Thread: Big Circular Saws

My 2000w Hitachi is a 235mm saw. That's pretty big and heavy to be swinging around a job site all day. For the beams you are talking about I'd be using a large mitre saw personally.

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the Makita 16" saw is a timber framer's tool, it would be rare for an Australia building site to be using material big enough to need one.

while the Makita can cut close to 160 mm thick stuff, the thing weighs near enough to 15 kg, and costs near enough $1000 locally.
at that sort of weight and price, I'd be looking at Festool's sword saw ...

I went onto the web and looked at the festool sword saw the price here for a 200 version is about $1700 vs $1100 for the makita. I have also had a look at the skilsaw Bigfoot 14" saw however there maybe a power issue due to it being set up for 110v. Which would mean purchasing a transformer as well. Still more research to be done to find the right balance of value, price and usability.
Regards
DaveLindsay

you're having better luck than me.
The only 16" Makita Circular saws I can find on-line are either 110V or, if 220V, are located in Korea. Add in the postage and GST and the total cost will not be much different to that of a sword saw.

How many cuts do you suppose that you will make in big wood? 10? 100? 1,000?
I've got a gutless wonder electric chainsaw (Festool sword saw with no guide) which does the job but it's slow.
The jig is everything for a smooth cut.

If I had many cuts to make, I'd be looking at a top quality gas power saw with maybe a 24" bar.
When I see what Pioneer Log Homes cuts for a $7,000,000 log home, I'll follow them.

I just went through the Korean makita website( my brother lives there) and I couldn't even find the 16" makita saw I'm starting to get the impression that the prazi saw you bolt onto a circular saw may be the final result. However it will mean that there would be a greater amount of finishing required. I think I may need to email a few of these companies directly to find more info.
Regards
DaveLindsay

Ultimately, my idea was to use the 16" circular saw to cleanly slice 5" beams from a 5" depth slab of up to 12ft long slab straight off the log after cutting it with my chainsaw mill. This would reduce wasted material and also make it easier to move the timbers afterwards. I would then also have the saw for my timber framing project. As always it's the balance that counts.
Regards
DaveLindsay

I think you are worrying too much about reducing wastage.

Perhaps, you should be milling with something like a Lucas mill rather than a chainsaw mill?

But I already have a CSM to be honest I didn't really think about a Lucas, ah well more research,
DaveLindsay

perhaps stay with the chain saw and just accept the additional wastage.

It surely will be a lot less than the half a cube that the cost of a 16" Makita translates into.
(Depending on the cost of the logs you are milling, perhaps the Makita is equivalent to more than a couple of cubes of wastage.)

I've seen a few of these larger saws appear for sale on ebay and Gumtree over the years and saved the ads as web pages. Note some of these are older saws but the makers may have an updated model.
- Makita 5143R was a 14" , 15 amp circular saw - max 130mm cut. Current model $US 773. A secondhand one here sold for $450.
- Makita 5402NA ( 120v and 15 amps) has a 16 5/16" blade. Beast ! on ebay US for US $355 plus $99 shipping but obviously a transformer would be needed.
- Hitachi PS14-4 13" circular saw on ebay in Victoria. The seller had an $800 buy it now price but it didn't sell. It wasn't relisted.
- Towa W-150 14" circular saw in good condition sold for $80 at Coburg. A bargain even for an old ( pre-Ryobi ) saw like this.

My experience was from my apprenticeship when my boss bought two 12" Holz her circular saws ( or it may have been 14" , I can't remember as it was back in the '70's ). They were a bitch to hold onto cutting big hardwood beams is all I recall about them.
My thoughts on the costs to buy a new one is that if you have many cuts to do and you use a sharp blade then the cost would be outweighed by the lack of tidying up to do on each end = money saved on labour and hassle.

Stewie

Perhaps you should take a look a what is known as a mini mill and pair that with a small (50cc) saw running a low pro chain.
This chain is ~30% narrower than a regular 3/8 chain.

I made my own mini-mill but they are dead cheap and basic ones can be purchased for ~$100.

My mini mill is actually a monorail mill and because it attaches to a steel rail it can cut with the back of the bar so that it squirts the sawdust downwards and not all over the operator.
It also is high adjustable over a range of cutting angles

I've cut a heap of 4x4 up to 6x6 beams with this setup - works a treat.

first-cut.jpg


Standard Mini-mills just sit on a 4x2 or 6x2 length of wood so cannot be used this way because they would jump up off the wood.
Micro Chainsaw Sawmills | Portable Sawmills | Husqvarna Chainsaws, Outdoor Power Equipment and Tree Care Supplies from Bailey's

I also use my minimill to cut park furniture
cutting1.jpg Hcut2.jpg Sofa3.jpg

Bob, thanks for the info on the mini mills it might end up being the easiest and cheapest way to achieve the result.
Regards
DaveLindsay