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Vent saws
If you were outfitting a new Platform,what would you put on it for saws? We already have a CE bullet and a TS550 Stihl wheel saw.Looking for ideas and blade types for the wheel saw.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Asst Chief Tim Cook on
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Warthog takes a little getting used to.Spun up properly,they just cut. I like the CE,but if you leave the factory guard on be prepared to do a bunch of post ops cleaning. Also buy a spare chain,when they dull up no one locally is going to sharpen them.Send 'em back to the factory,and you'll get a nicely resharpened chain.It's a real tough chain. We've been well pleased with ours.6 weeks and counting.
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The 950 is a "industry standard" saw. Not the one the Boss currently has his eye on but it isn't bought yet either.No compression relief on the 550 either,better get it right the first time or you'll have a long arm,hehe T.c.
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Permalink Reply by L.R. Graves on
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We run : 1-TS 510 (Metal)
1-TS-510 (Multi)
and a Ventmaster. We went to these saws about 8 yrs ago. They work well. I opened a roof a couple years ago that was layered as follows; tin roof base, rolled roof over that, then 1/2" over that, then 3 shingled layers. Ventmaster made quick work of it. Give it a good look. They have held up pretty well, our Quick-vents didn't hold up as long. I was a Truck Sergeant for 7 yrs and have used these saws quite a bit.
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Permalink Reply by Bill McCool on
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I personally have always liked the "Warthog' blade for a great multi use roof blade. It will cut most roofing material (including metal roofs). We purchased a couple back in 2000 and we are still using the same blades and they get used about 20-30 times a year each. The one thing about them though is they are heavier then most blades out there. One advantage to the weight is that it creates more momentum for your cuts but they need a saw with some kick to keep them going and they may make your saw front heavy. When you put the saw down (between cuts) the front may begin to tilt towards the roof instead of staying upright. When you cut with it you can feel the rafters when you get to one instead of cutting through it as you can easly do with alot of other blades/chains saws out there.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Brooks on
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If you are planning on keeping the CE saws, you can upgrade them to use the Ventmaster bar set up. A mcuh ore aggressive and powerful chain. If you are considering replacing the saw all together, this is what we did. This got us the biggest saw for the best price. We also believe, that this is a much better set up. We bought the Stihl MS 460 Rescue powerhead, then added the ventmaster bar and chain. The Stihl Rescue chain is a smaller guage version of the ventmaster (raptor) chain. The Raptor also costs less. We built two of these for around $1000 each.
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Thanks for that.My feelings as well and the 550 has plenty of "pizzaz" to swing it. As a heavier wheel you've got to spin it up but it should carry pretty well.As heavy as that powerhead is,I doubt we'd have a tipping problem.This saw ISN'T for the timid. My brief exposure to the blade,I found it tended to climb over the rafters then settled back in.'course my old boss bought me that saw about fifteen years ago when I bitched about the no nuts saw it replaced.First roof I cut I almost trenched by accident,the saw was that much better.And I weighed about 120 in full gear.Things have changed a bit since then.
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How about leaving the CE AND having the Ventmaster? I like the CE ,it's done anything I've ever asked it to do. There's going to be about a 60 day transition period from the stick to the Platform. But we're finishing the loose equipment and the saws are one of the last items.
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The biggest difference is the way they cut. The CE pulverizes the wood and makes fine saw dust. The Ventmaster will eat the wood and put out big chips. See if you can get one to demo and do a side by side comparison. I got tired of having to replace my bullet chains after almost every use. The teeth we getting destroyed. The Raptor chain can go through almost anything and stay intact.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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That's why I like rotary saws better than chainsaws for vertical vent. A tungsten-carbide-tipped rotary saw blade will go through typical roof materials with no problem. You don't have to sharpen it after use, either.
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Odd,we change our Bullet chain about once a year.Never destroyed any teeth,they just get dull after you cut enough steel roofing. We've used carbide chain before but as Ben says,they chip off. Big Boss is seriously looking at the Ventmaster:I've looked at it too and think it will fit our purposes nicely.I'm going to forward this thread to him for his perusal. My "roofing"days are pretty much over but I preferred the wheel(rotary)saw to the chain saw when I was doing it steady.I guess that would be a preference/training thing.
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We used to have them on K12's and they made the saws tip forward. It was a real pain when we ran the saw during truck checks you had to wait for the blade to stop before you could let the saw go. A few years back we purchased a K950's to replace the K12's. Although the blade did not tip anymore we found that we were getting bogged down more often. The 950 has a smaller motor and that is the only thing we could figure was different. We ended up switching the warthogs back to the 1200's and have not had a problem since.
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Permalink Reply by Nick on
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you cant go wrong with the stihl rescue saw we have two and they work great
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