"J. Clarke" wrote

Strongly recommend the recip. A good jigsaw will do it but my old Bosch
died the death doing that--it's repairable but the part has to come from
Switzerland (it's an _old_ Bosch)and I didn't want to wait that long so I
got a new saw. Dunno if it's just a coincidence or not but I've been
using
the recip saw for that sort of thing ever since.

Yep. I got a recip saw a couple years ago and it has been only used a few
times. But each time, it was the right tool for the job and much simpler
than any other alternative I had.

Two things became very apparent about using this saw. The first is that you
must use sharp blades. Dull blades become and exercise in self abuse. The
other is that you must secure the stock. Clamp it down, put it in a vise or
stand on it. But make sure it doesn't move around. Otherwise the blade will
grab it and jerk it around. It is like wrestling with a bear.

But with sharp blades and secure stock, the recip saw does a good job.