Can you chainsaw carve with an electric chainsaw? YES YOU CAN!
Before we continue, I need to make something clear: before my fascination with the art of chainsaw carving I had never used a chainsaw. I had never even touched a chainsaw. In no way am I an expert at chainsaws let alone chainsaw carving.
While I am far from having any expertise in chainsaw carving, I do love making things. In this article I chronicle my journey as I research and experiment with different types of chainsaws.
Once I had made the decision to learn how to chainsaw carve, the next step was to find a chainsaw to carve with. Having watched just about every YouTube video available on chainsaw carving as well as the TV show Carver Kings on Netflix, I was pretty much under the impression that a gas chainsaw was the only way to go.
If you spend any amount of time on YouTube watching videos on chainsaw carving you will see that 99% of videos posted online use gasoline-powered chainsaws. Gasoline powered chainsaws have several distinct advantages: they provide the power needed to make large cuts and there is no need to deal with dying or dead battery packs or extension cords. But I did not want to deal with gasoline and the maintenance required to keep an internal combustible engine running.
As a do-it-yourself woodworking hobbyist, all of my power tools are plug-in or battery-powered. Being accustomed to using electric powered tools, I naturally gravitated towards the chainsaws powered by electricity. After doing much research, I came up with the following information.
GASOLINE CHAINSAWS
PROS: Powerful, can go all day as long as you have fuel, it’s what the pros use.
CONS: Loud, fumes, many engines require mixing gasoline with additives
BATTERY POWERED CHAINSAWS
PROS: Lightweight, portable, quiet, low maintenance.
CONS: Underpowered, batteries don’t last very long.
ELECTRIC CORDED CHAINSAWS
PROS: Lightweight, good power, quiet, unlimited power as long as you are near an outlet, low maintenance.
CONS: Need to be near an outlet or use extension cords.
Because I could not find much information on chainsaw carving using anything but gasoline-powered chainsaws I had to do my own experimentation. It is important to understand that when discussing chainsaws powered by electricity, there are two types: electric chainsaws and battery chainsaws.
When referring to an electric chainsaw, you are referring to an electric corded chainsaw that requires an extension cord and plug for power. Battery powered chainsaws on the other hand use rechargeable batteries for power and are cordless.
Because many of my power tools are of the Ryobi brand, my first foray into chainsaws was a battery powered Ryobi chainsaw. I figured since I already owned 5 Ryobi batteries, two regular chargers, and a quick charger, that I would be able to get through much of a project with the gear that I already owned.
I was super excited for my first ever chainsaw from Home Depot, a Ryobi Brushless Lithium-Ion Electric Cordless Chainsaw. With my five batteries fully charged and ready to go, I put on my safety gear and went to the yard to begin cutting.
Unfortunately, the Ryobi battery powered chainsaw proved to be underpowered for chainsaw carving. Each fully charged battery would provide anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes of cutting time. And even with my quick charger, which takes about 30 minutes to charge a battery, the frequent interruptions of dead and dying batteries as I tried to carve led to much frustration.
Also, because the battery packs would heat up during use, this rendered them unchargeable until they had cooled down. So after about 20 minutes of carving with my underpowered battery chainsaw and 5 battery packs, I was forced to take off my safety gear and find something else to do until all my battery packs had charged.
Because I would hurry to make cuts on my first ever chainsaw carving to try to get as much done before my battery pack would die, I would make careless mistakes. Eventually I gave up on the project.
I was disappointed that my battery powered chainsaw experiment had failed. The advantages to battery power are the lack of having to deal with mixing gasoline, decreased noise, and decreased maintenance. So I quickly returned the Ryobi battery powered chainsaw and borrowed a gas-powered chainsaw from a friend.
I had high hopes for the gasoline powered Chainsaw by Stihl because just about everyone you see on TV and on YouTube uses a gasoline powered chainsaw. While I was concerned about the noise that a gasoline powered chainsaw would produce given my close proximity to my neighbors, at this point I just wanted to start carving. Unfortunately, I was again led to disappointment as the gasoline powered chainsaw that had sat in my friend’s garage unused for years would not start.
At this point, I was ready to give up all together on chainsaw carving. But I decided to give an electric corded chainsaw a shot. After researching my local stores and Amazon for electric chainsaw options, I realized that I did not want to go cheap with my electric chainsaw but at the same time I did not want to break the bank.
I decided on the Makita UC4051A 16″ Electric Chain Saw which was not the most expensive corded electric chainsaw available, but it was more expensive than most of the cheaper chainsaws that you will find in stores and on Amazon.
After I put together my Makita electric chainsaw, I took it to the yard to see if it could do any better than the battery powered chainsaw. It didn’t take me long to realize the night and day difference between the two chainsaws. The Makita electric corded chainsaw was much more powerful than the battery powered chainsaw and I was able to make the necessary cuts without difficulty.
In one day, I was able to complete my first ever chainsaw carving with my Makita electric chainsaw. I absolutely love this chainsaw. It is relatively quiet compared to gasoline powered chainsaws and besides the power cord, the only thing it needs bar oil so the maintenance is very minimal compared to its gasoline counterparts.
While being tethered to an extension cord can be a disadvantage, because most of my carvings will take place in my backyard or near my garage, I will always be near a power source. Having an extension cord is much less of an inconvenience compared to battery packs that last no longer than 5 minutes.
Now I have a chainsaw that I am proud of and that I can use for chainsaw carving art work as well as for projects around the house. The Makita electric chainsaw revived my dying interest in chainsaw carving after failed experiments with a battery powered chainsaw that lacked stamina and an old gasoline powered chainsaw that would not even start.
On the 4th of July I carved a bald eagle. I had no problems with the Makita chainsaw. There was no stalling, no noxious fumes or exhaust, no need to mix gasoline, no excess noise, and I felt that I had plenty of power needed to complete the project.
With my first completed chainsaw carving, I can tell you that it won’t be my last. Chainsaw carving was a ton of fun; more than I expected it to be and I was very pleased with the final result. I suspect that as I become more serious in the hobby, I will be purchasing more chainsaws of different sizes. As for now, as a beginner chainsaw carver, I feel that the Makita electric chainsaw is perfect for what I want to do.
So can you chainsaw carve with an electric chainsaw? Yes you can! If you’re looking for a chainsaw and like me you don’t want to mess with the hassles that come with a gasoline powered chainsaw such as noise pollution, noxious fumes, and mixing fuel, then you should seriously consider an electric corded chainsaw.
