Home and Garden

We've had the Rancher for over two seasons now. We bought it new from a local hardware store with the optional hard case. The tool was delivered fueled and the store gave a brief demonstration/instruction on how to operate the saw.

I bought this saw as an upgrade to the old Homelite Profesional saw I inherited from my father. Struggling with it's exceptionally high tendencey to flood despite a recent professional tune-up, I decided I spent more time fiddling than cutting.

I surveyed a few friends and relatives regarding their prefrences and then did some homework. After a breif time with Google, I found there are really only two brands of saws on the broad markte; Stihl and Poulan. "Poulan?" you might say. And this is where the stoddard old timer will say "Bull$#!%, you obviously don’t know anythign about saws. My Johnsered will run circles arround your department store Poulan". And he is right, at least about his Johnsered. The reality is that Husqvarna and Johnsered are both owned by Poulan. It’s a tierd pricing stratagy. Johnsered gets all the new features and is the conesours saw. Husky is the workhorse, blue collar if you will. And Poulan is the economy, homeowner saw.

So anyway, this cut the field down tremendously as I only had to compare Husky/Jonsered and Stihl. I have a good friend who did smoke-jumping for a year with Stihl saws. He admits they beat the crap out of them, but they seemed to burn out the motors frequently. To me, this is NOT where a 2 cycle chansaw should have it's issues. Provided it gets proper oil mixture, has an air filter, and the crank seals arent dried out from age, a 2 cycle should _never_ fail. I've got two "Echo" made snowmobiles from the 70's and the Homelite pro almost as old, a Mercury outboard from the early 60's, and two others from the 70's. None of these engines suffer wear damage. If a saw is going to wear out, if it's not clutches, bars, or chains, I'm not impressed.

So I decided the Rancher 455 fit my needs for power and price. It seems targeted for the guy like me. I'm not a "rancher" per say, but I have a decent wooded lot in rural New England that needs occasional maintenance of felled trees etc. Some of these can be >18" of both pine and hardwood. The rancher comes with either an 18 or 20" bar and has a decent size engine to pull that long of a chain through a 20" oak.

One of the key diffrences between a "pro" saw and a homeowner saw is engine speed. This is all about productivity. The faster you can pull the chain through the log, the faster you cut. The Rancher doesn’t rev as high as the similar pro models, but has plenty of power not to bog down with all but the toughest of wet logs. A sharp chain litteraly falls through an 18" pine with no pressure.

Probably the best nicety of the saw is the decompresson valve. This is an extra cam locked valve that vents the combustion chamber to atmosphere for easy starting. As soon as the fuel detonates in the chamber, the resulting pressure wave immediately closes the valve and the engine runs as normal. This makes for effortless, and usually one pull, starts.

My only complaint so far, and likley my own fault, is that the bar oil is now leaking when at rest. I have not investigated the issue, but the vlave is probably stuck with saw dust or dirt. I would expect this not to happen, but I should also clean the saw more thouroughly than wipign the exterior with my glove befor putting it away.

So far so good, I give this one an "A".

We’ve been running the DYT 4000 for about two years now on our property. We have about 1 acre of mowable grass area once you subtract the house and driveway etc. We bought the mower configured with the Briggs and Stratton 24Hp OHV engine, 48” deck, and 9 bushel triple basket bagger.

Overall, the mower has functioned well. We are fairly demanding of the mower, using for towing dirt in a 17 cubic foot trailer and towing small boats. We drive it into the woods with the clippings and though mud as our property is primarily clay subsoil.

Good points: It always starts no problems. All features that worked when delivered still work. It seems to have enough power, although I think it should have more ‘umph’ given the size of the motor.

Bad points: Mower deck clogs with damp grass easily. I think this is a design issue with the deck as I have heard similar complaints with others. The finish on the topside of the deck is starting to flake. Brake holding power has faded quickly. May be a simple belt adjustment, but I haven’t taken the time to fix it. Hour meter was DOA, I figured it wasn’t worth the hassle to have it fixed. Can’t use trailer hitch when bagger is mounted.

So, I give this mower a B+. Broken hour meter and easy clog deck knock the score down.

Rating “A”

There is a saying that goes “you get what you pay for”. The saying is almost always accurate, unless your contractor goes bankrupt and takes your money with him. People generally assume that if you don’t pay a lot of money for something, then you won’t get very much in return.

This is not the case with the Task Force TFCD electric hand drill. I purchased this gem from Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse for approximately $20. Here’s what you get:

• Reversible variable speed trigger with adjustable limit stop
• Adjustable second handle with graduated depth stop (gets in the way most of the time, but you can take it off)
• And the pièce de résistance, a Jacob’s keyless chuck.

For those who are saying, “What’s a Jacob’s chuck?” here is the scoop. Jacob’s Chuck Manufacturing has been around for more than a century doing one thing: making drill chucks. Typically, Jacob’s chucks are an aftermarket item for professional drill tools and those who know the difference. The particular chuck installed on this drill is the “Classic Series” without the optional Jacob’s Click feature.

For those who have never used one of these chucks, think to the last time you tightened a drill bit into your keyless chuck. How much effort did you have to put into rotating the two collars to ensure the bit wouldn’t slip? How many times did the drill bit slip in the chuck despite your efforts? Enter the Jacob’s Chuck. Nearly zero effort is required to lock down the Jacob’s chuck. Thanks to the genius self engaging chuck mechanism, light pressure is enough to secure a drill bit for all but the nastiest drilling applications. No more red palms and fingers from twisting the chuck…

So far, the tool has been reliable and durable. The plastic finish of the Jacob’s chuck is easily marred but has not affected its functionality.