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Bark-Scoring Tools to Repair Tree Grafts

Tools Considered

Cordless Circular Saw—One tool considered was a 3 3/8-inch circular saw manufactured by Makita (figure 3). The saw (Model 5090D) is marketed for cutting wooden trim pieces. It is battery operated and uses a 9.6-volt battery that is used in other Makita cordless tools. The saw costs $80 and is available at local hardware stores. The battery ($39) and 1-hour battery charger ($50) are sold separately. The saw is about 12¼ inches long and weighs about 4 pounds.

Figure 3—The Makita 33/8-inch cordless circular saw.

Cordless Right-Angle Drill—A 14.4-volt cordless 3/8-inch right-angle drill made by DeWalt was used to test different cutter tools. The drill has two speed ranges, one with a maximum speed of 800 rpm, and the other with a maximum speed of 1,250 rpm. The drill (Model DW966K) costs $210. The price included a battery, a 1-hour battery charger, and a heavy-duty case. The tool is 12½ inches long and weighs about 4 pounds with the battery. A 2-inch-diameter carving disc made by Percival, a 4-inch-diameter woodcarving blade made by Arbortech, and a 2-inch-diameter, three-wing slotting cutter made by Whiteside were purchased for testing (figure 4).

Figure 4—The DeWalt cordless right-angle drill with (left to right):
Percival 2-inch carving disc, Arbortech 4-inch-diameter industrial
woodcarver blade, Whiteside 2-inch-diameter, three-wing slotting
cutter, and Whiteside ¼-inch-shank arbor with bearing.

Small Cordless Chain Saws—A cordless Makita chain saw was among the tools considered (figure 5). The saw has a 4½-inch cutting capacity. This saw (Model UC120DWA) costs $230. The price includes a 12-volt rechargeable battery (2.0 ampere hours), a 1-hour battery charger, bar guide, chain, blade cover, file, hex wrench, bottle of chain oil (for manual application), and carrying case. Chain speed is advertised at 520 feet per minute. The unit is 18½-inches long and weighs about 4.8 pounds. The factory tip guard had to be removed before this tool could be used for scoring.

Figure 5—The Makita cordless chain saw.

As this project was winding down, another small cordless chain saw became commercially available. The saw is imported by Northern Tool & Equipment Co. from China and sells for $95 (figure 6). It has not been field tested so we can only compare its attributes to those of the Makita cordless chain saw. The Northern Tool & Equipment Co. chain saw uses the same size bar, and a similar saw chain and chain tensioning system as the Makita chain saw. The price includes an 18-volt rechargeable battery (1.7 ampere hours), a 3- to 5-hour battery charger, bar guide, chain, blade cover, and hex wrench. At this time extra batteries are not available through Northern Tool & Equipment Co. Chain speed is 465 feet per minute. The saw does offer a chain oiler system and rubber motor-housing gripping surface, features lacking on the Makita. The saw is about 19 inches long and weighs about 5.6 pounds.

Figure 6—A cordless chain saw imported from China by the
Northern Tool & Equipment Co.

Cordless Rotary Tool—A small rotary tool called the Wizard (sold by Black & Decker, figure 7) was tested for use on small stems (less than 1 inch in diameter). It has a pistol-grip handle and costs about $50. A 3.6-volt rechargeable battery, a 3-hour battery charger (holds two VersaPak batteries), assorted attachments, and a carrying case are included. Extra batteries cost about $13 each. MTDC tried various rotary tool high-speed cutters and even adapted a 2-inch-diameter Arbortech woodworking saw blade for use on the Wizard. The tool weighs about 1.1 pounds.

Figure 7—The Wizard cordless rotary tool with a high-speed
rotary cutter and Lexan guard.

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