A Poulan Pro 20" is only 199.99 at Home Depot, and it has the power out of the box to cut red oak as I ve found out in the last week. I did what you are doing, cutting 4 long logs - mine are 17 - 20" logs. I can bury the Poulan Pro in the log and cut 17" or 18" leaving an inch still to go and it works fine - the beam machine I use takes up a couple inches or so so it s as if I have a 17" bar. What I CANNOT tell you is how long the chainsaw will last doing this. But a beam machine takes less strength - you just have to keep pressure on it so it doesn t tip towards you. Today I cut special 3 5/8" guide boards so my next job will be even nicer as my first guideboard was a teeny bit skewed. You will be freehand cutting but most people can cut freehand almost every bit as well as a beam machine - they go real slow. Just don t go too hard and tire yourself out. Your idea to cut vertically is an excellent way to do it. Just make real sure that you do a nice job of the first cut so it stands really straight up and down. My fifth log I forgot to make it real straight so I pretty much have to go horizontal. But I may try a few verticals myself.
I tend to have a lot of arm strength so it doesn t bother me at all to cut oak.
Tomorrow I will be making planks so I ll let you know how it goes but if you saw straight down, you can use a Poulan Pro. It s not a bad saw when it s working. I ll be curious to see how long it lasts. I use the right mix of gas and oil and I put bar and chain oil in as soon as it gets low. I haven t yet tightened the chain - I ll do that tomorrow.
Sorry I cannot give you more about Huskies and stuff - I find them more expensive, even used ones cost a lot as I recently found out on Craiig s list. I am looking for a saw with a longer bar - I would love a 27 or 30", but I might have to settle for a 24".
Anyway, no problems so far cutting oak.
- SlimPickins