Prazi Beam Cutters-This & That

[kantuckid]

I've read all the Prazi info in old posts here plus 845 Amazon reviews, some meaningful, some not at all.
 I built my log house with a small chainsaw so I know the limitations of clean cuts on butt cuts and so on. Using a skil saw cut to the line followed by a chainsaw helps some as does a sharp chain.  I may try that with the Prazi. 

I decided one was worth a try: what I bought was a barely used 6577 Milwaukee, 7 1/4 worm drive saw with the new not worn off yet, including the barely used Prazi Beam cutter included for a seriously great price. 
 
I considered a 16" Makita saw but being sensible about my CTS hands, they are not what they used to be and those are big saws. I'll make close to the mark lengthwise, fast chainsaw cuts then switch to the Prazi set up. The cuts I'll make will not be seen. 
 
Prazi calls for an Oregon 90PX046G saw chain which is far cheaper bought as a saw chain, not from Prazi. 
 

[Don P]

Where I have to make mating butt cuts I'll pass a sawzall through the kerf or a handsaw if it works better, slide it till it bumps and repeat until it meets all the way. That is the saw I have the prazi set up on, at least at the time that was the highest amp saw of that size from a major brand. The 16" is the better saw for <6" thick work but this will do the job.

[kantuckid]

I did buy one of the newer, higher grade, shortish hand saws with coarse teeth to try out. Also have a sawzall.
 The new handsaw not only fits in my waterproof jobsite box it cuts like crazy and might help cleanup or make some cuts I'll need easier than gen set saws.  All my old handsaws are each family heirlooms and tend toward finer cuts and less aggressive teeth. 

Meanwhile we are about to get yet another day of rain...ALL DAY LONG... : Makes so many days that I've lost track, maybe 7 in a row? I'm done sawing wall logs, have a bunch to get moved to my place and stalled for anything outdoors. Roads are a mess, yards a mess and so on. Wufe tied up tomatoes that 50-60mph winds had blown over the large plants and their cages. Mother Nature is ticked off.

[classicadirondack]

I have the same setup; Milwaukee worm drive and Prazi and have used it for years up to 10 x 18 bridge beams.   I've had good luck with it as long as the chain is very sharp.

[classicadirondack]

And the older I get, the less impressed I am with things that are heavy like the 16 in saw.

[kantuckid]

My hands both had CTS release surgery over 20 years ago. It did wonders for me but you NEVER regain the strength your hands once had. They cut the cartilage band that surrounds your wrist(think a wristwatch band for location I mean) plus no matter if its the newer endoscopic or the older large wound in the palm, they cut a trough through the heel of your palm too. No more slapping end wrenches! 
I have enough hand strength to get by but decided against the 16" saw as the worm saws a nicer angle of attack hand and wrist wise. 

[kantuckid]

I've now made a few log joint cuts with the 12" Prazi tool and find it an improvement on my chainsaw work accuracy wise. (That said I'm very experienced with a chainsaw.)
 It must be used with a guide as the design has the cutter chain cutting upward thus sawdust piles on your cutline on the worm saws bottom plate. 
For my guide-I'm using squeeze clamps on a large Speed Square offset from my cuts as it a quick way to guide my worm drive saw/Prazi rig.
 Cuts are a bit slow as chains much lower rpm's than a chainsaw but far more accurate overall. 
For slightly cleaning up butt mated logs my new Irwin coarse cut hand saw does great! That saw is seriously sharp! 
I was ready to give up on the Prazi and chainsaw my log cuts then after I took it off my worm saw I learned that the previous owner had placed the wrong part/spacer under the Prazi attachment! They come with a long & a short spacer for different saw brands and who knows why the wrong one was already in there, but the instructions clearly say it must extend slightly from the saw that drives the Prazi. Cost me lots of grief to see it was wrong as it would work OK but come loose quickly from the worm saw drive shaft. 
So far the Prazi does it's job well but it's a very cumbersome tool for an old fart. :D   

[Jim_Rogers]

Many years ago, I was on a tour of a sips panel company. The did a demo of how they cut window opening in foam panels. The uses a chain saw bar mounted on a worm drive skilsaw (not prazi) to cut the openings.

They (and I'm not recommending this) had removed the back safety bar, so that they could "pull" the saw through the cut. Pulling the saw, the cutting side the chain is traveling down, and the saw dust (foam dust) is blown to the ground/floor. This allowed them to follow the line without any foam dust build up on the cut line.



 

In the above picture you can see the chain saw bar. You can see that he is starting a window cutout in the middle of this panel. Also, that they added another big aluminum base plate to the base of the skilsaw.

If you do this, you have to be very careful of the exposed chain saw bar. And not move the saw off the timber until the chain has completely stopped rotating.

Jim Rogers

[Tom King]

If you can pick the 16-5/16 circular saw up, using it is actually easier than moving it around.  Once you get the front of the baseplate on whatever you're cutting, there's actually not that much weight to have to hold.

It also turns really slowly, and doesn't take much more physical effort to push than a 7-1/4" circular saw.

I haven't used one right after the other, but it always seems to me that the 10-1/4" Milwaukee takes more man than the 16-5/16" Makita.

I have a Prazi setup too, but it almost never gets used.

[kantuckid]

My log corner joints "like" having a vertical cut! I can achieve that with the Prazi. I had that thought on the saw chain directional issues when I was looking the tool over before I'd used it but had to see & do before I felt the full impact of the huge pile of chips on my cut line. ;D I now stop and blow the remnants off the cut line after my finger plucks away most of them off.
Much depends on what you're cutting specifically, to use or discard the Prazi. Once the Prazi's placed and the guide is clamped it slides along, even moreso than a large chainsaw in the cut. 
Motorcycle chain lube works great. 
Your boots still fill up with sawdust. :D  

[Tom King]

Yeah, the big circular saw is not for vertical cuts.  I've used the 10-1/4 to cut off a bunch of fence post tops in place, but I made a track/holder that clamps on the side of a post so it doesn't have to be held and guided at the same time.

[kantuckid]

I continue to use a chainsaw and the Prazi-depends on the cut. I began using it with a new chain and it's not loosened up one bit. I suspect the big difference between a new chainsaw chain and this tool is the Prazi runs far slower and more limited cuts overall. I lube it each morning on startup and runs great rest of day. I'm have better luck with it than helpers, need a new one now. Try that challenge, like finding someone who'll work for money... :D