[Hillard]

Looking to buy a cordless reciprocating saw. I've seen so many mixed reviews that
I just can't decide. Wife wants to use one for some wood projects, I want one for metal projects. I've seen the new Dewalt 60V brushless and I thought this has to be the one, but I've seen a couple bad reviews on it. They say battery life sucks. What do you have and do you like it? I don't want to buy a piece of crap and regret it later. Thanks.

[goatless]

I've never been a fan of the DeWalt sawzalls. They aren't as smooth as other brands. I've been a contractor for 25 years and I've used most brands.

I assume that you're intent on buying cordless? A sawzall isn't the type of tool that's well suited to cordless operation. I have one, but it's only for quick cuts or tough locations- for 95% of recip saw jobs I use a corded saw- better power, smoother operation and generally better, more solid feel… and the battery doesn't die right before I finish the cut.

[Big Mike]

I have a whole bunch of 20 volt Max Dewalt tools and they all work fine for me. I'm in the handyman business so maybe I'm not using the sawsall every day. But I can do a lot with it when I use it. The blade can even be installed two different ways. I'd give the Dewalt a thumbs up. The 20 volt batteries go a long time too.

[Hillard]

I'm not a contractor and it won't get used every day, but I still don't want a total piece of junk either. I am stuck on the cordless as there are times I'm going to want to use one not near an outlet. Plus I hate it when the cord gets in the way. My dad has a corded one and sometimes it's just a pain to deal with.

[necdb3]

x2 on dewalt thumbs up. I've had them for 10 years or so and work great. Kind of like the circular saw. It is great for smaller jobs but if you were framing a room, a corded one would be better.

[Interceptor]

Makita

[bankbook]

Been using Dewalt 20 ion this year. All so far excellent.

[1abagto]

Ridgid products have the lifetime warranty going for them, including batteries. Good luck in your search.

[77 TRASHCAN]

My experience with cordless sawzall's is that they can be used for small jobs, for short periods of time. I've had no luck using a cordless for very long. Gotta have a corded saw for big jobs.

[Jim Zeek]

Originally Posted by 1abagto

Ridgid products have the lifetime warranty going for them, including batteries. Good luck in your search.

^^^^^ I have the sawzall, circular saw, drill, impact driver and 1/2" impact gun. 5 pcs. come in a kit with bag. register them all and warranty for life.

[The Boss]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

Makita

I have the corded & cordless versions of these - very happy with both of them. The blade direction thing is pretty common and has been for years.

I'm pretty unhappy with the performance of the Dewalt tools I've had over the years. Like Jeremy, I use them every day but he uses them more than I do.

[FrankieT/A]

Originally Posted by 1abagto

Ridgid products have the lifetime warranty going for them, including batteries. Good luck in your search.

I'm a GC and pretty much exclusively used Dewalt. I like them but if I were to start replacing I would go with Rigid if for nothing else the lifetime warranty. And not for the tool but for the batteries. Dewalt batteries are a rip off as if there profit was not in tool but the batteries. If you buy Rigid make sure you register the tool. Keep in mind Rigid is over priced because of the warranty.

[hobbygto65]

I have a Rigid 18 volt drill I bought in 2007, batteries went bad last year and they replaced both no questions asked and there still warrantied.

[fyrffytr1]

I have an older Dewalt 18 volt Sawzall and a Porter Cable corded one. If it is a quick small job I opt for the Dewalt but for tough stuff I use the Porter Cable. I even use it with a pruning blade to cut tree roots if they are in the way of something I am doing in the yard. I tried doing that with the Dewalt and it just wasn't up to the task. Why not look for a used corded one and get a new battery powered one.

[nas t eh]

I have Ridgid both the smaller 12 volt lith/ion stuff and larger 18 volt stuff in both older style ni/cad as well as now some new 18volt lith/ion. It all works well. I have had batteries die and tools too and had them replaced under warranty, so mostly happy.

But they are making it harder to register the stuff.

Before it was mail in the IPC code from the box and a copy of the receipt.

Then it got easy, you could do it all online with the individual number code off of the receipt.

But lately they are rejecting the online registration saying they can't verify the receipt number. So you think your done, but you get a email a few weeks later saying the registration failed and now you have to do a print out of the failure notice and mail a copy of it with the original receipt(not a copy) to them. they have done it to me twice now and a friend as well all in the past few months.

I'm certain their plan is to make it difficult so you will give up or run out of time. Then you only have a 3yr warranty.

[1965gp]

I went with the Milwaukee brushless set up two years ago. Very happy so far.especially like that they have a small vac (think dust buster) that uses the same battery's- makes it easy for a quick clean up before the cruise).

[Will]

All the big electrical contractors around here buy Dewalt stuff. Don't know why....? So, that's what my van's filled with. The older 18V stuff worked fine and the new 20V stuff has better battery life, but when it comes to sawzalls I'll agree with above - good for fairly quick cuts but big jobs just suck the batteries dry too fast. As an electrician I'm mainly using it to cut a stud here and there, a piece of pipe or two, and sometimes drywall if I need to cut out a big patch.

I will say that the new Dewalt drills suck. They did away with the clutch in the chuck (probably because they failed all the time) and now it's some kind of torque sensing kill switch which that just turns off the motor when a certain torque value is reached. Lame.

[Mr Anonymous]

18v Dewalt, and use ONLY the XRP batteries. The standard batteries are crap. The XRP really last a long time. I heard thru a friend of mine that you can get 6 catalytic converters off before it goes dead.

[tigergto]

I have a Dewalt cordless and a Milwaukee corded. The cordless is great for the convience but the Milwaukee corded is the one I prefer for most jobs.

[Hillard]

Well I bought a Dewalt 20V. I've already used it on a small job and it worked great. Time will tell if I'm happy with it though.

Thanks for all the feedback!!!