Craftsman  18-in 42cc Gas Chain Saw

I bought this saw after owning a Husqvarna mainly because of its claim of being the fastest cutting saw in its class. I can truthfully say it's the fastest cutting saw I've owned. Start up was easy, chain tightening was easy, and operating the saw was easy.

Had this saw for years, read some of the other reviews, this saw works great, follow the instructions, keep bar oil in it and it will gives years od good results. DO drain the fuel out of it at the end of the season, run it till it quits and use ethanol treatment in the gas and the fuel lines will last a lot longer. You can't beat this for the money this is the third one I've owned and I just wore the other two out.

I have used this chainsaw to cut more than 30 trees in the past few weeks (various sizes up to 14 " or more) it has performed very well and I will even say it is as good as my Stihl Pro series saw (for half the price). I read other reviews and people were knocking this saw in comparison to professional grade saws...well I will tell you they are very wrong. I am not a tree professional, just a county boy with a lot of trees to cut down. I got this saw because my old Craftsman saw (15 years old, black case of this same saw) which used to be the back-up to the Stihl, the fuel lines dry rotted and I decided just to get a new "back-up" saw and repair it later. Now the Stihl is the back-up saw, because this saw is very light and cuts very well, and the replacement chain is about $10-$15 less than one for my Stihl, another plus. Bottom line, this is a great cutting saw...no worries if you buy this.

Performed well out of the box! No issues.

I need to use the chain saw a little more to give a true opinion. It cuts realy good the only problem im having with the saw so far is sometimes it is hard to get started and I don't like that when I use a saw I want it to start on the 5th or 6th pull and stay running. sometimes this saw will and sometimes it will not. Other than this its an ok saw.

This is the third Craftsman chain saw that i buy, I still have the first. it needs the oil cap., the second was stolen, and this one I will keep in a safe spot. It works great.

bought this chain for about 170 out the door...took it home and started it right up ...took down a big oak tree I had in the front yard ..used it for about 3 hours and ran great...chain does lossen up kind of fast but could tighten it up like in 10 sec...has great power ..2 cyle oil and gas is easy to mix,,,40:1 ratio..

Hard to start at first. Ran fairly well after warming up. Used to cut 1 oak tree. After owning for 3 months would not start. Sent for repairs - Sears claims this is not a manufacture defect and will not repair under warranty. I followed all directions and used the oil mix provided with the saw and thier claim is it was not sufficiently lubricated causing the cylinder to be scored and wanting to charge me more than I paid for the saw to begin with to repair. I followed all included instructions and use their oil that came in the case with the saw! They refuse to discuss the possibility that it may be defective and refuse to fix or replce my saw. Went to ********** and purchased a comparable Ryobi saw for less money with a 3 year warranty. It runs great! Much stronger than the Craftsman. This is one of many reasons I will never deal with Sears again.

The chain saw was hard to start for the first time. I cut down one large Sweetgum tree and the saw worked flawless after the initial breaking. This is the second one I have owned. The first saw lasted over 20 years. All the fuel lines rotted and it was less expensive to purchase a new one. I would recommend this saw to anyone.

The gas line was slightly crimped, which was causing the starting issues. It says prime 6X pull 6 times then half choke it. WHEN COLD. I prime it like 8 times then pull, if it attempts to start at that point half choke it, and pull to start. Another helpful hint don't try and give it gas when it starts, it will run by its self, let it for 30 secs or so. After its run and shut off, pull choke to full, prime 6-8 times, set choke to half and pull. When you take bar off, make sure you line up the little adjustment rod with the slot in the side cover. If not it will pop off, I had better results tightening this chain really snug and make sure you tighten cover nuts really good. After I did this the chain issue mellowed out some. Over all, the saw cuts great and fast. Chain does like to pop if not set-up correctly. If you follow above it should fix your issue, i found a jewelers screwdriver cleans the chain track out real nice. ALWAYS make sure the bar and chain oil is full as well.