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Electric hand saws


JohnRoss

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The bosch is great it surprised me how good it was...It was one of those "Me man make fire" Scenarios I am used to my petrol chainsaw but don't like annoying the neighbours so reluctantly bought the 'Quieter' electric option expecting it to have slightly less guts in it than a butchers watch pocket. It was a revelation, let the machine do the work and off it goes. I have a Spear and Jackson one also and it is about as good. (Man of many chainsaws lol) I have a petrol and electric one in France and same here in blighty. Theres a guy in Bournemouth who does exchange sharpened chains as well I can try and dig out details if you like?
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Hi and thanks for the info. What model number have you got for the Bosch? The one I was looking at is not a chain saw but one with an oscillating blade, I may have got the model number wrong. It might have been a scie sabre one of les scies égoïnes électriques Model PFZ 700 PE. A reciprocating saw but not a jigsaw. There seems to be some confusion about the model number on the internet as some English/US sites come up with a jigsaw for that model number.....................JR
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JohnRoss, now you have got me diving into my catalogues. I have an Erbauer Sabre 800 watts saw for general demolition and that has a maximum 200mm cut in wood and blades down to 3tpi. a blade for green timber is available at 5tpi sounds like the mark.  That does cut very rapidly and although it has a slimmer blade so I can get it into all those awkward places if the blades for the scorpion and the like are similar although the B&D at 400 watts in wet/green timber sounds a bit guttless.

The Bosch

http://www.transtools.co.uk/store/prod_5203/corded-power-tools/reciprocating-saws/bosch-pfz-600-e-all-purpose-reciprocating-saw.html

Is used by my 82 years young Mother for pruning, scares the wotsits out of me though, uses the same blades as the sabre saw but is bulkier and less powerful.

 

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Sorry missread....I wouldn't waste my time with anything other than a chain saw for firewood or lopping, the leccy ones are very good. A recip saw will jam, eat blades and generally be awkward to us by comparison. Dont get me wrong I have a couple of reciprocating  saws  but they are for cutting stiles out of sash windows etc.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7303528/Trail/searchtext%3ESPEAR.htm

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/catalogId/1500001151/partNumber/7300356.htm

At those prices they are a bargain.

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[quote user="BIG MAC"]

Sorry missread....I wouldn't waste my time with anything other than a chain saw for firewood or lopping, the leccy ones are very good. A recip saw will jam, eat blades and generally be awkward to us by comparison. Dont get me wrong I have a couple of reciprocating  saws  but they are for cutting stiles out of sash windows etc.

[/quote]

Yep Big Mac, that's what I use mine for too, have just tried cutting a branch with a 5tpi blade, ok but you'll be there all day.

Leccy chainsaw the way to go.

 

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All comments about chain saws noted and thanks. Some has let me borrow a Parkside reciprocating saw.

It works well and cut small diameter logs into shorter lengths satisfactorily. I think that it would struggle with larger diameters and you would have to cut from both sides so it would be better to split large logs first and therefore is only part of a solution. I used a large joinery clamp to make sure that the log could not move when cutting. To use the saw some sort of cutting bench and clamp would have to be made. I don't think I would want to cut several steres of one metre lengths at one go with a sabre saw. I don't know how long the blade would last or the saw for that matter. You could however do a few day's worth at a time with ease.

 

So if a chain saw were not to be used, 'er in doors ain't too keen on me having one, the ideal would be a sabre saw like this one but maybe with a bit more power and a saw bench plus an electric log splitter to use first before cutting the split logs into shorter lengths. Of course if the logs were 50cms then I guess I would not need a sabre saw as well as the log splitter. I am not sure how much less cost 1 metre lengths would be and if the money saved would cover the cost of the sabre saw and blades. Something to think about. The Bosch version costs about 180 euros and the Black and Decker Scorpion version would be too underpowered for sure at only 400 watts compared with the 710 watts of the Parkside and the Bosch.

The Parkside came from Lidl some time ago I gather and was on offer at 25 Euros.At that price you could afford to chuck it away every couple of years!...........................JR
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John Ross, If you are not going to buy a chainsaw,  I rekon the bow saw and taking it steady would be both quicker and cheaper than a sabre saw and you keep warm whilst you are cutting.

Dont forget I went out and actually cut a three inch branch with my 800 watt sabre saw with a new 5tpi blade to test it on your behalf, could have easily beaten the sabre saw with my bow saw (Tree version) and they only cost around 8 euros.

Castorama sell a manual log splitter for 50 euros, like a log splitter but inside a larger sliding tube, very little effort required.

 

 

 

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[quote user="teapot"]

Castorama sell a manual log splitter for 50 euros, like a log splitter but inside a larger sliding tube, very little effort required.

[/quote]

 

I am seriously interested in that. Don't want a chain saw (safety). Am perosnally getting feebler and will also soon loose use of strapping teenage offspring. Have wood burning inset stove and  intermittent, opportunist, sources of wood. Log splitter desired but spending £300 to save pennies seems wrong.

 

I cannot find a link to the castorama product. Do you have one ? Any experience of it ?

 

Regards

 

John

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[quote user="teapot"]

. It is yellow weighs about 8 kilos and from the video looks easy and safe to use.

[/quote]

 

Ha Ha Ha!!!!

I loved the video, they showed four blows to split the large log (probably a lot more before editting) what was intersting was that the girl did the first and last but the ones in between were done by an unknown wearing the same colour jeans but with much larger thighs, i.e. a blerk [:)]

Or maybe she is the female version of the incredible hulk wearing stretchy jeans!

I have before seen a lever operated one that had a good mechanical advantage but dont know where it comes from, Northern tools perhaps?

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JR, you O'l sceptic [:)]

Its not lever operated, its a slide hammer. I do agree that the weight looks too small to make it work well but its not just the weight, its the weight you through on to it as well. The Castorama model seems better and from the damage I did to their floor could easily split a log along the grain not a cross it

Obivously the powered versions are better, can't doubt that but if you are not going to make full use of not worth the money.

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Teapot

What I meant was that there is/was another type that used leverage to gain mechanical advantage.

The slide hammer offers no advantages over using a hammer or sledgehammer to strike a wedge other than being easier to control by the girly on the video [6]

I dont have a wood burner but I am keeping my eyes open so that I will have an excuse to bring over my flypress from England, that would make short work of any log with both mechanical advantage and inertia although it is now lacking a bit in the inertia department (rather like me really) after the p1keys nicked my balls when my I was not looking [blink]

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More non matching quotes in blocks later................

Teapot

What I meant was that there is/was another type that used leverage to gain mechanical advantage.

The slide hammer offers no advantages over using a hammer or sledgehammer to strike a wedge other than being easier to control by the girly on the video

"We are becoming pussies"

Nah just old and creaky!..............JR


I dont have a wood burner but I am keeping my eyes open so that I will have an excuse to bring over my flypress from England, that would make short work of any log with both mechanical advantage and inertia although it is now lacking a bit in the inertia department (rather like me really) after the p1keys nicked my balls when my I was not looking

Reminds me of my old Gaffer when I was an apprentice, Knocked himself silly when he forgot to duck [:D]

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