Saws The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

[Bushwhacker]

What are you using for Saws (Chain and Rotary) And what are your thought on them, Carbide chains and Diamond Blades, the Whole lot.

[FWDbuff]

Chainsaw: For fire service ventilation we have two Cutters Edge saws, they are about 6-8 years old and they ROCK. Take care of them, keep fresh fuel in them and they run forever. Replace the bullet chains occasionally (more often when used heavily or often obviously...) We also have a couple of Stihl saws for general purpose stuff- trees etc.

Rotary saws: Mixed bag, our guys can't get their heads out of their rectums and decide what they want. We have one Stihl TS310 (?) which is a huge, cumbersome, heavy and obnoxious piece of schit. We also have one Ventmaster (?) and we have two older Partner K950A saws which ROCK- again take care of them and keep fresh fuel in them and they are bombproof in my opinion. As for blades- quick story...when the Warthog blade first came out, we heard they were good items, so I called our guy and asked if he had any demos we could try, he said sure he would drop one off. I come into the firehouse the next week and there it is waiting for me, brand new still sealed in the original box. I called Mr Salesman and said "You sent us a new one??" He replied "go ahead and use it, you wont be returning it." He was CORRECT. Best ****in rotary saw blade for wood and light metals I ever used. Just have to be careful with them as they can kick if not treated with respect.

On our Squad Engine we run one cutters edge, one rotary with the warthog, and one rotary with a metal/carbide blade, and one general purpose saw. Other engine has one cutters edge and one metal rotary, and the special service has a rotary with a multi-purpose wood/metal/concrete blade which IMO is useless on wood.

If I had to pick and choose, I would want a Cutters Edge with a bullet carbide chain for residential and light industrial/commercial stuff, and two K950A's- one with a metal carbide and one with a warthog.

[Bushwhacker]

Whats your Thoughts on the depth gauges on the Bar on a Chain saw? I have always "felt" when i came to a rafter and rolled over it. Are they worth the pain in the arse or do they mysteriously get removed and lost on the saws first fire?

[Bones42]

No pain. If your good with a saw, it takes just a few seconds to raise the depth higher than you'll ever need. And the gauge is still there for those that aren't as good.

[FyredUp]

I agree that the Cutter's edge chain saws ROCK for roof venting. We use Husqvarna K1200's for our rotary saws and I think they are awesome.

As for the depth gauge, I HATE them and the saw on my truck does not have one. Learn how to use the saw and you won't need it anyways.

[GTRider245]

We carry all Stihl saws. Regular Farm Boss 290s on every engine and the trucks have 460 Rescue models. Trucks also carry rotary saws with regular blades. Should be switching to diamond soon though.

After some research and seeing what everyone was using and liking I ordered a Desert Diamond Fire Rescue blade for the volunteer department yesterday. Great folks to deal with, and the blade has a lifetime warranty against breaking.

[HuntPA]

We run Husqvarna's. There are a 272 and a 372 XP. We have a carbide chain on each with 2 regular chains with them. No depth guages or any of that kind of thing. They are just straight standard chain saws.

We don't run a rotary saw, but we have used them. We just don't do enough that would call for their use.

[Bushwhacker]

I am now leaning towards the Husqy' K970 for a rotary With a spare warthog blade and a Fire Tiger Blade as the main Blade, is Anyone actually running the K-1250 power head?(that seems like a heavy head for less than 1HP)

I have always Packed the Sithl 460 for the Saw in my Wildland adventurous and I Think that the 461 Rescue would do just fine, although i have to Bitch about paying more for a Sqrench Holder and over sized handle.

What are your preferred chains? All i have seen in action was the Bullet chain...

[johnsb]

I like Stihl's, always seem to be tough saws. K12's aren't bad, but I think their recoil mechanism is kinda weak. As for rotary blades, D'Ax blades are hard to beat. I'm not a fan of Warthog blades at all.

[slackjawedyokel]

No pain. If your good with a saw, it takes just a few seconds to raise the depth higher than you'll ever need. And the gauge is still there for those that aren't as good.

agreed - never had a problem with them -have had good luck with cutters edge with the bullet chain -keep a can of carb/ brake cleaner handy for a quick spray on the chain to remove the worst of the tar.

[Up&Over]

Cutter Edge with Bullet chain. Awesome saw works great on the built up flat roofs we encounter. Have seen 6" of build up countless times. Also goes thru tin and any other myriad of crap some people use as roofing material. If there is a better chain saw/chain combo I havent seen it. I would imagine the typical sheating and shingles would be a joke. Down side is the extensive overhaul of the saw after use. We may perform a more indepth cleaning than others but after a typical use it can take over an hour to completly clean the saw and restore it for service. As a side note, it uses much more bar/chain oil than a conventional chain saw by design. I have seen people adjust this flow down assuming it was set wrong. Its high flow setting is designed to keep the chain and bar heavily lubed while cutting what many chain saws would bog and stall out trying to cut. Once again, if there is a better saw/chain combo, I havent seen it.

I have used all fashions of Partners from 650 to 1200. Now using Husqvarna 950 with warthog and desert diamonds. Never used the desert diamond on anything but metal. Its works fine and seems to last. The warthog works well but usually takes multiple cuts to get thru some of the roofs we cut simply due to depth of cut. I would also assume that the typcial sheating shingle combo in the more suburban/rural areas would be a joke for this blade as well.

As far as chain guards...I would love to throw them in the trash but we are required to keep them on the saw. We just keep them fully retracted.

[footrat]

Our department has switched to Husqvarna K12 FD's based on 950's. Every truck company has two- one set up for rescue, and one set up for vent. Rescue, meaning metal-cutting, with a Husqvarna-brand diamond blade. They work well, and for quite a long time. The vent saws have a Firehooks Unlimited 12-tip Chopper blade. They're carbide tipped, but the tips break off easily. We have not had great results with them for flat roof work or wall breaching.

We have a mixture of chainsaws around. Our true vent saws are Unifire saws based on Husqvarna power plants. They run Husqvarna bars and unknown brand carbide chains. We have a number of Stihl Farm Boss saws around, running regular 20" bars and Stihl yellow chains. They're fantastic for the seasonal storms that bring down trees. If the chains are sharp, they work fine for residential roof work, too.

My company does NOT use the depth guard on our Univent saw. They get in the way of making deeper cuts. They are prone to losing the pin that holds them in place, rendering them a spring-loaded plunge cutter only. Take them off and learn to cut without cutting a rafter in half.