Testing the DeWalt 60V Chainsaw: Is It Best For Cutting Firewood?

By Glenda Taylor

Posted on Nov 1, 2024 1:40 PM EDT

Reviewed By Stephanie Cronk

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With constant improvement in cordless technology, 60-volt chainsaws are now a reality. I recently tested the DeWalt DCCS674X2 Chainsaw to cut trees and logs at my rural home, and I was surprised at the amount of cutting power it produced.

This is a 14-inch chainsaw, so it’s not designed to fell huge trees, but it’s more than enough for harvesting firewood and cutting logs. If you remove trees or cut firewood for a living, you may still want a gas chainsaw for heavy-duty jobs, but when you need to cut on the fly or have a smaller project, this chainsaw won’t disappoint. Ahead, learn more about how it performed in my DeWalt 60V MAX chainsaw and why I ranked it as one of the best cordless chainsaws for cutting firewood.

Testing this cordless chainsaw was straightforward. After unboxing, I charged the two 9Ah batteries that come in the kit (a charger is also included). I examined the build quality, attached the bar and chain, and added bar oil to the tool.

I tried out the chainsaw on multiple black walnut and eastern red cedar logs, which are abundant on my property. I also cut a few cottonwood logs for good measure. Throughout the testing, I was looking for ease of use, smooth operation, and powerful cutting force.

During testing, I switched back and forth between the DeWalt and an older but dependable Oregon gas chainsaw, so I had a frame of reference. That wasn’t fair to my Oregon chainsaw because I didn’t take the time to sharpen its blade, so it was slightly disadvantaged from the get-go. Still, I didn’t really think the DeWalt would outperform it—but it did.

The DeWalt 60V Chainsaw goes together like any other chainsaw—I used the included chainsaw wrench to loosen the bar lock nut on the side of the sprocket cover and then slipped the bar and the chain into place. It’s worth noting that this chainsaw came with an Oregon chain. I like that because it will be easy to get a replacement chain when I need one.

After tightening the chain until there was just a little play when I lifted it, I replaced the sprocket cover and added the bar and chain oil to the tool. This chainsaw has a translucent oil reservoir, and I could see how much oil I added. As someone who typically overfills and has to clean oil off the tool, seeing how much oil is in the reservoir is very helpful.

The only thing left was to insert a fully charged battery and start cutting.

The chainsaw weighs just 6 pounds without the bar and battery, and it comes with rubber overmolding on the top grip and the rear handle. I found it very secure to grip (with gloves) without slipping. The tool is well-balanced, and DeWalt put the LED charge indicator right on top of the dashboard panel, so it was easy to see how much battery charge was left while I was cutting.

Starting the battery chainsaw was a breeze, and this is a huge improvement over gas-powered models. No pulling. No cranking. All I had to do was push a button, and the chainsaw roared to life. All right, that’s a bit simplified because the tool comes with several safety features, including a universal On button on the dashboard panel, a chain brake, and a flipper on the trigger that must all be in the correct position before the button will start the saw. Those are all good safety features that will help prevent accidents, and once I learned each one, they were intuitive.

DeWalt lists this chainsaw as having 2.42HP and being able to make up to 160 cuts through 4×4 treated pine posts on a single charge. I was using trees, branches, and logs for my tests, not pine posts, but I was impressed with the power of this tool.

I started out by cutting small limbs, less than 5 inches in diameter, on cottonwood and eastern red cedar, and the blade sliced through smoothly without bogging down. I made at least 50 cuts before moving to larger cedar logs about 10 inches in diameter. The going was slightly slower, but I could make entire cuts from start to finish in 45-60 seconds. A nice perk on the DeWalt cordless chainsaw that I haven’t seen on other battery-operated chainsaws is bucking spikes. These metal spikes at the base of the cutting bar can be used to grab the log and pivot the blade forward for more leverage.

I saved cutting the black walnut logs for last since that’s a denser wood. I swapped for a freshly charged battery, although the LED indicator showed I still had 50 percent power left on the first battery. I cut through black walnut logs 8-9 inches in diameter, and the saw did a great job. It didn’t bog down, and I let it do all the work—I didn’t force the cuts. It performed better that day than my trusty Oregon chainsaw, but once I sharpen the Oregon’s blade, it’ll give the DeWalt a run for its money.

Currently, the DeWalt chainsaw sells at Ace Hardware, Grainger, and other retailers for $749. That’s more than double the price of some other battery-powered chainsaws with 14-inch bars, but when you dig a little deeper, you’ll find the DeWalt comes with features many of the others don’t, including more cutting power.

Often, less expensive cordless chainsaws come as bare tools (no batteries) or don’t have enough horsepower to cut more than small limbs from trees. The DeWalt comes with two high-capacity 9Ah batteries, a charger, and a case. DeWalt also includes a chainsaw blade file for sharpening the blade when it dulls. Plus, it’s a DeWalt, and in most cases, I’ve found the brand to be of higher quality than less expensive options. But that’s for you to decide.

Buy the DeWalt 60V Chainsaw on:

If you’re looking for serious cutting power from a battery-powered chainsaw, this 60-volt, 14-inch DeWalt is a good option. It’s well-suited for DIYers who frequently harvest firewood and need to cut limbs and logs up to 10 inches in diameter.

It’s not going to replace a heavy-duty gas-powered chainsaw with a longer blade for felling entire trees on a daily basis. Still, even professional tree trimmers will appreciate not having to struggle to pull-start a gas-powered chainsaw when they’re precariously perched in a tree and need to remove a few branches.

However, if your wood-cutting needs are lighter, you could find a smaller chainsaw, or a budget-friendly model that should be just fine.

Glenda Taylor is a product tester and writer specializing in the construction, remodeling, and real estate industries. She and her husband own a general contracting company, and Taylor is experienced in residential and commercial building applications.

Staff Writer

Glenda Taylor is a BobVila.com staff writer with a background in the residential remodeling, home building, and home improvement industries. She started writing for BobVila.com in 2016 and covers a range of topics, including construction methods, code compliance, tool use, and the latest news in the housing and real estate industries.

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