Just had a big repair job, going on 35 man hours,and day 3, Lots of patches, weaves,holes from old heating pipes. Usually I take out a patch with a skill saw, hammer and chiesel. I started useing a rotozip about a year ago, and it does speed thigs up, but we go through a lot of bits,
Has anyone found a tool that really makes a difference timewise.
Steve

I use my roto-zip, just fot the cuts to the corners. I can't see the roto-zip being faster to make a rip cut then a circular saw.

I didn't think I had to put I made the rips with the skill, The rotozip like you said is just for the cuts near the wall or finishing off my cuts for a patch where the skill couldn't go all the way through,

Fein Multimaster with an E-blade and a speed square. You can make you own end matches instead of removing the entire board. When cutting out a 3/4 solid with a circular saw make the cuts about 3/8"- 1/2" from the edge so the saw blade chops off the staple flush to the subfloor, the board will lift out easily and most staples/cleats will be gone.

I have not tried it but some guys say a biscuit cutter set against a speed square does a good job of cutting out boards to end match.

I meant to include but forgot that Chuck gave me that tip on cutting off the staples /cleats flush. Whats left you can use a nail set to seat them if needed, a real time saver on repair work.

It's funny you do things for years and years and right under your nose their is a faster way, When I did my rips with the circular saw I always tried to stay away from the staples, Yesterday because of the tips, I did indeed cut about a 1/2 from the edge, and BAM everything can out no problem. I think it was about a 40' run and I think I had 2 staples to pull. It was Great! Thanks[/quote]

Ain't that the truth. Before I was trying not to damage a 10 dollar blade Blades are cheap, our time spent is not.

Happy New Year

I have been using 3/8" wood bore bits with my drill to cut the ends of boards because I've gone through too many Fein blades too fast, costly. I do the same with installing retro-fit flush-mount vents. Drill the corners, skil saw the four sides then clean up with hammer, chisel and Fein.

Chris

Good tip Chris. You are right about the Fein blades being expensive. I'm told that if you slow the speed down the blades will last longer. Also Fine Homebuilding has an article on making your own blades I think. I will have to verify that and give it a shot.

Jerry

I would be interested in knowing how to resharpen a Fein 1 3/8" Wood Holz blade. That's the one I use most. I've been buying then on Amazon, 3 for $70.

Chris

There are several posts floating around the internet, on how to make your own blades(several) out of a cheap $8 hand saw. (Miterbox blade)

I'm all for new tricks and toys, but sometimes, some of the old ways are truly better. When removing a T&G board, instead of attempting to stop midway to the end butt, just remove the entire board, end to end. It was Daniel Boone, one time technical director of the NWFA that showed me years ago to cut two parallel cuts about 3/8" in from the edges to cut through the fasteners. Make your parallel cuts from one end butt to the other, without going past of course. Now contect the two parallel cuts with a diagonal cut starting at one end and finishing at the other. You will be able to simply lift the two center pieces out without much effort. The groove side should just side toward the center for easy removal. The tongue side will require using a chisel to tap toward the center as, even though the fasteners are cut, they still hold the tongue into the groove somewhat. Now if you need to cut a board in half and cannot remove it all the way from end to end, simply scribe the non-factory end you plan on cutting with a square. Scribe it deep. Then either use two large drilled holes on each side and clean it up with a chisel OR just chisel it out. With a sharp chisel, I can cut cleanly and squarely through a 3/4" x 2.25" board in a couple of minutes. It probably takes a little more effort but I doubt anymore time considering that if using an electric saw, you'd need to go to your truck, get the saw and cord, install a new blade and make the cut. I'd be done by the time you had your saw set-up and ready. Now if you had to make multiple cuts, I can see that it would be an advantage. But then I would be planning to remove the boards from end to end. A good chisel costs about $7 to 10 and I sharpen it myself with my portable belt sander. I don't know, maybe it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

Are you saying you're old?

Someone once said........"If something works for you, then there are no complaints, no problems...... keep doing what you're doing".

happy New Year!

yea, I guess I am.