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Charge saws

J-sews · 197 · 30621

us Offline J-sews

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Charge saws
on: September 10, 2006, 12:20:34 AM
Have you guys read about this notion of customizing Sawzall blades to fit onto a Leatherman Charge? It works great!!
I bought several types of blades, then contoured the shanks to fit into the lanyard ring receptacle. The blade lock mechanism works to lock the saw blade into place. Very little wobble or movement. Hardly noticable.

When I first read about this in another forum, I thought maybe the little tab on the saw blade would be too weak and break. But no, it feels strong enough. I need to do more test cutting, but no problems so far.

The wood saw that comes on a Charge isn't bad, but there is no way to cut metal except with the edge of the file. I'm thinking one of my flat hacksaw blades tucked into the sheath will work much better! 

* Various blades.jpg (Filesize: 76.37 KB)

* hacksaw.jpg (Filesize: 55.5 KB)
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #1 on: September 10, 2006, 12:23:22 AM
(Def, this is that secret project I was working on. I'll throw a set into the package I'm sending you.)

~Bob
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #2 on: September 10, 2006, 02:07:18 AM
SWEET!

That looks really cool!  I saw that on the "other" forum as well and wondered how it worked.  I guess now I'll find out for sure!
Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #3 on: September 11, 2006, 12:57:51 AM
Update:
Did some test sawing today. A rusty nail on the back gate has been ripping holes in my jeans for years. Not anymore. I used the white blade (Milwaukee brand, 24tpi) shown above. No problems. Attachment to Charge felt very secure.

Minor issue: I need to make the blades about 1/4" shorter. At their current 4 inches long, the end hangs out when I slip it in behind the bit kit in my sheath.

Back in the garage, I put a 3/8" bolt in the vise and proceeded to make it shorter. Took awhile to cut through, but eventually made it. Not as quick as a full size hand hacksaw, although I didn't expect it to be.

So far, so good.
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline Fred

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #4 on: September 11, 2006, 01:35:08 AM
Cool I am gonna have to try that.
Yabba dabba doo!


us Offline prime77

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #5 on: September 11, 2006, 08:59:40 AM
How much conturing of the shanks does it take to fit them in the receptacle?
"


england Offline Dunc

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #6 on: September 11, 2006, 10:17:55 PM
Now that is a really good idea  ;D

Dunc


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #7 on: September 12, 2006, 04:06:48 AM
How much conturing of the shanks does it take to fit them in the receptacle?
Unfortunately, it takes a bunch of contouring. Where I first read about the idea, some guy traced the shape onto a Sawzall blade and contoured it with a Dremel. Sounds like a lot of work, with a lot of opportunity for error. Fortunately, I happen to know someone who works at a machine shop. ;D So instead of a Dremel, I used one of these:
http://www.mazakusa.com/processpage.asp?lngProcessID=7
It takes less than three minutes to contour the end, and every one is perfect.

In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #8 on: September 12, 2006, 04:19:37 AM
Anybody else wanna try one of these? I've got a few extra of the Milwaukee blades. (white blade in the picture, metal-cutting blade, 24 teeth per inch)

I have absolutely no interest in selling these. But, I can make them pretty easy, and most people can't. So if you're a Multitool.org member, I'll send you one for free. Only condition is, you come back here and tell us what you cut through. And tell us (good or bad) how well it worked.

~Bob
« Last Edit: September 13, 2006, 01:15:06 AM by J-sews »
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline prime77

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #9 on: September 13, 2006, 09:40:05 AM
Thats really cool. I'd love to try one out.
"


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #10 on: September 13, 2006, 12:19:09 PM
PM sent, it will be in the mail tomorrow.
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline prime77

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #11 on: September 13, 2006, 12:28:34 PM
Thanks, I can't wait to try it out. 8)
"


us Offline 665ae

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #12 on: September 14, 2006, 04:37:05 AM
Any chance I can get a link for some info on how to make these?  Sounds like fun!
If you took all the intestines out of your body and stretched them end to end... you would die.


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #13 on: September 14, 2006, 05:29:11 AM
Hi 665ae,
Here is where I first read about this idea:
http://www.equipped.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=survival&Number=36164&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1

But I'm not steady enough with a Dremel tool like he used. A CNC milling machine works a lot better, but not everyone has one of those in their garage.

PM me with your address and I'll send you one of mine.

~Bob
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


Offline Ice Tigre

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #14 on: September 14, 2006, 08:17:03 AM
Anybody else wanna try one of these? I've got a few extra of the Milwaukee blades. (white blade in the picture, metal-cutting blade, 24 teeth per inch)

I have absolutely no interest in selling these. But, I can make them pretty easy, and most people can't. So if you're a Multitool.org member, I'll send you one for free. Only condition is, you come back here and tell us what you cut through. And tell us (good or bad) how well it worked.

~Bob

Nice of you to offer!  :) PM inbound.  ;D

G.


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #15 on: September 14, 2006, 12:40:16 PM
Update:
Thank you to everyone who has contacted me. So far I've got blades going out in four pieces of outbound mail, and am looking forward to hearing some feedback!

Be aware:
Only four current Leatherman models have this same lanyard ring/belt clip receptacle; Charge Ti, Charge XTi, New Wave, and Surge.

Bad news:
The saw blade idea will NOT work in my Surge.  :( It has a little cast rounded D-shape component at the end of the handle, which is only held in place with the one screw. During sawing motion, the Sawzall blade overpowers this one screw and flops around uncontrollably.

Good News:
The saw blades are held quite securely in place on both Charge models I own, because of their one-piece titanium side plates.  :)

Unknown:
I don't have a New Wave to test out.  ??? However, I'm hoping JoeBW or Ice Tigre can let us know how it works in their Waves.

~Bob
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


Offline Ice Tigre

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #16 on: September 15, 2006, 02:23:46 PM
Thanks Again Bob!

I'll definetaly let you guys know how it works! I've got a couple ideas for mods to the tool itself to fix the (if it doesn't work) problem, but I'll have to wait and see it first .


Later

Gary.


us Offline prime77

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #17 on: September 19, 2006, 08:20:27 AM
I recieved a modified sawzall blade from J-sews today and imediately tested it out. First the blade fits securely in the pocket clip attachment of the Charge with very little wobble, less wobble than the blade adapter of the Surge if you believe it. I used the blade to cut through two nails with no problem at all. Then I fixed a metal strip that had come up on my porch. I cut the end off and then filed it down with the diamond file.  Fixed! now I don't have to listen to my wife nag any more. :P In the nice letter sent from J-sews he said he didn't think the blade would fit in the New Wave.  I dug out mine and tried it out and was surprised to find that the blade while a little harder to get in the PC attachment fit in and had absolutely no wobble what so ever. It was as solid as a rock.  Thanks J-sews
"


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #18 on: September 20, 2006, 02:18:50 AM
You're welcome prime77, glad it's working for you. I'm also glad to hear that the blade fit and worked in your Wave. (I had my doubts, but wasn't sure.)

BTW, I was contacted by someone direct from Leatherman today, who had read this thread, and was asking for more details and a sample.  I was happy to oblige.

Welcome to Multitool.org Leatherman!
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #19 on: September 20, 2006, 02:39:02 AM
Leatherman might not be the only company keeping an eye on what we are building here...  ;)

Glad to see that they are interested in your saws though.  I think it would be really awesome if Leatherman started production on them!

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Offline prime77

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #20 on: September 20, 2006, 08:47:09 AM
I think that it would be great if leatherman started production of them also. I used the one J-sews sent me some more today with the Wave and it worked great. It works just as good if not better than the Surge blade adapter.  The Surge outer handles tend to hurt your hands the way the plier handles of the Pst did. But the Charge outer handles didn't bother me at all.
"


us Offline prime77

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #21 on: September 20, 2006, 11:38:06 PM
I tried to make some wood saw blades today with a dremel.  You would have to be extremely good with one to get the right contour of the blade attachment to fit the charge and wave tools.
"


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #22 on: September 21, 2006, 12:04:50 AM
Well the good news is that the LM agent that contacted Bob used to be the assistant of someone at LM named Tim...
Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Offline inkster

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #23 on: September 21, 2006, 12:51:24 AM
Awesome idea. 


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #24 on: September 21, 2006, 02:07:36 AM
Well the good news is that the LM agent that contacted Bob used to be the assistant of someone at LM named Tim...
Def

I'm just happy to know that representatives from Leatherman (and apparently other manufacturers) are visiting this site. No matter what your favorite tool is, there will always be room for improvement. I'm hoping if the right people are reading our complaints/praise/suggestions, perhaps some real improvements will come of it.

~Bob
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #25 on: September 21, 2006, 02:11:00 AM
I couldn't agree more Bob.  Let's hope that as we build and get off the ground that they will take greater and greater interest in us.  I'm just amazed that we've had such a response from them already!
Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


Offline sadkomodo

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #26 on: September 21, 2006, 04:41:03 AM
Hey I new to this forum(linked from edc) and like what I see.  I also saw the saw mod on another site and made one w/ a dremel.  Works pretty good but yours looks fantastic.  I guess the right tools make the difference.  I'm planning on taking a tour of the Leatherman factory in the next couple of weeks.  If you want, I could bring a copy of your saw mod.


Offline ac5

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #27 on: September 21, 2006, 06:30:22 PM
Just sent you a pm j-sews could really use a metal saw on my Charge.


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #28 on: September 22, 2006, 02:25:03 AM
Hey I new to this forum(linked from edc) and like what I see.  I also saw the saw mod on another site and made one w/ a dremel.  Works pretty good but yours looks fantastic.  I guess the right tools make the difference.  I'm planning on taking a tour of the Leatherman factory in the next couple of weeks.  If you want, I could bring a copy of your saw mod.

Welcome to Multitool.org sadkomodo!
A tour of the Leatherman factory? Wow, you are too lucky!! I'm jealous.
Thanks for your offer on showing them a copy of the saw mod, but I would prefer to continue dealing with the contact I have already established. If you'd like to try one out though, just PM me with your address and I'll send you one.

 
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


us Offline J-sews

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Re: Charge saws
Reply #29 on: September 22, 2006, 02:31:37 AM
Just sent you a pm j-sews could really use a metal saw on my Charge.

Wow, I just read your PM. Sounds like you coulda used one of these a few days ago!
It will be in tomorrow's mail!
In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools


 

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