Reciprocating Saw ideas?

[EmptyWallet]

Picking out a reciprocating saw almost feels as dawning as picking out a new circular saw.

The choices are endless. The Mil Hackzall looks pretty neat, but I think I'm going to want something more heavy duty than that. Corded seems to be the way to go.

Ideas? Seems like all the major manufacturers have their own.

 

[37ford4dr]

is it for a home owner quality? if so then i would get an inexpensive HF corded one and an 18v Ryobi cordless one...

i have a sears one and the 18v ryobi cordless the two make an awesome combination. the ryobi has a quick release mechanism that is great....you definitely will like that feature

 

[purplezr2]

I have a milwaukee corded and it has worked good. I have used several over the years and they have all been milwaukee

 

[devoncoolman]

I have both the dewalt 18volt xrp and the dewalt 20v li-ion both are great! abused the **** out of the 18 volt at work and use it all the time still. Bought the 20 volt for home has more power and better battery life then the 18v. little pricy though for home use. I would rec the 18 volt if you need a battery operated one. they are coming down in price now since dewalt came out with the 20 volt li-ion units.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I've had my corded Dewalt for over 5 years now. Never given me one bit of trouble. Eventually want to invest in a battery operated one to make quick work out of junkyard trips instead of fighting with rusted nuts & bolts.

 

[Montosi82]

Look at the porter cable one that pivots 9 degrees.. Not as he as some out there but very light and easy to get into small places

 

[johnny5c]

Hard to beat a Milwaukee Sawzall, I've had mine for 20+ years and only thing I've replaced is the rubber boot.

 

[Coach James]

I have a Black & Decker Firstorm that has been fine for me. Vibrates a lot but gets the job done. I also have a Porter Cable 18V cordless that does the job. For most folks, I think any corded model will do what you want unless you are doing constant heavy demo work.

Coach

 

[EmptyWallet]

Isn't there a Milwaukee model that has a large number of amps but is smaller and more compact?

 

[liquidcougar]

I've got a Ridgid corded saw in my shop at work that I regularly beat the snot out of. She does the job real well, but can get extremely hot under continuous use, and she's also taken several trips to the repair shop in the past few years (usually due to the quick-release blade mechanism locking up/failing).

We also have a 15 amp Milwaukee Super Sawzall. This thing can not be beat. It only comes out for the really heavy duty jobs (basically waiting for the Ridgid to fail completely to see full duty).

At the end of the day, I'd take a corded Milwaukee every time. You can't go wrong.

 

[justanengineer]

Dont cheap out. There is a very good reason "Sawzall" is the common slang term used - bc Milwaukee's the best by far IMHO. FWIW, I have one from 1968 that I can still buy 100% of the parts for cheap should anything ever break, but I doubt anything will.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

Have and recommend.

Mil sawzall 15 amp USA
Mil Sawzall 6 amp USA---2nd most used, 1st for light metal b/c it has the 3/4" stroke
PC Tiger saw that pivots USA---most used

Have used DeWalt and Ridgid corded...both good, liked Ridgid more I think

Don't be afraid to buy used USA on CL or ebay

 

[Pumpman1968]

I bought a reman Milwaukee 15 amp with blow mold case from Cripe for $99.00 shipped last year. It replaced an all metal body Milwaukee that I bought used in the mid 80's. When it comes to these, stick with Milwaukee..........you will not be disappointed!

 

[Ed ke6bnl]

I have had a Hitachi that I bought a Price Club some 25 years ago and have cut unbelieveable amount of metal with it and never a problem not a quick blade attachment and the pin for blade alignment broke and I put in a small hex head bolt it is variable speed with a small wheel that I understand some of the newer ones are going to.

 

[padronanniversary]

I too have the 11 amp sawzall and love it for sheet metal due to the stoke as pumpman had noted.

I just retired my dewalt line of cordless and went red, and so far the the M18 is working out great.

 

[jackfork]

I have DeWalt and Hilti 18v, and a Milwaukee corded saw. Would recommend them all. I have used them all pretty hard and they have held up well. Since I got the battery saws I use them most of the time, and rarely pull out the corded saw. If you do go battery pick a family of tools that you like so you can share batteries. Buying bare tool saves big bucks if you need more than one tool, and who doesn't. Both DeWalt and Bosch sell bare tools, among others. Hilti does too but they are costly no matter how you buy them. Most of my bare tool buys comes from Amazon. In fact Amazon is where I look first for all my tool buys.

 

[TheGrooveking]

I have DeWalt, Makita, (4) Milwaukee, Porter Cable corded and Hitachi, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Bosch, Hitachi cordless 18 volt recip saws and the 12V Milwaukee, DeWalt, Bosch and Makita units. If I had to pick one only and it was corded I go Milwaukee.

TheGrooveking

 

[IHI]

Generally speaking when i started my construction business 20 or so yrs ago, I bought all yellow tools...cuz that's what everybody else had..including a corded sawzall. I bought the 6 amp version and it worked. Burned up the brushes and bought a 10amp model. got a couple yrs out of that unit and again, burned up the brushes...but these saws were used all the time for varying applications for residential and light commercial projects..a yr of our use would probably replicate a lifetime of DIY use.

After that second dewalt burned up I bought the biggest baddest sawzall milwaukee had on the market at that time...should bought a milwaukee the first time since the one grandpa had was still going strong and STILL works great to this day ( minues the shorter stroke since that was what they had in that era in the 80's)

Basically, buy the milwaukee...it got the same daily abuse as the dewalts and it's lasted...well, it's still going like a bat out of hell LOL. FWIW, cordless ones are good for cutting PVC or other lightweight material...not day long use, the batteries run down fast and they lack the long term muscle that sawzalls are most often required to use...you cant go wrong with corded. Aside from a small one cut and done, about the only battery tools we've used the last 15 or so yrs is the impact driver and drills...the saws of all makes eat up batteries and it causes down time when my guys had to run back and forth to swap batteries in the charger...and buying enough batteries to get through an entire day in the feild cordless style seemed to me-assenine.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

FWIW...w/o looking it up online, I beleive the old MIL, at least my 6 amp, has 3/4" stroke, vs 1.25" which I think they all have now. (I maybe wrong)

But that 3/4" is GREAT for sheet metal etc. But if you're cutting big stock or doing construction, more amps and 1.25" stroke is just fine.

 

[IHI]

FWIW...w/o looking it up online, I beleive the old MIL, at least my 6 amp, has 3/4" stroke, vs 1.25" which I think they all have now. (I maybe wrong)

But that 3/4" is GREAT for sheet metal etc. But if you're cutting big stock or doing construction, more amps and 1.25" stroke is just fine.

98% of what we used it for was wood butchering and the added stroke was a huge difference when that turned into the new norm. Short stroke was nice in confined cutting situations though

 

[smith627]

I got the corded 6amp Craftsman on sale a few years ago and use it to trim wood fence and tree/bush limbs up to 4inches thick. Just cut down 10 small hedge bushes with it last week.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

98% of what we used it for was wood butchering and the added stroke was a huge difference when that turned into the new norm. Short stroke was nice in confined cutting situations though

Agree 100 percent! I grew up as a wood butcher, now that I'm doing more metal work, I like that old short stroke...trying to buy a few more just for stock up.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

also, when/if you have the funds, I really think it is great to have a big dog sawzall and a smaller one.

Right tool for the job. Many jobs don't call for the 15 amp. When I was younger I always bought the biggest baddest mofo, but now I have several and use the most comfortable, lightest, and correct one for said job. just my 2 pennies..

 

[IHI]

Agree 100 percent! I grew up as a wood butcher, now that I'm doing more metal work, I like that old short stroke...trying to buy a few more just for stock up.

dont forget the new..well old now tech of having the blades oscilate. Get the right blades and that feature covered with a long stroke makes short work of anything that gets in it's way.

I bought a makita yrs back when I was at one of our jobsites and the truck we had, for whatever reason, did'nt have a sawzall. Grabbed a makita, just a small rudypoo thing to get the job done...but we turned that into our "hole clearing" saw. Sooooo many times, as i'm sure all of us know, whereever you decide to dig a hole it's either right on top of a huge rock or has roots growing through it. This makita is a very slim/compact design and fits easily into 8" peir footing holes to cut through roots...so far it's even still going, but i did'nt want to take a chance of dirt and grit getting into my good saws and tearing them up

 

[crewchief888]

mines an older CM pro model, complete with blow molded case

dumpster salvage from work, after some dipstick at the shop used it, and it started smoking.

i pulled and cleaned up the brushes, dumped out all the dust and accumulated **** from inside the housing.

works fine for the few times a year i need one.

scored one of my 4 1/2" grinders the same way...

 

[neophyte]

FWIW...w/o looking it up online, I beleive the old MIL, at least my 6 amp, has 3/4" stroke, vs 1.25" which I think they all have now. (I maybe wrong)

But that 3/4" is GREAT for sheet metal etc. But if you're cutting big stock or doing construction, more amps and 1.25" stroke is just fine.

The Milwaukee 6524-21 "The Hatchet" Sawzall model has a 3/4" stroke. It also has a folding handle or use in confined areas. There was also a cordless version of the same saw, model 6514-20, 18v. Some places may still have them.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

The Milwaukee 6524-21 "The Hatchet" Sawzall model has a 3/4" stroke. It also has a folding handle or use in confined areas. There was also a cordless version of the same saw, model 6514-20, 18v. Some places may still have them.

ohhh.....wishlist.

 

[EmptyWallet]

I picked up a Milwaukee 6519-22. It's the 11amp model that is smaller and a bit lighter.

I'm going to pick up a 15amp Super also.

What blades are best for wood? Metal?

 

[IHI]

I picked up a Milwaukee 6519-22. It's the 11amp model that is smaller and a bit lighter.

I'm going to pick up a 15amp Super also.

What blades are best for wood? Metal?

Milwaukee Axe blades are da bomb diggity. Cut great and last a long time. Tried about every brand over the yrs and always wound back at using milwaukee brand as they held up longer then the other ones...expensive but you save money since you don't have to use as many up to get the same amount of cutting done

 

[reptilezs]

i have a saw from milwaukee. for blades i like lenox

 

[IHI]

i have a saw from milwaukee. for blades i like lenox

The lenox blades are great initally, they're like an olympic sprinter...bad hombre's in the short run, but they dont last long...and when your going through those blades at a 2:1 ratio vs what milwaukee has to offer on a job it adds up in a hurry since lenox thinks their carbide tipped blades are worth more than titanium LOL. They'd serve a homeowner just fine, but guys that use them all day, they're short lives makes them a huge operating expense.

 

[Shipfittin]

You can't go wrong with the Milwaukee, it's the best there is. My Dad has two Dewalts and I just do not care to use them. The main thing I don't like about his Dewalt is how you change the blade, where you open the tab on the side. It seems to get dirty and not want to accept blades all that well. I like the Milwaukee where you just turn the head.

Corded is the absolute best way to go, a cordless Sawzall is for someone that may want to cut like a 4x4 or something. Heck I've used a corded Milwaukee to cut though 4" thick steel once when it had to be cut and we couldn't do hot work because of painting.

 

[James2016]

Milwaukee 6538 is a good choice for you.
I use it for 2 years.
It perfect for heavy use.

 

[nine4gmc]

15a Milwaukee, about $50 in good used condition on any given day on CL around here.

 

[jd_1138]

15a Milwaukee, about $50 in good used condition on any given day on CL around here.

Yep, great bargains on CL. I bought a corded Makita recip for $45 on CL. Guy used it to remove an old deck at the house he just bought and never used it again. Still in mint shape in its case with all the paperwork. Even came with like 10 Makita branded blades.

 

[ssdave]

I started with a Skil when they still made real tools. It didn't last all that long, shaft broke or started slipping or something. Upgraded to a Makita, it wasn't powerful enough and heated up. Went to a Milwaukee super sawzall. AH! Now, something powerful enough, durable enough, and works excellent. Thought it couldn't be beat until I got a Porter Cable Tiger Saw. I like it slightly better than the super sawzall. Runs smoother, and has lasted me over 15 years in heavy duty demo work.

If you can afford it, go super sawzall or PC tiger saw.

 

[G-ManBart]

Another nearly 4 year old thread brought up by a blade selling spammer...

 

[Danglerb]

Used Milwaukee corded, in a pinch for a one off job maybe the HF, if used a lot a new Milwaukee.

 

[Cope]

I had a 6 amp Milwaukee for nearly forty years. Decided I wanted a more powerful saw and bought a DeWalt10 amp. Gave the Milwaukee to a friend and it's still going strong. The DeWalt is nice, but in hind sight I wish I had spent a little more and gotten another Milwaukee.

 

[lakeroadster]

I have owned a Makita corded for about 28 years... the old school model that came with a steel case. We'ce cut everything from tree branches to '68 Camaro dashes.

My experience is you can't go wrong with Makita.