Battery Powered Pruner

General Fruit Growing
#21

I was ripping a piece of bamboo flooring. The piece was almost through the table saw, so I was reaching behind the blade to catch the cut piece. There was kickback - I had a nasty bruise on my chest and it knocked my hand directly into the blade. My index finger took the brunt of the injury but my middle finger was involved as well. Not a typical cut off, but cut in two. The X-Ray showed that the blade went exactly down the center of the finger removing the bone. It took two transplants to replace the bone that the saw removed.

Iā€™ll admit, I had no blade guard on the saw that I got hurt on. It was annoying and in the way. On the saw stop - the blade guard is easy to use and you can change it out for a riving knife in 15 seconds. A blade guard would have prevented the finger-meets-saw event, but even a riving knife would have prevented the kickback.

There is a ā€œwet wood modeā€ on the SawStop. You have to use a key to access it. In ā€œwet wood modeā€ a light flashes when the saw-stop would have kicked in, so you can make a first cut to determine if the wood is too wet for normal mode.

BTW - the SawStop is a darn nice saw. Great construction, very stable. It just also happens to have the best safety system around.

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#22

Thanks for the detailed reply, and the info on saw stop. Itā€™s been a long time since I read reviews, sounds like the problem with wet wood could have been an initial issue they evidently worked out with the wet/dry mode switch.

I donā€™t have a guard on my saw (the guards on all the old saws get in the way). I did mount anti-kickback hold down wheels on the fence, but sometimes the material is too tall and I have to remove the wheels.

Iā€™m just a hobbyist when it comes to wood working and mostly use my saw for home improvement projects. Sounds like your a pro.

Again, thanks for the info.

#23

Oh. Well thatā€™s reassuring. So relieved . . . . . :upside_down_face: You guys are :peanuts::peanuts::peanuts: (nutz)

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#24

To follow up on this thread, I got some of the Zenport battery-operated pruners. They are a (relatively) cheaper Taiwanese version. I also got the protective gloves I linked to above.

Iā€™m impressed! The pruners are working extremely well. I donā€™t know how much battery life they will have in practice, but I have pruned for many hours and they are still cranking. They cut both large and small branches well. For live wood I have had no problems cutting 1 1/2" branches and maybe even a bit bigger. Softer woods you can go bigger on, harder woods you need to be a bit more conservative on. For a lot of small stuff you can leave the trigger partway in so the blade doesnā€™t have to open all the way ā€“ it makes very quick work on that small stuff. The quality is also good, they are building professional quality gear designed for many many hours of use.

One of the things I discovered is I was going somewhat slow in my pruning just to pace my hand use, I can prune much faster with these - it seems like about twice as fast.

If you are interested in the zenport, go to

http://www.durokon.com/battery-powered-electric-pruning-shears-and-tools?zenid=fnsoag2blor0mck5dogltfl1t1

to order directly from the importer (I think). Larry knows the stuff really well and can answer questions etc. If you are interested in ordering I would call him up, the website is not so clear, some of the listings are for pruners only and some include the battery as well which you definitely need. I ordered the extension pole and it showed the pole and handle in the picture but I got only the pole. He is sending me the handle now but it overall is going to cost more than I thought it would. So, call him up. I just noticed the smaller model pruners (SCA1) is now on sale for $370, wished I had seen that.

@blueberrythrill, while talking to Larry he mentioned that they will cut the extension pole down for you. I already have the pole but I may cut it down myself it its longer than I need.

Anyway besides the confusing listings and the once a week shipping I am impressed.

Re: the protective gloves, I am also impressed with them. Of course I didnā€™t test them yet, but the bag has a picture of pruners on it, they are designed to protect from pruning injuries. They are expensive and the only place I could order them from was Australia, but hey it worked. They are a French product so there may be some place in France to directly order them from. You need to get the size right, I had no idea what the sizing was but I am an average male hand so I picked the middle number (10) and they fit well. Sizing is important, the metal caps are not going to stretch out at all. The only downside I have found on the gloves is on cold days my fingertips get colder due to the metal conducting all that cold. I had thought they would be really annoying to wear while pruning but it didnā€™t take long to get used to them. The gloves come with a normal right hand and the caps on the left hand only. You need ā€œright handedā€ gloves (caps on left hand) to prune with the pruner in your right hand, I almost ordered the wrong kind. Oh here is the factory page: http://www.peauceros.fr/accueil-16/

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#25

Scott

Thanks for the update on the Zenport. Sounds like an excellent tool for a great price.

#26

@scottfsmith , Hi, Scott is your battery-operated pruner s still working well and batteries are in good condition? I am in market for a power pole pruner, donā€™t want to move and get up a ladder anymore. I would like to hear some feedback from you about this pruner after several years of using it. Thanks

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