Worth the cost if you have a powerful chainsaw and patience with adjustments.
I purchased this guide to rip some logs into slabs so I could season and use the wood for future projects. The assembly was pretty simple. The plexiglass shield is virtually useless and I didn_ install it. I have a chainsaw with an 18 bar which ultimately ends up about 16 of useable length. This unit takes up about 4 of length so I could only cut a maximum of about 12 width material. It_ a little cumbersome to insert the chainsaw. Once inserted it_ not very user friendly to tighten the bolts down and you have to reach inside and around to get everything tightened. The steel pads that hold the chainsaw bar are almost as wide as the bar which leaves little room for clearance on either side so I ground them down a little to make more space. You also can_ overtighten the clamps on the bar or it will clamp the chain inside the bar and prevent from running through the guide. The end of the bar is where this becomes a bigger issue and I had to play with the bolt tightness to get it just tight enough so it wouldn_ slip but not so tight it restricts the chain. Depth adjustment is also a little cumbersome and you_l need to keep a wrench for adjusting in the field. The measurement bar is quite accurate for the depth to within 1/16 which I found pleasantly surprising. Once depth is set and everything is ready it works well and will cut a nice line. If you_e considering buying a chainsaw to use with this guide get a powerful one! Mine takes about 3-4 tanks of fuel to get through an 8 long x 12 wide oak log for one cut. It works but takes a solid 3-4 hours just to get through one log cutting 2 thick slabs. With a more powerful chainsaw I_ sure it would take maybe an hour which is a little frustrating. I_ using a Stihl MS-250 chainsaw. If I was doing a lot more of this I would get the most powerful chainsaw available to cut down on the time. Overall I_ happy with the product although it could use some advancements to make it more user friendly with faster setup and adjustments.
If you plan on cutting the same day this arrives, you better open it immediately to figure out how to put it together. Next, research how to use it and lastly ensure your saw is long enough to cut the log you want to slice. This works well if you do all three of those things first.
Michael Aronoff 
