My faithful old Porter-Cable reciprocating saw made a most ugly and scary zapping sound, then emitted an equally evil burnt electrics smell today. :'( Fortunately it was on the next to last cut of the project so I finished up with a hand saw. :o
So I was wondering what you folks might like and recommend and/or hate and wouldn't wish upon your worst enemy. I do want a corded tool. I don't use it enough to want to worry about batteries. $100 to $150. Thanks.
Dewalt DW304 $99.99 Good tool, easy blade change setup, variable speed trigger. We have two , maybe it's 3 :-/ , being a remodeling company they get used a lot.
G/L PEG
There is not a tool that will compare to the versatility of the Porter Cable Tiger Claw. I don't care what brand it is or how long it last. It looks much like the plain Porter Cable recip saw but it's blade rotates 360 degrees and it's gear housing rotates over 180 degrees.. There is not a corner you can't cut your way out of. Spend the extra hundred bucks... You can thank me later. :)
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00005Y3Z5.01-A3TQ3OIW6NTQKL._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-9740-Tiger-Variable-Reciprocating/dp/B00005Y3Z5
Your sure easy with spending other folks money Glenn , you running fer office ;D
I don't like the quick releace on the PC saws , it's sort of hard to get yer fingers in and twist with gloves on. Other than that it's a good saw , they should fit that >:(
I love spending other peoples money and when I spend mine, I have to pretend I'm somebody else. Once you have tried this saw you will wonder how you ever got along without it.
Thanks PEG and Glenn.
I'll have a look-see in a day or two at a few vendors around here... have to feel it in my hands, etc.
Glenn's already got me drooling over the PC (I really liked my old PC) but I don't plan on using it as much as I used the old one. ::) ... famous last words.
I think I've seen the DeWalt at a friends... has a pivoting lift up thing for blade change? Man was I surprised when I saw that! Too cool; probably goes to show how old my saw was. I stopped looking at tools I already had years ago cuz I could always find a reason to "need" the latest advances. :)
I'll have to wonder till they change that blade lock dealie , at least ;DI'm sure it's a fine saw, maybe the company will buy one , but they're so tight they squeek about "excessive " sawsall blade consumtion ::)
Dang, PEG -- how many thumbs do you have anyway? :)
I never wear gloves so I don't have a problem with it.
Wife likes rough hands -- says it makes her think I'm a real man. :)
Tell the company this saw will save blades because you won't have to twist them around so bad they break to get into tight places. ;D
Yes Don the blade release dealie flips up , I generally run my blades what most people would call backwards , with the teeth facing up as you look at the saw when held normally, puts the teeth where they should be.
I don't break that many blades Glenn I wear the teeth off of um ;)
Just a small rant as a tool got broken last week and the boss man said it was" tough $hit "he wasn't paying for a new one. Hey $hit happens on a remodeling site !! So disreguard my rant, I'm almost over it >:( And it's the first tool that got broken by having something fall on it in the 5 years I been working for him , so it's not like tools are just ruined / broken on any regular / normal course of business. Maybe I'm not over it yet ::) Cheap SOB!
Sorry :-[
With the PC you could just turn the blade around the way you want it.
I don't give my guys a bad time when something gets broke-- things happen and sometimes I even break something myself.
I hate calling myself a cheap SOB. :-?
Yup or you could just install it teeth up to start out with , the blades will lock in either way. And like I said it's a fine saw , I just wouldn't spend a extra $100.00 for it. But I'm sure it would be handy once in a while.
And as far as callin yer self a cheap SOB , well we'll leave that one alone ;D Might be Sassy's job anywho ;)
What if you want the blade rotated 90 degrees and folded up in an L shape to miss something like a water pipe or some other weird position?
I like mine. :)
and .... how could I be called cheap -- I spent $100 extra for a saw -- maybe stupid but not cheap. :)
Ya got us there Glenn. :) I'll see what I decide and post a note. I'm sorta half cheap, but also own a number of top drawer things.
I don't really care if you buy a cheap saw, Don. I just wanted you to know about this one.
You don't really realize you need it until the time comes, but I know the next time you will realize you should have bought it. It will be when you are in a jamb and realize that that saw would have got you out of it.
Sorry 'bout that, Don -- just had to predict your future there. :)
You have to admit-- it does look handier than pockets in your underwear. :)
I DO appreciate the input; without it I probably wouldn't have stumbled across the PC myself. Lots of places to buy tools from around here but the PC can not be found without a drive across town. The DW is listed as avail at both of my local HomeDepots for $97. :-/
Maybe the wind will pickup tomorrow and I'll forgo trying to deal with metal roof panels and take a drive instead. :) I don't usually hope for the wind to blow; 70 degrees today. :) Was windy all last week until Monday
That saw is not stocked at very many places.
I have to admit, I lusted after that saw the first time I saw it's picture, Don. I kept thinking about it , longing for it and wanting nothing more than to meet it in some dark corner in a tool room to silently but forcefully push it's buttons and twist it's joints.
Something about it just made me want it enough to drive clear into town to the nearest White Cap and purchase the last one they had in stock. I really do love it. :-[
Interesting your "profile " would indicate a very complusive fedish to use tools and drive Bobcat's to build weird / unique structures!
This could turn into a problem if a intervention is not forced on you soon, in fact it could be to late ;D
Alas, my friend -- the time for salvation is behind me. I have already gone past the point of no return and I have no Get Out of Jail Free card.
Quote-- the time for salvation is behind me.
Nah it's never to late fer that ;) Right Sassy!
Tools, PEG, tools. ;D
Always lookin for a loop hole eh ;D
'scuse me PEG while I slip out the side door. :-/
After a couple phone calls I drove all the way across town and fondled the PC variable angle reciprocating saw. ;D What a jewel! BTW,there's a new model, #9750. You can twist that thing around till it looks like you broke it. :) $220.
I commented that it was a beaut but wasn't sure if I wanted to spend that kind of money. Stan said wait a sec, walked into the back and returned with a newly received factory refurbished PC 9740.
I've bought a couple of refurbished angle head grinders a few years ago from him and they still work well.
I asked if he had something handy that I could cut up. With the PC twisted up I test cut a piece of 4x4 redwood.
I paid him $129.99 for it. ;D
I'm looking around here for stuff to cut up. ::)
Can I gloat now? ::)
...and you got a bargain to boot. Now you see what I mean. ;D
You deserve your gloat. :-[ It is an absolutely marvelous tool. I'm much happier with the deal I got on it than I would have been buying a new one though. ;D ;D Gotta wonder what I would have done. :-/
I said that because I cut out the entire front door of the underground complex with it and when my 4070 door got too close to the log above I just twisted the motor out of the way and kept cutting not to mention that I was able to keep it at the optimum comfort angle by readjusting around the entire oval of the door. The entire cut was on about a 20 degree angle to be self tightening as the door closed tighter.
It was about 18 feet around that thing and there was no other easy way to cut out a 4" thick 400 lb door - hinges were on before it was cut loose.
(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/7b14.jpg)
Since then the saw has got me out of many a tight spot.
Nice door!
Somehow I don't think the 18v Dewalt (non-twisty kind) could do that. Although I do use it fairly often.
I was going to ask what the other side looked like, but if it's 400 pounds, all the bracing and support are probably built in.
I have the 18v DeWalt. I'd have got a few feet or so until dead battery. :-?
These were first cut slabs from incense cedar so they had big lop sided butts. :) I got the door idea because I had recently cut the center one and wanted to find a place to put it to use. I scrounged through the scrap pile at my sawmill and found 4 more pieces to go with it and I had enough for the door. Average of the thickness is 4" but the bottom of the center slab is 10" thick. I planed the edges then glued and doweled them together. It was so heavy it took 3 of us to get it into place before it was cut out.
I made the hinges with adjustment in them for future shrinkage - the wood was a bit wet. After the cut was made on the hinge side I fastened them in place and then cut out the rest of the door. It was the only way I could think of to keep it all together and in line.
The door latch mechanism is all made of wood except for the shaft that goes through from the front to the back door handles - it is steel. I of course had to make the entire latch.
The cut wasn't perfect but then again - this is rustic - it didn't have to be.
(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/inner20front20entrance.jpg)
Yes, we love rustic!
I love that door, Glenn! Superb! 8-)
Don't get a swelled head over all the praise now. ;D
QuoteI made the hinges with adjustment in them for future shrinkage -
Yes, you're not going to find a hinge for a door like that down at your local big box. :-/ And speaking of hinges, what did you use for the bearing surfaces. That's a large weight vector pressing down on what doesn't appear to be a very big area every time the door is opened and closed. It does open and close, doesn't it? [smiley=laugh.gif] [closeup picture?]
I used the large farm gate hinge pins with about 6 inches of threaded rod sticking out the back to go through the door frame for a mount. 5/8 dia. I think. I made the rest. The first 2 years I had to readjust a bit but now it's pretty stable.
It will open and close with one finger.
Swelled head -- can't afford to -- I don't think they make larger hat sizes.
(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1010543_edited.jpg)
and the mechanism
(https://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/P1010544_edited.jpg)
Thanks for those extra pictures, Glenn. Looks great! 8-)
(Ooops there I go again)
Banding or (and/or) weatherstripping on the door edge????
I need something like that. Maybe either, maybe just weatherstripping.
I used gate hinges, but nothing that exotic.
(the picture that gave me the idea came from a fashion catalog)
It is refrigeration weather stripping left over from jobsite freezer doors at Safeway jobs etc. It comes in self adhesive strips - various widths and sizes. In problem areas a couple staples into the wood will keep it in place -
It was necessary due to shrinkage - it does a pretty good job.