Someone mentioned chains earlier. I have always had what I considered shorter life expectancy from chains that I thought I should have. I always greased the bar and used good bar oil, but the chains still wouldn't last very long. I lent a friend my saw about three years back, and he put on something called a "skip-tooth" blade. It is still on the saw and as good as the day it was new. As the name implies, it only has half as many teeth on it, but it cuts like nobodys business.
