On Sun, 16 May 2010 23:27:28 -0400, aemeijers
wrote the following:

Mike Marlow wrote:
Jim Elbrecht wrote:

The downside of a reciprocating saw is their tendency to pull light
material back and forth if it isn't secured.


Downside??? You have to be willing to hold and use the tool properly.
Anything less does not result in a "downside".

That is why they have that flexible foot on them, to press up against
the work being cut. Sounds like somebody was trying to reach too far.
Like any power cutting tool, you gotta plan your cut before you pull the
trigger. No saw works well to cut the end off a spring hanging in
mid-air. That is why those tree-pruning saws on the long poles are of
such limited usefulness, other than right up by the trunk or a thick
main branch.

They're of great use, but only if you know how to limb a tree.

1) Make a quick bottom cut a few inches out from the intended final
cut. This keeps the branch from ripping the bark off all the way down
the tree if it breaks during cutting.

2) Move out 1/4 inch and make the top cut, taking the branch off.

3) Carefully cut the stub close to the trunk so it can scab properly.

It takes a few extra minutes to do right, but it saves the tree.

Details: For recip saws and manual, you have to be close enough to the
branch to hold it still. For higher, off-ground cuts, you need a
chainsaw-on-a-stick which automatically holds the branch to itself
while it cuts.

--
Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our
inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter
the state of facts and evidence. -- John Adams, December 1770
'Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials'