t best chainsaw tools for woodworking and construction, we’ve rounded up the absolute best chainsaw chains.
How we tested
In September 2018, we held a series of chainsaw tests to assess their performance, durability, and ease of use. First, we cut through a 1-inch maple 1½-inch sheet of 6-ply, 7-ply, 10-ply, and 1¾-piece cedar 1” lumber. Then we used the chains to cut through 3-inch maple 2-by-2 lumber and an 8-by-4 sheet of 3/4-inch cedar plywood. These chains used the same saws and the same tools. We then cut through 4½-inch balsa wood and 3-½-inch spruce wood, and 5-by-4-inch spruce plywood. We then cut and twisted the chains at a set of two saws, both of the saws without the saw blade.
We then used the chains to cut through 2-by-2-inch pine and 1-by-2-inch spruce, 1-by-1-inch cedar, and 2-by-2-inch mohawk. We held each chainsaw in one hand and held the chains until they broke free of their nylon handles. When they did, we measured the length of each saw’s handle, the width of its handle, and the depth of its cut.
For chains, we held each chainsaw in one hand and pulled on its handle to see how easily it could be held. We tested the chains for durability too, by seeing how much rope would stretch out of its nylon handle and how hard or soft each chainsaw seemed to be to handle. Finally, I used a pair of tweezers to closely examine the cut. I checked how well the saw blade and chain would cut in a straight line on a 3-inch piece of lumber and a ½-inch piece of 6-foot 3/4-inch cedar plywood.
The competition
The Makita 3007-14 was one of the saws we tested and had the best cutting performance of the chains we tested. The Sawyers 10-inch Straightedge was the other saw I tried. And the Makita 3508-14 was the one that broke the least.
Even though the chains from all the saws we tried were the same size, the Makita 3508-14 was the most expensive model and the one with the narrowest cutting blade.
We also dismissed saws that cut thicker wood than the Makita 3508-14, such as the Makita 3007-14 and the Makita 3508-14. Though the Makita 3007-14 also cut thicker wood than the other saws, it was the only saw not to cut thicker wood.
The Makita 3508-14 was the only saw that cut through thinner wood than the Makita 3508-14. The Makita 3508-14’s cutting blade, like that of other saws we tried, is thin and curved, so it wouldn’t cut through thinner wood like the smaller saws.
Cutting test
I used the Makita 3508-14 until it broke free of its nylon handle. The Makita 3007-14 was not working at all and the chains were still coming apart. We also held each saw through a 6-foot piece of 4-by-4-inch cedar plywood, and cut two 1½-inch and two 2½-inch spruce needles, so as to see how much rope they could hold.
I then