Manufacturer
Model
Category
Power(watts)
Weight(kg)
E.R.P. (Inc G.S.T.)
Hitachi
CR13VBY
1150
4.8
$0
Metabo
PSE1200
1200
4.2
Jepson
J8012K
800
3.8
Makita
JR3050T
1010
3.5
Millwaukee
SSPE1000QX
1000
4.1
AEG
US1300XE
1300
For comparative purposes we have generally placed tools in the following categories. Light Duty, Trade Duty or Industrial Duty however some tools may need to cross over between categories. Click here for an explanation of these categories.
In Brief. Reciprocating saws are a mostly heavy duty hand-held cutting tool, ideal for construction & demolition work. They are also useful for cutting steel & plastic pipes & are widely used within the renovating field. The amount of vibration output by these saws can add to excessive operator fatigue (some sooner than others). For this reason, if you are purchasing one of these saws you should consider the purpose of & frequency of which you intend to use the tool. For workplace health & safety reasons, we advise that you wear earmuffs & safety glasses when operating a reciprocating saw. The reciprocating saw draws its name from the cutting action in which the motor activates the blade across the material. Three out of the five machines tested provided the option of selecting an ‘oscillating’ action. This is also referred to as ‘swing’, ‘orbital’ or ‘pendulum’. When oscillation is selected, the blade moves in an oval pattern up & down, as well as back & forth. This setting greatly reduces the cutting time through the material, & forces excess sawdust away from the operation. On the down stroke, the action of the blade moves well away from the material when the oscillating setting is used. This gives the blade some time to cool & also reduces blade wear. Keep in mind that you do sometimes loose a certain degree of accuracy & finish when using the oscillating setting. The blade on a reciprocal saw is usually inserted with the teeth facing downwards. If you need to cut in an upwards motion (for example, to cut a door frame out of a wall cavity) the blade can be inserted with its teeth face up. When cutting through wall cavities, the blade guide can be extended effectively shortening the blade. This allows the operator to cut out one side of a wall whilst leaving the opposing side intact. If the blade begins to wear you may sometimes extend the blade depth guide to counteract this. This allows a fresh section of blade to be exposed to the material. The depth guide (or foot) can sometimes be rested against the surface of the material for better control. The angle of the foot is also adjustable. What We Did. To give these saws a good workout, the tester selected a section of seasoned Australian hardwood 40mm thick & 150mm deep. We used a yellow general purpose wood & metal cutting blade. Although a little long for the task, this blade allowed us to better observe the cutting action. Firstly, we performed a cut using full speed, no oscillation & then a second cut using full speed & full oscillation. In each case, where we were able to use the oscillating action, it reduced the cutting time by at least half. During our testing process, we adjusted the depth of the blade guide in order to try & maximise the life of the blade. The photo below illustrates the blade wear after the very first test & then after the final test. All of the reciprocating saws reviewed came including a high quality carry case. A good case is important for this type of tool as you would hardly want a larger machine such as this loose in the back of your vehicle, or in amongst your other valuable tools.
In Brief. Reciprocating saws are a mostly heavy duty hand-held cutting tool, ideal for construction & demolition work. They are also useful for cutting steel & plastic pipes & are widely used within the renovating field. The amount of vibration output by these saws can add to excessive operator fatigue (some sooner than others). For this reason, if you are purchasing one of these saws you should consider the purpose of & frequency of which you intend to use the tool. For workplace health & safety reasons, we advise that you wear earmuffs & safety glasses when operating a reciprocating saw. The reciprocating saw draws its name from the cutting action in which the motor activates the blade across the material. Three out of the five machines tested provided the option of selecting an ‘oscillating’ action. This is also referred to as ‘swing’, ‘orbital’ or ‘pendulum’. When oscillation is selected, the blade moves in an oval pattern up & down, as well as back & forth. This setting greatly reduces the cutting time through the material, & forces excess sawdust away from the operation. On the down stroke, the action of the blade moves well away from the material when the oscillating setting is used. This gives the blade some time to cool & also reduces blade wear. Keep in mind that you do sometimes loose a certain degree of accuracy & finish when using the oscillating setting. The blade on a reciprocal saw is usually inserted with the teeth facing downwards. If you need to cut in an upwards motion (for example, to cut a door frame out of a wall cavity) the blade can be inserted with its teeth face up. When cutting through wall cavities, the blade guide can be extended effectively shortening the blade. This allows the operator to cut out one side of a wall whilst leaving the opposing side intact. If the blade begins to wear you may sometimes extend the blade depth guide to counteract this. This allows a fresh section of blade to be exposed to the material. The depth guide (or foot) can sometimes be rested against the surface of the material for better control. The angle of the foot is also adjustable. What We Did. To give these saws a good workout, the tester selected a section of seasoned Australian hardwood 40mm thick & 150mm deep.
We used a yellow general purpose wood & metal cutting blade. Although a little long for the task, this blade allowed us to better observe the cutting action. Firstly, we performed a cut using full speed, no oscillation & then a second cut using full speed & full oscillation. In each case, where we were able to use the oscillating action, it reduced the cutting time by at least half. During our testing process, we adjusted the depth of the blade guide in order to try & maximise the life of the blade. The photo below illustrates the blade wear after the very first test & then after the final test. All of the reciprocating saws reviewed came including a high quality carry case. A good case is important for this type of tool as you would hardly want a larger machine such as this loose in the back of your vehicle, or in amongst your other valuable tools.