Skil Sawsquatch Beam Saw

[Patrick Kane]

Has anyone used the Sawsquatch carpentry chainsaw? Im looking at picking one up for a timber frame project to cut 8x8"+ to length. Its a chain saw, so cut finish isnt important, but im more than a little concerned about how squarely it cuts. The youtube reviews leave a lot to be desired--to be fair, they are all rough framing guys and none are TFers. On my last project, i cut each side and finished with a handsaw, but that is a fair amount of time and effort when you multiply it by 50 cuts. I saw people rave about the 16" circ sawsquatch, but i dont have a good feel for this one. Anytime someone asks about it, others chime in saying how the Prazi Beam Saw accessory was just 'so-so' for them. This is the dedicated beam saw from Skil that is relatively new to market. Not to build it up like it competes with the Mafell, but i almost purchased a used 16" Mafell circ saw from a guy off craigslist, and he told me the 16" sawsquatch was about 7/10 as good as the mafell. If the same is true of the carpentry chain saw, then im going to jump all over it. If it sucks, then ill stick to the Mafell KSS80 and a ryoba, i suppose.

[Bill Dufour]

Why no mention of the Makita beam saw?
Bill D

[Patrick Kane]

Bill, this is a slightly different animal and not an apples:apples to the makita. This is a chainsaw that cuts 14-15” thick in one pass.

The model is the SPT55-11

[Bill Dufour]

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/vintage-photos-of-lumberjacks-and-the-giant-trees-they-felled
I have heard of the spruce goose. Until today I had never heard of the US Army "spruce division" charged with providing spruce lumber for the air corps.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/sprucep...ondivision.htm

Bill D

[Jonathan Jung]

IMO every option will fall short of the Mafell. My 2nd pick would be the Festool unit. Then the Makita/Skill after that.

[Tom M King]

edited to add: Sorry, I posted the below before I realized you were talking about a chainsaw version.

I have had the first version Makita 16-5/16 saw for around 40 years. I also own a Prazi. I'm sure the Sawsquatch is a quite capable saw.

The Prazi is not a finish saw. It only gets the call when it's necessary for the depth of cut. With the right blade, any 16" saw should cut a fine cut if my old one can do it.

The last blade I bought for the Makita was an Oshlun. I can highly recommend it. The bottoms of the feet of these 4x6 legs all had to be cut on a compound angle, and some different than the others. I had just put that Oshlun blade on, and it not only stayed true, but all the cuts were like a polished cut on a table saw with a new Forrest blade. IT's not even the high tooth count blade they sell.

I also have a 10-1/4" Milwaukee, and the big saw is only used when it's needed. The 10-1/4 will cut most tenon shoulders, and is a lot easier to handle. The big one is not hard to control. The blade speed is low, but it's just BIG.

Unless you're going to be using one every day for a living, I'd not spend more money than you need to.

[Tom M King]

In all honesty, I can make a cut with a regular chainsaw as good as with the Prazi, and do. I used the Prazi back when I was building our house in 1980 because I wasn't as good with a chainsaw as I am now.

I keep an electric chainsaw (Craftsman from the 1970's) that I use on old houses. The chain gets run dry. You would think the chain would wear out almost immediately, but they don't, nor does the bar. They do, of course, wear quicker than with chain oil, but the little bar and chain combos are cheap. I don't want to throw oil inside a house.

I well sharpened, tight chain can make a very clean cut, but still not like a good circular saw blade.

[scott lipscomb]

Agreed that a chainsaw is a very useful tool sometimes in carpentry. I have a Stihl cordless chainsaw which is fantastic, though the 1/4" blades dull quickly. I actually bought the Sasquatch chainsaw beam saw yesterday (before I saw this thread) and its still in the box. I need to cut a whole bunch half laps in 6x6s for an outdoor staircase that I need to build on a project. The dirth of reviews has me a little bit concerned...I'll double back in a week or two and let everyone know how it went.

[Tom M King]

I just scanned through this video. It looks like a good tool. More important than a regular chainsaw though, but still two of the most important issues about keeping one cutting true and clean, keep the chain sharp, and tight.

I would say it's a good tool for someone who knows how to sharpen a chain. Without that, I expect satisfaction will wane quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHS3lRm1m24

I remembered this video a friend took of me doing some trail clearing on our trails after a big Winter storm blow. This is what a sharp chain looks like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2cdN53BxGs

[John Pendery]

My experience is limited to prazi attached to my skil worm drive and Makita’s beam saw. Depth of cut will be a couple inches shy on 8” material, but I would still reach for the circular beam saw over the prazi every time. I can cut more accurately freehand with a chainsaw than with the prazi, and the circular saw leaves a far superior finish. I’ve never used the Mafell, but from what other tools of theirs I’ve used would assume it’s far superior to the prazi and likely not comparable. To me it would depend on what you are doing and how often you’ll be doing it. For one project I wouldn’t mind cleaning up the cuts with two passes (or finishing cut with sawzall), but for all day every day I would get the best tool for the job and in my experience that tool is not the prazi.

[Bill Dufour]

8" depth of cut needs a 22" circular blade. so a handheld circular saw is out. They did/do make radial arm saws that big.
How accurate are the "portable" bandsaws used for shipyards?

Bill D

[Bruce Wrenn]

In all honesty, I can make a cut with a regular chainsaw as good as with the Prazi, and do. I used the Prazi back when I was building our house in 1980 because I wasn't as good with a chainsaw as I am now.

I keep an electric chainsaw (Craftsman from the 1970's) that I use on old houses. The chain gets run dry. You would think the chain would wear out almost immediately, but they don't, nor does the bar. They do, of course, wear quicker than with chain oil, but the little bar and chain combos are cheap. I don't want to throw oil inside a house.

I well sharpened, tight chain can make a very clean cut, but still not like a good circular saw blade.

Tom, I own a pair of those Sears electric chain saws. Switched out the "self sharpening" chain years ago. Last week had to replace the cord on one as it had broken right where it enters the handle. These were definitely one of the better tools that Sears sold!

[Tom M King]

Yes, that saw had that built in chain sharpening gizmo. I took that out when I needed to replace the first weird chain. I think that saw was new in 1975, or maybe even a year or two before that.

[Patrick Kane]

Scott,

Have you cut those few dozen of 6x6s yet? It’s convenient that you can be my Guinea pig. Too bad you didn’t buy that sucker a month ago and put a mile of use on it already! Please let me know once you use it. I mostly want to know if it cuts plumb or if it sucks.

Tom, I suspect you are right and that sharp trumps all with this tool. Not sure how long you can expect the chain to stay sharp, but the one YouTube review was a guy using it with the OEM chain after a year of construction use. Of course it’s performance will be somewhat disappointing with a super dull chain.


I don’t own a chainsaw of any variety, and I can’t say how skilled I would be cutting Timbers to length with one freehand. My planned use for this sawsquatch was to line up 3-4 Timbers at once. Clamp them together with a straight edge clamped to them, and then cut them to length simultaneously. And even if it’s out of square/plumb a smidge, it kinda doesn’t matter, because the end of the cut is just the end of a tenon. I think the more versatile pickup would be a 16” circular saw, but I have the opportunity to grab the skil beam saw used for $400.

[Tom M King]

You can probably sell it and get all, or most of your money back when you finish with it, but that doesn't sound like much of a use for it. If you have a worm drive Skil saw, I can send you a Prazi attachment for nothing, if I can find it. I'm sure I will never use it.