Type
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Portable. Hand tools designed to hold on weight during work. The main advantage of such saws, in accordance with the name, is mobility and ease of carrying from place to place. In addition, such a tool can "climb" into hard-to-reach places, as well as work with parts that cannot be brought to a stationary saw. On the other hand, portable units are more demanding on the skills of the operator, require increased caution, and are also less suitable for long-term work — holding the tool on weight for a long time can be very tiring. Portable, by definition, are all chain and reciprocating saws, as well as
gas cutters and
"alligators"(see "Device"); in addition, many disk units and some tape ones belong to this type.
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Stationary. Saws that have a stand and are placed on the floor, workbench or other similar surface during operation. Such tools are much larger and heavier than portable ones, they are designed to be permanently in one place and do not require frequent carrying. On the other hand, stationary saws are more convenient to use than portable saws, they are less tiring and more accurate. In addition, the design of such units may include stops, rulers and other devices for additional convenience of sawing (including cutting at an angle). Stationary are all miter, cutting, combined and radial-cantilever saws (see "Device"), as well
...as many circular and most band saws.Engine location
The location of the motor in the electric portable saw (see "Type").
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Longitudinally. The longitudinal arrangement allows you to achieve a good balance, allowing you to work comfortably in different positions; this is especially true for cutting branches from trees and other similar work, where the cutting plane can be located at different angles. In addition, such a tool has a smaller width and a longer length, which can make it easier to work in hard-to-reach places. On the other hand, such saws are more expensive than cross-cut saws.
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Transversely. The transverse arrangement of the engine slightly worsens the balance compared to the longitudinal one and makes it difficult to saw along an inclined plane, at an angle to the vertical. In addition, the length of such saws is noticeably shorter. However, for the simplest work with sawing from top to bottom, they are no worse than longitudinal ones, but they are much cheaper. Yes, and a small length in some cases can also be a virtue.
Power
Saw motor power in watts. For petrol tools (see "Power Source"), horsepower is additionally indicated, see below for details.
The higher the power, the better the tool is suitable for voluminous work and hard materials, the greater the depth of cut it can provide and the easier it can cope with significant loads. In addition, for different types of saws and different types of materials, the actual power values \u200b\u200bcan also be different. For example, a power of
2.5 – 3 kW is actually the limit for
chain saws, but in
chain saws this is an average figure, among such tools there are models of
3 – 4 kW and even
more. Detailed selection recommendations for various cases can be found in special sources.
No load blade speed
The maximum speed of the disk, provided by a saw of the appropriate design — disk, cut-off, etc. (see "Device").
Note that most of these saws use gearboxes, so that the blade revolutions are much lower than the engine revolutions (see above). This achieves an increase in torque, which in the case of saws is often more important than the high speed of the blade.
As for the specific number of revolutions, it is first of all worth noting that only saws with the same disc diameter can be compared according to this indicator. In these cases, higher speeds provide better performance, but the trade-off is reduced torque; such saws do better with relatively "light" materials. Conversely, low speeds reduce productivity, but allow the blade to effectively "bite" even into dense, stubborn workpieces. More specific recommendations regarding the choice of a saw according to the number of revolutions of the blade can be found in special sources.
Bar/blade size
The largest tyre size (in chain saws) or disc (in circular saws and some others, see "Device") that is allowed for this tool. Tyres are sized by working length, rims by diameter.
A larger bar/wheel allows for deeper cuts but requires more powerful motors. Therefore, this parameter cannot be exceeded — this can lead to an overload of the engine with all the corresponding troubles. However, in many models with a disc it is physically impossible to install a nozzle with a diameter larger than the maximum allowable.
Also note that saws with similar bar/blade sizes may differ in maximum depth of cut (mostly due to differences in design or power). As for the specific dimensions, they depend on the type of saw (see "Device"). For example, large discs of
450 – 500 mm are found exclusively in stationary chain saws, the maximum figure for cutting models is
400 – 450 mm, for trimming —
300 – 350 mm, and sizes of
500 – 550 mm or
more clearly indicate that speech It's about a chainsaw chainsaw bar. Detailed recommendations regarding the choice of a tool for a given size can be found in special sources.
Bore diameter
The diameter of the mounting hole for which the blade holder in the saw of the corresponding design is designed (see "Device"). In fact, this paragraph indicates the diameter of the axis on which the disk is installed — this size should correspond to the hole in the disk itself.
Note that some models of saws allow the installation of discs with larger holes than indicated in the specifications — when using an adapter sleeve. The main thing is that the own diameter of the disk does not exceed the values \u200b\u200ballowed for this model (see "Tyre / disk diameter"). Popular sizes include
20mm,
25mm and
30mm.
Cutting depth
The greatest depth of cut provided by the saw.
In most types of saws (see “Device”), the depth of cut directly depends on both the engine power and the size of the tyre / disk. The specifications give a value for the maximum allowable size of the working nozzle; when using nozzles of a smaller size, the depth of cut, respectively, will be less. But in band saws, this depth is rather weakly related to the actual length of the tape — it is determined primarily by the length of the open section of the tape, which is directly involved in the work.
Anyway, the greater depth of cut makes the tool more versatile, but comes at the cost of weight, price, and electricity/fuel consumption. So when choosing, it is worth considering the real features of the planned work and the dimensions of the workpieces that are planned to be cut. As for specific values, the most modest tools provide a depth
of up to 50 mm ;
50 – 75 mm is considered a low indicator,
75 – 100 mm is average,
100 – 125 mm is above average,
125 – 150 mm is already quite an impressive thickness, and the most powerful modern saws can have a cutting depth
of more than 150 mm.
Table dimensions
The size of the desktop provided in the design of the tool.
The working table is called the plane on which the workpiece is placed; it is found exclusively in stationary saws (see "Type") — in particular, circular and combined (see "Device"). The larger the desktop, the more convenient it is to use a saw with large materials; on the other hand, this nuance directly affects the dimensions of the tool.
Size
General dimensions of the saw. For a stationary tool (see "Type"), this parameter determines primarily the amount of space that will be required for installation; problems with this can only arise in very tight spaces, so in most cases the dimensions of a stationary saw do not need to be given special attention. In the case of hand-held models, the small size makes it easier to work in hard-to-reach places and improves overall usability. On the other hand, a compact tool inevitably turns out to be low-power; and some jobs by definition require large, heavy saws, with large bar lengths or blade diameters.