B&D scorpion saw, any good?
 

I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

Regards

"newman" wrote in message
...
I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

Regards

I used mine recently to cut the tops off 4x4 fence posts, managed to pick it
up months ago at B&Q for £27, I found it brilliant for the fence posts, I've
not used it since then.
It's certainly worth buying if you can get a good deal on it...

On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 13:45:29 GMT, newman wrote:

I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

Regards

It's a piece of junk.


I bought one from B&Q. It jammed and I returned it

The second started spouting smoke from the motor after a few minutes
running. I returned it, obtained a refund and a £15 voucher.


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 13:45:29 GMT, newman wrote:

I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

Regards

It's a piece of junk.


I've had one for some considerable time, and I would certainly agree with
the above. Ok for about the first 10 minutes of use.

In article , Farmer Giles
writes
"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 13:45:29 GMT, newman wrote:
I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.
It's a piece of junk.

I've had one for some considerable time, and I would certainly agree with
the above. Ok for about the first 10 minutes of use.

Would it be any use as a boat anchor, or isn't it nearly heavy enough?

--
Paul

On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 13:45:29 GMT, newman wrote:

I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

They're great. Really useful for cutting firewood, less chance of
injury than chainsaw or sawbench and they work for just long enough to
convince you to buy a Bosch replacement instead after they've broken.

Some seem to eat motors. Mine ate its crankshaft bearing.

--
Smert' spamionam

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 13:45:29 GMT, newman wrote:

I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

They're great. Really useful for cutting firewood, less chance of
injury than chainsaw or sawbench and they work for just long enough to
convince you to buy a Bosch replacement instead after they've broken.

Some seem to eat motors. Mine ate its crankshaft bearing.

The B&D is a waste of time. Give a wide berth. Wickes sell a version of
one. Try that.

In article ,
newman wrote:
I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

Of limited use. If the price is right, and you've the space, ok. But don't
expect it to *replace* any hand saw in the way many power tools do.

--
*If you remember the '60s, you weren't really there

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 17:46:46 +0100, "Paul C. Dickie"
wrote:

In article , Farmer Giles
writes
"Andy Hall" wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 13:45:29 GMT, newman wrote:
I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.
It's a piece of junk.

I've had one for some considerable time, and I would certainly agree with
the above. Ok for about the first 10 minutes of use.

Would it be any use as a boat anchor, or isn't it nearly heavy enough?


Not even that.

It's a real pity because the concept is good in terms of the different
blades and even the balance of the machine. It's let down by poor
mechanics and poor quality control AFAICS.


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

In article ,
newman wrote:
I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

Of limited use. If the price is right, and you've the space, ok. But don't
expect it to *replace* any hand saw in the way many power tools do.

--
*If you remember the '60s, you weren't really there

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

It will be £15, is it worth it?

Regards

newman wrote:

It will be £15, is it worth it?

To be fair, no.

Someone bought me one a few years ago, which I have attempted to use for
a variety of tasks. It is not really that good at any of them.

The stroke length is too short, it vibrates to much, the mechanism is
pretty flimsy, it does not take standard reciprocating saw blades and
the proprietary blades come in a much smaller range. The trigger makes
you hand hurt after prolonged usage, it has daft interlocks that are a
pain and also require too much force to operate. In jigsaw mode it is
outclassed by even the naffest jigsaw. In fact if you want one I will
gladly post you mine if you pay the postage! To give it credit the
variable speed control is OK though.

(I gave up and bought one of the Axminster "White" reciprocating saws.
That is actually quite useful)



--
Cheers,

John.

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On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 23:36:30 GMT, newman wrote:

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

In article ,
newman wrote:
I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

Of limited use. If the price is right, and you've the space, ok. But don't
expect it to *replace* any hand saw in the way many power tools do.

--
*If you remember the '60s, you weren't really there

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

It will be £15, is it worth it?

Regards

The huge reduction should tell you something.

It's a bit like buying a poor quality razor - the cost of blades will
quickly exceed the cost of the razor.

I'd skip it.





..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Andy Dingley wrote...

they work for just long enough to
convince you to buy a Bosch replacement

Is there a Bosch alternative other than the £200 Tyrannosaw? I've
only seen standard reciprocating saws which presumably don't give such
a good cut as a saw with a deeper, rigid blade.

On 16 Oct 2004 05:40:42 -0700, (mike) wrote:

Is there a Bosch alternative other than the £200 Tyrannosaw?

Must be - I sure didn't spend that much. I'm not sure what model it
is - I gave it to my Dad to cut firewood, instead of his evil table
saw.

The Axminster "white" one is probably worth a look too.

--
Smert' spamionam

In message , mike
writes
Andy Dingley wrote...

they work for just long enough to
convince you to buy a Bosch replacement

Is there a Bosch alternative other than the £200 Tyrannosaw?

Wrecks ?

--
geoff

"Farmer Giles" wrote in message ...
"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 13:45:29 GMT, newman wrote:

I can get one of these reduced at Argos, but before I buy I would like
some opinions on the saw.

Regards

It's a piece of junk.


I've had one for some considerable time, and I would certainly agree with
the above. Ok for about the first 10 minutes of use.


how odd. Mine (prev model before current) came from B&Q heavily price
reduced.

Not been any trouble at all, though I haven't used it all that much as
I have various other saws. Nor has it been used for an extended time.
But as a sabre saw able to reach into difficult positions it is better
& a more directionally stable cut than a jigsaw. The wide woodcutting
blade is especially useful when you want to cut, eg a noggin, off
flush with a joist. Also been removing old CH pipes between joists
with it recently: it has saved a few raw knuckles that I'm sure I
would have got from contorting with a hacksaw.

Snags are

unique expensive blades
only 3 blade designs

OTOH I haven't tried any of the competing sabre saws, but I haven't
seen any of those with the broad woodsaw blade which I like.

Steve Firth wrote:

for a handsaw nor for a jigsaw it's OK for roughing out a cut or for
cutting firewood bu there are better alternatives around.

Its not even that much good for that. The blades available all tend to
be too finer tooth, and the stroke length is too short. So cutting is
relatively slow.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
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