Using a reciprocating saw as a garden tool
Using a reciprocating saw as a garden tool for pruning, edging or small-tree removal is sometimes better than using a landscaping tool or a chain saw.
Pruning blades designed for use with a reciprocating saw typically are made from high-carbon steel and have a variable-set tooth pattern with four or five teeth per inch. Manufacturers claim they are suitable for pruning trees and sawing green wood or pressure-treated lumber. Pruning blades are typically long—around 9 inches.
Standard reciprocating saw blades also cut through branches and slim tree trunks, but some contractors recommend the faster-cutting pruning blades.
Edging with a reciprocating saw
An alternative to the pruning blade—at least for a simple job like edging a sidewalk or driveway—is a standard reciprocating saw blade dulled from use on another project.
Contractors at WorkshopAddict.com recommend saving a few bucks on blades by loading a used blade into the saw that will easily slice through grass, dirt and roots.
Point the saw toward the ground and position the blade on the edge of the cement sidewalk or driveway to use it as a cutting guide. Then, pull the saw’s trigger and slowly step backward while trimming the grass.
To finish, scoop up the fallen grass with a small shovel or sweep it away with a broom. The job will take only a few minutes.
Root removal
Cutting roots during stump removal can be a challenge with a manual saw because there’s so little room to work. And it can ruin a chainsaw blade almost instantly, according to a National Gardening Association blogger. Garden loppers aren’t equipped to cut through something as thick as a tree root.
Using a reciprocating saw as a garden tool, says the blogger, is one solution. Its long, thin blade is easier to slide into a hole in the ground. He recommends using a 12-inch blade, which is easier to slide into a small working space. The cut might ruin this blade, as well, but a reciprocating saw blade is far less expensive than a chain saw blade.
Cutting back fibrous plants with a reciprocating saw
Thick, fibrous plants like yucca, which need frequent trimming, can be as difficult to slice through as a tree root. Even their leaves are so fibrous that it takes a razor knife to cut cleanly through. A reciprocating saw, on the other hand, allows the landscaper to cut through a handful of leaves in a single swipe, according to the National Gardening Association blogger, who uses an 18-tooth-per-inch blade designed cut metal for this gardening chore. A pruning blade, he says, “just shreds it and pulls it apart.”
For finer pruning and a cleaner cut, using a reciprocating saw as a garden tool to cut wood—and therefore to operate more slowly, works best, he says.
Removing small trees with a reciprocating saw
Jack Spirko, the survival podcast (Is this a subhead, byline?)
The go-tool tool for cutting trees is the chain saw. But a heavy, bulky chain saw can be overkill for removing small trees with narrow trunks, says Jack Spirko, known for his “Survival Podcast.”
To clear a swath of young trees, Spirko uses a reciprocating saw instead. If he can get his hand around a small tree’s trunk, he says, he chooses the reciprocating saw, which allows him to free up one hand to steady the trunk while he holds the saw with the other.
Because the reciprocating saw’s blade stops quicker than a chain saw’s once the trigger is released, Spirko says, accidents are less likely to happen.
Cutting branches is also one of the other uses for reciprocating saws you might not have considered. “I’d much rather be up in a tree pruning branches with [a cordless reciprocating saw] than with a chain saw,” he says.
Reciprocating saw vs. chainsaw
Others agree that using a reciprocating saw as a garden tool has its advantages over using a chain saw for landscape work. Among them:
- The reciprocating saw is lighter weight and easier to carry, so the user can work more quickly.
- It is a smaller tool with a thinner blade, so it’s easier to navigate into tight spaces.
- Its blades are cheaper, so if one gets ruined because it runs into a nail or an especially rough cut, a replacement blade won’t break the bank.
- Its size is more suitable for women and men of small stature, who might find using the chain saw physically taxing.
- There’s no kickback from a reciprocating saw.
