3D printed chainsaw mount

So I've been working on this for a few weeks. The ORV park that I do most of my woods riding is pretty big and when we have wind storms or snow storms, it can take a few weeks for downed trees to get cleared. I used to carry a small 6 inch electric saw, but that will only handle very small trees. I bought an electric chainsaw with an 18 inch bar to handle bigger trees, and at first I was planning on mounting it on the back of the bike. But I wasn't very happy how that worked out. I found there was a universal front mount that you could buy, but they were quite proud of it. So I decided to make a 3D print version of it, that fit the Stark Varg perfectly. This became a bigger project than I was expecting, but that his how these things usually go. I made it modular to simplify modifications needed, and good thing I went that route, because I have had to do a lot of modifications.

Long story short, I finished my first version this week, and I went for a ride today. I often ride on Fridays, and that is the day I want the chainsaw with me, because very few people are riding the trails on weekdays, so Friday is the most likely day for me to find downed trees - especially in the winter. And this week offered one small tree for me to test the setup. The chainsaw mount was designed to take very little effort to swap out with the headlight. It is just the one bolt and 4 velcro straps to install it. The chainsaw is held in place by 3 velcro straps. I keep the battery in a saddle bag. It takes seconds to unstrap it and plug in the battery.

The chainsaw weighs about 12 pounds. Normally, I found the Varg prefers my weight to be as forward as I can get it, but with the chainsaw, I'm shifting towards the rear. I don't plan on riding every day with the chainsaw, and of course, if I run into a downed tree, I can always go back for the chainsaw. My biggest issue is smacking my chest or face into the chainsaw, because it protrudes above the handlebars by quite a bit. I might make a foam piece for it later.

The chainsaw I'm using is a Harbor Freight Atlas 18 inch, 80v. I designed the mount so that it is easy to modify for different shapes. I haven't bought one yet, but I want a heavy duty hedger for doing trail maintenance. I haven't found a good battery powered option. And the gas powered ones are spendy.

I will post the files, if anyone is interested, after I finished a couple weeks of testing. I want to make sure It can handle a lot of abuse. My first day or riding, I broke 2 of the pieces. But thankfully I designed so much redundancy into it, I was able to finish the ride without worry. But I will update it assuming anyone is interested

Great idea, I will be interested when you are ready to share the files.
What type of plastic are you using?

I pretty much use PETG with everything these days. It prints really well, is strong, handles most environmental conditions well and is cheap. I'm sure ABS would work well too.

I made new prints last night and was planning on trying it out today, but didn't assemble it until I got to the ORV park - and somehow one of the pieces was flipped/mirrored. I must have accidentally hit the hotkey and didn't realize it. Oh well. I could have used it today too, because there was a big tree down, but thankfully it was easy to get over. I may go riding tomorrow, and if so, I will try out the new print.

I guess I just missed it, but Atlas also sells a 24 inch hedger, it is 40V, but the 80V batteries are interchangeable. That is exactly what I wanted, so I'll buy that and make some adapters for the chainsaw mount so that it is interchangeable. I spend so much time riding trails, I've been really wanting to give something back, not to mention I'm tired of taking tree branches to the face

Finished printing the most recent setup, will definitely be using it Friday. I also bought the hedger. Sadly, it isn't a brushless motor, but I guess I can't complain too much, given the price. The hedger is only 6 pounds and change, so it is almost half the weight of the chainsaw, which is great. But it is also a very awkward shape. i was hoping I could easily incorporate into the chainsaw holder, and I will definitely try, but I have a feeling I'm going to end up making two mounts for the two different tools. Which isn't that big of a deal, but I will try to use the same base plates, at least. If nothing else, it saves on the number of files needed.

I foresee my usual weekend being chainsaw on Friday, and hedger on Saturday. Saturday I will spend an hour or so cleaning up a small section of trail. And if I have time, ride on Sunday without any tools and just enjoy the ride. Riding the Varg with the chainsaw and then riding the next day without it, makes the Varg feel like a 125cc dirt bike. Feels great

rea

AbnormalWrench said:

Finished printing the most recent setup, will definitely be using it Friday. I also bought the hedger. Sadly, it isn't a brushless motor, but I guess I can't complain too much, given the price. The hedger is only 6 pounds and change, so it is almost half the weight of the chainsaw, which is great. But it is also a very awkward shape. i was hoping I could easily incorporate into the chainsaw holder, and I will definitely try, but I have a feeling I'm going to end up making two mounts for the two different tools. Which isn't that big of a deal, but I will try to use the same base plates, at least. If nothing else, it saves on the number of files needed.

I foresee my usual weekend being chainsaw on Friday, and hedger on Saturday. Saturday I will spend an hour or so cleaning up a small section of trail. And if I have time, ride on Sunday without any tools and just enjoy the ride. Riding the Varg with the chainsaw and then riding the next day without it, makes the Varg feel like a 125cc dirt bike. Feels great

Click to expand...

Waiting in anticipation, I will print on Saturday. Keen to see pics of how you mount the hedger too

You should sell those at the Stark store way better than that axe...

Chaconne said:

You should sell those at the Stark store way better than that axe...

Click to expand...

I guess I missed that. I'm afraid to ask, are they trying to outdo Musk's Cybertruck sledgehammer?

Macros_SA said:

rea

Waiting in anticipation, I will print on Saturday. Keen to see pics of how you mount the hedger too

Click to expand...

I'll post the files tomorrow - probably with a lot of caveats. I just want to successfully make it through a single ride without anything breaking. I keep making tiny adjustments, trying to get everything to fit perfectly, which is annoying because the big pieces are time consuming.

I have a game plan for the hedger, I'm hoping to have an update on that Sunday

cool appreciate the feedback, I'm thinking of printing it in TPU 95 as I have had a lot of success lately

AbnormalWrench said:

I'll post the files tomorrow - probably with a lot of caveats. I just want to successfully make it through a single ride without anything breaking. I keep making tiny adjustments, trying to get everything to fit perfectly, which is annoying because the big pieces are time consuming.

I have a game plan for the hedger, I'm hoping to have an update on that Sunday

Click to expand...

I had a long ride with the chainsaw yesterday, and unfortunately I broke the bottom plate in the first mile of the ride. It is just too much leverage on it, so I reprinted a new piece that is much shorter. I'm going riding today, so we'll see how that goes. I had my first big tree to deal with yesterday. It was about 17" diameter, and I think that is about max for this chainsaw. By the time I was done, the battery was down 50% and the battery was uncomfortably warm. But it worked great otherwise.

Well, still having issues with the lower plate. The weird thing is, it works great without the lower plate, so I'm just going to post the files and I recommend just not using the lower plate. I will continue to tinker with it and I will update the files when I think it is working well enough.


I set all my prints to 4 on wall loops and 30% fill, .2 height. But I'm sure you can up those numbers if you like.

I added a bunch of extra holes to the upper plate, for future options.

I put in the name of the parts how many to print. The holes are 5.5mm, I use 6x1 flush mount bolts to hold everything together. You don't need to tap the holes, just screw them in, they make their own threads. I bought this kit from Amazon:

amazon.com/dp/B0CW95YKNG

I am using 1 inch velcro straps, mostly 18 inch long ones, although you will want at least one 24 inch strap. I bought these two kits, they are working well:

amazon.com/dp/B07L8Z5YZ8
amazon.com/dp/B07CVFTRYJ

You definitely want to carry extra straps with you. If you drop the bike, the straps can snap.

The bar holder that bolts to the fork, you need to run the strap through the inside of the bracket, not on the outside. The front tire will rub on the outside of the bracket a little bit, so if you run the strap on the outside, the tire will quickly destroy it.

You need to modify the right fork protector, you need to shave the portion at the top that curls inward, otherwise it won't slide smoothly through the bar holder. You don't need to remove much. You just need to make it uniform - should be pretty obvious, but if you're not sure, let me know and I'll get better pics.

The bar will touch the fairing when you go to the lock turning right, but it is close enough it just flexes a little bit. I haven't had a problem with leaving it alone.

When you mount the chainsaw, start with tightening the center strap. Then do the bar strap. Then do the top strap. I have aftermarket hand guards that I strap it to, but if you don't have that, strap it to the handlebar.

If while you're riding, you see or hear any movement from the chainsaw, stop and check the straps. It shouldn't move at all.

I'm probably forgetting some things, but feel free to ask if you have any questions.

I use a voile strap to hold my saws on, having a little stretch really helps the saw stay tight.

Had a great ride today, and surprisingly, ran into 3 downed trees - that is 5 trees total for the last 2 days of riding. That is way more than I usually see. One of those today was big. The chainsaw handled this one way better than the last big tree. Went through it like butter and the battery wasn't warm at all. So maybe the first tree was hard wood. I don't know.

Suva said:

I use a voile strap to hold my saws on, having a little stretch really helps the saw stay tight.

Click to expand...

I bought some stretchy velcro straps, but found they were too stretchy. The saw was moving around too much. The way I have the mounts set up, it puts a angular load on it so you don't really want any flexing. Although you might break fewer straps that way