Going through some older posts, I was amazed at how some folks were so impressed with the Porter Cable articulating saw. This seems to have changed in more recent posts with complaints ofexcessive vibration to one poor guy nearly getting hurt when his saw greneded on him!
I don’t see alot of folks using Bosch recip saws…
Makita had little to no respect in the reciprocating saw category until the AVT 15 amp saw came out. Now it seems like this is the saw to buy. Home Depot marking them down to 99 dollars didn’t hurt either, I suppose…(I know I bought one!)
Dewalt saws seem disposable. No one seems to show alot of love for this brands offerings…(I have the 18 volt cordless and hate it. Seems to have one speed…)
Milwaukee of course has many loyal followers (Myself included) while alot of you voiced disatisfaction with the move to orbital action, citing reliability issues.(Haven’t had any problems with mine yet)
Ridgid seems to have few users here, Kinda like Ryobi and craftsman,
So, where do you stand? What brands do you own now? What brands did you own previously? What made you change? What are your likes and dislikes with the various saws you have used in the past or present?
Replies
I'm patiently waiting for my Dewalt to die. I don't care for the blade quick-change mechanism, especially in comparison to my cordless Makita saw.
But my $100 Dewalt seems immortal, which is strange, especially considering my careless - nay, abusive - treatment of it.
I've got a Super Sawzall that ate the worm gear..still in pcs. in the nice metal case..maybe 20 yrs old? Not touched in 10.
A PC Tiger saw that just keeps on truckin..the blade holder got iffy, needed some oil.
And unlike some others, I love my DW 18V cordless, I mean sometimes it makes sense ( like conduit in a trench, or fallen tree branches) to grab it and get it done.
It ain't so much the saw as the blade choosen IMO. I can do magic with a good Lennox or one I re-made for my use. You can rewhittle them until ya get into the softer metal..a dremel or a thin grinding disc have saved me many a blade.
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Had a cheap Makita for about ten years till I killed it. Was glad when I did, as the chuck was a real PITA.
When I went shopping a couple of years ago, I was determined not to get the makita again, but the AVT won me over. It's been good. I have the heavy duty one. It weighs a ton, but that weight helps a lot of times, I think it makes the orbital action work better because of the inertia of the saw itself due to the mass. I like the chuck, but it's been letting go of the most recent blade I've had in it when pinched. Not sure if it's a blade problem or a chuck problem.
My partner has a cheap dewalt that is good for when you need something light, but without the orbital action, it's pretty slow sometimes. Other partner has cheapest milwaukee. It's OK, but the stroke is awfully short, and again, light and no orbital action.
Steve
Edited 1/17/2009 12:54 pm by mmoogie
My AVT lets go of certain blades too, particularly dewalt blades. Milwaukees... no problem. Only thing I don't like about the saw.
>>particularly dewalt blades.<<That's what mine's been letting go of too. The hole in the tang looks a bit small to my eye. I've had good louck with the milwaukee blades too. I'll have to go back to them.Steve
I love the 4 way blade holder on my $79 dewalt - the same one is on their 36v model.
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Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
I just replaced my Hitachi with a new Mil.
Loved the Hitachi. (20 years old and still ran fine but the clip blade anchor broke and the hex screw (the 5th or sixth one) was getting annoying. The mil has been ok
i like the saw and how it handles but the quick change mechanism is sticky, sometimes needs a pliers to break it loose and sometimes drops the blade.
I was expecting more from the quick change blade assembly
It's been said a squirt of lube in the nose remedies that situation.
I've a little deWalt that sits in it's case covered in dust that never sees the ight of day. The Milw SS goes with me wherever as the go-to machine.
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I did try the lube thing and it help'd a little. Still not like new though.
I have a 20+ year old Makita that just won't die, needs an allen wrench to change blades. Clacks when it runs, but that doesn't seem to affect the performance. I use it for all abusive work (like any sawsall work isn't abusive!)
I bought a PC to replace it, quick change blade holder, I really like this saw.
And I have a cordless Dewalt that I use for convenience, and I love it as well.
In 35 yrs, I've only managed to kill one sawsall9Not for lack of effort though LOL)
John Svenson, builder, remodeler, NE Ohio
only one?!For a while I was averaging 4-5 years.
But I was doing some pretty heavy demo for that period.I should be set for life now ( knock on wood) I have a PC with the old allen set blade lock that is about ten years old now. I got to figuring that it must be on its last legs two years ago. It had already blown up the front end during the first year while still on warrantee and they replaced that free. ( my previous was a Bosch that I smoked from overwork) Anyways, figuring the current PC was old enough to retire, I saw a Rigid on sale for 89 while I had a coupon for $20 off my next purchase over $75but I don't like the blade clamp on it. Let's loose of the blade when ever the going gets hard.So then I picked up another PC on sale, but I haven't used it but a couple times when we needed several saws running all week.
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The one I killed was a B&D.Believe me, I've done tons of demo and roofing work my whole career.One tool that I feel has saved my sawzalls, is an old Skill worm drive I bought used in 1977. I took off the guard (I know.....) and have used it for cutting through roof and deck. I used to use a negative rake 6 or 8 tooth carbide. The reason for taking off the guard is that it would clog up with tar.I still have that saw, I'm the only one I allow to use it.Oh yea, you don't want to be standing in a puddle with that saw!John Svenson, builder, remodeler, NE Ohio
I hate my Milwaukee with the all-metal housing -- sooner or later I'm gonna get electrocuted -- but it won't quit so that I can buy a new one.
Got it used in '75 or '76...
Aitchkay
Had an old Milwakee (spelling?) that broke but was reliable for a long time got it used. When it broke 2.5 years ago I got a Bosch that lasted 2 weeks and bought a Hilti, the 12 amp (second down in the line). It's been a workhorse.
After many renos and demos I've never been able to kill my old B&D Industrial recpro saw bought in 85/ 86? I've changed the allen blade screw more times than I can remember and maybe the cord once. It continues to work like the first day I removed it from its steel case.
I've got an 18V Milwaukee that comes in real handy as long as the blade is sharp. Pushing a dull blade kills the battery real quick. The removable foot is great for getting into tight spots.
I also have a newer Dewalt that I won in a golf . Being able to place the blade in different directions adds another dimension to the saw and occasionally I've used it to undercut a jamb with a fine finish, aka metal blade.
I have one made by Skil. I believe it has to be 30 years old. I retired it although it still works fine.
You could at least 2 position the blade; maybe 4 I forget.
That's what I like about my corded Dewalt. The four position blade.
Milwaukee, Milwaukee, next one will probably be Milwaukee.
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I used to use Milwaukees, then bought a PC tigersaw, now I have a Makita 18V.
I don't use sawsalls much so the cordless works for me.
I've been using those eighty dollar DeWalts at work for several years. Good saw, light on whistles, but it gets the job done. Picked up a Skil 7.5A at a pawn shop a year ago for about $25. It doesn't get a whole lot of use, but it works fine for the few times I've really needed it. The blade change bugs the heck out of me after using that quick change DeWalt for so long. Other then that, it's been there when I needed it. The older Milwuakees were good saws, I work with a guy who has had the same one for years, and it gets a lot of abuse and keeps asking for more. That might be my next one if I cant find the corded hatchet saw when the time comes to get one. My cordless Milwaukee is really too slow for the orbital action to make any noticable difference, but for light duty I really like it (its way past its prime, and I got it used). DeWalt cordless is also a personal favorite, plenty of rpm's. The pawn shops are always full of recips at a cheap price around here. When it's time, I'll just pick up whatever is there that I like and has the best price tag.
i have a couple porter cable ones and the tiger saw... never had an issue I have had a few dewalts die on me... All mine are pawnshop buys and never more than $35 so ... hard to complain
p
Sorry to see in the last couple of posts people talking about pawnshop buys. Anytime I've ever heard of a jobsite shed being broken into and stripped of 1000's of dollars worth of tools; they were only recovered when they showed up in a pawn shop. I don't encourage thieves and tell my guys the same.
your generalization of pawnshops is very uninformed at least here in TN... as the past president of the pawn brokers board... in the state of TN valid photo ID is required with every pawn... as are good serial numbers on each item... these are reported electronicly to the police every business day... pawn brokers are required to hold each item for 60 days.... in 20 years as a pawnbroker with sometimes as many as 3 stores and several million dollars out in pawns we averaged less than 5 stolen items per year per store... most of those being crackhead kids who took something from mom or dad or the guy next store...
now that you know the facts maybe you won't speak until you know what you are talking about....
when i was involved in the day to day running of the stores we averaged a 84% redemption rate... meaning 84% of what was pawned to us was picked up by the person who pawned it....
if your goods are stolen the BEST chance you have of getting them back is if they ARE pawned...
crews would come into town... to put in pallet racks in million sf warehouses... they'd hire locals... buy all new hammer drills and tools... at the end of the job they'd pawn/sell them to us... it was cost effective for them to buy new at every job... all federal jobs seem to have a tool allowance... again new tools for the job... sell em when they were done...
yesterday... i purchased a wagner 17ft multi ladder from a pawnshop for $49... the place was full of 10 & 12inch miter saw for less than $40ea... i also got a rockwell duel tank air compressor 4.4cfm for $60 and a 6ft fiberglass step ladder for $20... went down the road to the outlet store and got my little girl a northface jacket for 4.94 and a commerical fry pan for 3.98... i guess someone robbed someones kitchen and closet so that i could do so....
when someone makes a statement with a broad brush they usually look like an idiot...
p
Sorry, I beg to differ.
Here the pawnshops have similar requirements, as well as a requirement to submit an inventory daily of their 'purchases.'
Still, the chances of the victim recovering proven stolen goods from a pawn shop are poor. The pawn shops do all they can to prevent this, attempting to recover their money. They simply will not return the stolen goods to the owners.
I am even aware of one instance where the owner pursued the thief to the pawn shop, attempted to block the sale unsuccessfully ... filed the appropriate paperwork ... and still failed to recover the stolen goods.
Pawnshops may try to present themselves as legitimate businesses, but they are no fools. They 'know' their regular 'vendors' are up to no good, but have lobbied rules whose first goal is protecting their interests. They have not a care that goods supplied may be stolen, and even less interest in returning them to their rightful owners.
Of course, the rules do have an effect. That effect has been the sprouting of 'sell it on the internet' storefronts everywhere. Such businesses do not need to meet pawnshop rules. In my own personal experience, the local 'internet' operation closed as soon as I shut down the local dope house. Coincidence? I think not.
might be different where you are... It's just not as you say Here... it's so easy for someone to sell stolen stuff on the street... to a junk store... flea market ect... Vs take'n to a pawn shop where there is paperwork and documentation....
one of my pawn shops was robbed... police recovered my stuff ....guns... that was 7 years ago i have yet to get it back from the police .... another time one of my shops was robbed... police cought em a few miles away... i went to the place they cought em... all my jewlery was there i saw it...... next day... "we didn't recover any jewlery" was the police story.... SO i can say from experience that the police have converted as much of my stuff.... to their stuff as have thieves...
recovered stolen stuff.... i guess just doesn't make it back to the one it got stolen from...
there is little a pawn shop here can do to prevent a stolen item from being recovered... the police have to recover it for the person... and yes if jr stole it from MOM then MOM has to press charges against JR... or there was no crime...
p
So isn't that good that they showed up in a pawn shop and were recovered?
I know the pawnshops around here are pretty stringent about ID and serial numbers and working with the police. I havn't bought anything in a pawnshop for years, but when I 1st started out, I picked up a few good tools there as it was the only place I could afford.
I also know that there was a time when I was completely broke and as much as it pained me that's where I went with some of my tools, to get some money. And I'm not a thief.
Maybe in someplaces pawnshops are really bad, or maybe I'm just naive.
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Edited 1/22/2009 12:42 am by alrightythen
I just noticed that Dewalt has stolen Porter Cables orbital action for its DW 311 saw. Basically a rebadged PC 9748 with a yellow casing instead of gray. Oh, its 13 amps instead of 11.5 . It also has a twist lock blade clamp instead of the typical lever style typically used by Dewalt. At least Dewalt is benefiting from this merger. Porter Cable hasn't.
Interesting to note that the PC 9748 is identical to the Metabo PSE 1200
50th anniversary super sawzall ......... like it, no complaints. It replaced a Tiger Saw which was a cuttin' fool (aggressive) but it literally shook a couple of fillings out of my teeth. If I were in the market today it would be a tough call after spending some time with the Makita JR3070CT.