flipper wrote:
well, i went out and got it. put the blade for metal in, pulled the
trigger, touched the blade to metal and bingobango the blade snapped
right in half.
put another blade in, tried to go at a piece of wood at a slight
angle, pulled the trigger, felt something wrong, stopped, looked at the
blade and twas bent to one side.
maybe it's the blades?
guess i'll go back and get some bimetal ones. see how they do.....

The problem is on the end of the saw opposite from the blade. You'll
break more blades till you get that fixed. You fix it through
experience.

Basically, anytime the blade tip encounters an immovable object
head-on, the blade will bend or snap unless it is already sufficiently
buried and supported in the sawcut.

Work as close to the "foot" of the saw as you can, where the blade is
attached to the saw, and you'll decreease the tendency to break blades.
Don't start the saw with the blade way out in the air and then attempt
to bring the blade in contact with the work piece, as you're more
likely to walk the blade out of the cut and jackhammer it. Make light
contact with the work piece first, then squeeze the trigger, and
balance the applied pressure with the saw speed.

Blind cuts where the tip gets buried are the hardest to master.