What would you consider cordless run time as doing real work?

[B A R R Y]

1/2 way!

I do have a tool belt, complete with driver holster, but no suspenders.

[B A R R Y]

Tool belt, no suspenders at all.

I do have a NICE drill holster for ladder work.

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[Frank]

5A is very conservative for a corded saw, typically its 10A or more for a good saw like Milwaukee Super Sawzall or Porter Cable Tiger saw, both I have. The ampere rating is continuous at maximum speed and load, not lock rotor that could be a few time more than the rated current. Think of it this way, how much run time do you get from one size C battery? Connecting the batteries in series gives you more voltage, not longer run time. Amazing it could even run for 5 minutes at maximum load.

Try pruning a life tree branch about 6" to 8" in diameter with the recip saw and see how many cross cuts you could do with a single charge. I don't think you could do much more than 9 cross cuts with your XRP battery. Remember this is wet wood which requires more effort, not the dry 2x8 or 2x10s. FYI, I was cutting eucalyptus with the Fire Storm (Black & Decker) FS760R 9" pruning blade.

I have the same recip saw. It's no corded tool, but the runtime is

[Mike Marlow]

I know holster, but what is this ladder thing you speak of?

[mac davis]

ok.. I guess a holster is acceptable... for roof work..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[mac davis]

like when you put something off? ;~)

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

[B A R R Y]

A levitating device!

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[B A R R Y]

Unless you've have 24+ years of "three points of contact" ladder training.

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[B A R R Y]

Will do, as I'm planning to do pruning next week.

I'm not familiar with the Firestorm blades, but I have some AWESOME pruning blades that are almost as good as my Sandvik folding pack saw. I've brought the saw with the killer blades to trail maintenance sessions with top notch results.

I have never seen a "Firestorm" product that impressed me.

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[Lew Hodgett]

"Firestorm", isn't that also known as "Junk"?

Lew

[B A R R Y]

I forgot to mention the blade!

Milwaukee 5016 "Super Sharp" They will easily cut skin if you're not careful mounting them on the saw. DAMHIKT These blades seem as sharp as a good Dozuki, to me. The tooth pattern does a great job of keeping the kerf clear in the green wood, and the body rarely pinches.

I often take the recip saw in my backpack, on mountain bike trail maintenance trips, as the cord doesn't reach into the woods. This blade kicks ass through live trees, dead fall, you name it. The folding saw I'm comparing it to is very stiff competition:

Years ago, I learned a hard lesson regarding marginal blades on cordless tools. All cordless tools come with crappy blades! I actually burned a 9.6v Makita circular saw up, totally destroying it, while using the stock blade for (1) 96" long cut in 3/4" BB plywood.=

The same saw, ok... the REPLACEMENT of that saw, would make 5-6 of the same cut using a Matsushita carbide blade on a single charge.

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[Woodie]

It's named after what happens when the tool meets moderately heavy use.

[Lee Gordon]

When I had some major pruning to do, I bought a pack of these genuine Milwaukee pruning blades at Coastal. They work great.

[B A R R Y]

Isn't it fantastic what a good blade does for battery life?

I gotta' get some of THOSE!

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[Frank]

Yes, I don't buy anything Black& Decker tools but those blades cut better and last longer than of my bi-metal Milwaukee blades for pruning. The B&D Workmate is an exception too. I once had a B&D worm drive circular saw that looks exactly like my Skil HD77 - that was a great saw.

[B A R R Y]

I like my Workmate, too.

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