Reciprocating saws?

Question

What sort of tasks are these saws meant for? ie...what can they do that other saws cannot?

Answer 1

Reciprocating saws were introduced by Milwaukee Tool Mfg. Co under the trade name "Sawzall". All other brands of recip saws are commonly called sawzalls. It saws all. There are blades for everything, and regardless of what you need to cut, chances are, a sawzall will do it. Hard/soft metals,wood, nail-embedded wood, plastics, composites, even concrete type substances like cinderblock or stucco. They were designed to cut anything... and 99% of the time.. they do. A must for any serious do it yourselfer.
Circular saws were designed for use on flat, stable planes. They are useless if you cant place the work in front of you..For in place cuts, i.e. in the overhead or for non-flat surfaces where a circular saw becomes dangerously impractical, pros instinctively reach for a sawzall.

Answer 2

I needed to do a bunch of demo during a house renovation and bought a wired 10A Dewault Recip saw from the neighborhood Home Depot. To this day, I use it a lot. Since it was less than $90, I got my money's worth. It's been thru heck and keeps on going. The cord is a pain but it's a minor thing. A few months ago, I got a 24V Li-Ion Rigid cordless Recip saw. I do need to recharge the battery periodically but I love it. With charger and (2) batteries, it was nearly $200 so I'd better love it. It is cool to be cordless but for the money, the corded type is my first choice. If I had to buy my corded saw again, I would pay the extra $20 and get a Milwaukee. It's a bit more solid than the Dewault although both will last for years.

Answer 3

The blades range from about 4 inches to 10 inches in length... so you can literally get one that will cut deeper than any other saw, with the exception of a chain saw.

Reciprocating saws get a lot of use in demolition work... tearing out walls, etc. They can be used to cut wood, plastic, metal, depending on which blade you are using. You can even get a carbide blade to make quick work of steel pipe.

Ive used mine for cutting the exterior sheathing out of window and door openings, subfloor (even out from under a tub), to notch warped studs and floor joists prior to repair.... they are a very handy saw. You can reach into areas to cut with it, that you cannot reach with any other saws.

A few draw backs are that you cannot cut a square, even cut as well with a recripocating saw, as you can, say with a circular or table saw (the blade does move/bend)... what you are cutting needs to be braced/stable... the back and forth action of the blade can cause loose pipes, or studs to just swing back and forth with the blade.

Good Luck

Answer 4

Like others have said, primarily for demolition work. Hard to do any accurate cutting with these. I've removed tree stumps with mine. You dig a trench around the tree stump and when you uncover a root, get out the saw. No other way to tackle that job.

Answer 5

well, i would say that they arent only used for demolition
i used to work in the brick laying business and often times the only electrical tool we would need is makita ((very good brand) although i guess bosch is good too) circular saw to make the form for the arches needed to support the brick (the brick arches dont hold themselves up lol) and also to cut 2X4s to size for regular walls
the ppl that say its used mostly for demolition probably dont know how to use the circular saw as well b/c it is used on construction all the time when you really know how to use it.
it is dangerous though to use the circular saw in construction in some instances but that kinda depends on if you're a ditz or injury prone.
the circular saw is probably the second most important tool if you want to do some construction. first is hammer.


in short, circular saws reach where other saws cant and also are the cheapest to work with and to transport to distant locations. if you know how to use it, u only need to buy probably one more wood cutting saw, IF you do extensive do-it-urself work

Answer 6

also know as screw up saws ( the polite phrasing for it )
used mainly for demolition,
cutting of pipe,
and general demolition work where a normal saw wouldn't do much less have the blade reach long enough like a circular saw.
indispensable in the construction industry, you see them on every job site and by almost every trade

Answer 7

Don't believe they are only good for demo work. They will cut anything, anywhere with the proper blades. They are a very handy tool like any other handy tool. When you need one, you need one. In my business, mine mostly takes the place of a hacksaw.

Answer 8

They are great for demo work.Hard to get to spots. They are a must have tool and can cut anything almost anywhere.They can get where other saws cant,very rough and tough.

Answer 9

Good for getting into tight spaces that a circular saw might not be able to do........more for construction purposes then home DIY

Answer 10

they are tough saws. they can cut metal . wood ,plastic
over head, under the floor, pipes, joists, sheet rock
simply the best , but not too hard to work with .
need to practice, as they can cut you , they are very fast ,
one chrism ***, i cut some frozen ham,with my new saw
the wife wasn't happy ,but hey it was my chrism *** gift!!
i use mine every day
buy bosch ...........