I'm looking to get a Sawzall type saw. My immediate use will be lots of
tree trimming and cutting branches into small pieces to go to the curb.
After that it will be diy around the house stuff. I'm not a
professional contractor but I do like to get decent tools that will last
and peform well.

So far I'm looking at:

1. Milwaukee 6509-22 http://tinyurl.com/akz3t which is the lowest
Milwaukee model. Locally I can get it for $119. This has a 3/4 inch stroke

2. Hitachi CR13V http://tinyurl.com/82lrm which is Hitachi's lower end.
Local price is $89. this has a 1 1/8 inch stroke.

I've looked at a Bosch but didn't see the need for the rotating collar
(although the saw was comfortable to hold) The collar seems a gimmick
that is more likely to break than be useful.

I've also looked at the 6 amp Makita JR3000 which I think costs about
the same as the Milwaukee and thus didn't seem to be a good deal (I
could be wrong).

Any opinions on what I should get? Are there others I should consider?
Is the Milwaukee that much better than the Hitachi? Thanks in advance.

Eric

Low Vibration and ease of changing blades are what you are looking for
regardless of brand. Personally I would go for the Milwaukee.

I bought a Milwaukee about 3 years ago. I considered a chainsaw, but
decided a Sawzall was more versatile for other stuff around the house.
I've been happy with the brand, and my logic about it being more handy
than a chainsaw seems to be right. One annoyance is that the elec. cord
easily detaches from the saw, but I think that is a safety feature.

Eric wrote:
I'm looking to get a Sawzall type saw. My immediate use will be lots of
tree trimming and cutting branches into small pieces to go to the curb.
After that it will be diy around the house stuff. I'm not a
professional contractor but I do like to get decent tools that will last
and peform well.

A power cord will be a total PITA for that kind of work.

A battery powered unit would make a good fit for trimming trees, brush, etc.

Milwaukee has been king of the hill when it comes to the Sawzall, for a
long time, but I'd give the 24 VDC Bosch a real hard look if it were my
money.

Lew

On Thu, 05 May 2005 15:08:29 -0400, Eric wrote:

I'm looking to get a Sawzall type saw. My immediate use will be lots of
tree trimming and cutting branches into small pieces to go to the curb.
After that it will be diy around the house stuff. I'm not a
professional contractor but I do like to get decent tools that will last
and peform well.

So far I'm looking at:

1. Milwaukee 6509-22 http://tinyurl.com/akz3t which is the lowest
Milwaukee model. Locally I can get it for $119. This has a 3/4 inch stroke

2. Hitachi CR13V http://tinyurl.com/82lrm which is Hitachi's lower end.
Local price is $89. this has a 1 1/8 inch stroke.

I've looked at a Bosch but didn't see the need for the rotating collar
(although the saw was comfortable to hold) The collar seems a gimmick
that is more likely to break than be useful.

I've also looked at the 6 amp Makita JR3000 which I think costs about
the same as the Milwaukee and thus didn't seem to be a good deal (I
could be wrong).

Any opinions on what I should get? Are there others I should consider?
Is the Milwaukee that much better than the Hitachi? Thanks in advance.

Is there any reason you haven't considered the Porter-Cable Tiger Saw?
I have one (9.5 amp motor) and I think it's terrific. I've used the
crap out of it on my house remodel.


--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

For tree trimming and cutting branches get a chainsaw.
The sawzall will merely shake the branches back and forth.
Sawzalls are good for stationary items like walls, floors and electrical
wires, but not so good for other stuff.

-j

"Eric" wrote in message
...
I'm looking to get a Sawzall type saw. My immediate use will be lots of
tree trimming and cutting branches into small pieces to go to the curb.
After that it will be diy around the house stuff. I'm not a
professional contractor but I do like to get decent tools that will last
and peform well.

So far I'm looking at:

1. Milwaukee 6509-22 http://tinyurl.com/akz3t which is the lowest
Milwaukee model. Locally I can get it for $119. This has a 3/4 inch
stroke

2. Hitachi CR13V http://tinyurl.com/82lrm which is Hitachi's lower end.
Local price is $89. this has a 1 1/8 inch stroke.

I've looked at a Bosch but didn't see the need for the rotating collar
(although the saw was comfortable to hold) The collar seems a gimmick
that is more likely to break than be useful.

I've also looked at the 6 amp Makita JR3000 which I think costs about
the same as the Milwaukee and thus didn't seem to be a good deal (I
could be wrong).

Any opinions on what I should get? Are there others I should consider?
Is the Milwaukee that much better than the Hitachi? Thanks in advance.

Eric

As an aside, my son bought an electric chainsaw for tree branch
trimming, one of those on the telescoping pole pole (or it can be
removed). Works a whole lot better than I thought it would, I was
impressed. It kicked bootie!
John

J wrote:

For tree trimming and cutting branches get a chainsaw.
The sawzall will merely shake the branches back and forth.
Sawzalls are good for stationary items like walls, floors and electrical
wires, but not so good for other stuff.

-j

Assuming you are cutting branches that are ALIVE, a sawzall is not a
good choice at all. The green wood almost glues itself to the blade
and it'll knock you around pretty good.

If it's dead wood, then it isn't quite as bad.

A sawzall will work..and is better than doing it by hand, but your
marbles may still be bouncing around for awhile after the cut!

I have an old Makita I've had for a long time. It's OK, but I MUCH
prefer the Milwaulkee, which I've used on occasion.

A power cord will be a total PITA for that kind of work.

A battery powered unit would make a good fit for trimming trees, brush, etc.

Milwaukee has been king of the hill when it comes to the Sawzall, for a
long time, but I'd give the 24 VDC Bosch a real hard look if it were my
money.

I have in my hot little hand a 28 volt cordless Milwaukee Sawzall. The
sucker is heavy but not necessarily because of the battery. It uses a
lithium ion battery pack that weighs about the same as a standard 18 volt
NiCad pack. I just cracked open the package and finished charging the
battery so I haven't even tried cutting anything yet, but it sure looks
nice.

Lee


--
To e-mail, replace "bucketofspam" with "dleegordon"

Lew Hodgett wrote in news:b8vee.7306$BE3.2973
@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net:

Milwaukee has been king of the hill when it comes to the Sawzall, for a
long time, but I'd give the 24 VDC Bosch a real hard look if it were my

Milwaukee is the first to release lithium ion powered cordless tools AFAIK.
It's relatively new. They sent me a flyer about 2 months ago...


ken

Eric wrote:
I'm looking to get a Sawzall type saw. My immediate use will be lots
of
tree trimming and cutting branches into small pieces to go to the
curb.
After that it will be diy around the house stuff. I'm not a
professional contractor but I do like to get decent tools that will
last
and peform well.

So far I'm looking at:

1. Milwaukee 6509-22 http://tinyurl.com/akz3t which is the lowest
Milwaukee model. Locally I can get it for $119. This has a 3/4 inch
stroke

2. Hitachi CR13V http://tinyurl.com/82lrm which is Hitachi's lower
end.
Local price is $89. this has a 1 1/8 inch stroke.

I've looked at a Bosch but didn't see the need for the rotating
collar
(although the saw was comfortable to hold) The collar seems a
gimmick
that is more likely to break than be useful.

I've also looked at the 6 amp Makita JR3000 which I think costs about

the same as the Milwaukee and thus didn't seem to be a good deal (I
could be wrong).

Any opinions on what I should get? Are there others I should
consider?
Is the Milwaukee that much better than the Hitachi? Thanks in
advance.

Eric

I have done pruning with both a 3/4 inch and 1 1/8th inch stroke. The
longer stroke makes a very big difference. When I had the 3/4 incher,
I had given up on purning with it, too slow. When I move up to a 1
1/8th machine, I needed to cut something just to familiarize myself
with the tool. Did some pruning and was very surprised at how good it
was. Wish that I had considered pruning in making the purchase. Had
I done so I would have looked long and hard at something like
Milwaukee's Hatch. It cordless with a 1 1/8" stroke. And, to really
get things moving it has orbital action. That's a combination I'd like
to have.

FWIW, I have couple of chain saws, and will use them to cut anything
over 3". So my batting order is, loppers to 1", the PC for 1-3 and
chain saw over 3. Don't know how far the "Hatchet" would go, but would
like to have one to put through its paces.

Good luck
ray

Buy an electric chainsaw. It always starts with the first pull
on the trigger and you don't have to mix gas. It's light weight and
easy to handle too.
I did have to wait until the power was restored to use it after
the hurricanes we had in Florida but I cleaned up some 12" diameter
limbs with a little grunt work. The smaller stuff was easy to clean up
with it.
Robert Smith

Try the Ryobi corded model. It is fairly light and still very heavy
duty. No frills, but keyless blade change and rubberized grip makes it
easy to use outdoors. Did a bunch of root cutting with it and a 6 tpi
blade and it worked great. Got it from Home Depot for 60 bucks. Comes
with unbreakable case and variable speed.

In article ,
"Buck Turgidson" wrote:

I bought a Milwaukee about 3 years ago. I considered a chainsaw, but
decided a Sawzall was more versatile for other stuff around the house.
I've been happy with the brand, and my logic about it being more handy
than a chainsaw seems to be right. One annoyance is that the elec. cord
easily detaches from the saw, but I think that is a safety feature.

Cord detaches easily? It has a twist-lock on it, no? My cord is a bear
to take off. Goes on easy. Is the plug that fits into the saw shaped
like a triangle?

I have in my hot little hand a 28 volt cordless Milwaukee Sawzall. The
sucker is heavy but not necessarily because of the battery. It uses a
lithium ion battery pack that weighs about the same as a standard 18 volt
NiCad pack. I just cracked open the package and finished charging the
battery so I haven't even tried cutting anything yet, but it sure looks
nice.

Lee
Lee; I'd like to know when the lithium battery gives up and no longer holds
(takes) a charge. From what I've read on the electric airplane groups, it
seems that lithium batteries get about 150 cycles before they no longer take
a charge.The nimh cells were better at up to 500 cycles and the nicads were
better yet at up to 1500 cycles. Perhaps as lithium tech gets better , the #
of cycles will get better.

I'd like to know when the lithium battery gives up and no longer holds
(takes) a charge. From what I've read on the electric airplane groups, it
seems that lithium batteries get about 150 cycles before they no longer take
a charge.The nimh cells were better at up to 500 cycles and the nicads were
better yet at up to 1500 cycles. Perhaps as lithium tech gets better , the #
of cycles will get better.

I'd like to know how long it lasts too. I hope I'll still have the tools
(Sawzall, circular saw, hammer drill & flashlight) long enough to run both
batteries through 150+ charge cycles each. One interesting thing about the
Lithium ion batteries is that they don't run down; they basically just quit.
Then they need to be re-charged in order to have ernough oomph to power the
tools. There are "fuel gauge" lights on the batteries so you can check
their status before setting out to work. Fortunately these batteries don't
have a memory so it is not necessary to wait until they poop out before
recharging. It's OK to top them up whenever you have a chance.

Lee


--
To e-mail, replace "bucketofspam" with "dleegordon"

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I went ahead and picked up the
Milwaukee. The Hitachi seemed fairly solid too but the Milwaukee was
more comfortable to hold (Hitachi was rather bulbous where one holds it
near the blade end) and the Milwaukee had the added bonus of being the
consensus pick for best.

A chainsaw may be in my future as well but I decided the Sawzall was the
most versitile tool (and I thought of 3-4 immediate uses beyond the
initial pruning).

Again, thanks.
Eric

Eric wrote:
I'm looking to get a Sawzall type saw. My immediate use will be lots of
tree trimming and cutting branches into small pieces to go to the curb.
After that it will be diy around the house stuff. I'm not a
professional contractor but I do like to get decent tools that will last
and peform well.

So far I'm looking at:

1. Milwaukee 6509-22 http://tinyurl.com/akz3t which is the lowest
Milwaukee model. Locally I can get it for $119. This has a 3/4 inch
stroke

2. Hitachi CR13V http://tinyurl.com/82lrm which is Hitachi's lower end.
Local price is $89. this has a 1 1/8 inch stroke.

I've looked at a Bosch but didn't see the need for the rotating collar
(although the saw was comfortable to hold) The collar seems a gimmick
that is more likely to break than be useful.

I've also looked at the 6 amp Makita JR3000 which I think costs about
the same as the Milwaukee and thus didn't seem to be a good deal (I
could be wrong).

Any opinions on what I should get? Are there others I should consider?
Is the Milwaukee that much better than the Hitachi? Thanks in advance.

Eric

My main reason for not considering the PC is that the only
locally-available (at least where I've visited) was the $199 variety
with the swivel head.



Is there any reason you haven't considered the Porter-Cable Tiger Saw?
I have one (9.5 amp motor) and I think it's terrific. I've used the
crap out of it on my house remodel.

Get some ugly blades for it to do pruning. They are made by Skil. I use them
quite often. Could be others out there but these are the only ones I have
seen. Can't remember if I got them at Lowes or Home Depot. I mostly use them
for cutting roots and stuff when doing post holes.

On Fri, 06 May 2005 12:45:07 -0400, Eric wrote:

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I went ahead and picked up the
Milwaukee. The Hitachi seemed fairly solid too but the Milwaukee was
more comfortable to hold (Hitachi was rather bulbous where one holds it
near the blade end) and the Milwaukee had the added bonus of being the
consensus pick for best.

A chainsaw may be in my future as well but I decided the Sawzall was the
most versitile tool (and I thought of 3-4 immediate uses beyond the
initial pruning).

Again, thanks.
Eric

All the borgs have large blades, I think I got mine at lowes..
I have a couple of really ugly yellow "nail and wood" rating or something...
anyway, they're mean looking, 7 or 8 inched long and made for cutting fast with
no finesse or clean cuts.. *g*

I find that I use them a lot for trimming bowl blanks, (where I'd normally use
the small chain saw), notching things, flush cutting old fence posts, etc...
It's the kind of tool that you might not need very often, but the job pops up
now and then that I used to say "damn, I should have bought a recip saw!"



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

mac davis wrote:


All the borgs have large blades, I think I got mine at lowes..
I have a couple of really ugly yellow "nail and wood" rating or something...
anyway, they're mean looking, 7 or 8 inched long and made for cutting fast with
no finesse or clean cuts.. *g*

I find that I use them a lot for trimming bowl blanks, (where I'd normally use
the small chain saw), notching things, flush cutting old fence posts, etc...
It's the kind of tool that you might not need very often, but the job pops up
now and then that I used to say "damn, I should have bought a recip saw!"

So true, lots of different blades come in very useful, used fine metal
and fine wood for this machine: http://members.mud-club.com/profiles/Niel
And some course ugly ones for this:
http://members.mud-club.com/profiles...r_welding_2005

For cutting steel and then ply I used the recip, then ally tread-plate,
3 different blades.
If you are only cutting small stuff where the blades too long use a
grinder and trim the blade back, save smashing the end into something
and breaking the blade/saw/self....

Niel.