I recently needed a chainsaw to take care of some wood that had found its way to my driveway. I pulled out my 16 year old 16″ Poulan chainsaw that had not been used in over 10 years. I quickly discovered that all the fuel lines had deteriorated. So I bought replacement lines and filters at Lowes, only to discover that the fuel primer bulb had ruptured too. Then I found that Amazon actually sells a Poulan fixup kit for well under $10. When it arrived, I spent a few hours replacing all the lines, filters and primer bulb. I got it running, and it performed OK… it ran a while, bogged down and stalled a while, then ran a while, then coughed… I sharpened the chain and got to work. I cut well for a while, then IT decided IT needed to take some more time off. I had enough. My hands reeked of gasoline, and my work was not done. I decided that for the limited number of times I used a chainsaw, this saw would need more small engine work every time I used it.
16″ Poulan compared to 18″ Black and Decker
I decided electric was the way to go. Simple plug-in electric, no expensive batteries, that would also fail from prolonged lack of use. I conducted a lot of research and settled on the Black and Decker CS1518 electric chainsaw for many reasons:
- Good reviews compared to other models of electric chainsaws
- 18″ bar (longest available in plug-in electric)
- 15 amp motor (most powerful available)
- Oregon bar and chain (a name brand standard bar and chain that I could get replacements anywhere)
- Instant stop chain (let go of the trigger, the chain stops immediately, even though the motor continues to wind down)
- Tool-less chain adjustments/replacements
- Blade guard included
I was expecting that this saw would not be as strong as my gas saw, but figured the ease of operation would make up for its lack of power. I wrong…. so wrong. This electric chainsaw has more power than my gas chainsaw, even when that saw is running at its best, which it rarely does.
Just in case anyone thinks I am just doing light cutting with this saw, I was slabbing (ripping) a very large double stump of red oak. The stump was roughly 40″ in diameter so even with cutting through on each side with the 18″ chainsaw, I still had about 4″ of wood running down the center that I had to cut with the hand saw. I cut 6 slabs out of this stump, I did the first one entirely with the handsaw (just to prove something to myself…. and give the neighbors something to talk about) but the others I cut with the Black & Decker chainsaw. It handled them all very well. It is comfortable to use and is quieter than its gas brother. I was quite surprised that even after running it pretty hard, the electric motor did not get that warm. I figured it would be steaming from everything that I was asking it to do, but it worked very nicely. I only have one complaint, and it is pretty minor. When holding the saw as directed with two hands, the weight of the electric motor adds a bit of twist to the saw. It is easy enough to overcome, but it does take some continual awareness to do it.
I am happy with this chainsaw, much happier than I expected to be.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid endorsement. I paid full price for the saw. Links are Amazon affiliate only.
Previously
- Safety glasses – my favorite Radians passes the test
Safety in my workshop is important to me. Especially eye safety. One of my eyes is in pretty bad shape (not from the workshop) so it makes me all the more protective of my one good eye. Over the years I have gone through a lot of safety glasses. Many of them have failed due […]
- Gang Saw
I wanted to build a frame saw for resawing wood, especially large slabs. Previously my resawing logs technique has either been to use my bandsaw milling sled for smaller logs or my one-man rip saw for logs that won’t fit on my bandsaw. Then I thought about the old saw mills that used to use […]
- Snakeskin Ring
The other night, the cat was watching something intently that was just outside the pool cage. When we took a look, there was a corn snake laying on the rocks outside the pool cage. He had just started shedding his skin. We watched him wiggle out of the thing 1/4″ at a time. It was […]
- Rose Petal Ring
A few weeks back I made a ring from shavings off a mango branch, followed soon after by a ring made of cat hair. With Valentine’s Day approaching, my son wanted to try making a ring from rose petals for his mom. So we bought some roses and some super-glue and got to work. We […]
- Log Toggle Coat Rack
I have seen a bunch of these flip down toggle coat racks and have been intrigued by the designs. Modern and unobtrusive. Toggle a peg down if you need it, up if you don’t. I find them clever, but they are too modern looking for my taste. So I started imagining one that was based […]
- Mango Shavings Ring
I was planing a piece of mango wood for a coat rack I am making, when I got completely sidetracked by something. The shavings were so pretty, the urge struck me to try making a ring out of them. I have never made a ring before, and for the past 24 years I have only […]
- Live Edge Oak Coffee Table
I got a nice section of a Swamp Laurel Oak log from a neighbor that was cutting one down a little over a year or so ago. I wrote up a post about slabbing an oak log by hand. The entire time I was sawing the slabs out of that log, I knew I wanted […]
- Making a Tapered Slab
You can’t throw a stick without hitting someone that has posted a youtube video about making a router sled and using a router to plane a slab of wood flat. They have become very common. I have covered making a router planing sled and what router bits to use for planing. Usually router sleds are […]
- Router Planing Bit Options
I built a router sled back a while ago to use in flattening some slabs. Over the course of flattening multiple slabs, I have had the chance to try a few bit options. Keep in mind that when planing with a router, you want to only have half the bit working at removing wood. So […]
- Curvy Bow Ties – Fun with Woodworking Keys
I have seen a few variations on keys. The wood bow ties that are mortised in cross-grain to prevent further splitting of a crack in a slab of wood (aka dutchman). I’ve seen dark wood keys in light wood, light keys places in dark wood. I have seen fancy carved keys in the shape […]
- Coping Saw – Blade Direction – You lead, blade follows
Almost every coping saw being sold today is set-up wrong. They are backwards. This is not a discussion of the push versus pull in terms of does it cut on the push stroke or the pull stroke. Most of them are set up to cut on the pull stroke, and I am fine with that. […]
- Latex Paint Tacky on Furniture: FIX IT
Though I much prefer the look of real wood, there are some pieces of furniture in my house that are painted. I’ve painted a few with latex paint. The problem is the tackiness. No matter how long I let the paint dry, even years later, it still feels tacky to the touch. Set something […]
- Natural Oak End Table
A neighbor was cutting down an oak tree back in April 2016. I stopped to help, and some pieces followed me home. Then they started talking to me. The log on the left said, “I want to be live edge slabs.” The one standing up on the right said, “I want to be and end […]
- Alcohol Based Tea Stain
As I started planning my next projects using the Oak that I had slabbed, I knew I would want a bit of color. I wanted to accent the grain of the wood and not hide it, so I was leaning toward using a dye rather than a stain. My only problem was that I have […]
- Slabbing Some Oak by Hand
In April of 2016, a neighbor around the block was cutting off parts of an Oak tree in his yard. I offered to help him. While I was helping him move some of it, the wood started speaking to me, and several large pieces ended up following me home. The log on the left saidi […]
- Easy Router Sled
A while back, a neighbor was cutting down an oak tree that was either a Southern Live Oak or a Swamp Laurel Oak. I tried to ID it using this oak tree guide but I no longer have access to leaves or acorns from that tree. They are pretty common, seem to grow fast and […]
- Simple Tool Oiler
I took a simple suggestion from Paul Sellers to make an oiler can by winding up a strip of cloth and putting it in a little can. I made three small ones using some caps from spraypaint cans. I squirted in several soakings of 3-in-1 oil and have found it to be very easy […]
- Clever Table Leaf Extension
I really like this table leaf extension mechanism from Dustin Glasscoe. It is simple to operate and simple to include in almost any table design. I am adding this to my “I am going to use this someday list”.
- Intriguing Mortise and Tenon Foxed Dovetail Joint
This joint from Loyd Arve Nornes is an interesting one that has been rattling around my brain since I saw these videos. It is a locking Mortise and Tenon Foxed Dovetail joint or some variation on those terms. The slots in the piece of wood that makes up the tenon seem to be ripe for a […]
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