Almost all of us like to have beautiful flowers and fruit trees near our home or workstation. This actually reflects beautification and makes the environment cool for all. In addition to keeping those small trees or shrubs, you need to maintain them properly on a regular basis. You may need to trim unwanted branches and bushes, or even sometimes, you may have to remove small trees from your beloved yard.
To do this routine job, you will need a top-notch reciprocating saw in your tool bag. No doubt, a reciprocating saw is ideal for this task, but the question arises: do you really know how to cut trees with a reciprocating saw?
Indeed, most of us heard about the reciprocating saw, and we know it works great for cutting small to big trees perfectly. But the fact is that 8 out of 10 people do not know how to use it appropriately. Today, we will talk about all the easy steps of cutting trees with a reciprocating saw. So, keep your whole attention here, and let’s jump into the main topic.
What is a Reciprocating Saw?
Needless to say, a reciprocating saw is a simple yet powerful tool that works great for cutting soft to hard materials. Demolition, renovation, or remodeling work always requires high-power cutting tools. At that point, a reciprocating saw seems like an ideal solution.
This power tool has almost high-end cutting features and comes with a sharp and disposable blade. With its powerful motor setup, it can spin the blade at high speed and cut down different types of materials within a very short time. Although this powerful saw is best used for heavy-duty work purposes, one can still use it in their household or DIY projects. In spite of being a lightweight and small gadget, it can make deep cuts easily.
Moreover, people love to call the reciprocating saw by its alternative names like saber/sabre saws or sawzall. When you need to cut through wood, metals, stones, tiles, aluminum, drywall, and other different types of materials, just take the reciprocating saw in your hand and complete the work in style. Significantly, it provides the best performance for lighter pruning chores all the time.
What Can We Cut With a Reciprocating Saw?
Among the DIY works like pruning and landscaping, a reciprocating saw looks very ideal to apply, and it can ensure smooth and more effective cuts all the time. Now, let's check what you can actually cut with a reciprocating saw.
Cutting Aluminum: Cutting aluminum won’t look hard if you install the metal-cutting blade in your regular reciprocating saw. This type of saw blade comes with a sharp and keen tooth that really cuts through tough material like aluminum in a short time.
Cutting Brick: With the advanced and specially designed brick cutting saw blade, you can easily cut the brick into thin slices. Though this unique blade looks very aggressive and works very quickly, you need to know the basic steps of cutting bricks with a reciprocating saw properly to get the best result at last.
Cutting Cast Iron: Like the aluminum cuttings, here you will need the metal-cutting blade to cut cast iron ideally. Although you can use carbide coated blades for this work, diamond grit blades are best for cutting cast iron quickly. Making a great cut through this blade is always costlier, but if you want to enjoy smooth cuttings, then there is no alternative without using the diamond grit blades in your regular reciprocating saw.
Cutting Curves: Beautiful cuts like curve cut isn't a dream with your favorite reciprocating saw. Though we all know that reciprocating saws always make rough cuts on the materials, if you use a template during this case, you can still enjoy unique curve cuts from your saw. Try using a flexible and light saw blade to create a great combination of curve cuts.
Cutting Metal: Hard work like cutting metals is not far away from your reach; just know the proper way to cut metals with a reciprocating saw then you can enjoy it by yourself. Installing an ideal metal-cutting blade offers the best facility, and it won’t break too early. But don't engage in metal cutting if you forget to wear proper safety clothing.
Cutting PVC: With the help of a regular reciprocating saw blade, you can now cut PVC perfectly. There is no extra hustle and bustle in cutting this material, just hold the tool with proper gripping, and then start cutting one by one.
Cutting Trees: Cutting trees is not the only main goal of using a reciprocating saw as it is designed for advanced work purposes. To get the best results, you can use pruning blades in this case.
Cutting Tiles: If you are planning to cut ceramic, vitrified, porcelain, mosaic, or concrete tiles, you should put the abrasive grit blade in your standard reciprocating saw. This kind of saw blade is ideal for demolition and renovation work. Put your left hand on the shoe adjustment and the right hand on the front handle, then apply the saw carefully to the tiles.
What is The Best Reciprocating Saw Blade for Cutting Trees?
In our previous stage, we talked about various types of saw blades for cutting different materials. But if you intend to cut trees into thin slices, you will require a giant teeth blade with less TPI format. Generally, the types of blades we have mentioned here are divided into two unique categories. They are:
- Pruning Blade and
- Firewood Blade
Pruning Blade
No doubt, the pruning blade is a convenient choice for cutting soft and small trees or branches. This unique blade type has a different TPI variable, so you don’t have to worry about the blade length. The specialty of the pruning blade is it has bizarre shapes of teeth. This actually keeps the sawdust away from the marked lines of your materials and lets you focus more on your work.
Firewood Blade
Severally, we always look for a special blade that cuts firewood with excellent finishing. Generally, the firewood blade is designed with a strong carbon steel format, and the size varies from 3 to 5 teeth per inch.
Should You Use The Reciprocating Saw to Prune Hedges?
If you wish to prune hedges with precious cuts, then there is no perfect alternative to use the reciprocating saw directly in work. But there is one significant problem that you will definitely notice during the work: the hedges can become elastic when you put heavy pressure on them.
Nowadays, some of the high-quality reciprocating saw arrives with a special ability to prune hedges, so you can choose one of them to enjoy thoroughly. Though pruning hedges may look very too complicated at the starting time, if you acquire the steps to prune hedges with the reciprocating saw, the work will look effortless and classy as well.
Benefits of Using a Reciprocating Saw
Indeed, there are many benefits of using a reciprocating saw. But you have to properly gather knowledge on the tools, blade, and particular process. Once you get it all in your brain, you will start enjoying the benefits accordingly. Here we have discussed some of the benefits of using a reciprocating saw one by one. Let’s go through them to know more:
Functional Flexibility
The first and foremost advantage of using a reciprocating saw is functional flexibility. When you take the power tool in your hand directly, you will be surprised to see the lightweight design and portability section. It feels very premium to carry, and this heavy-duty power saw lets you adjust with the disposal blade facility. This actually helps a lot in cutting different types of materials.
Importantly, the reciprocating saw has some unique and advanced functionalities like the safety switch, the trigger switch, the adjustable shoe, and the extra dotted handle grip to ensure total comfort in your work zone. This wide range of functional flexibility helps to improve your skills and increase your confidence to work like a pro.
Easy Use
Needless to say, functional flexibility will give you easy access to your tools; This way, you can control the entire system in your hands. For the sake of its lightweight and small size design, you will always enjoy the portability facility. Moreover, you can store it in any corner of your tool bag, which will also help you keep the saw protected all the time.
Versatility
Having a powerful reciprocating saw in your hands means you will have the opportunity to apply it to any of your materials and always get satisfactory results at last. Truly, investing a proper budget in your favorite reciprocating saw will bring enough facility for your home renovation and remodeling projects. Remember, this is going to be worth the investment as it will not only offer versatility in your household or DIY projects, but it will also cover all types of cutting projects with ease.
Fewer Upper Body Energy Required
As we said before, working with a reciprocating saw is always a fun activity. Here you won’t need to put full pressure on the body, but you should thoroughly know all the basic tips for using a reciprocating saw.
Works like manual pruning shears always require the user’s upper body force to complete the cut perfectly. But the reciprocating saw won’t ask for this. Just put your left hand on the adjustable shoe holdings and the right hand on the rear handle of the tool. Now start working with a stable placement.
Free of Kick-back
Generally, regular chainsaws often kick back during continuous work. Especially if the tension of the chain is not installed correctly, you won’t get appropriate cuttings all the time. For this reason, choosing a reciprocating saw is an ideal pick. The most exciting fact about using a reciprocating saw is that it is completely kick back free, and you can work with less hassle.
If you do not set the saw regularly with its components, several kickback problems occur during the cutting operation and cause serious danger to the users. Especially if you are a non-professional worker, you will face the problem in most of your daily work. Considering the problem, the reciprocating saw seems to be very easy to operate and protects the user from unwanted incidents.
Affordable Saw Material
The major advantage of using the reciprocating saw is that you can change and repair its components with less effort and budget. Like the chainsaw, here you will enjoy the replacement facility in every section, and it is really entertaining for all. A quick and easy method of changing saw blades on your reciprocating saw will greatly save you valuable time and effort. Depending on the size of the tool, you should install proper blades to get a satisfactory result every time.
Drawbacks of Using a Reciprocating Saw
Besides enjoying the numerous benefits of using a reciprocating saw, you should always be aware of its drawbacks. This is not a prohibition, but knowing all the negative aspects will work like precautions and helps you to make the ideal decision like a pro. Now, check the drawbacks of using a reciprocating saw one by one:
Can't Make Dense Cuts
We all know that a reciprocating saw is ideal for trimming small trees and branches for household tasks. But it is not ideal to use for pruning big trees or branches from your yard. It always makes thin cuts on the wood and quickly places them aside. But, when you try to do the same act on large trees, it won't make accurate and quick cuts accordingly. During that critical time, you will need a powerful saw with wider blades as well.
Not Suitable For Newcomers
If you are new to this cutting work, you should not use the reciprocating saw as your daily driver. Indeed, a reciprocating saw is made for professional use, and it is available to apply to different materials for different cuts. But that doesn't mean that anyone can control the tool ideally. To get proper control over the tool, one should study well on this specific tool and its components and then conduct several tests in real life too.
If newcomers do not follow our advice and try to go for direct experience with the tool, they may fall into fatal accidents. So, keep the point in mind and then dive into the main action.
Limited Power on Corded Version
Usually, a reciprocating saw comes in various power source versions. If you choose the corded version among them, you will likely use it with direct electric power connectivity. But the fact is that using a corded electric reciprocating saw will allow you to work a limited distance around the yard.
No doubt, the electric corded reciprocating saw will deliver a huge power capacity and makes your work easier and quicker all the time. But, when you try to reach a longer distance, you can’t go there quickly. Keep this downside in mind before selecting an electric corded reciprocating saw for your job.
7 Easy Steps To Cut Trees With a Reciprocating Saw
In this step, we will discuss 7 simple steps to cut trees with a reciprocating saw. Of course, these essential steps are practically tested by our professional team, so you can always rely on them to get better results. Let’s focus on the steps one by one:
#Step No: 1- Organize Your Tools and Put on Safety Kits
Before you go to the main cutting part, you should always organize your tool and put on safety kits to stay protected from severe accidents. Wearing safety outfits always covers you properly during this sensitive cutting work and makes you more confident of getting precious cuts. Safety kits should include a dust mask, ear protection, construction goggles, a safety face shield, and a hard hat.
In some cases, you can wear personal protective equipment (PPE) as the best safety cover. This special outfit will cover your body thoroughly and helps you to stay free from sawdust allergens. While engaging in cutting, you must never forget that wearing fitted clothing is always a plus point to stay safe from everyday hazards.
If you want to be a professional in this category, you must have a protection kit on the necessary parts of your body.
#Step No: 2- Choose The Ideal Blade
When you manage all your saw components near your workspace now, you should start preparing your favorite saw with them. Here you must consequently emphasize the saw blade size and type. Although we all know that a reciprocating saw makes many cuts in different materials, it is not possible to do all jobs using the same blade type and size.
That's why choosing the right type of blade and size is always critical to your cut and efficiency. Generally, people use a pruning blade for cutting small trees and branches. Indeed, the pruning blade not only cuts down timber into small pieces but can also be applied for soft materials cuttings on different items.
Before cutting trees or branches in your yard, you should examine the diameter of the preferred brunch. Once you fix the brunch size, you have to add 2 inches more to that length, and that final number will be the ideal diameter for your saw blade.
It looks like fixing the ideal size of the blade and type is not difficult if you follow the proper way we mentioned and identify the place correctly on the saw. At the end of the day, the pruning blade with its sharp tooth will deliver precious cuts on your materials.
#Step No: 3- Set Your Tool with The Blade
In this stage, you have to set the blade into the saw chuck. For doing this following work, you must set the blade at the front side of the small opening from the saw chuck. While doing this, you may notice that the saw chuck of some particular reciprocating saw will ask you to twist the chuck for entering and exiting the saw blade. So, you should follow the proper ways to set the saw blade in the correct position.
We always recommend that our users check the user manual guide carefully and follow every step. This is the best way to use and set the saw components properly.
#Step No: 4- Put on Batteries
After completing the previous task, you should focus on connecting the power source of the reciprocating saw. Choosing between corded and cordless versions differentiates the way the power source is connected. For example, if you choose a battery-powered cordless reciprocating saw, you have to ensure suitable batteries.
Some people think setting the ideal battery seems very confusing to them as so many batteries are available from different brands throughout the market. Now comes the question: How will they choose the best among them?
In this case, we recommend using a battery of a similar brand to that of the saw brand. This will ideally suit the saw and remove the battery choosing problem. Once you've fixed your battery for your power tool, you need to set it in the correct position for your saw.
Most of the saws keep the battery storage at the bottom end side. So, check that point correctly and then put the required batteries there.
Now people will ask why we are suggesting the battery-powered saw here on this topic. The answer is that battery-powered reciprocating saws keep the tension away from connecting directly to the power source. It allows you to work remotely and feel very comfortable moving the saw from one place to another.
#Step No: 5- Place The Saw and Start Pressing The Saw Shoe
Set the saw against the tree and put your finger on the metallic shoe trigger of the saw. When you press the button, the saw will gear up the power and then start spinning the saw blade. The shoe trigger of the saw actually gives you the blade control entirely. With this, you can start and stop the saw immediately and freely move the saw from one side to another.
#Step No: 6- Search The Collar and Start Cutting
After completing all the previous steps, you can call yourself ready to get into the main cutting action. As we said, the trigger of the shoe saw will activate the power of your saw and let you start sawing on your target. When you hold the trigger tightly, the saw will generate more and more power to slice the branches quickly and efficiently.
While cutting branches of medium trees, you should always try to clear the smaller branches first so that you can clearly and quickly remove the large branches without any hassles. This is actually a professional tip for getting a smooth cutting experience.
Even when you are asked to uproot the whole tree, you do not cut it directly from the base. Cutting trees from the roots directly hits the yard badly, and it can sometimes damage your other property; even people can get hurt by this unprofessional activity.
This is why every time, you should cut the branches first and then cut the rest. Another important thing you should do in pruning tree branches is to cut relatively dead branches first, rather than new ones. Slowly and steady work will deliver clean and efficient cuts every time. So, hold your patience and focus more on your work.
#Step No: 7- Power off and Clean The Saw
When you are done pruning trees with your reciprocating saw, it’s time to turn off the tool and pack the device properly in the tool bag. Detaching the reciprocating saw from its power source will extend the longevity of the tool and keep it better for future usage. Moreover, If you want to act like a polite user, you should always collect fallen branches, trees, and leaves in a corner.
Remember, the better you use your equipment and your work, the better results you can always expect from it. A good and efficient worker always respects his work and adequately maintains his saw regularly.
How Do You Maintain a Reciprocating Saw
If you dream of using a reciprocating saw for a long duration, you must take proper care of it regularly. As with all other products, you should check the components daily and try to replace old parts with new ones if necessary. Remember, taking proper care extends not only the longevity of your product but also increases the working performance of the tool at a high percentage.
Heavy power tools like the reciprocating saw need special attention, and users should know how to maintain a reciprocating saw deeply. Let us show you some professional tips to maintain a saw below:
Check The Blade and Replace It: Usually, a reciprocating saw is considered a powerful blade that lasts a long time. If you use the pruning blade for continuous work, it will offer 12 and 120 hours of maximum support. Indeed, they are affordable. That's why you should check the quality first and then replace them in need. Remember, a good quality saw blade would ensure stable and better performance until you put over pressure on it. So, you should carefully handle it while working for a long time.
Dry The Wet Saw Before Preservation: A heavy-duty reciprocating saw has many uses. You can use it in any workplace, and it can work under extreme work conditions. When working in a humid environment, your favorite saw will typically get wet quickly. During that time, it won’t damage the saw directly, but you should clean the wet saw after you finish your work.
This special care helps to refine sharpness and maintain a quality performance every time. In some cases, you can carefully separate each part of the saw so you can clean them better.
Use Stain Remover to Maintain a Shiny Look: Who does not want to have a shiny look on the saw? Almost all of us might like it. That’s why keeping a stain remover near your work zone will remove soft to hard stains on your saw quickly and efficiently.
Never use the stain remover directly on the saw because it might affect the other parts badly constantly. As a solution, users can keep a dry cotton cloth, spray the stain remover on it first, and then use the cloth on the saw blade later.
When you feel that your saw is getting warm due to constant use, you can immediately use saw oil to lubricate the reciprocating saw to stay cool.
Remove Sawdust with Blower or Vacuum Cleaner: While working continuously, a reciprocating saw will create lots of sawdust on your materials and environments. In fact, sawdust is really for health, and it affects the environment badly. To keep yourself safe and the work area clean, you should use a blower or vacuum cleaner to remove sawdust quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions and Expert Answers
Answer: No doubt, a top-notch reciprocating saw is ideal for cutting many different materials. It has a sharp carbide or diamond coated teeth blade with an incredible motor power that actually delivers impressive cutting performance every time. With this, you can cut soft to hard materials within the shortest possible time. For household or DIY work purposes, people use the reciprocating saw as their suitable weapon.
When they apply the saw by following the professional way to cut trees with a reciprocating saw, it smoothly delivers clean and thin cuts on every strike. But working on a continuous time, you should take a break, and instantly, you should check the saw components and the saw blade carefully. You can replace the blade to get satisfying performance all the time. It is affordable and easy to connect.
Answer: Work like cutting trees and branches will seem easy and entertaining when you have a high-quality reciprocating saw with a sharp and powerful blade. But before you focus on cuttings, you should prepare yourself along with the power tools accordingly. Every particular cutting demands different types of saw blades and skills as well. This is why you should always set the saw with a perfect blade.
Usually, people prefer the pruning blade for cutting trees. This unique blade type has a different TPI variable, so you don’t have to worry about the blade length. The specialty of the pruning blade is it has bizarre shapes of teeth. This actually keeps the sawdust away from the marked lines of your materials and lets you focus more on your work.
Answer: Every job is planned with some special precautions, and every user should check all the points to make a good start and get a satisfactory result at the end. The mentioned precautions work as safety laws as well.
Nowadays, about 80 to 95 percent of non-fatal injuries occur every year around the world. Do you want to know the reason behind this? Just because of not maintaining proper safety laws at critical work.
Inside the safety laws, you can include the safety items like a protective mask, ear protection, construction hat, construction goggles, protection gloves, and a mask shield will ensure better security all the time.
Answer: Needless to say, a reciprocating saw is truly incredible for cutting a variety of materials with effective results every time. Though they deliver rough cuts, they create quick and professional finishing.
When you use the reciprocating saw for long-term work, it demands changing the saw blade for quality cuttings. In that case, you have to replace the old blade with the new one soon.
First, you should position the saw blade at the front side of the small opening from the saw chuck. Some reciprocating saw opens the saw chuck quickly, whereas others set the blade positioning system with a twisting feature.
If you have the twisting system, there you have to twist the chuck to exit the old saw blade or enter the new saw blade. Do this by following the ideal way so that you can save your valuable working time.
Final Overview
Making smooth and precious cuts on trees is not difficult when you take a reciprocating saw as your daily driver. But the mentioned work will require the basic knowledge of how to cut trees with a reciprocating saw properly. If you read our article today, we hope you understand all the steps professionally. Nothing will look impossible if you are passionate about your work and put everything in the positive line.
No more today. Keep patience and make great cuttings all the time. We always wish for your success. Till then, stay blessed and work all the time carefully.
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