My killer requirement for a chainsaw was to be quiet enough for use in my neighborhood. That pretty much rules out gas chainsaws.
When I looked for reviews online there were not many positive reviews for electric chainsaws. Most seem pretty cheap. Many have problems with the gears stripping out.
The Makita got pretty good reviews so I asked Santa for one.
For those who have never owned a chainsaw (like me) note that they all require chain/bar oil and this saw in particular does not come with it in the box. Try finding chainsaw oil on Christimas day... doh!
Anyway the saw came in good shape from Amazon. All that is left to "assemble" is attaching the bar and chain. Pretty easy to do:
- first remove the plastic/polycarbonate cover
- put the chain on the bar with the teeth facing the correct direction (wear gloves). Make sure the chain is in the groove of the bar and properly engages the drive shaft.
- tension the bar by hand replace the cover while holding the bar in place
- use your third hand to screw the cover back on
- tension the chain
- add bar oil
If you are new to chainsaws then take a moment and understand how the chain rides in the bar, how the tensioner works, and how the drive shaft engages the chain.
I gave the saw it's first workout yesterday:
I chopped up a bunch of logs that had been sitting under my porch for quite some time. A bunch of hickory, some beautiful bradford pear, oak, and spalted something-or-another.
It handled the workload well. It runs smoothly and never got hot. I did however bog the saw down twice. Once I tried to go too fast ripping 14"+ oak. I assume a max current sensor shutdown the saw because it was not stuck and it started back up immediately. The other time I was ripping some very wet bradford pear and did not leave enough room for the shavings to exit the cut. This clogged up the drive shaft. After clearing the clog it ran fine for the rest of the session.
One thing that surprised me was the cord never got warm. The saw is rated at 15a and I was using a 50ft 14ga extension cord which is probably pushing it.
Here are all the logs I carved up. I even made a quick "chair" for my girls to play with. It had a beautify spalting pattern which they immediately covered up with chalk
I attribute both of these incidents to newbie user error.
As of today I am quite happy with this saw. And even happier I can start turning those logs into projects/bowls!
Salem
When I looked for reviews online there were not many positive reviews for electric chainsaws. Most seem pretty cheap. Many have problems with the gears stripping out.
The Makita got pretty good reviews so I asked Santa for one.
For those who have never owned a chainsaw (like me) note that they all require chain/bar oil and this saw in particular does not come with it in the box. Try finding chainsaw oil on Christimas day... doh!
Anyway the saw came in good shape from Amazon. All that is left to "assemble" is attaching the bar and chain. Pretty easy to do:
- first remove the plastic/polycarbonate cover
- put the chain on the bar with the teeth facing the correct direction (wear gloves). Make sure the chain is in the groove of the bar and properly engages the drive shaft.
- tension the bar by hand replace the cover while holding the bar in place
- use your third hand to screw the cover back on
- tension the chain
- add bar oil
If you are new to chainsaws then take a moment and understand how the chain rides in the bar, how the tensioner works, and how the drive shaft engages the chain.
I gave the saw it's first workout yesterday:
I chopped up a bunch of logs that had been sitting under my porch for quite some time. A bunch of hickory, some beautiful bradford pear, oak, and spalted something-or-another.
It handled the workload well. It runs smoothly and never got hot. I did however bog the saw down twice. Once I tried to go too fast ripping 14"+ oak. I assume a max current sensor shutdown the saw because it was not stuck and it started back up immediately. The other time I was ripping some very wet bradford pear and did not leave enough room for the shavings to exit the cut. This clogged up the drive shaft. After clearing the clog it ran fine for the rest of the session.
One thing that surprised me was the cord never got warm. The saw is rated at 15a and I was using a 50ft 14ga extension cord which is probably pushing it.
Here are all the logs I carved up. I even made a quick "chair" for my girls to play with. It had a beautify spalting pattern which they immediately covered up with chalk
I attribute both of these incidents to newbie user error.
As of today I am quite happy with this saw. And even happier I can start turning those logs into projects/bowls!
Salem
