Corded or Cordless chainsaw?

[daniberry]

I need to buy a chainsaw for my home yard tasks, which type of chainsaw would be preferable as I am working on a small artworks project. I need to design 3 sculpture for my university of project. I am not a professional user of chainsaw and I haven't used it before. Also if you guys know anything about accessories then feel free to leave your replies.

Thanks

 

[kanewolf]

Since mobility (climbing trees, etc) isn't an issue I would go with a corded saw. It will be lower cost and won't have a run-time limitation.

 

[mymutter]

agree with the above. the battery is nice when you need to go up a tree,

get the plug in.

 

[svalbaard]

Nope. Petrol chainsaws are the way to go. Corded ones are a pain, and the cordless electric ones just don't have the grunt or battery runtime. I'm in the UK and bought my petrol one for £90 back in 2007 and it's still going strong.

Also, with an electric one, it would be highly inconvenent for it to run out of charge when the zombies attack.

 

[lumineZ]

VERY late reply from me but here it goes.

First of there is to little info. If you could add in:
- What kind of trees are we talking about? If you are unsure then answer if the tree has leafs or not.
- How many trees are you gonna cut down and estimated diameter.
- Is this a "one" time job, or are you gonna use it now and then. If so how often in a year you think?
- The project. What kind of sculpture are you making? And in what kind of wood are you gonna cut it out of?
- Budget?


I am an educated professional arborist and forester.

 

[MU_Engineer]

I need to buy a chainsaw for my home yard tasks, which type of chainsaw would be preferable as I am working on a small artworks project. I need to design 3 sculpture for my university of project. I am not a professional user of chainsaw and I haven't used it before. Also if you guys know anything about accessories then feel free to leave your replies.

Thanks

First of all, have somebody who knows how to SAFELY use a chainsaw teach you how to use one. Secondly, use all of the safety equipment you should be using for what you are doing. Chainsaws can be extremely dangerous as they have a completely unguarded chain and generally a several horsepower motor or engine driving it.

Corded outdoor equipment is typically used by people who live in town on very small lots as you must be able to run an extension cord from the house to the piece of equipment, so you are limited to working 100 feet from the nearest outlet. Voltage drop typically prohibits using a longer extension cord in the US as typical outdoor power equipment is only 120 volts. Everybody else uses gasoline-powered equipment as they have no other option. Corded electric motor-powered equipment is preferable to gasoline engine-powered equipment as a motor is much quieter, has much less vibration, has no smell, never runs out of fuel, and has very minimal maintenance requirements. But, you can only use it very close to your house.

Cordless battery-powered equipment has improved greatly compared to the past, but even today's cordless battery-powered equipment still doesn't provide the power of gasoline-engined or corded equipment with a decent-enough runtime *or* if it does have an adequate runtime, it lacks power. Don't get a cordless battery-powered chainsaw (or string trimmer.)

If you are doing a chainsaw sculpture, you can choose where you do your work and I would pick right outside your house where you can use an electric chainsaw.

If you intend to do yardwork and cut down trees/cut up fallen branches, etc. you probably don't live on a tiny city lot. I would get a gasoline-powered chainsaw in that case. I have a gasoline-powered chainsaw and there is little that I do with it that I could do with a corded chainsaw as nearly everything is more than 100 feet from the nearest outlet.

 

[kanewolf]

The point of using the chainsaw for an artwork project in the original post has been overlooked by most posters. For carving sculpture, a corded electric chainsaw is probably the best answer. The carving with the saw might be done indoors just like any other woodworking. Gasoline power is not the best answer for an art project use. Home cleanup of trees, sure. Art project, no.

 

[MU_Engineer]

Also, with an electric one, it would be highly inconvenent for it to run out of charge when the zombies attack.

Here in the US if zombies strike, we just shoot them. Much easier and less messy than using a chainsaw, plus you don't sustain nearly as much damage compared to when you use a chainsaw to fight them off.* **


* Obligatory "Sauerbraten: Cube 2" reference. You fight the monsters with a chainsaw when all of your other weapons are empty. It rarely ends well.

** Yes, a major ammunition manufacturer in the U.S. actually did produce live and fully functional "zombie ammunition." They simply changed the dye they used for the polymer tip of their existing bullets from red to chartreuse.