What kind of saw do you use??? We have several different ones -(corded and battery).The baterry never seems to last and some of the others don't have enough power. But we have found one that have power and versatility to boot.Good for tight or awkward spots. Porter-Cable makes the saw but,I got our's at Sears. I don't know if they still carry it or not. The only drawback I have w/ it is the way the blade goes in. It has a 1/4 twist lock. But other than that the saw is a great tool to have.
I should have mentioned that the saw has 2 or 3 parts that turn in dirrerent positions like a 90 degree or whatever position you need. You can also rotate the blade.
Old school sawzall - reliable and works - keep extra pieces for the chuck or convert it to keyless.
Cordless milwaukee was awful (bad keyless chuck and poor battery life)
Cordless Ryobi - light duty, didn't last
Cordless Dewalt with AC adapters - much better than cordless milwaukee
Super Sawzall - Best one of all. LOTS of power, always better to get the cord out eventually.
Permalink Reply by Wes on February 14, 2011 at 10:10pm
We bought Lithium Ion 36v kit. Have had very good luck. I bought one for myself and use it frequently.
Pros-High power, fast blade speed, LIB batteries hold a charge in storage for a long time. Circ saw is very powerful and uses 7 1/4" demo blade. Much easier to lug around than the demo saw for shingle/plywood/light metal type cutting. Recip saw will handle any blade we've thrown at it. All tools have tool-free blade changes. Batteries have strong performance till full discharge.
Cons-Batteries can/will act up if left in sub freezing temps, very expensive to replace batteries and expect to replace before 5 years even if it's used very little, no a/c conversion kits available so far. A bit heavier than corded tools.
I agree one of each on the truck is a good plan if there is room. We replaced 18v NiMH's with a/c converters and are much more pleased with the new LIB.
We run with 24v Lithium Ion Ridgid reciprocators. They are great. Battery conditioning...battery conditioning...battery conditioning! Theycharge in less than ten minutes for about 60 minutes of run time. Really grat to have. We also carry Milwuakees. (plug-in type)
I have to be honest. If your breaking blades that frequently you are probably doing it wrong. We aced to see who could remove identical rooftops faster at our drills. The sawzall-in the right hands-wins every time from start to finish.
However, hardened points in the column are an obstacle. Vehicle knowledge becomes paramount when using a sawzall.