Senior Captain Jeff Jacobs from Houston (TX) Tower 69 sent in some photos of another homemade saw strap option. This one utilizes a flashlight strap that has been modified with a 2″ steel ring.
The steel ring is available from most hardware stores in a 2 pack for about $2. The steel ring is threaded on the strap in between the adjustment slider and quick release buckle.
The working end of the strap can be looped around the carry handle of the saw and clipped into the steel ring.
The strap is a flashlight strap that comes with the flashlights we carry on our truck… usually find a few of these laying around in an apparatus compartment on almost any truck in any station in our city.
Re-purposing a unused flashlight strap and a $2 dollar investment makes a easy to use, easy to remove saw strap. It’s simple, cheap, and effective.
Saw straps are awesome. We have a similar repurposed rig for the venerable water can as well.
However, there are two risks to saw straps that need to be kept in mind when implementing them:
1) Some saws will flood if you carry them wrong. Be mindful of this with your equipment. It will take some trial and error to see what you can get away with. Nothing like getting to a roof and finding out it’s going to be an axe job because the saw won’t start!
2) When you go to make the cut- mind the strap! Undo it completely and throw it back off the roof if you must. The strap is at risk of getting caught in the bar and you’re going to have a bad day (and not get the roof open), so mind your tools!
It would be better to mount the ring to the saw using a hose clamp and then just clipping onto it. that way the strap isnt sliding back and forth all arounf the saw handle.