If you take pride in how your yard looks, you probably already know how much work goes into landscaping. Landscaping is all about keeping your yard pruned, pretty, and healthy. While most people know about lawnmowers, they get a little shaky when it comes to other landscaping power tools. Today, we are going to be discussing two different tools that can positively impact the work that you are doing in your yard. Today, we are going to be comparing grass trimmers and brushcutters.
Grass Trimer vs. Brushcutter: Primary Differences
If you have ever had to deal with brush, bushes, or weeds, you likely know the importance of having some technical help. While anyone call pull weeds or trim their bushes by hand, the process can be involved, exhausting, and more than a little annoying. In order to make the process easier, people turn to tools like grass trimmers and brushcutters. While these two tools share many similarities, they aren’t explicitly the same. Let’s dive into the differences between the two tools, below.
1) What is a Grass Trimmer?
A grass trimmer, which can sometimes be called a string trimmer, is a handheld, lightweight power tool. Typically, grass trimmers are affordable little power tools that are great for quickly trimming your grass and the occasional weed. These tools can come in corded, gas, and battery-powered models. Gas-powered grass trimmers are going to be the most powerful version that you can purchase, so keep that in mind while shopping around.
Ideal For – Small yards, or minor weed infestations. Grass trimmers aren’t ideal for trimming bushes or heavy brush due to the weak nature of the cutting instrument.
2) What is a Brushcutter?
While a brushcutter can look similar to a grass trimmer, they actually have quite a few minor differences. For starters, brushcutters tend to operate on a gas engine. Your brushcutter will also feature an extended shaft and a more durable design. Brushcutters are significantly more powerful than grass trimmers. Brushcutters can be used for grass, thick weeds, heavy brush, and even small trees.
Ideal For – Basically anything that might need to be trimmed or cut in your yard. Brushcutters are heavy-bodied tools that are designed to handle thick weeds, thick brush, grass, and even small trees.
Brushcutters and grass trimmers look similar to one another, but now you can see that they have pretty tangible differences. No matter what type of yard you have, or power tool you need, you can turn to Rosebud Saw Service for help purchasing the perfect tool. Contact us today for all of your grass trimming and brushcutter needs.
To say that all yards are not built the same would be an understatement. Here at Rosebud Saw Service, we have been around the industry long enough to know that each yard has its own special needs. This can be particularly true when leaves begin to fall and the rake just doesn’t feel like it is cutting it anymore. Today, we are going to talk a little bit about leaf blowers and garden vacs. These two tools are immensely helpful for your gardening and landscaping but they are so often overlooked that we felt the need to put them in the highlight case for a moment. We’ll talk about their benefits, styles, and what you can do to get them into your toolbox today.
Garden Vacs and Leaf Blowers
The first thing that you need to realise is that your yard is going to be an important part of your life. Once you decide to ‘get involved’ and start using yard equipment, you are going to find yourself in a world where perfect is sought after and your neighbours will definitely be envious of you. Are you willing to take that plunge? Okay, good. Now, let’s talk about two of the most important tools in your garden toolshed:
Garden Vacs – Garden vacs are incredibly helpful when it comes to curtailing some of the work that is involved during your leaf blowing and leaf collection process. Garden vacs, like the Stihl SH56 Blower Shredder VAC, are designed with the intention of helping you to suck up leaves as you go. Like leaf blowers, garden vacs come in a variety of different styles, shapes, and power-ratings.
Leaf Blowers – The more trees you have, the more important your leaf blower will become. Getting all of your leaves where they need to go is a process that can be cumbersome with a rake but gets exponentially easier with something like the Stihl Blower BR420 by your side.
Picking a Garden Vac & Leaf Blower
Once you’ve decided that a garden vac and leaf blower are right for you, you need to make a few simple decisions by looking at your circumstances. Here are the questions that you need to ask yourself before making a purchase.
1) How large is my yard?
2) What kind of power do I want to use? Electric? Gas? Wired?
3) How heavy will the debris be?
Once you’ve asked and answered those questions, you can begin the process of hunting for the right garden vac and leaf blower for your needs.
The chainsaw is one of the most powerful, popular, and common landscaping tools in existence. These powerful machines are useful for tackling all sorts of tasks in your yard. Whether you want to tend to your shrubs or try to remove an old stump, your trusty chainsaw can definitely come in handy. With that being said, your chainsaw isn’t invincible. Given enough time and heavy usage, your chainsaw will start to break down. Today, we are going to be discussing one specific part of your chainsaw, your chainsaw bar. Knowing when to replace your chainsaw bar is of the utmost importance and you’ll soon find out why.
When to Replace Your Chainsaw Bar
When you look at your chainsaw, the last thing you’ll likely notice is your chainsaw bar. Most people pay attention to the chain and the motor and while they should, we can’t simply ignore the state of our chainsaw bar. A healthy chainsaw bar will provide you with the ability to efficiently guide your chainsaw through all of your cutting motions. A worn chainsaw bar, however, will lead to potential issues. Not only will a warn chainsaw bar make it harder to cut, but your cuts will look worse and they’ll feel less smooth as you perform them. When do you need to replace your chainsaw bar? How can you tell? Those are great questions, so let’s answer them below.
1) Wiggle Your Chain – If your chainsaw bar is in good working order, you’ll be able to wiggle your chainsaw chain without worrying about any loose feeling. If your chainsaw bar is wearing down, your chainsaw’s chain will wiggle back and forth. Your chain should fit neatly and snugly into your bar, culminating in a U-shape tension. When that U-shape turns into a V-shape, you need a new bar.
2) Test the Edge – Your chainsaw bar will allow for a small amount of movement when it is brand new. Over time, however, your worn chainsaw bar will begin to present a curved appearance. Why does this happen? Well, the simple answer is that your chainsaw’s chain will begin to warp the edge of your chainsaw’s bar. This is symbolic of a pretty worn out chainsaw bar, so make sure that you are ready to get the bar replaced as soon as you notice the issue.
Your chainsaw isn’t like most of your other landscaping tools. When your chainsaw bar wears down, it can create potentially dangerous situations. If you need to replace your chainsaw bar, you will want to go to a professional. You can reach our team of professionals for all of your chainsaw needs, so give Rosebud Saw Service a call today.
If your goal is to have the best yard in the neighbourhood, you had best get familiar with your hedge trimmer. Everybody knows that landscaping your yard is a year-round job. If you want your property to pop off of the curb, you have to pay attention to every little detail. Tools like your hedge trimmer can help to dramatically ease the burden of your work while improving the overall appearance of your yard. Unfortunately, power tools can be complicated and potentially dangerous to use when you don’t know what you are doing. Today, we are going to walk you through the safe operation of your hedge trimmer.
Safely Operating Your Hedge Trimmer
Hedge trimmers come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. You can purchase hedge trimmers that are fueled by gasoline, or you can opt for battery-powered electric hedge trimmers. No matter what type you choose, operating your hedge trimmer in a safe manner should be your priority. In order to safely trim your hedges, you are going to have to follow a few simple safety tips.
1) Dress Appropriately – Even the best hedge trimmer will be dangerous if you aren’t dressed appropriately for the work. Every time that you operate your hedge trimmer, you should be wearing safety glasses, long pants, work gloves, boots, and hearing protection. Your hedge trimmer can throw the debris in any direction, so make sure that you are always aware of your trimmer blades and what you are trimming.
2) Safe Engine Ignition – The most dangerous moment when using your hedge trimmer comes during start-up. In order to safely start your trimmer, set your power tool on the ground. Hold the trimmer tight with your left hand while using your free hand to start the trimmer. Do not lift the hedge trimmer from the ground while you turn the ignition. Using the ground for stability will allow you to control the entire machine.
3) Clear the Area – Before you start sweeping your hedges with your trimmer, take a moment to clear out any major sources of debris. You’ll want to move rocks, hoses, sticks, cables, and yard equipment out of the way. If you strike any of the aforementioned obstacles with your hedge trimmer, immediately cut power to the machine.
4) Appropriate Space – While you are operating your hedge trimmer, you need to have your eyes up for potential dangers. You do not want anyone to come within 40 feet of you while you are operating your trimmer. The safety of yourself and the people around you are of the utmost importance.
Having an amazing look yard is always desirable. Making sure that you accomplish your yard work in a safe manner is even more important. Follow our safety guide, and you won’t have to worry about anyone getting hurt while you operate your new hedge trimmer.
Just like any other outdoor tool, lawn mowers are also susceptible to damages over a long time of use. Fortunately, the problems found on a lawn mower can be easily found and diagnosed. If replacements are needed, the components on your lawn mower are always available in some stores.
We, at Rosebud Saw Service, want to help you maintain your lawn mower with ease. Here are some maintenance guidelines for components that frequently cause lawn mower issues and problems.
Spark Plugs
Spark plugs are essential in powering up your lawn mower. If these plugs are disconnected, loose, dirty, or defective, then your lawn mower will not start.
Disconnected plugs can be easily fixed by firmly pushing the wire back onto them. But if you have loose spark plugs, you must tighten them clockwise with a spark plug wrench or ratchet wrench. Dirty spark plugs, on the other hand, require removal of accumulated debris like dirt, oil, grass, and others. To clean them, you must use a rag to clean the surrounding area of the plugs. Then, unplug them to remove any minor deposits on these plugs through the use of a wire brush and spark plug cleaner.
Deposits that cannot be removed on a plug mean that they have permanently damaged the plug. A crack on the plug’s porcelain also means that the plug is already broken. Any signs of corrosion can also ruin the functionality of the plugs. The only thing that you can do with these situations is to replace the spark plug with a new one.
Fuel System
Your fuel system is very important to run the engine of your lawn mower. Without effective fuel movement inside your engine, your mower will not start even if other components are in good condition.
Before you check the components of your fuel system, you must disconnect the spark plug first. Wear latex or nitrile gloves to protect your hands from caustic gasoline. If your engine has completely cooled down, you can now drain the fuel tank. Be ready to catch any spills by having a small empty container by your side.
The presence of mud or grass on your fuel cap can totally obstruct the fuel movement inside your engine. To clean this, you must remove the cap on its place and clean it with a shot of compressed air. Another component that you must look into is your fuel line. If you see that it has already cracked, then replace it. A shot of compressed air can also be used in cleaning a fuel line that is still in good condition.
Air Filter
Prolonged use of a dirty air filter can damage your engine since it cannot draw an adequate amount of cooling air to function properly. If your lawn mower regularly loses its power, consumes an excessive amount of fuel, runs roughly, or does not turn over when you pull the cord or turn the key, it would be best for you to check your air filter immediately.
To determine if you can still clean your air filter, then you must pull it out first. You must examine its frame for any cracks and its paper pleats for any tears or holes. The presence of these elements means that you should replace your air filter. In contrast, if you don’t find any irregularities, then all you have to do is to gently tap the paper filter to loosen the debris. You can also clean this with a vacuum. Alternatively, foam filters must be washed in warm water with a mild detergent.
In some cases, the replacement of air filter is a must if the debris cannot be cleaned anymore. Bring this air filter to a store and use this as a reference in buying a new one.
These maintenance guidelines can help you troubleshoot your lawn mower all by yourself. If you need some help, you can always contact us at Rosebud Saw Service.