Circular saw beam cutter

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

loadthestove

ArboristSite Guru
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Messages
974
Reaction score
543
Location
Southeastern Kentucky
Does anyone have any personal experience using one of these.It mounts on a circle saw.
I have some poplar logs I was wanting to square on two sides for a cabin build.
 

Attachments

  • blade.PNG
    blade.PNG
    322.1 KB · Views: 16
I have used one before for cutting thru thicker beams... Works good but I would think that it would be really hard on your skill saw on longer cuts.. I was using a wormdrive makita and the cuts were only 24" at max (cutting thru 8 or so inches). You might be better off building/buying a edging attachment for your chainsaw.
 

Attachments

  • 11874_1_2000x2000.jpg
    11874_1_2000x2000.jpg
    772.7 KB · Views: 24
I have used one before for cutting thru thicker beams... Works good but I would think that it would be really hard on your skill saw on longer cuts.. I was using a wormdrive makita and the cuts were only 24" at max (cutting thru 8 or so inches). You might be better off building/buying a edging attachment for your chainsaw.
I have considered that but my saws are basically home owner grade and I dont think they would hold up to much milling work.
I'm basically just cutting the slabs off each side of a log and was hoping this would do the job.
 
I bought one a few weeks ago to cut some larger 8x12x22s for a post and beam porch I am doing. Pretty much what you are saying. Just squaring the ends and doing some 45s here and there.

I have a mid grade Skil saw and its working fine so far, just that it ends up a rough cut even going super slow. I am also going through rectangle beams, not round so I can use a square to quide.
 
I have considered that but my saws are basically home owner grade and I dont think they would hold up to much milling work.
I'm basically just cutting the slabs off each side of a log and was hoping this would do the job.
A lot of times, I use a 50cc saw /20” bar w/ an edger on small cuts. Lumber makers run from 30.00 to 125.00 online.
 
I have a Prazi chainsaw bar mounted to a Skil worm drive saw. The problem is you need electric on sight and there is no way to oil the bar/chain. I see no advantage to it over just doing careful cuts with your chainsaw.
 
The Prazi is Fine for cross cuts and making pockets... not so much for ripping. You'll want a gas generator and a Mag77 for best results.

I use a Bigfoot 10 1/4" beam saw for ripping up to 3 3/4" thick stock. It works great now that I pull out the generator and bail on using extension cords.
There is a 16 5/16" Skilsaw now available .. can manage 5 1/2" thickness (worm drive not Makita sidewinder style).... When the need comes up... I'll buy one.

Blades are important. Milwaukee has a newish 28 tooth 10 1/4" blade that is much better than anything else that saw can mount for ripping.

IMG_5164.jpeg
 
The Prazi is Fine for cross cuts and making pockets... not so much for ripping. You'll want a gas generator and a Mag77 for best results.

I use a Bigfoot 10 1/4" beam saw for ripping up to 3 3/4" thick stock. It works great now that I pull out the generator and bail on using extension cords.
There is a 16 5/16" Skilsaw now available .. can manage 5 1/2" thickness (worm drive not Makita sidewinder style).... When the need comes up... I'll buy one.

Blades are important. Milwaukee has a newish 28 tooth 10 1/4" blade that is much better than anything else that saw can mount for ripping.

View attachment 931544
this is what I use, it cuts to 6"Big Saw.jpg
 
Does anyone have any personal experience using one of these.It mounts on a circle saw.
I have some poplar logs I was wanting to square on two sides for a cabin build.
Prazi has a 18” bar now also use a ripping chain and a water cooling setup make sure you use a worm drive saw I prefer skil the old school ones are tough
 
If the logs you are cutting aren't too large, then I think a beam mill with a 40-50cc chainsaw could be just fine - just take it easy.

Before I bought my chainsaw mill, I started with a timbertuff beam mill, and built a portable track for it that would essentially allow me to mill vertically for small logs - I was using an MS250 with an 18" bar at the time. I think something similar could work very well for you. I don't use it anymore now that I have the 36" and 56" granberg mills, but I think it was great for what it was at the time.
 
Consider that a skilsaw running on normal mains current is good for about 1½ hp; contrast that with pretty much any chainsaw...
 
I have a Prazi chainsaw bar mounted to a Skil worm drive saw. The problem is you need electric on sight and there is no way to oil the bar/chain. I see no advantage to it over just doing careful cuts with your chainsaw.
You can mount a gravity feed oiler on the saw not a big deal
 
I bought one a few weeks ago to cut some larger 8x12x22s for a post and beam porch I am doing. Pretty much what you are saying. Just squaring the ends and doing some 45s here and there.

I have a mid grade Skil saw and its working fine so far, just that it ends up a rough cut even going super slow. I am also going through rectangle beams, not round so I can use a square to quide.
It’s rough because of the slower rpms of the saw.
 
It’s rough because of the slower rpms of the saw.I would think the chain sprocket is the same as on chainsaws? Use a ripping chain for ripping down the wood.You could research on getting a larger chain sprocket that will give you more chain speed but then your torque is a bit less which will mean you will lose a bit of feed speed when pushing thru the log .
 
It’s rough because of the slower rpms of the saw.
When I said rough, I meant its doable (way better than me on the chainsaw). I didnt sand any of the big ends. Picture for reference is a 8x12x22 Hemlock.
 

Attachments

  • Resized_20210912_191556_8800.jpeg
    Resized_20210912_191556_8800.jpeg
    936.1 KB · Views: 9

Latest posts

Back
Top