A Weed Whacker has several names: String Trimmer, Garden String Trimmer, Tree Pruner, Brush Cutter, Weed Eater, etc. As other articles have rightly pointed out, these versatile garden tools come in various levels of DC power, electric versus gas, and 2-stroke versus 4-stroke capabilities. But what hasn’t been addressed is the use of a “BLADE” in such a tool for all the versatile work a blade can do in the garden environment.
ADDED VERSATILITY AND USES WITH BLADE:
A circular saw blade made specifically for and attached to a Weed Whacker provides the following versatile uses in the garden setting:
1. Tree pruning (also known as pruning), which in many cases works better than using a heavy, cumbersome chain saw for pruning, as the circular blade can be wielded at the end of a longer, lighter 6-foot shaft Weed Whacker to get to the trees. Such a blade can normally cut a tree branch up to the diameter of the blade, as long as it cuts from both sides of the branch.
2. A blade can be used to clear large tracts or even acres of coarse, thick wood weeds and sticky brambles (also known as sticky Blackberry bushes) where an ordinary spool of string would be too weak to cut adequately.
3. Trimming hedges is a dream with a blade attached to a Weed Whacker; hedging action is faster and less irregular compared to a standard hedging tool. So, in conclusion, a blade attached to a Weed Whacker augments your common standard string trimmer into a full-fledged chainsaw, hedge trimmer, and great clearing surface for hardwood weeds, saplings, and tall, heavy brambles (ergo, Black Bushes). Berry).
LEAF HARDWARE, TREE HOLE ADJUSTMENT:
Every Weed Whacker on the market is different, so each owner of their particular Weed Whacker will need to contact their respective Weed Whacker manufacturer for BLADE attachment hardware. Most electric versions have LITTLE power to drive a blade, so they probably will NOT have blade attachment hardware available. On the other hand, most gas-powered Weed Whackers will have Blade attachment hardware available. Blade attachment hardware typically consists of a standard blade guard along with a few small pieces of metal that fit (slide over) the small threaded shaft that the line spool screws onto. These small pieces of hardware will consist of a bottom that will have a raised circle the size of a common quarter piece or as small as a nickel (5 cent piece). This raised circle is how the hole fits into the center of the blade, then the top piece of hardware called “the cap piece” is applied to the top of the blade, then a nut that is screw into the top of the cap, followed by a cotter pin.
The hole in the blade is known as the ARBOR hole. Therefore, it is important to know the diameter of your “shaft hole” hardware to match the blade shaft hole to your hardware when purchasing blades for your Weed Whacker. The most standard Arbor Hole diameters in the industry are 1″, which is the same as 25.4mm, but also 20mm. From my experience I’d say about 90% of all blades fit within these two diameters (Note: There are some arbor holes in these much less commonly used diameters: 0.75″ and 0.50″). These blades can break when hitting a rock or something very hard, which could be a safety issue if not protected by attached blade guard.
TYPES OF BLADE TEETH:
Blades generally come with either steel teeth or CARBIDE teeth. Carbide is worth considering, as a carbide-tipped blade (teeth) can reportedly last up to 10 times longer than a standard steel blade, but it doesn’t cost anywhere near ten times as much money. In fact, a carbide tooth blade typically doesn’t even cost twice as much for a 5 to 10 times longer life than normal steel (maintaining sharpness for continued cutting power is the key to a blade’s value in relation to cost). It should be noted that carbide does not sharpen easily, but steel does. However, it should also be noted that the price of these steel blades makes them a disposable item once they run out, as the cost of resharpening them (in time or money) is often greater than the cost of re-sharpening them. a new blade.
BLADE DESIGN:
Standard Weed Whacker Blades come in several styles:
1. THREE Teeth or Five Teeth for cutting simple soft green weeds. Each large tooth has a cutting edge instead of actual teeth. The deepest inner part of each tooth often does not get the same cutting time as the outer edge part of each tooth, so dullness occurs in an unbalanced manner. This type of blade will not be suitable for trimming trees or hedges, nor for cutting heavy timber type weeds, bushes or brambles. This type of blade is the most economical and the one that dulls the fastest, since it extends its cutting surface over only three to five edges and only comes in basic steel, not carbide.
2. Thirty (30) to Forty (40) TEETH Blade: This is the next step in the Weed Whacker blade options. Obviously, 40 teeth offer a substantially larger cutting surface than the blade type mentioned above (3 points). This type of blade is well suited for cutting heavy weeds (eg tumbleweeds), heavy thick bushes and sticky blackberry-type brambles, but is not suitable for pruning or hedges. It should be added that these types of blades must be sharp, otherwise the teeth tend to grab and pull the weeds when they are dull. The reason pruning and mulching are not suitable for this type of leaf is that the lack of teeth makes this leaf tend to get stuck inside the green, wet tree branches when pruned and makes it prone to tearing. and creating jagged cuts in a hedge instead of smooth, smooth cuts. attractive cuts. This type of blade usually comes in plain steel that dulls quickly, but some are now also available with carbide-tipped teeth.
3. Eighty (80) to One Hundred (100) TEETH Blade – This is the highest level in the Weed Whacker Blade options. It should now be clear that the more teeth you have cutting, the more added cutting surface area you are applying to the job at hand. Also, an 80-tooth blade costs more money compared to a blade with half the cutting teeth mentioned in (2) above (40 teeth). But the cost is usually not much higher if you have 80 teeth out of 40 teeth. The 80+ tooth blade offers the most versatility, stays sharp longer and is the best value for money. The 100-tooth blade type is the absolute best value, offering 25% more cutting surface area (teeth) than an 80-tooth blade.
The only main consideration is that the typical 80-tooth blade comes in an 8-inch diameter that fits with the blade safety guard on your Weed Whacker, and the 100-tooth blade typically has a 9- to 10-inch diameter and , therefore, will not allow a blade guard to fit. We recommend that the maximum blade diameter be limited to 9 inches unless you have a very powerful Weed Whacker, otherwise the large circumference of larger blades can stall the motor. So, in conclusion: 8″ and 9″ diameter blades are best, they offer the most added cutting area, therefore they stay sharp longer and offer the most yard work versatility. NOTE: We think carbide teeth are so worth the small additional purchase cost that we’d say a 40-tooth carbide blade would be recommended over an 80-tooth plain steel any day of the week. But the 80 or 100 tooth blade with carbide teeth is absolutely the best out there.
bill
B&G International, LLC, Tacoma, WA
