Pruning cutter

A powered pruning saw, comprising:

• a drive motor;
• an elongated drive shaft connected to the motor and extending to a remote end, rotatable responsive to operation of the drive motor to rotate about a drive shaft axis;
• a gear head mounted to the remote end of the drive shaft;
• wherein the gear head includes a gear housing formed of two housing halves;
• a pinion;
• a pinion bearing within the gear housing mounting the pinion for coaxial rotation with the drive shaft;
• a cutter arbor shaft;
• a gear on the cutter arbor shaft;
• a cutter arbor shaft bearing mounting the cutter arbor shaft and gear, with the gear in meshing engagement with the pinion for rotation about a cutter arbor shaft axis angularly offset from the drive shaft axis;
• a cutter attached to the cutter arbor shaft;
• a pinion shaft having the pinion at one end and a drive shaft receiver at a remaining end releasably receiving an end of the drive shaft;
• wherein the housing halves are joined along a plane normal to the cutter arbor shaft axis and include journal boxes formed therein for receiving and clamping the pinion bearing;
• and
• clamp members joining and securely fastening the housing halves together with clamping forces substantially parallel to the cutter arbor shaft axis.

A cutter mounting gear head for a powered pruning saw, comprising:

• a gear housing formed of joined housing halves, including a cutter mounting half and a cap half;
• a bushing mounted within the cap half;
• the cutter mounting half including an external surface with a bearing pocket formed therein;
• the cutter mounting half and the cap half being joined along a plane;
• a pinion;
• a pinion shaft having the pinion at one end and a remaining end;
• a pinion bearing within the gear housing mounting the pinion and the pinion shaft for rotation about a pinion shaft axis that is substantially parallel to the plane along which the cutter mounting half and the cap half are joined;
• a cutter arbor shaft having an inside end and an outside end;
• a first journal formed at the inside end of the cutter arbor shaft;
• a second journal formed axially between the inside end and the outside end of the cutter arbor shaft;
• the bushing within the cap half rotatably receiving the first journal at the inside end of the cutter arbor shaft;
• a bearing mounted within the bearing pocket and projecting axially with respect to a cutter arbor shaft axis from the cutter mounting half, and receiving the second journal for rotation about the cutter arbor shaft axis;
• a cutter mounting plate;
• a gear on the cutter arbor shaft between the first journal and the second journal and situated within the gear housing between the housing halves in meshing engagement with the pinion;
• clamp members joining and securely fastening the housing halves and the cutter mounting plate together with clamping forces substantially parallel to the cutter arbor shaft axis such that the bearing mounted within the bearing pocket is clamped between the cutter mounting plate and the cutter mounting half.