Sawzalls...

M

Minjin

Joined
Sep 29, 2002
Messages
521
I've always managed to borrow these, but its time to finally buy one. My buddy has a Milwaukee Sawzall that I've used many times so thats what I think of when I think 'sawzall'. I went over to Lowes this past weekend to see what they had and to my surprise there were about 10 different kinds with offerings from Bosch, Milwaukee, DeWalt, and more. I need some suggestions on what to pick up. I'm not doing anything crazy, just all around recip saw useage. And it won't be used everyday so it doesn't need to be the toughest, most powerful thing in existance. That said, I don't want something that I'll swear at everytime I use and wish I had spent just a little bit more...

Any help. suggestions, or annecdotes?

(corded only)

Mark
 
I've found Dewalt to be very good bang for the buck. Good enough for a contractor to use every day, but not quite as pricey as some of the other high end tools. My dad has a Dewalt reciprocating saw that we've been using for years, good power, made well. Its got a lot of years left in it.
 
Most reciprocating saws vibrate heavily, takes its toll if you are working with them for a while. When I sold them ,we would say"use is abuse" How else can youdescribe a tool that is used to cut through drywall, nails, lumber and occasional ceramic tiles? I would go with the Milwaukee.
 
Another vote for Milwaukee. Mine's from '84 and it's cut every imaginable material. Keep down pressure on the foot to minimize vibration.
 
The Milwaukee's are the standard. I have an older Sawzall (15 years) that is lower amperage and it is a bit anemic by the newer model standards. I recently bought a Porter Cable "Tiger Saw" about a year ago which is a monster! And I just bought my Dad a Milwuakee Sawzall for Christmas. They have the counter balance system and are really good quality. If I had it to do over I would have bought a Milwaukee as my 2nd Sawzall. I also have a DeWalt 18Volt cordless Recipricating saw and it is very handy, but power is more on par with my older Sawzall...Ed.
 
Don't go cordless unles you only use it to make a cut or two. You can't go wrong with Milwaukee, but I like the Porter-Cable with the swivel head too.
 
Some of the saws have longer strokes than others, even some manufactures have models with longer or shorter strokes. (one example is Milwaukee's "super" sawszall as apposed to their "regular" sawszall,) and in easy cutting situations the longer strokes do go through materials faster. BUT, when the going gets tricky and intricate the shorter strokes wont fight, bind up and bend blades as bad. For what ever thats worth.

I have had both Dewalt and Milwaukee's for years and both stand up well. I will say that the Milwaukee is smoother though. For what ever thats worth!
 
I bought a Milwaukee Super Sawzall when I remolded my basement, well actually my parents basement but you get the idea. Anyway it is a great tool, plenty of power to cut through just about anything. I went ahead and bought the top of the line corded model. My reasoning is that it gives some more power, and a saw would really suck down batteries quick.

If you do want to go the cordless route I would recommend that you look at all the cordless tools from that manufacturer. I like the Milwaukee best there too, but that is just my opinion. The point is that you wouldn't want to have different cordless tools from different manufacturers, and need to have a bunch of different batteries and chargers laying around. Makes it a pain to keep a charged battery around, when if all your tools share batteries you would always have one that is good to go.
 
Thanks for the responses, guys! One thing I remember seeing at Lowes was one advertised as being orbital? Seems like a strange thing for a recip saw. I also recall seeing a saw that looked like it had the ability to mount the blade either horizontal or vertical. Is that feature really that useful?

Mark
 
Everyone seems to love Milwaukee. I've got an old Makita that my neighbor the plumbing contractor gave me after he'd used it for years. It was pretty beat looking, but six years later it still does all I need as a homeowner. I think it's a bit smaller and lighter than the Milwaukee but it has been a solid tool for me. I've attacked some good sized projects with it like cutting up old wooden cabinets and workbenches and stuff.

Unless you're going to use it every day or are a tool snob (which is OK), I'd say buy a used one cheap and don't look back. Spend what you save on knives or knifemaking tools. :)

John
 
I'd go Milwakee, just for the keyless chuck. Very handy on a hot blade.

I think the only other brand with keyless is bosch, but they just came out with it and the design isn't as ergonomic or refined imho. Definatly not up to snuff with boschs other stuff.
 
Minjin said:
Thanks for the responses, guys! One thing I remember seeing at Lowes was one advertised as being orbital? Seems like a strange thing for a recip saw. I also recall seeing a saw that looked like it had the ability to mount the blade either horizontal or vertical. Is that feature really that useful?

Mark
Click to expand...

An orbital reciprocating saw can be used for cutting light metal. I would stay away from anything that seems complicated or gimmicky, remember how these tools are used, they take a major beating every time you use them, Keep it simple.
 
I bought a "Sears" brand sawzall. Corded, easy blade chages, comes with a case, takes all brands of blades. And you can pick 1 up for way under $100.00
 
I have the Porter Cable Tiger saw and it has gone through just a wee bit of abuse. (1 year on a ship with 8 months underway and 4 months in a yard period)
I would like to have one with the tooless chuck. I would go with either Milwaukee or Porter Cable. The hitache looks nice as does the Makita but have never used either of those. I have worn a Ryobi slap out in about 3 days so there you go.
 
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