Customer Reviews

Black & Decker PHS550B 3.4 Amp Powered Handsaw with Storage Bag

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I am a contractor. My wife bought this Navigator saw for use around the house. I laughed at it and called it a "girl saw". One day a few years ago we had a knotty problem cutting a large beam. I reluctantly tried the Navigator. It worked perfectly. Now we have four of them on the job sites and the guys fight over them. Cutting pipe, notching framing members, accurately slicing large beams, I just wish they had made it a bit more durable.

Black and Decker PHS550B 3.4 Amp Powered Handsaw with Storage Bag

Love how much easier this saw is than a hand saw. I am a senior citizen, and I use this saw to cut up larger branches when I trim my trees into smaller bundles.

My only complaint is that I had a very hard time putting the saw blade into the slot. I didn't think the instruction on how to do that was clear at all. That is the only reason I didn't give it a higher rating. A strong man probably wouldn't like it, but it sure was what I needed. A regular hand saw would not have worked for me.

I needed an electric saw of some sort to cut some branches off this tree overhanging our townhouse. So, I went to Lowe's and was debating between getting this one vs. another one like it by Black & Decker which was cordless, and then compared those against a reciprical saw. I don't know jack about saws...however, I didn't want to spend $100 for a reciprical if I didn't need that much power. I had anywhere from 1-5 inch branches to cut apart.

So I took this home and it plows through branches like you cannot believe. You motion it back and fourth just like a regular saw, and within about 10 seconds, you can saw a good 3-4 inch think branch like it's butter.

Highly recommended for those type of applications. Have not tried it on plastic or anything else yet but love it so far based on just that one need.

It took me about an hour to finally figure out how to install the blade. The problem is that apparently the locking pin is sometimes in the wrong position upon arrival at our homes. The oval opening in the blade will only fit over the oval locking pin if the locking pin is in the right position. Use a flat-head screw driver to rotate the locking pin (easily seen through viewing opening in the housing), until the oval locking pin is in the right position to allow you to place the blade opening on top of it. At this point, the blade will be at a 90-degree angle to the machine housing, tip pointing downward. Push/pull the blade upward until it locks into place. Hope this helps. (Happy Birthday, John.)

I bought this saw primarily to cut up medium-sized branches trimmed off the trees hanging over my fence from the neighbor's yard. Up to about 1" in diameter, I use a Siskars lopper, but I needed something to cut larger branches to 18" long or shorter, so they'd fit in my green waste recycling bin. This saw is basically a powered hacksaw. It feels hefty and well-made. Even using the wood blade, it takes patience to cut through a 2" branch or larger. It is variable speed, but even so it sometimes grabs the wood and sets up some severe vibration, much like a Sawzall, and darn near scrambles your brain if you don't let go of the trigger. It seems to work better if I cut halfway thru and then flip the wood over and cut from the other side. It might help to put the wood in a vise or clamp it to something so you can keep both hands on the saw like the instructions recommend. It arrived at my house fairly promptly and in good condition, but I was upset to see it advertised on Amazon for $39 (I paid $44 a week earlier). Oh well, guess you can't win them all. Can't wait to see how the metal-cutting blade works. Overall, I'd say it's worth buying, especially if you're into power tools like I am. Good luck!

Just an additional comment: Since my 1st review, I used this saw to cut thru the nails they used to secure the roof sheathing to the facia boards, when I was replacing some rotting facia. In this instance, this saw was invaluable. With the metal cutting blade attached, it cut the nails like a hot knife thru butter. I actually couldn't think of an easier way to do this job, because prying on that thin sheathing was damaging the old plywood. Because of this job alone, the purchase of this saw was well worth it. Buy it if the price is right (Amazon prices flucuate like the stock market.)

As others have said, "This is a great tool" As a woman, some of the tools I see and try to use are either a) too awkward and/or b)weight to much. I love this handsaw - it is lightweight, easy to use and the cuts are great! I first used it on piping (copper, pvc) the cuts are nice and clean. I also have used this on my Elm trees for triming and the such, just great-my guy friends and co-workers laughed when I first got this and now they borrow it a lot!

As previous reviews have noted, getting the blade installed in this saw is a heinous exercise in patience. I spent two hours fiddling with it and finally took it to a hardware store, where they discovered that the hole to align the blade was out of sync--but nowhere in the directions does it tell you that to adjust the screw on the other side of the release button, you MUST press the button in order for the screw to move. Once aligned it's still difficult to see inside to align the blade hole and saw. Good luck...

This was the perfect handsaw for what I wanted to do which is cut down, then cut up tree limbs. The tree limbs I've cut down are about 3-4" diameter branches. I have also used this saw to cut down giant bird of paradise (about 12 feet high) and then cut them into smaller pieces to fit in yard waste receptacle for trash pick up. The tree stumps larger than 8" dia., I have sawed down the middle, then cut in from each side. The saw is easy for me to handle (a woman 5'4", 125 lbs). I also used the metal blade to easily saw off some 1/2" bolts and cut through some pvc pipes. Amazon's price was great and I'm very happy with my purchase

I've been trying to fit some old cabinets in the garage with more shelves to create more storage. I'd buy wood cut to size but small adjustments were necessary to make the shelves fit. This saw is perfect for that! It works best on MDF but also works on pine. It's just the ticket for small home projects. Use a piece of scrap lumber to get used to it. ( I was holding it almost horizontal at first and you have to hold it more vertical to get a good cut. I also recommend clamping the wood to reduce vibration.) So, for those of you who are a bit powersaw phobic but want to make shelves or other simple projects, this saw is for you!

The saw does work great, however after inserting the blade into the mechanism effortlessly a couple of times and using it, something must have broke and the blade would no longer lock into place. Returned to Black and Decker and received a brand new one, the locking mechanism on this one might not work either I think. Very very poor design, not worth the bother even though the saw cuts great.