and a 20 year old Craftsman mower that I've kept well maintained and running.  I also have a Craftsman blower, Craftsman trimmer, and several other brand 2-stroke tools that are operating just fine, including some on that same can of fuel/oil.

I am very disappointed in Sears and hope that ultimately they will honor their 10-year engine warranty.  :(

Plenty of power for even seasoned live oak.

Between the extra priming extra pull cord pulls etc, this chainsaw requires much more effort to start than either of my Honda generators. They each require two pumps of the priming button and start on first pull starting cold. However once started, the Craftsman chainsaw does its job like a champ. Well balanced and very little kick back even when cutting through 12" oak branches or heavy branches full of knots and burls. The owners manual suggests using the Craftsman chain lube and fuel additive for the best performance. A trip to the local Sears store for these items proved to be a joke on me. They only carry some generic brand that I had never before seen. I also wanted to buy a spare chain. Again they only carried a generic brand and the two 16" chains they had named several chainsaw brands and models but mine was not listed on either package. I also checked with Sears on line only to find same problem.

I am 71 and have been using Chainsaws for a long time. This is one of the best i have had.