Saw adapters and attachments
A chain-head adapter turns an angle grinder into a small wood saw, but it does not replace a proper chainsaw. The spindle thread has to match, on European grinders almost always M14, and the grinder has to be built for 115 or 125 mm discs. The saw chain is designed for far lower speeds than the grinder, so the adapter belongs only on a grinder with speed control. The kit has neither a chain brake nor automatic oiling, so it is held in both hands and oiled by hand.
Saw adapters and attachments
A chain-head adapter turns an angle grinder into a small wood saw. The kit consists of a bar of around six inches, the chain, a guard and a flange that screws onto the grinder's spindle. It suits pruning branches, rough shaping and cuts in places a big saw cannot reach. It does not replace a chainsaw, though, because the grinder is not built for the job and several safety features are missing.
The first thing that has to match is the spindle thread, on European grinders almost always M14. Adapters are made for grinders taking 115 and 125 mm discs, on larger machines the geometry of the guard no longer fits. The original disc guard comes off before assembly and the guard supplied with the adapter takes its place. Spindle length has to be enough for the flange and the nut, or the kit will not tighten and works loose in use.
The figure that matters most is the grinder's speed, because the saw chain is designed for a markedly lower speed than the grinder. An ordinary grinder spins at around eleven thousand revolutions per minute, while a chainsaw stays in the low thousands. The adapter therefore belongs on a grinder with speed control, set to its lowest step. At full speed the chain blunts quickly, stretches and threatens to jump off the bar.
The kit has no oil pump, so chain tension and lubrication are handled by hand. The chain is tensioned with the screw on the side of the bar so that it lifts two to three millimetres in the middle. Oil goes on the chain and into the groove of the bar before every longer cut, run dry the chain seizes. After the first few minutes of use a new chain stretches and has to be retightened.
The kit lacks the chain brake that every proper chainsaw has, so on releasing the switch the chain coasts to a stop. The grinder is therefore held in both hands, by the body and by the auxiliary handle, and the cut is always made with the far side of the bar, never with the nose. Glasses or a face shield, gloves and closed shoes are as much a given here as with a full-size saw.