Harbour Freight 14 inch electric chainsaw

[rlp in Co.]

Well I gave the chainsaw a good workout and
cut up a very large Chinese Elm tree. Had
to cut some of the trunk from both sides.
The saw had plenty of power and the blade
was very aggressive and took very little
down pressure. I had to cut a slot in the
power plug to fit my cord. The switch was
very hard to press and after about an hour
of cutting, my hand was tired, so I wired
the switch on, and just let it run and
unplugged it to stop it. I know, dangerous,
but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta
do. I'm going to take the switch off and
put in a different switch. Other than the
switch I like it so far.
 

[DoubleO7]

Good to hear, but what is "cut a slot in the power plug"??
 

[rlp in Co.]

The engineer that designed the plug must be
nuts! My cord wouldn't fit in the round
female plug on the saw. Maybe I'll take a
picture tomorrow.
 

[rlp in Co.]

The engineer that designed the plug must be
nuts! My cord wouldn't fit in the round
female plug on the saw. Maybe I'll take a
picture tomorrow.
By the way, my license plate number is 007!
 

[bc]

Same as on my electric blower. The use 2 prong round plugs that have about an inch or so of plastic that extends down around and past the prongs. Safety deal I guess in case there is a gap between the plugs. The 3 prong triangle end of an extension cord doesn't fit cause the tip of the grounding prong won't go in.
 

[Two Dogs]

On mine, I J.B. welded that silly safety button in the down position to eliminate hand cramps. TDF
 

[DoubleO7]

Ahh, I think your saw has a "hood" extending out over the extension cord end. And so you cutout part of that hood in order to connect them.
 

[Ozlander]

Now I have a new project.
 

[flembo]

I have had good luck with my HF electric chain saw, I keep it at camp in Nova Scotia so I don't have to deal with gas, I use a 100ft 12/3 cord, plenty of power. It feels strange when you take your finger off the trigger it stops immediately I am used to a gas saw that idles down slow so the chain stops. I know what you mean about the safety receptacle being hard to plug into, it is the same way on my wife's leaf blower, but I find if you squeeze it so it is out of round it will go.
 

[rlp in Co.]

Exactly! I just made two cuts with a power
saw and they plastic leaf that is left
bends up enough to allow the female cord
end to plug in. It's hard to see in the
picture but there are two saw cuts.

 

[rlp in Co.]

I tried squeezeing it but maybe my plug was bigger than yours; so I cut it.
 

[rlp in Co.]

Well I was gonna put on a different switch but in my nice warm shop and no heavy gloves and a sheet metal screw in the safety switch, the switch seems easier to hold down. You can see the screw in the picture. The switch seems to be too far forward from where your hand naturally wants to hold the saw, and from that position the switch is twice as hard to hold down. Maybe I'll wait till the next time to change the switch. I only cut wood once in a blue moon anyway. I just have a little shop and heat mostly with used oil. There are no close neighbors that would be bothered by the smoke, otherwise I would burn wood. I have a huge stock pile of wood if I need it.
 

[rlp in Co.]

You are right about the safety switch. I put a sheet metal screw in mine and now the switch seems easier to use. You can see it in the picture.
 

[DoubleO7]

Almost looks like my electric chainsaw.
But mine is 12vdc.
Uses romex and battery clips as the power cord, which makes it kinda stiff and unwieldy.


 

[rlp in Co.]

I've never seen a saw like that before. It
could be run off of your truck battery,
right? I have a 12V generator that I made.
It has a 2.5HP Harbour Freight motor and a
belt powered alternator. That would run a
saw like that. I could show you a picture
of it If you want. I run my saw with a 1200
watt generator. I used a gallon and a half,
or maybe 2 gallons of gas, to cut up that
tree.