Hi all

I know from a quick read that a lot of you are not keen on cordless
chainsaws for a number of different reasons, but I have to say that in
my experience I personally feel that they do fill a valuable gap
between loppers and a Petrol / Electric chainsaw. It may be my fault,
but I don't get on with a bow saw for anything bigger than say 2.5"
diameter, the cordless chain saw would do 2.5" with ease and cope with
3.5".

I had a cheap brand cordless chainsaw from Argos this summer and it
was great - it had limitations in branch size and battery life, but it
became invaluable. Unfortunately last month it died on me and the two
retailers that I know stocked them (Argos & B&Q) in the UK both say
they are discontinued.

Does anyone know if they are still sold in the UK anywhere, or does
anyone in the UK have one that is sitting around that they want to
sell, or is anyone going on hols to the US and want to bring me one
back for a profit?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4332030520

Cheers
Kev

"Kevin Walton" wrote in message
om...
Hi all

I know from a quick read that a lot of you are not keen on cordless
chainsaws for a number of different reasons, but I have to say that
in
my experience I personally feel that they do fill a valuable gap
between loppers and a Petrol / Electric chainsaw. It may be my
fault,
but I don't get on with a bow saw for anything bigger than say 2.5"
diameter, the cordless chain saw would do 2.5" with ease and cope
with
3.5".

Reciprocating electric saws are quite effective at dealing with limbs
up to 2 or 3 inches diameter and are much safer than chain saws.

[snip]

Franz

Franz Heymann wrote:
"Kevin Walton" wrote in message
om...
Hi all

I know from a quick read that a lot of you are not keen on
cordless
chainsaws for a number of different reasons, but I have to say
that
in my experience I personally feel that they do fill a valuable
gap
between loppers and a Petrol / Electric chainsaw. It may be my
fault, but I don't get on with a bow saw for anything bigger than
say 2.5" diameter, the cordless chain saw would do 2.5" with ease
and cope with
3.5".

Reciprocating electric saws are quite effective at dealing with
limbs
up to 2 or 3 inches diameter and are much safer than chain saws.

Having had the full ATB training course on chain saws, I'm horrified
by what I see. Poor maintenance (or none), insufficient protective
gear (or none), clumsy technique (or none). I seriously think there
should be a licence to drive one of those things. I agree on the
reciprocating saw; but on the other hand, a bow saw with a brand new
blade is good enough for _most_ gardeners: what does it matter if it
takes five minutes to cut through a branch instead of thirty seconds?
If one needs a rest and a cup of tea half-way, well, why not?

Mike..

In uk.d-i-y Kevin Walton wrote:
Hi all

I know from a quick read that a lot of you are not keen on cordless
chainsaws for a number of different reasons, but I have to say that in
my experience I personally feel that they do fill a valuable gap
between loppers and a Petrol / Electric chainsaw. It may be my fault,
but I don't get on with a bow saw for anything bigger than say 2.5"
diameter, the cordless chain saw would do 2.5" with ease and cope with
3.5".

I had a cheap brand cordless chainsaw from Argos this summer and it
was great - it had limitations in branch size and battery life, but it
became invaluable. Unfortunately last month it died on me and the two
retailers that I know stocked them (Argos & B&Q) in the UK both say
they are discontinued.

Does anyone know if they are still sold in the UK anywhere, or does
anyone in the UK have one that is sitting around that they want to
sell, or is anyone going on hols to the US and want to bring me one
back for a profit?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4332030520

I bought a cordless 'lopper' from B&Q recently which is actually a
mini chainsaw. I wanted it for trimming bigg[ish] branches off trees
up our (7 acre) garden where I can't get the mains powered chainsaw
that I normally use.

I've been quite impressed with it in practice, it will cut through 4" or
even 5" oak tree branches without too much trouble. It won't do this
for long of course but I don't need it to. It cost £50. You can get
extra batteries for it. The charger turns itself off after
charging which is a good plus as well.

It's an 'own brand' B&Q.

--
Chris Green

In article ,
Mike Lyle wrote:

Having had the full ATB training course on chain saws, I'm horrified
by what I see. Poor maintenance (or none), insufficient protective
gear (or none), clumsy technique (or none). I seriously think there
should be a licence to drive one of those things. I agree on the
reciprocating saw; but on the other hand, a bow saw with a brand new
blade is good enough for _most_ gardeners: what does it matter if it
takes five minutes to cut through a branch instead of thirty seconds?
If one needs a rest and a cup of tea half-way, well, why not?

Even for someone in fairly poor shape, 5 minutes with a bow saw is
quite a branch! c. 9" diameter apple or c. 6" diameter hawthorn,
I would reckon. Of course, I use a 30" bow saw with a blade in
decent condition ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Mike Lyle wrote:
[...]
on the other hand, a bow saw with a brand new
blade is good enough for _most_ gardeners: what does it matter if
it
takes five minutes to cut through a branch instead of thirty
seconds?
If one needs a rest and a cup of tea half-way, well, why not?

Even for someone in fairly poor shape, 5 minutes with a bow saw is
quite a branch! c. 9" diameter apple or c. 6" diameter hawthorn,
I would reckon. Of course, I use a 30" bow saw with a blade in
decent condition ....

Su I'm just trying to put it in perspective. If one's got a lot to
do, then a power tool may be the answer; but most people probably
don't need petrol this, and electric that.

Mike.

Nick Maclaren wrote:

In article ,
Mike Lyle wrote:


Having had the full ATB training course on chain saws, I'm horrified
by what I see. Poor maintenance (or none), insufficient protective
gear (or none), clumsy technique (or none). I seriously think there
should be a licence to drive one of those things. I agree on the
reciprocating saw; but on the other hand, a bow saw with a brand new
blade is good enough for _most_ gardeners: what does it matter if it
takes five minutes to cut through a branch instead of thirty seconds?
If one needs a rest and a cup of tea half-way, well, why not?



It took me 2 days to reduce approx 12 Lawson Cypress that were possibly
planted in 1953 from above almost ridge height of a two storey house to
approx 10' in height. This included cutting the bits up to fit my
trailer (8' x 4') and taking it to the tip (5 mile round trip). The
trunks are approx 14" diameter at the thickest (not where I cut them!).

To do this I used a 20 or 22" bow saw with a new green wood blade. My
bigger bow saw was too clumsy to be effective.

But I was knackered after all that and yes I really wish I had a chainsaw!

Richard

--
Real email address is RJS at BIGFOOT dot COM

The information contained in this post
may not be published in, or used by

http://www.diyprojects.info

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
Franz Heymann wrote:
"Kevin Walton" wrote in message
om...
Hi all

I know from a quick read that a lot of you are not keen on
cordless
chainsaws for a number of different reasons, but I have to say
that
in my experience I personally feel that they do fill a valuable
gap
between loppers and a Petrol / Electric chainsaw. It may be my
fault, but I don't get on with a bow saw for anything bigger than
say 2.5" diameter, the cordless chain saw would do 2.5" with ease
and cope with
3.5".

Reciprocating electric saws are quite effective at dealing with
limbs
up to 2 or 3 inches diameter and are much safer than chain saws.

Having had the full ATB training course on chain saws, I'm horrified
by what I see. Poor maintenance (or none), insufficient protective
gear (or none), clumsy technique (or none). I seriously think there
should be a licence to drive one of those things. I agree on the
reciprocating saw; but on the other hand, a bow saw with a brand new
blade is good enough for _most_ gardeners: what does it matter if it
takes five minutes to cut through a branch instead of thirty
seconds?
If one needs a rest and a cup of tea half-way, well, why not?

The trouble with bow saws is that the bow always seems to get in the
way.

Franz

wrote in message ...
In uk.d-i-y Kevin Walton wrote:

[snip]

Does anyone know if they are still sold in the UK anywhere, or does
anyone in the UK have one that is sitting around that they want to
sell, or is anyone going on hols to the US and want to bring me one
back for a profit?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4332030520

I bought a cordless 'lopper' from B&Q recently which is actually a
mini chainsaw. I wanted it for trimming bigg[ish] branches off trees
up our (7 acre) garden where I can't get the mains powered chainsaw
that I normally use.

I've been quite impressed with it in practice, it will cut through 4" or
even 5" oak tree branches without too much trouble. It won't do this
for long of course but I don't need it to. It cost £50. You can get
extra batteries for it. The charger turns itself off after
charging which is a good plus as well.

It's an 'own brand' B&Q.

Thanks Chris, I assume your talking about this item:

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/produc...RODID=18 5962

Unfortunataly although it is still on the website it is now
discontinued by B&Q - I have spoken to 1/2 a dozen B&Q stores and head
office

Cheers
Kev

In article ,
Richard wrote:


It took me 2 days to reduce approx 12 Lawson Cypress that were possibly
planted in 1953 from above almost ridge height of a two storey house to
approx 10' in height. This included cutting the bits up to fit my
trailer (8' x 4') and taking it to the tip (5 mile round trip). The
trunks are approx 14" diameter at the thickest (not where I cut them!).

To do this I used a 20 or 22" bow saw with a new green wood blade. My
bigger bow saw was too clumsy to be effective.

But I was knackered after all that and yes I really wish I had a chainsaw!

That's quite impressive. However, if you include the time for setting
up and maintaining a chainsaw, my suspicion is that it would have been
SLOWER. After all, it CAN only reduce the cutting time, and not the
other aspects. The same would not be true if you did that once a
fortnight.

I agree that you would have got less tired, but think of how much
you have improved your life expectancy :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In uk.d-i-y Kevin Walton wrote:
wrote in message ...

I bought a cordless 'lopper' from B&Q recently which is actually a
mini chainsaw. I wanted it for trimming bigg[ish] branches off trees
up our (7 acre) garden where I can't get the mains powered chainsaw
that I normally use.

I've been quite impressed with it in practice, it will cut through 4" or
even 5" oak tree branches without too much trouble. It won't do this
for long of course but I don't need it to. It cost £50. You can get
extra batteries for it. The charger turns itself off after
charging which is a good plus as well.

It's an 'own brand' B&Q.

Thanks Chris, I assume your talking about this item:

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/produc...RODID=18 5962

Unfortunataly although it is still on the website it is now
discontinued by B&Q - I have spoken to 1/2 a dozen B&Q stores and head
office

They might still have some at Ipswich (there was certainly more than
one there when I bough mine a week or two ago). The one on the web
site looks exactly like mine but claims to have "automatic chain
lubricant". Mine just has a little sqeezy bottle of oil that you
squirt on it at intervals.

--
Chris Green

Franz Heymann wrote:
"Mike Lyle" wrote [...]

Having had the full ATB training course on chain saws, I'm
horrified
by what I see. Poor maintenance (or none), insufficient protective
gear (or none), clumsy technique (or none). I seriously think
there
should be a licence to drive one of those things. I agree on the
reciprocating saw; but on the other hand, a bow saw with a brand
new
blade is good enough for _most_ gardeners: what does it matter if
it
takes five minutes to cut through a branch instead of thirty
seconds?
If one needs a rest and a cup of tea half-way, well, why not?

The trouble with bow saws is that the bow always seems to get in
the
way.

Yes. Of course, one of those "triangular" frames will often let you
in. Second, and this applies to chainsaws as well (in spades),
inconvenient side branches need to be lopped away before one tackles
the main job. This preliminary cleaning is as much for safety as for
convenience; but it saves stress and effort, and quite often time too
for the job as a whole.

What you do about the awkward situation which always seems to crop
up, where you find there just isn't a comfortable working position,
I don't think the wit of man will ever discover. Patience helps!

By the way, I did a nice little activity in the local school once. A
slice of tree can photocopy very clearly, and after a few activities
about trees in general, I issued a sheet to each child showing the
rings of an ash I'd cut that morning: they then worked out the age of
the tree, identified the sunny side and compass points, and marked
the rings for significant dates such as their families' birth years.
Good fun.

Mike.

Nick Maclaren wrote ".......Even for someone in fairly poor shape, 5
minutes with a bow saw is quite a branch! c. 9" diameter apple or c. 6"
diameter hawthorn, I would reckon. Of course, I use a 30" bow saw with a
blade in decent condition .."

Two of us were able to cut through 9 inch oak branches, 1 of us at each end
of the saw, in less than 20 seconds.
If you use a 30inch bow saw with a Sandvik blade there is very little that
you wont be able to cut easily.
It's not worth the saving buying low cost blades.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

In uk.d-i-y Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
Richard wrote:


It took me 2 days to reduce approx 12 Lawson Cypress that were possibly
planted in 1953 from above almost ridge height of a two storey house to
approx 10' in height. This included cutting the bits up to fit my
trailer (8' x 4') and taking it to the tip (5 mile round trip). The
trunks are approx 14" diameter at the thickest (not where I cut them!).

To do this I used a 20 or 22" bow saw with a new green wood blade. My
bigger bow saw was too clumsy to be effective.

But I was knackered after all that and yes I really wish I had a chainsaw!

That's quite impressive. However, if you include the time for setting
up and maintaining a chainsaw, my suspicion is that it would have been
SLOWER. After all, it CAN only reduce the cutting time, and not the
other aspects. The same would not be true if you did that once a
fortnight.

An electric saw can be a bit quicker than petrol, as you don't need to
do anything (until it gets blunt) much other than topping off the
oil tank every now and then.
No concerns about it starting, or ...

"Kevin Walton" wrote in message
om...
Hi all

I know from a quick read that a lot of you are not keen on cordless
chainsaws for a number of different reasons, but I have to say that in
my experience I personally feel that they do fill a valuable gap
between loppers and a Petrol / Electric chainsaw. It may be my fault,
but I don't get on with a bow saw for anything bigger than say 2.5"
diameter, the cordless chain saw would do 2.5" with ease and cope with
3.5".

I had a cheap brand cordless chainsaw from Argos this summer and it
was great - it had limitations in branch size and battery life, but it
became invaluable. Unfortunately last month it died on me and the two
retailers that I know stocked them (Argos & B&Q) in the UK both say
they are discontinued.

Does anyone know if they are still sold in the UK anywhere, or does
anyone in the UK have one that is sitting around that they want to
sell, or is anyone going on hols to the US and want to bring me one
back for a profit?

I've looked into this a bit, and you're right about Argos & B&Q
discontinuing them. The Argos one was the Challenge Cordless Lopper
(http://www.bat400.com/pics/challenge...ess-lopper.jpg)
and the B&Q one was the Perfomance Power Cordless Lopper
(http://www.bat400.com/pics/performan...ess-lopper.jpg)

They both look similar to a Makita cordless pruner (also available
from Dolmar) which has also been discontinued.
(http://www.bat400.com/pics/makita-cordless-pruner.jpg)

The two cheapies are clearly identical, and there are a few similarities
with the Makita - check out the switch positions and the screw holes.
I assume the build quality will be better on the Makita.

I am beginning to wonder why they have all been discontinued. The
Makita ones sometimes come up on ebay. Take a look at
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3847884448
for an auction for one of these finishing on Friday lunchtime.

HTH,
Al