Milwaukee Hatchet

[rcktpwrd]

Dad got me one for Christmas and I had a chance to use it this week. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works! I have/had a few over grown cedars. About 20-25 feet tall and one was leaning/growing at almost a 45* angle. The Hatchet cut right through the branches like butter! Largest branch was about 2.5" in diameter.

I also cut one down completely. The trunk was about 6-8" in diameter, kind of oval shaped. Larger then the length of the saw. I just kind of went in a half circle around the base and it cut with ease!
I didn't get a picture of the final cut, will try tomorrow if the rain holds off.

A few times cutting branches from the wrong angle it pinched and stopped the saw. Or if I put too much pressure on it the saw stopped.
I was using a generic '6.0' amazon/ebay battery, that is probably more like a 3.0 battery.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwauk...TCHET-Pruning-Saw-Tool-Only-2527-20/313506666

I took down the one towards the fence.

 

[jshillin]

Yep, it's a very cool little saw. I bought one as soon as they came out and it's been handy. I used it to cut a lot of limbs off of cedar logs.

 

[Jarhead0408]

I have one and like it...but I'm going to figure out how to either disable the safety...or add an offset paddle to make it easier to hold down.

 

[webscrounger]

I've really wanted one, but I'm cheap! I've been holding out until someone offers it (tool only) on sale. May have to wait til next Xmas season for that!

 

[SS5150]

Bought one yesterday. Anxious to try it out.

 

[MennoR.]

This one looks a lot safer than the ones I see offered on the internet: this one has two handles.

I attended the Course 'How to use a chainsaw' last week. I was the only non-professional at a professional course: firefighters, health & safety officers of a large roadbuilding company, a zookeeper (working with gorillas...). I did that course because I'd never handled a chainsaw in my life and I wanted to learn how to use it the safest way. I learned a lot, including about these prune-saws!

As said, a two-handle saw is a must: one tends to twist and bend branches with one hand to make it easier to cut with the saw on the other hand. With that 'one-hand-cutting-technique', it's only a matter of time before someone cuts off his fingers.

 

[rcktpwrd]

I have one and like it...but I'm going to figure out how to either disable the safety...or add an offset paddle to make it easier to hold down.

Yes I should have mentioned that the safety switch is a bit awkward to deal with!

This one looks a lot safer than the ones I see offered on the internet: this one has two handles.

I attended the Course 'How to use a chainsaw' last week. I was the only non-professional at a professional course: firefighters, health & safety officers of a large roadbuilding company, a zookeeper (working with gorillas...). I did that course because I'd never handled a chainsaw in my life and I wanted to learn how to use it the safest way. I learned a lot, including about these prune-saws!

As said, a two-handle saw is a must: one tends to twist and bend branches with one hand to make it easier to cut with the saw on the other hand. With that 'one-hand-cutting-technique', it's only a matter of time before someone cuts off his fingers.

Good idea on the safety course. Chain saws can be quite dangerous. These little pruning saws can also be dangerous. It gives you a little bit of a false sense of security being so quiet and small. The chain is every bit as sharp
as a regular chain saw! And using it one handed and the free hand to hold and move the object being cut can out you in a bad place without realizing it.

 

[MrSurly]

I want one, but I got an M18 HackZall for Christmas and it is amazingly capable, pruning is one of its many uses. Not as cool as the Hatchet but a fair compromise.

 

[MennoR.]

Good idea on the safety course. Chain saws can be quite dangerous. These little pruning saws can also be dangerous. It gives you a little bit of a false sense of security being so quiet and small. The chain is every bit as sharp
as a regular chain saw! And using it one handed and the free hand to hold and move the object being cut can out you in a bad place without realizing it.

According to the course leader, 80 - 85% of all accidents happen as a result of bad maintenance. Sadly, numbers are up: an electric or battery-powered chain saw tends to lull users into a situation of: "...it's not that bad/scary!" Where 2stroke howling machines tend to keep people on their toes, safety-wise. I also learned that so-called top handle machines are not allowed for DIY jobs. In fact, big sellers like Stihl, Husky etc only sell you a top handle saw when you're able to show proper qualification papers.

After writing my earlier posting, I remembered seeing one those tiny saw before: my parents-in-law had a holiday home in a rural part of France. When they needed a new roof on the house, they invited local carpenters to do the job. part of the roof was built using long pieces of pinewood, cut to size with... a tiny chain saw. I can't remember the brand.

 

[rcktpwrd]

I want one, but I got an M18 HackZall for Christmas and it is amazingly capable, pruning is one of its many uses. Not as cool as the Hatchet but a fair compromise.

I have used a reciprocating saw with a pruning blade for years, always did a fine job. But I think I will use the Hatchet a lot more for pruning now. The chain saw just cuts so much easier.

 

[HaiKarate]

I want one, but I got an M18 HackZall for Christmas and it is amazingly capable, pruning is one of its many uses. Not as cool as the Hatchet but a fair compromise.

x2 - thought mine sucked until I got a decent assortment of blades for various tasks. Love it now.

 

[rcktpwrd]

Here is the leftover stump:

The trunk:

The pile of debris:

 

[javyLSU]

The M12 hatchet is one of my favorite M12 tools, I've used mine a ton since I got it back in September of 2020. Put a 6.0 battery in that little guy and you'll be amazed at what you can cut. This was my original review after using it for a few hours:

So I got to spend about 3 hours with the M12 Hatchet today - long story short... I LOVE it.

I was able to buck a smaller tree that fell on my property using only this tool, with the exception of the last cut which required the M18 chainsaw. This little thing punches way above its weight - I pushed it hard and was only able to stall it once, and that was cutting a 6” limb that I had no business using this tool for. Having said that, I was able to complete that cut! It’s obvious the lawyers wrote the 3” cutting spec for this saw - it will blow through anything 4-5” with no problem.

One thing I don’t love about it is the position of the lock release - it seems to be set a little high for my little girly hands, so sometimes I had to stretch my thumb a bit to actuate the lock release and operate the saw. This is one area where having a slimmer handle would have been nice, but it’s not that big of a deal.

I went through a 6.0 battery and a 4.0 using it for almost two hours of near constant use, so not out of line with what I expected.

All in all, I’m blown away with how fast I was able to work having a one-handed chainsaw at my disposal. My wife came out to check a few hours later and couldn’t believe the fallen tree was already gone. I was very much looking forward to this little saw and Milwaukee did not disappoint. [emoji106][emoji106] from me.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

I wanted one of these for a while but didn't have a need for it. But now I do. Grabbed one of these last week to clean up my overgrown, unmaintained new property. I'm using it to prune the small limbs and suckers off the big trees so I can get around it with the brush mower. Also using it to cut out the usable logs and limbs from the brushy branches of fell (and future) trees. And the third task of cutting <8" branches down to log size. Had a tree service bring down 4 big oaks that were on the house and leave everything in place. Now I've got my fill of cleaning up, sorting, splitting and stacking. (Got a new chipper and 25T log splitter too that I'm super excited over).

Long story short, I'm very impressed at this little guy's capabilities. It's very well balanced with a battery in place. Since I am using it with one hand, the balance and light weight keeps my fatigue down. The oiler keeps the chain lubed well. My initial plan was fill oil every battery change. With about 5hrs of work on it I notice that the battery is lasting longer than the oil so I have to look down and check that I don't run it dry. Not a bad problem I have I guess. I do need to get a little squirt or gear oil bottle to pour from to be cleaner during refills.

Overall this little chainsaw gives me better firewood processing capability. With one hand, it just isn't safe or feasible to use a full size chainsaw, which limits me big time. That said, I have borrowed Dad's 10" electric saw and handled it, but it is heavier and the limit of what I should be handling. I'm sure I'll be using this new little guy more exclusively.

 

[javyLSU]

@GirlnAgarage That's exactly what I did - I took the tip of a used Mobil1 gear oil bottle and put it on the chain lube bottle. Fit perfectly - I can control the flow, and it even has a cap haha...

 

[Renegade1LI]

Great, another must have, just ordered one!

 

[todo]

Milwaukee Hatchet how to disable the safety. Depress safety then on underside of safety, drill small 1/16 hole at lower edge, and put small screw in to keep safety out. Works good, but do it at your own risk.