reciprocating saw for cutting branches?

[Industrial Toys]

A saw is definitely better for cutting roots. Beats the sharp axe with dirt in your hair for sure!

 

[zzvyb6]

I have an Alligator electric chainsaw. Not a lot of maintenance because the chains not generally coming into contact with dirt and the branches are soft and thin. 2 hander, though. I also have used a Milwaukee recip saw with a coarse blade for some bushes.. Like in previous post, you have to hold the bench tight onto the limb. On my boomlift, I use an electric chainsaw mounted on my jib arm to turn all my trees into 'boxwoods'. They are square sided and look pretty funny to the low bandwidth mouth breathers.

 

[Keriken]

Hello. I own a Makita UC4051A 16 ″ chainsaw, which I was advised on TOP-1 Best Chainsaws | Beneficial Buyer’s Guide From An Experienced Handyman. This saw is perfect for a variety of purposes. It has a small weight, due to which I can cut branches at a height for a long time, it is also powerful enough to cut a whole tree.

 

[dieselscout80]

Another Old Guy suggested these: Diablo 12 in. Carbide Pruning and Clean Wood Cutting Reciprocating Saw Blade-DS123CP - The Home Depot . I bought a pack, and love them. Fast and handy, and work great for cutting roots.

Those Diablo carbide pruning reciprocating saw blades are great IMHO and I use them in both a corded saw and Ridged 18 volt saw.

 

[coxhaus]

I have been using my Milwaukee Sawzall v28 for trimming branches for years. It works well. My problem is when I need to cut over 3 inches it starts being slow. I recently bought a Dewalt 12 inch chain saw 20v only because I have Dewalt 20v batteries. It is a lot faster on the bigger branches. I have limbs fall off a large oak tree which fall almost every time the winds blows hard. I have been stacking them on my compost pile for the leaves to fall off and to when I get my big Stihl chainsaw out. I can zip through them pretty fast with my Stihl. Now with the Dewalt chainsaw I can go ahead cut the limb up. The Sawzall is too slow for me to cut up the 10 or 12 foot limbs. So now I have options.

PS
My Stihl is a 360 and too big for trimming small limbs. I use it for making firewood.

 

[RalphVa]

I have shifted to a new house and have a garden in this house. I want to trim the branches of the trees , so was thinking of buying a reciprocating saw . I want a lightweight saw which can be charged very fast. Please suggest the best available saw.

We've a couple of B&D chain 18v saws. They're great for doing a few limbs but the 18v does not have the power or lasting of the 40v Kobalt that we bought at Lowes and had to replace last year when we wore out the brushes on the original one. If you decide to go Kobalt, they have brushless ones now. They use a 24v battery. Pisses me off, as I'd like to have replaced our brushed one with these, but have the batteries also for the grass whip and lawn mower.

The best of the B&D one is the Alligator. Its only drawback is that you have to squirt oil into it every few limbs. The straight one has its own lube supply and pump.

Ralph

 

[RalphVa]

The recip saw blades are skinny and will bind easily.

Ralph

 

[newbury]

I use them all.
For limbs:
I've DeWalt 20V reciprocating-saw,
I had a B&D 40V, but gave it to my daughter.
I've a Lynxx 40V
I've Stihls - 021 (35CC) [and also two 660's (90CC) and an 088 (120CC)]. I used to use the 021 in trees for limbing, no more.

My favorite "limb" trimmer for up in trees was the B&D 40v. Light enough to easily 1 hand while in a tree, enough power to do the job. The reciprocating-saw doesn't work well for me unless I get the limb just right. The Lynxx seems to have a lot more power than the B&D but is heavier. The Stihl 021 is GREAT but as I age I've decided to relegate gas powered saws to ground work to help ensure I continue to age.
I'm in the market for a good, relatively light battery operated top-saw, but it needs to be < $125.

 

[Notforhire]

A couple of years ago I bought my wife a Ridgid brand reciprocating saw OCTANE™ Brushless 18V Orbital Reciprocating Saw | RIDGID Tools it has a 1 1/8 in stroke and an orbital switch feature. She did a lot of pruning with loppers and a hand limb saw, now this is her go too. She loves this saw.

We use arborist blades and I've cut stuff 6in dia. because I didn't want to walk back to the barn for the chain saw. One of the big batteries lasts all day.
I would never let her run a chain saw. This saw is much safer/lighter.

 

[jjp8182]

The recip saw blades are skinny and will bind easily.

Ralph

True, but they are also a lot cheaper to buy than a spare bar and chain :thumbsup:

(this from someone who uses both and has extra chain saws, and will use a tractor/heavy equipment to unbind blades & bars if/when they get bound)

 

[Gem99ultra]

I've found that my DeWalt 20V reciprocating saw vibrates, jumps around all over the place, and gets really heavy by the time I get branches of any size cut off. I think I'll just relegate the reciprocating saw to cutting pipe, etc. and leave the pruning chores to my Husqvarna T435 12" chainsaw. That little light weight Husqvarna saw can be used 1-handed and hacks off anything up to about a 6" branch like cutting through butter.

For the little stuff, i.e. anything up to about 3/4", my DeWalt 20V hedge trimmer makes short work of that. There certainly are excellent uses for my reciprocating saw, but tree trimming isn't one of them, at least not for me.

 

[3Ts]

I've found that my DeWalt 20V reciprocating saw vibrates, jumps around all over the place, and gets really heavy by the time I get branches of any size cut off. I think I'll just relegate the reciprocating saw to cutting pipe, etc. and leave the pruning chores to my Husqvarna T435 12" chainsaw. That little light weight Husqvarna saw can be used 1-handed and hacks off anything up to about a 6" branch like cutting through butter.

For the little stuff, i.e. anything up to about 3/4", my DeWalt 20V hedge trimmer makes short work of that. There certainly are excellent uses for my reciprocating saw, but tree trimming isn't one of them, at least not for me.

+1
I bought my DeWalt 20V reciprocating saw specifically for pruning trees. After the first day, it sits on the shelf. It is way to hard to handle for that purpose.

 

[EddieWalker]

I use the Porter Cable pruning blades in my 18volt Makita sawzall for cutting branches or roots on different jobs. I'm not comfortable with my wife using a chainsaw, so I send her out with the cordless sawzall and a couple of extra batteries when she wants to do some pruning of branches too big for the lopers. Instead of climbing a ladder, she will get in the back of the Mule, or climb on the roof of it. Seems like she can cut down enough branches in half an hour to take all day to clean up!!!

 

[coxhaus]

+1
I bought my DeWalt 20V reciprocating saw specifically for pruning trees. After the first day, it sits on the shelf. It is way to hard to handle for that purpose.

What do you use?

 

[mpsmith60]

Those Diablo carbide pruning reciprocating saw blades are great IMHO and I use them in both a corded saw and Ridged 18 volt saw.

I also use pruning blades with my Ryobi reciprocating saw for trimming smaller limbs. They are especially good for cutting roots. Way better than stick your chainsaw in the dirt or swinging an axe.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I have shifted to a new house and have a garden in this house. I want to trim the branches of the trees , so was thinking of buying a reciprocating saw . I want a lightweight saw which can be charged very fast. Please suggest the best available saw.

I frequently use a Milwaulkee M28 cordless Sawzall.

 

[newbury]

Here's another vote for using a reciprocating saw to cut roots. About the best tool there is for cutting roots. The roots are usually bound by soil so they don't whip around and soil and chains don't mix well.

 

[3Ts]

What do you use?

I use a small chain saw or lopers. I have both a gas chain saw and a battery powered pole chain saw (9"). The battery powered one is the HF Lynx and is used the most. The recip saw I use for roots and as a last resort.

 

[Diggin It]

I also use a recip for taking off small stumps. Chainsaw takes the trees off 3-4 feet above ground. Longer flexible blades make it easier to take the remainder off at or just below ground level. Better than digging them out on slopes prone to runoff and washout. As far as binding, I rig up a come-a-long or winch to pull them over, away from the blade. The 3-4 foot 'stump' makes that possible.