reciprocating/sabre saw recommendations?

Hello,

I was wondering about buying a reciprocating saw for general DIY use. Do you find them to be very useful? Is it worth investing in one?

Since I'm not going to be using it intensively, I don't want to be spending hundreds of pounds. What budget models do you recommend?

DO you think cordless is as good as corded?

Thanks, Stephen.

Reply to
Stephen
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Not sure about 'general' DIY use. Won't replace a jigsaw or a circular saw. I've never found them terribly precise or accurate.

I do carry one on the van, but its only used as a weapon of mass destruction really - cutting out old door frames, seised bolts, tree roots etc.

What did you intend using it for?

A good cordless probably would be - Makita, Blue Bosch, DeWalt but you are talking a lot of money.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Most of this is covered here:

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general, I find them useful sometimes. They can cut in places that you would find difficult by other power tool means.

The Axminster white one is ok ish, it has a hex head machine screw and Allen key for blade change though which is PITA. It does have enough power though, and takes cheap standard blades.

Probably - but only if buying a top end branded one.

Reply to
John Rumm

It happens that Stephen formulated :

Aldi had one on special offer a few weeks ago at around £25, if you don't mind cheap and cheerful. The still had some left last time I was there and the price had been reduced to £20. I bought one and they seem good enough - variable speed, complete with several blade types. I managed to saw through a 5" diameter tree trunk several times without too much difficulty to enable it to be disposed of.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Stephen coughed up some electrons that declared:

Ask a plumber - seems to be a required and compulsory use bit of kit, based on looking at the "notches" in my joists.

:)

Reply to
Tim S

Hi John

Funny, my experience with a succession of el cheapos leaves me prefering the hex head machine screw method for blade change.

You're right it can be a PITA, but at least the blade stays put! The cheapies I've had with Q/R blade change have been a bigger PITA because it kept falling out. The best cheapie I've had is a SF Titan, lasted longer than the others & the blade stays in place.

I guess a better brand would have a better Q/R blade system, but I rarely used a recip saw so I've never bought a decent one.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

I have a feeling when we wrote that FAQ, the option of QR blade change was limited to the more expensive tools anyway.

The mechanism on mine is ok, but still lets go from time to time.

The fact that you have been through more than one would suggest that your usage is not that infrequent! I am still on my first.

Reply to
John Rumm

The only thing I find a saber saw useful for is to cut apart old pallets for firewood.

They do not make accurate cuts and vibrate like crazy.

I have the Ryobi One+ saw with Lithium-Ion batteries. (£50 for the saw, £150 for

2 batteries and charger) The batteries get sucked dry in about 5 minutes or less.

For general DIY use, I would go for a circular saw and a jigsaw if you need one. Rechargeable is nice, but expensive. A good rechargeable drill is worth it weight in gold.

If you get cheap rechargeable stuff, from B&Q for instance, be prepared for the batteries to die in about a year or less and to be no longer available. BTDTGTTS

Just my 2p worth. Rick... (The other Rick)

Science and sound engineering will always prevail in the end "for nature cannot be fooled" [Feynman]

Reply to
Rick... (The other Rick)

It happens that Stephen formulated :

Aldi had one on special offer a few weeks ago at around £25, if you don't mind cheap and cheerful. The still had some left last time I was there and the price had been reduced to £20. I bought one and they seem good enough - variable speed, complete with several blade types. I managed to saw through a 5" diameter tree trunk several times without too much difficulty to enable it to be disposed of.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

My Aldi one has just had its first session of cutting steel - several lengths of Dexion in fact. It has a QR blade system and I not had the blade come out once. It has quite a strong spring on the chuck and is quite hard to turn just by force of hand.

Must say I am quite impressed with it and how useful it is, but it is my first one.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Rick... (The other Rick) brought next idea :

I reckon to be able to make a fairly accurate square cut free hand without marking up - when using a hand saw. My (Aldi) was as accurate as I would expect to cut by hand. I had no trouble with vibration, but it does need to be held tight up against the item being cut.

Too be fair I would not expect batteries to last long, they are an high current application very different from a battery drill.

I now have mine permanently set up along side my vice where there is power.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

It depends, as ever. I have a Ryobi 18V sabre saw, it works well for my uses, and I've used it for pruning as well as for rough cutting and for slicing up an old water tank. It was fine for most purposes but the need to swap batteries on long jobs can be a pain. OTOH the batteries are essential for me because there's a long way from the top of my land to the bottom (around half a mile) so an extension lead is out of the question.

Reply to
Steve Firth

I have the same one, I've found it brilliant for all sorts of jobs where I'd have previously struggled with a bare hacksaw blade. Latest one was cutting holes in the back of the new kitchen cupboards to get the Miele hoses with their damned big non-return valves through.

Reply to
pcb1962

I thought they were volume limiting rather than just non-return valves, which gives more excuse for the size.

Reply to
Jon Fairbairn

Jon Fairbairn coughed up some electrons that declared:

Nearly - they are an electric valve and the hose is a hose within a hose, with a water leak sensor in the outer hose. So if the inner hose springs a leak, the valve is shut off. I suspect, though I don't think it says explicitly in the brochures, that is the machine detects it's full when it shouldn't be, that the valve is is shut off too.

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S

. [Miele hoses]

Ah, so that's what they mean by "waterproof hose"! I did wonder...

Reply to
Jon Fairbairn

Thanks for the replies. I was asking about battery powered ones simply because the Wickes web site says they are selling a battery one, however reading the small print you only buy the shell and have to buy the battery and charger separately, so I assume that doubles the price. Previously Wickes' tools had a good reputation. Who is making them this year? The old Kress range seems to have gone and the new range is cut back.

Why should a saw be different to a drill? Is it run time or is it current? Portability of battery powered tools is nice, especially as these seem to be used when no other saw can reach or get to the job.

Reply to
Stephen

It's a good while since I looked at them, but I don't think this is true. Selling the tools and batteries separately is a plus IMO as it lets you choose the combination that is right for you - one tool + multiple batteries or multiple tools + one battery.

Reply to
Tony Bryer

The Wickes blue range battery tools are all 33% off until Sunday (in store and on the website).

A lot of the pro stuff is still Kress. They've just updated the models and changed the colour scheme from blue/grey to red/grey.

Reply to
mike

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