cordless circ saw for fiber cement plank
oldhand
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Anyone ever cut hardi board with cordless circular saw? Saw is a Makita BSS611 which is 6 1/2”, 18V. What are your experiences and what type blade did you use? Thanks in advance.
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Replies
For just a few cuts, sure. If you are siding a house you'll kill it.
Really, the Malco shears that strangle a drill work a whole lot more better for the long haul.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Well I sure don't want to kill the saw. It is a whole siding job, the house is off grid and well up in the air also.I'd love to minimize the generator hassle. Any opinion on the turboshear attachment, it's advertised as cordless friendly, if not too kind to the purse. Thanks..
I bought mine from Mike H here on BT..maybe ask in the classified folder..I think I paid 100.00 and really, they are worth it.
Now Makita makes a saw w/dust chute that is supposed to work well..I think Mike Smith uses that set up w/a vac..I dunno..I'd trash a saw before I'd drop a wad on a one time use.
Go head, kill the saw if yer in a bind..I mean, it's maybe the same cost for a new motor as a new tool?Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
new saw, bare tool about $100, turbo shear attachment $117, recon makita plug in shear $170 [which the homeowner pv system would handle probably]. I'm not in a bind, have a couple weeks to get ready and am leaning to the turboshear at present. I haven't installed hardi in a couple years and if I tool up real good for it it's a cinch to be a couple more to the next cement event, unless of course I sold off the tools at the end of this job. Cosmic laws are odd..
"Now Makita makes a saw w/dust chute that is supposed to work well..I think Mike Smith uses that set up w/a vac..I dunno..I'd trash a saw before I'd drop a wad on a one time use."
that's the one I'm using at the moment.
they used to sell a smaller ... think 4.5" version.
new one is 7 1/4"
worked great ... made for the job ... hooked up to the fein auto-on vac.
still cut outside ... but no one coughs blood at the end of the day.
shears are great too ... saw I think is faster ... and nicer cuts.
I picked my saw used off ebay.
was looking for a deal on the shears ... never found a good enough deal.
will run 25sq thru the saw.
halfway done ... got smaller front and rear done. Sides are bigger but way more wide open ... less cuts.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I like using a big squirrel cage fan at one end of my cutting table blows the dust away from me.
I think there is a manual shear out there similar to a tile cutter.That might be nice to have when off grid or up on scaffolding.
ANDYSZ2WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
Jeff,
I just got my hands on this guy http://www.ebuild.com/articles/sectionId.1598/829374.hwx and love it. It works really well. Published review soon.
how's visibility of the cut line?
one of the things the other saw does way better than the snips is plunge cut for around windows and such ... but takes a while before U get good at guessing where the blade is. Same with following the cut line on rips.
whole lotta plastic in the way.
on the first day of cutting my helper picked up the saw first ... told him too bad ...
yer the cut guy now!
who ever touches it first keeps it.
he and the saw have become one!
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I'd like that option of not having to fill my nice Fein Vac with all that crappy dust.
also leaving that nice machine outside all day , even though we are working under the big tent. Best thing I did on this job was put up a 10x20 carport on the first day then plastic wrapped the sides and back. Plan to buy the real "garage kit" as soon as my final payment check clears. Plastic is a pain in the butt.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Published review soon.
Here?
http://www.ebuild.com/articles/sectionId.1598/829374.hwx
Another corded saw option. Not yet available in all areas.
JLC
Thanks Tim.
Check out the free video section of FHB mag. Mike Guertin has a feature on the pros/cons of various FC cutting tools.
IMO, using a nice cordless saw for FC isn't a good idea, plus there is the dust factor which isn't good for you either.
Scott.
Even if you use blades dedicated to this, you're going to eat them up and the going will be slow. Try shears dedicated to this purpose and you will not regret it. I hired some "pro's" to do some siding and they insisted on using a miter for all the cuts. They ate up four expensive blades, and took forever. I finally got fed up and told them to use my shears, whether they wanted to or not, or leave the job. The speed of the job went way up and their cost for blades and such disappeared. The job turned out okay, but these boys, obviously, knew less than I did, though the actual end product turned out fine (by the way, they were working a bid and not by the hour).
All this is not to say there are not times you will still need a saw, be it a circular saw or a saber saw. We used a [green-disposable] Ryobie cordless and it worked fine.
I've said this here before. I started with the 120 volt shears (Kett I think), didn't like the cut they made but maybe I was just being too fussy. Anyhow then went to the dedicated Makita 7 1/4" fiber cement saw. It worked well enough but I finally settled on using a 10" compound mitre saw on a home made cut table similar to the AD & E with nice built in measuring tapes with easily adjusted stops. I was leery about ruining the saw so I bought a 10" Ryobi on sale at HD for $79. I've cut a ton of the stuff with that set up, all outside and usually blow out the saw at the end of the day with compressed air. Providing somebody is keeping me supplied with material I can really keep up cutting for a good sized crew with that set up. I ended up flipping the Makita upside down and recessing it into a piece of MDO and building a fence to keep it parallel to the blade to use for long rip cuts.
That sounds like a set up worthy of consideration for anyone doing a fair amount of fc siding work. My issue involves a single job, 2 person crew high on a scaffold and not connected to the power grid. On average I might do siding on a few houses a year, always some different material and conditions. Thanks for the input though..