What are the pro's and con's of a shorter stroke (3/4" vs 1.25") and how does the orbital action feature work (and why whould I want it) ???
I'm looking at a Milwaukee 6509-xx (where xx is a number like 20, 21,
22). Anyone know the exact differences between these model numbers?I'm looking at the Milwaukee because it seems to have the least amount of play or wobble in the blade and the shaft mechanism vs other saws.
How about Milwaukee????
Longer stroke comes w/ the orbital and is more aggressive. Orbital doesn't come w/ the 6509, however.
The -20, -22 determine accessories w/ the basic saw -- iirc, the -22 is w/ case, -20 w/o. I think the -21 is no longer available but don't recall precisely what was the difference...
And, of course, you can cut wood w/ a Sawzall-type tool, but one could hardly call it "woodworking"...
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-20 is the saw and one blade
-21 is the saw, carrying case, and two blades
-22 is the saw, carrying case, and one blade
A Sawzall is a construction and demolition tool, not a precision tool. No matter what you do to it it's not going to give you the same kind of smooth cut as a Bosch or Festool jigsaw. The longer stroke gives faster cutting, so does the orbital action. Both are generally desirable features--the one downside to the longer stroke is that you need more clearance behind the piece being sawn.
The immediate con to a 3/4" stroke over the 1/25" stroke is that it will cut most effeminately through 3/4" thick or less material. The 1/25" stroke lets that happen up to 1.25" thick. If the stroke is shorter than the thickness your are cutting, some teeth never get to come out of the wood and clear.
My recip saw does not have orbital motion. However, my jigsaw offers selectable orbital action and there is a huge difference in cutting speed with the orbital action engaged. The quality of the cut is noticeably lower with orbital strokes, but I don't see that as a problem for most recip jobs. If I were buying a new recip saw, I'd probably go for the saw that included an orbital stroke.
Yep, exactly, I have the selectable orbital on my jigsaw too, cuts rough but real fast with the orbital engaged, without I can get a clean cut that needs minimal sanding. My recip, does not have the orbital and only has a
3/4" stroke, it will go through anything I have tried (with the right blade), but the cuts are never real pretty anyway, and who cares it is a demolition tool and does the job.Leon wrote: ...
That's not really an issue when one considers the number of tuba-x material and thicker Sawzall's have zipped thru over the years...
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I have a (not Super) Milwaukee sawzall. It has two speeds and does the job. An orbital action and longer stroke makes a more aggressive (and wider for the orbital) cut. A shorter cut is useful if you want to prevent cutting too far into a wall. I really like my Sawzall and it has stood the test of nearly 20 years of occasional abuse. The extra features may come in handy, really depends on what you might need to do. I used a long blade on my sawzall to rip a log one time--a longer stroke is useful in removing waste quickly with less blade overheating. Milwaukee has proven to be a quality brand, especially with reciprocating saws. I have a Milwaukee corded electric drill that never quits. Atlas Copco (in Sweden) bought Milwaulkee in 1995.
All depends on what you are intending to use it for... If you are entirely (and I really mean entirely) using it for rough woodworking, demo and the like, then the orbital feature will cut faster, particularly with a coarse tooth blade. However, if you intend to do anything with thinner stock, or _EVER_ use it on pipe or sheet metal, you don't want the orbital action because you will fight it to the point you either botch the job, break the blade, or throw the whole thing in the nearest river, depending on your patience and temperament...
Though the (usually less expensive) non-orbital action doesn't cut as fast in thick wood, it is much more controllable in thinner stock, and with some finesse, you can use "metal" capable blades (10-15tpi) on thinner wood stock and get a passably smooth cut that requires little clean up, compared to any blade with the orbital action. You can also cut pipe (plastic and/or steel) much easier with a standard action and actually get away with cutting sheet metal in a pinch...
I originally bought a regular cutting saw (Makita), and a some time later, one that offered orbital action, which rapidly went to a friend as I just didn't like the feeling and comparatively limited uses I could put it to, compared to the regular cutting action.
Whatever you choose, if you're doing rough carpentry, after a while you'll wonder how you did without one...
--Rick
Easy enough to solve this problem. The PC Tiger Saw is one of the few tools they make I still like. I have been using the same one for several years now and it is IMHO as good as my old Milwaukee saws.
But the selling point is that is has orbital and non orbital variable speed blade motion.
I think it has a 1" stroke. With a 6 tooth bimetal in it and on "oscillating" it will chew through 2x12s, 16d nails and just about anything else you can get the blade on.
Robert
All the current model Super Sawzalls have a switch to turn orbital action on or off, so this shouldn't be an issue.
I have a Dewalt saw (it's about 6 or 7 years old) and I've really beat the shit out of it over time. Like when I'm shallow excavating an area by hand in clay soil with roots and I just plunge the saw into the ground and try to cut the roots and loosen the soil. The shaft is a little wobbly, but it was probably like that when new.
The reason for my question is that I have a 6" x 6" x 8ft spruce post set in concrete (7 years ago) and I'm just now getting around to extending my fence to that post. The post has pulled about 1.75" out of level at the top. I would have liked to cut a long, wedge-shaped piece first, but I don't have a bandsaw, and I don't think it would been practical to cut such a long piece on it anyways.
So I glued a 2x6 x 8' piece of (I think) pine to the post and now that the glue has cured (PL premium) I'm going to set up a couple of metal U-channel's on either side to act as a cutting guide and use my new Milwaukee saw to cut down the new wood to make the post straight and level. I'll have to do the same on the other side of the post (cut it down) to make the post square and level.
So it's not exactly demolition work. I want a nice controlled cut, hence why I was looking for a saw with little or no wobble in the blade, but was wondering about the shorter stroke and the orbital action. Since the Milwaukee 6509 doesn't have orbital action, that's ok because it's not something that I would want anyways (not for this job) but I guess it would have been nice if it had the regular 1.25" stroke. It'll just take twice as long to make the cut I suppose.
The 6509 also doesn't have a trigger lock, so I'll probably put a tie-wrap around the trigger during the cut.
It's a pain in the ass that the one I got (6509-22) came with the plastic carry case - which I have no need for but probably added an extra $10 to the price.
Cutting six inches deep the blade is going to flex and you won't get a square cut unless you're very lucky. Might be square enough for your needs though. I'd be very surprised if it gave a noticeably better cut than your old deWalt.
Some Guy wrote: ...
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It's certainly not the tool I'd pick for that job--I'd use the edge guide as suggested, but make the cut w/ the Skilsaw and then clean up the end w/ a handsaw.
I don't think you're going to get the quality of cut you're hoping for w/ the Sawzall, even w/ a guide and a fairly fine blade.
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And yet one with a longer stroke will cut faster.
Yes, but the standard 3/4" stroke certainly isn't really the "most effeminate" of cuts...that's the point that the ability to whack thru most anything pretty effectively really isn't greatly compromised w/ the shorter stroke--that every tooth doesn't clear the material surface isn't generally that much a limiting factor.
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Agreed, although sometimes a shorter shorter stroke is preferred when blade clearance is limited.
First off, let me correct my typo "effeminately" should have been "efficiently". The 1.25" stroke will more efficiently and more quickly cut material over 3/4" thick than a 3/4" stroke will. Whether that matters much to the user is a personal decision.
Sounds like you will be making a ripping cut? If so I doubt that you will be pleased with the result. I'll bet the blade will wander along the grain lines. You'd be better off with a hand powered, sharp! rip saw.
Pete Stanaitis
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Some Guy wrote:
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