Reciprocating Saws

Reciprocating saws are the demolition and rough-cutting tool: a blade driven back and forth, fast, with no table, no fence and no pretence of a finished edge. That is exactly what makes them useful where the cut has to happen in place — through a wall, into a joist bay, flush against a foundation, or on a pipe that cannot be removed first. Full-size saws deliver the stroke length and power for sustained demolition, cutting nail-embedded timber, cast iron, conduit and section, with orbital action where the material suits it and longer strokes to clear the cut faster. One-handed compact saws trade that power for the ability to work up a ladder, inside a cabinet or overhead with the other hand steadying the work, and they get used far more often than their size suggests. Corded models remain in the range where the cutting is continuous and a battery would be a limiting factor. The blade decides almost everything about how the saw performs — tooth pitch and material matched to what is being cut. Blades are in Accessories & Consumables.

Blade selection is most of the tool. Six TPI clears fast in green wood and nail-embedded timber, 10 to 14 TPI suits general metal, and 18 to 24 TPI is what thin-wall conduit and sheet need if the teeth are to survive. Bi-metal blades cover most work; carbide-tipped blades cost several times as much and last long enough in cast iron, stainless and abrasive material to be cheaper per cut. Use the longest stroke the space allows and let the shoe rest against the work — a saw held off the material chatters and eats blades. Turn the orbital action off for metal and on for wood. For flush cuts, a blade run upside down with the saw inverted gets closer than any shoe allows.