Learn me reciprocating saw

It seems like I need a reciprocating saw, as I have a bunch of wood in the back to saw up into garbage can size pieces so I can dispose of them. It seems to be the remains of an old deck, so it's pressure treated and some of it seems to have a lot of nails.

Do I want corded or cordless? The only cordless tools I have right now are an old Makita 14.4v drill and impact that only still work because I bought some cheap batteries on Ebay, so I don't have a big preference for brand. But the idea of a bunch of tools that use the same batteries is something I'm vaguely interested in, I guess.

If you use other cordless tools, think about what is offered for what you need.

If you just need a reciprocating saw a few times year, then get a corded one. I've got a corded Makita that does the occasional job with aplomb.

The new Li-on powered saws are awesome. That said, I have a corded rigid model from HD. As far as I can tell it's built well(it's about 10 years old) and cranks...

If you have a bunch of batterys go cordless. Otherwise, I found a reciprocating saw job sometimes takes longer than one battery.

Corded are way less money, too.

Do not buy one with plastic gears. They strip the teeth when the blade jams in a cut and are instantly junk unless you can find replacement parts.

I have one with an old fashioned cord, a big honkin' Milwaukee professional version that is about 25 years old. The battery powered stuff is great for portability but I like unlimited power in my power tools. If I had two, I'd have one of each but I do not.

This particular one... is capable of destroying a car, house, forest, roll cage tubing, plate steel, plaster, cast iron bath tubs... you name it I've cut it up. It seemed really expensive when I bought it (~$350) but I have used it on so many projects, in so many situations where it saved the day that looking back it was actually one of the best things I've ever bought.

Corded, Milwaukee, made in USA. Load with fire-rescue/demolition blades.

If you've a circular saw, that will do the job.

I have a milwakee from the early 60s. Damn thing is a beast.

I also have a corded harbor freight. For what I use it for, does the job. Little underpowered and light for heavy duty demo.

Also have a battery power porter cable. Great for cutting bamboo and light tree trimming. Also does ok for junkyard work. Underpowered and too light.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Do not buy one with plastic gears. They strip the teeth when the blade jams in a cut and are instantly junk unless you can find replacement parts. I have one with an old fashioned cord, a big honkin' Milwaukee professional version that is about 25 years old. The battery powered stuff is great for portability but I like unlimited power in my power tools. If I had two, I'd have one of each but I do not. This particular one... is capable of destroying a car, house, forest, roll cage tubing, plate steel, plaster, cast iron bath tubs... you name it I've cut it up. It seemed really expensive when I bought it (~$350) but I have used it on so many projects, in so many situations where it saved the day that looking back it was actually one of the best things I've ever bought.

I have an even older one. It was purchased the day after we closed on a very craptacular and affordable 1948 house in the 2nd most expensive zip code in the DC Metro.

I bought it at a pawn shop for about $75 - if I divide the 240% profit we made when we sold the house after 10 years by the number of hours of use out of that 10 years I chewed away at something with this saw, it was paid better than I was at any job I held. By far.

Milwaukee Sawz Y'all is the gold standard in recip saws.

Thanks guys! I may just give it a go with the circular saw if it decides to work this month. Otherwise, I see a corded Milwaukee in my future.

The circular saw will be a lot faster than a reciprocating one.

Here at work we have a corded Milwaukee and a heavier grade DeWalt cordless. At home I have a Porter Cable corded and the lighter duty Dewalt cordless. If you really need a demolition saw the corded is the way to go and either the Milwaukee or the Porter Cable will last nearly forever. The cordless is damned convenient though so it's what I grab for small stuff.

Go to a pawn shop and try to find an old Milwaukee. They are built way better than the current crop. Might look crappy, but test it out and see how it runs. You will thank me later.

Power, size and blade stroke are your parameters. If cutting up a bunch of lumber, I would want a high power modle with a long stroke. This means it will be on the larger side of the scale.

When doing car stuff, lighter and maneuverable with a smaller stroke so that you can get at more places might be a better deal.

As always, power is good in whatever package you can get it.

The other thing to look at is how easy is the blade to change out? Milwaukee, Dewalt and Bosh are my preferred brands with Bosh seeming to live the longest in my garage.

For recip blades, buy the good ones. The cheap ones get dull fast and you'll end up swearing a lot, using more blades, more time, and money in the long run. Just pony up and get good ones.

The bottom blade in this set of 3 is a fantastic weapon.

http://www.amazon.ca/Skil-94903-Reciprocating-Blade-3-Piece/dp/B000BM6D4O

I've got a corded DeWalt that I've used off and on for years. I like the pruning blade above for trimming trees and cutting down larger brush, etc. Saves owning a chainsaw for the few times a year I'd use it. I also have used the saw for cutting through some pretty substantial metal bits (MGTD frame comes to mind, for example) with the appropriate blade.

I haven't tried the Li-On stuff, but my general experience is that corded will get you more torque and power at less expensive and less maintenance.

A circular saw might work OK, but please be careful around those nails you spoke of...

I have two, one Ryobi 18v and one corded Porter Cable.

I use the cordless Ryobi about 10X as much as the corded one, but the corded one kicks ass when needed. The Ryobi One+ with the biggest Li-Ion battery they offer (on sale a couple times a year for about $100/pair) is the core of my cordless tool set. It sucked with the NiCads that wore out fast, but with the LiIon it is great. Have about 10 of their tools. They are not industrial quality but they work and are cheap.

I used the corded one to cut parts out of 1/2" stock mild steel for my sidecar with a fine bit. Also have used it to cut apart an old trailer. It was bought for around $30 on some kind of sale at HD.

The cordless one gets used most often as a pruning tool, or for doing exactly what you plan to.

+1 for the Ryobi with the Li-Ion battery and a good blade. Got one for Xmas and it's come in handy in so many different situations.

They cut both ways, baby. I'll see myself out.

The Li-Ion batteries make that much difference? I have one Ni-Cd and one Ni-Mh for my old drills, the Ni-Cd is always dead. In fact, the suckiness of the battery is why I've generally not embraced cordless tools. Might have to check these Ryobis out, I'm certainly not doing anything near pro level or anything.

slowride wrote: The Li-Ion batteries make that much difference? I have one Ni-Cd and one Ni-Mh for my old drills, the Ni-Cd is always dead. In fact, the suckiness of the battery is why I've generally not embraced cordless tools. Might have to check these Ryobis out, I'm certainly not doing anything near pro level or anything.

I'd say yes with a disclaimer that it's not just the fact that they're Li-Ion, as the mini starter batteries included in my kit are all but useless, the 4Ah P108 batteries I picked up on sale make all the difference. My experience is limited I can only compare to a Craftsman 14v Ni-Cd kit that I had years back which were never good even when new.

I don't do pro level stuff either, I'm very happy with my Ryobi kit, especially for the money I've paid.

I had a Milwaukee corded dual speed from the 60's and gave it away when I scored a lightly used Milwaukee variable speed corded saw. This was back in the 90's and the old one is still going strong and mine is as well. I had to get a set of new carbon brushes as the OEMs wore out. That's the first time I ever did that with an electric tool! The thing just will not die!

Battery powered ones are OK, and with the advancement in batteries they getting better all of the time. I haven't purchased one yet as I just haven't needed one up to now.

Serve me right for feeling smug earlier when I posted. Hadn't used either of my reciprocating saws in over a year.

Got home today to remember that the shower drain was clogged. Old iron pipes and when I eventually unscrewed the end cap down in the garage I took half the threads off too. Trip to HD for a rubber cap and sawzalled off the irregular piece and I'm back in shower business.

Used the DeWalt BTW, just easier than getting out the cord.

NOHOME wrote: Power, size and blade stroke are your parameters. If cutting up a bunch of lumber, I would want a high power modle with a long stroke. This means it will be on the larger side of the scale. When doing car stuff, lighter and maneuverable with a smaller stroke so that you can get at more places might be a better deal. As always, power is good in whatever package you can get it. The other thing to look at is how easy is the blade to change out? Milwaukee, Dewalt and Bosh are my preferred brands with Bosh seeming to live the longest in my garage.

Pretty much this, yeah. I have a cordless Dewalt for cars and, uhh, precision work and an older Milwaukee corded job for cutting up houses and disposing of bodies.

I had the 17$ harbor freight special for two years and redoing my entire house. I finally fried the motor cutting tires off of rims. It got through like 2 and a half. Now I have my dads hand down , 30 year old Milwaukee that weights 20lbs . This thing is a beast, but honestly a good blade makes all the difference in the world.