Off Topic: Tool Review: Makita 36v Chainsaw

I've been sort-of needing a light-use chainsaw for a few years, now, but haven't wanted to go the high-maintenance, frustratingly-loud, thousand-pull-while-you're-working route involved with a gas one -- nor the obnoxiously-confined route involved with a typical electric one. I hate fuss.

Fortunately Makita makes a whole range of 36v tools and this 12" bar electric runs on a 36v lithium battery either in a 2x18 configuration or, as here, in a 1x36 one. It's lightweight, has plenty of power, and is really, really, really easy to service and break-down to replace or adjust the chain.

The big Q, of course, is -- how long does it last? I found that if you're cutting average "trim" stuff -- branches and 4-6" trees (and limbing them) -- it lasts me 1 to 2 hours of fairly aggressive work. If you're cutting bigger and taller stuff you'll find the juice drained faster, of course. I cut down, limbed , and chopped up an 8" and 10" pair of taller standing dead trees just in time for the battery to blink out yesterday.

The advantage of being able to just turn it on and off a zillion times is huge, and the noise level is comparable or less than the drill sitting right next to it in the photo above. My wife didn't even know I'd been working behind the house the other day because she couldn't even hear it running from the lawn out front!

The non-tool adjustments make this easy to service when you make a bozo move and get your chain stuck... for instance.

In the 36v version, the battery has a charge indicator. This is handy to have so you can plan on when to bring it back for charging (which it does... pretty quick).

Here's the shade structure that I built this afternoon -- it'll look the business with a bunch of greenery climbing up and a funkier birch-legged table made-up to go inside.