Here's a neat took that one of my collegues, Mark, has just got hold of - his downfall was showing it to me! That's it in the picture, find out more after the jump...This multi-tool is specially designed for chainsaws and it seems like a great idea - so let's take a closer look and see if it could be sticking in your toolbox (or on your belt).
The 'Top Saw Pocket Wrench' is pretty small at 4½ inches long, containing all the useful implements one needs to keep a chainsaw running...
- Long reach spark plug spanner (16mm / 19mm)
- 13mm spanner
- 4mm allen key
- Torx driver
- Bar cleaner
- Small flat screwdriver
- Large flat screwdriver
The whole lot fits into a nylon pouch with a belt loop, allowing you to keep the tool close to hand for when you need tweak the idle adjust screw, or sort out the chain tension.
The long reach spanner is reversible, although you'll need to unscrew the Nyloc nut, switch the spanner round to the size you need and then tighten it back up again. However, the chances are that you'll only need one size for most saws, so it's not a problem; but I could imagine that if you need to maintain several saws that use both 19mm and 16mm spark plugs / nuts, it would get a bit tedious swapping it round as you'd need to carry round a Philips screwdriver and a 10mm spanner to swap it round. As I said, if your saw(s) use the same size spark plug, it's not an issue. The 13mm spanner fits on to the smaller nuts that hold on the Husqvarna side plate, but interestingly enough this has two small holes drilled through the side of it, allowing a file to be fitted. This turns the tool into a file handle, and you can keep the file guide on the file as well. Having said that, I found that a 4.8mm (3/16") file wasn't held really securely, but a 5.5mm (7/32") does fit better - I didn't try it with a 4.0mm file. The other slight issue is that there's no way to store the file either on the tool or in the pouch. Still, it's a very simple idea and it does work.
The 4mm allen key fits Husqvarna allen bolts - which would be very useful for my 350 as the exhaust bolts seem to have a habit of working themselves loose!
The Torx driver fits the Stihl & Makita screwheads, allowing you to gain access to the recoil starter and chain brake mechanisms. This makes it a really useful tool with the ability to work with Husqvarna, Stihl and Makita chainsaws.
The large flat screwdriver is perfect for setting chain tension, adjusting the idle screw or removing Stihl air filters, and the small one fits the carburettor H & L screws.
The bar scraper tool will help clean out the debris that inevitably builds up between the rails on the guide bar.
So, is it worth buying one? Yes. My order will be forwarded in due course; having the one tool instead of carrying round separate spanners, screwdrivers and so on, and being able to carry it around in a small case makes this a very useful tool indeed. Check it out at http://topsaw.com.
