Craftsman quietly launched a new V20 cordless chainsaw, model CMCCS320D1.
The new Craftsman cordless chainsaw features a 6″ bar and chain, and can make up to 85 cuts in 2″ pine dowels when powered by a 2Ah battery.
It can cut branches up to 4″ thick.
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Craftsman says the chainsaw is 50% more compact and 14% lighter compared to their V20 cordless lopper (shown below).
Features & Specs
- 6″bar and chain
- 4″ max cutting capacity
- Integrated tip guard for control over upper cuts
- Bolt lock chain tensioning
- Automatic oiling
- Tool-free tensioning
- Storage sheath and on-board wrench holder
- Versatrack wall rail-compatible hanging hook
The kit comes with the CMCCS320 chainsaw, a charger, and 2.0Ah Li-ion battery.
Price: $129 for the kit
Here’s the CMCCSL621 V20 cordless lopper for comparison. It’s a two-handled tool with clamping-style jaws. It also has a 6″ bar and chain and can cut branches up to 4″ in diameter.
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Jamie Lee Davis
Nice. The price isn’t bad.
MKY
Stuart –
The new Craftsman cordless chainsaw features a ***6″ bare*** and chain…
Dave
The bear and chain must be new
Stuart
One of these days I might add easter eggs again!
Stuart
That you! *fixed*
eddie sky
Poor Dave. He’s been *fixed*.
Mike McFalls
I was reading Bob Vila’s wikipedia page last night, after reading all the comments in the “Festool Cordless tracks post” and seeing this reminds me of old Sears days and the comments that are made about tool quality, durability, warranties, etc… It can all go away with a few bad decisions by these parents. Unfortunately for most trades, tools are consumables and IMO we should treat them accordingly.
Lyle
This looks identical to the Dewalt one released many months ago. I guess it makes sense since B&D own both.
Jared
It seems quite different to me – though I appreciate they share visual similarities. The Dewalt is an 8″ chainsaw with a different handle and grip position and quite a bit more expensive. This Craftsman looks to be a scaled-down economy version of that tool.
I suspect the Dewalt is more powerful, hence the larger bar, but they don’t emphasize the same specs, so it’s awkward to compare.
MM
I agree. It is visually similar to the Dewalt DCCS623 in terms of the basic layout and the guard on the tip of the bar, but the Dewalt has a larger bar, a different grip/guard, and the motor housing on the Dewalt is quite a bit “fatter” for lack of a better term. I think you’re exactly right that this is a scaled-down version of the Dewalt.
I imagine it will work well though, I have the Dewalt and I’m very impressed with its power. A version with half the power would still be adequate for homeowner pruning tasks.
Big Richard
Chain speed is down a bit, too. DeWalt has 8.6 m/s, this little guy tops out at 4.4 m/s.
Jared
I was looking for that! Thanks for sharing.
Fyrfytr998
This is a smaller brushed motor version of the bigger brushless DeWalt.
Mark M.
Anyone know if you can swap out the bar? Seems like a 10″ narrow kerf might make for a cool little top handle setup.
MM
I think it would be easy enough to find replacement bars. I know the ones on the Milwaukee Hatchet and the Dewalt are standard so this probably is too.
I really like the super-narrow 1/4 pitch chain for small saws, I very much want to try it on my Dewalt version of this saw. Finding a bar for that is no problem, but the drive sprocket may prove to be a bigger challenge so I might end up having to custom fab that.
Big Richard
You might be able to take the sprocket from this Craftsman and swap it onto the DeWalt. It’s $1.40 (plus shipping) on their ServceNet website, worth a shot – https://www.toolservicenet.com/dewalt/en//CRAFTSMAN/CDLS/SAW//p/CMCCS320D1
MM
Thanks, I’ll look into that. I hadn’t started looking for possible off-the-shelf solutions yet but it would be great if something like that was a drop-in replacement. I can always machine my own, or perhaps better yet make a hub that takes standard rim sprockets, but that’s a lot more work. I’m also hoping to find one that is larger in effective radius compared to the factory sprocket. I feel the Dewalt has plenty of power, and that should only increase with the narrower chain, therefore a larger sprocket should help get the chain speed higher.
As a side note, I just noticed a major disadvantage of this Craftsman saw while I was trying to confirm its chain pitch: It doesn’t have an onboard oiler. You have to manually oil the chain.
Big Richard
Yeh, oiler was likely excluded to keep the price point down. My Stihl GTA 026 doesn’t have an oiler either, but that is a super light duty version of these one-handed chainsaws, so it is not a huge deal. I still love that thing, as it feels tiny compared to Milwaukee’s Hatchets or DeWalt’s version. I want to see what this guy looks like in person.
Jared
Are the “tip guards” mandatory on these tiny chainsaws? Is the risk of kickback perhaps increased because of the small size and potential for one-handed use?
Just looks weird to me – and I would have thought one advantage of a tiny chainsaw would be for use in really intricate work (for a chainsaw). Seems like a tip guard would compromise that.
MM
I doubt they are legally required as there are many small saws which don’t have them, like the Milwaukee Hatchet series and its many copies.
I took the guard off my Dewalt saw similar to this one, and like I wrote in my review of it here on the Toolguyd forum I found it nearly impossible to make the saw kick back even when I was deliberately trying to make it happen.
https://discuss.toolguyd.com/t/dewalt-mini-pruning-8-chainsaw-dccs623b-review/3178
Jared
Great review! Thanks for the info. Sounds like an impressive saw for the size.
I had all but forgotten about the Toolguyd forum – it was fun to read posts from familiar names. I’ll have to check in more often.
Jack D
Wow! As a relatively new reader, I never even knew about the forums, and I’ve pored over the menu here for more! Thanks for the heads up! Now the obvious question is why is it hidden?
Stuart
It’s not hidden, it’s in the sidebar on desktop and below comments on mobile.
It’s been around for a long time now. I check in regularly but unfortunately cannot participate too often. Social media satisfies many of the ideas I had in mind for own sharing purposes.
Dave
They are just in the way at this point. Never had an issue with the Milwaukee ones that don’t have them.
Dave
Why not use the Milwaukee Hackzall instead of these micro chainsaws?
Those are way too tiny
The Milwaukee one is at least 8 “
Jared
Speed I imagine. A chainsaw is the best tool for cutting clean wood quickly, but isn’t nearly as versatile.
If you’re not doing a lot of pruning, a Hackzall with a pruning blade is probably the “better” choice in the sense that you can also use it for PVC pipes, metal, nail-embedded wood, etc. Most people would probably get more utility from it and the pruning and wood cutting performance is acceptable.
But if you’ve got a lot of cutting to do, the slower speed and vibration of a Hackzall would be noticeable.
Big Richard
The M18 Hatchet is 8″, but the M12 Hatchet is 6″, just like this.
And these micro chainsaws do cut wood better than a recip with a pruning blade, faster with less vibration. If you are doing some cutting on a branch with a recip and can’t get a solid hold on the branch, often times the teeth will dig into the wood and then the reciprocating action does nothing but shake the branch like crazy. Great for getting fruit or dead leaves to fall off the branch, not so much for cutting the branch. Plus they are more fun, and a great “beginners” chainsaw. You may not need one, but they are handy.
Champs
I figured the same thing until I *cough* SAW the This Old Tony video on it: https://youtu.be/lAIXPu-gFNg
TLDW: recip saws bog down because they don’t move enough to clear the “chips” as you cut. He compares with hand saws but a chain would have the same advantage.
Mark M.
If you very rarely had a need for a saw like this and already had a Hackzall or something similar, I don’t think it would make any sense to spend the $ on a new tool and/or battery platform. For me personally, the advantage of a small electric chainsaw is primarily cutting forked branches to feed into a wood chipper. I could do it with a Hackzall and a pruning blade, but the vibration and speed is apples and oranges compared to a small electric chainsaw. I don’t have this one (or the DeWalt twin) but I do have the 12″ DeWalt and it’s been a game-changer. Gas for big stuff, electric for everything else.
Big Richard
They’re quietly launching a few new OPE tools – https://www.craftsman.com/products/outdoor-tools-equipment
The 2xV20 pressure washer actually has me a little interested. I’d rather see a slightly more powerful yellow version, but maybe that is in the works?
Paramount
These mini chainsaws are really useful for framing. Cutting rafter tails, deck joists, anything you run wild and square up later.
Also, cutting out windows from the inside, but you’d have to take off that end guard.
Harrison
Absolutely horrible junk. Not even going to comment on that lopper.
The chainsaw should work okay for pruning, but the way the motor angles downward interferes with the ground when trying to cut branches that are laying flat on a lawn, unless you use the tip of the bar. This takes more skill, and is actively discouraged by the tip guard and low-kickback chain.
It’s much easier for novices to make clean cuts on the ground by kneeling, holding the saw with the bar level to the horizon, and letting the saw gently drop with the dogs/motor case against the wood. No kickback, and the chain stays out of the dirt.
I get that this saw is intended for pruning, but cutting up branches is till a really common gardening task that a saw like this should manage. And the balance doesn’t look right for one-handed cutting. [Never mind that nobody should really be doing that… I say as a former arborist;) ]
Not really sure what SBD’s deal is with horrible chainsaw ergonomics- All their OPE looks like a child’s drawing from imagination… or the engineers had never seen a chainsaw before, and based their design off a description given over the telephone. It’s clear as day that nobody coming up with these products has actually used one.
Big Richard
Ryobi has a new little guy as well – https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/46396044792
What I really like about the Ryobi though, is that they not only went with a full house chain like their red cousins, the Hatchets, but they also are using a 1/4″lp pitch chain unlike the Hatchet’s 3/8″lp pitch. The combination of the two should make this even smoother cutting compared to the aforementioned Hatchets with a similar chain speed (4.8 m/s vs. 5 m/s), or this Craftsman (4.4 m/s 1/4″ standard comp chain).
Downside is, like the Craftsman it does not have an auto oiler.