Sawzall Blades have never been cheap, but lately it seems like the price has skyrocketed. Or maybe it is because I have more workers using em up faster.
I’ve always tried to buy’em at supply houses, like Carlson Systems, Western fastener, Empire Staple, etc. because the big boxes charge so much for them.
Does anybody know of an online or other seller that sells the good milwaukee blades, or even lenox, for a reasonable price?
Thanks
Replies
Ebay if you can find them in quantity.
Few at a time the shipping eats the savings.
Joe H
I resharpen my 12 pt or less blades 5 to 10 times, till they get too narrow. Never tried it on metal cutting or finer than 12 pt blades though.
Small bench grinder with 1/4" wide AlO2 wheel dressed to a sharp point. Just do it by eyeball, OK for demo or rough work. Does anybody use a sawzall for finish work??
Sawzall blades are overpriced, in general.I wish you had mentioned the sharpening tip a few years ago when I used to use them. I never really went through a lot of them but I probably would have preferred to keep my blades sharper. In my early days when we used all steel saw blades (for the power saw) I often hit them twice a day. I love a sharp steel blade with a little pointed tip.
JH, you're a veritable fountain of arcane knowledge. Tip of the hat for another excellent, money saving answer.
1/4" wide AlO2 wheel dressed to a sharp point
P.S. What kind of wheel is that and what do you use to dress it?
Edited 10/27/2009 11:33 am by Hudson Valley Carpenter
>>>P.S. What kind of wheel is that and what do you use to dress it?I think he means Aluminum Oxide (white stones, IIRC). It's hard to show subscripts for chemical elements.Scott.
Amazon runs specials every now and then. I picked up alot of Milwaukee blades when Lowes lost its contract to sell Milwaukee- I basically went to all the stores in my area and bought up every pack of blades I could find as they were marked down insanely low...
I don't know what they cost compared to other blades off the top of my head but Home Depot has a sawzall blade that is carbide tipped called a "Diablo-with liquid metal technology" . Durability is off the charts for me. Literally 5:1
Naive but refreshing !
We have had very good luck with the Hilti blades. Don't know ifthey can be gotton online, but contact you Hilti man!!!
Price are right also!
We go through maybe 5-6 hundred a year. Last I checked they were under a $1!
Edited 10/27/2009 9:37 am ET by frammer52
I buy ten packs of Blu-Mols (at Home Depot) or Cobalts (at Lowes) and the price seems pretty reasonable to me. I typically keep small and large metal cutting and small and large wood cutting on hand. Last I rememeber the small blades were around $12 and the larger ones around $15.
Do you buy your tools at a real tool store? Does your supply house sell tools? Do you use a rental company?
I ask, because those guys often have company reps drop off sample blades to pass out. I have been able to make a significant dent in my blade purchases with these free samples.
There are two other practices of mine that have reduced my blade use.
The first was getting a saw thqat did NOT require a tool to change blades. It's no a snap to change blades, put the right blade in.
The second was to .... ready for this ... always have an assortment of blades. Have the right blade available. No more trying to cut a pipe with a wood blade, because that's all I have.
A lot of the real tool stores are gone now. I don't use rental companies much now that I'm self employed. Since working for myself, I have no shop or office, and my jobsites are in people's homes. Gone are the days of rep's stopping by a busy job site. I did just miss an Irwin rep who was passing out freebies at a major apartment overhaul.
I have learned the lesson about using the right blade for the job. My latest trouble is having employees who are still green. I used to just have all the blades in one drawer, but may have to allocate only the blades suitable to the task at hand.
I turn my back for ten minutes, and they've runined four blades, usually breaking the tang. Our next safety meeting is going to be about blades and sawsalls.
Fire the greenhorns and hired skilled labor.
Naw, they're good guys and they're learning. They just make the mistakes that all kids make when they do more acting than thinking. We've all been there. Watching these guys learn and grow over the years has been interesting. And it's only been two years.
We have a nice balance between old pros and greenhorns. And we have to keep somebody around to dig the egress windows.
Check amazon, they usually have bulk packs, 50 or 100 count of lenox and milwaukee, though it's been a while since I've ordered.
I don't know what you guys are talking about. Don't you get the ones with the "special coating"? That layer of paint makes all the difference!
I did ckeck Amazon and they offer http://amzn.com/B000E8BF98 .
Thanks to all for the tips.
My post was partly a rant, partly serious. I checked out Ebay, and there are some good deals there for certain. One seller has free shipping. I also might try the amazon blades. I've started using only the higher end blades from Milwaukee, as they seem to last longer, and are harder to break.
I never thought of sharpening them, and certainly wouldn't have known to use AlO2 wheels.
Thanks to all.