HF Recrip Saw

[DUD]

Two weeks ago when the ice storm hit, their was nowhere to buy or afford to buy a chain

saw. When My local HF opened they had their Chicago Electric on sale with coupon for

$19.95. Needless to say I bought one, it is woth the money and more. I have cut up

many tree limbs with it and 1 small tree, and I have used it to cut some 2 X 4's also. I

couldn't be more pleased. Bill

[Tom Slick]

for smaller stuff I prefer the recip saw to a chain saw. lighter and quieter, no maintenance.

[pbui3057]

I had to buy one to cut a 1/4" metal anchor and it worked perfectly! I love Harbor Freight!! Especially when it makes doing rare things easier.

[drillman88]

This is one of the most versatile tools ever made.I have a Dewalt cordless that goes through batteries pretty quickly and have been thinking about picking up one when HF runs them on sale.Your post pretty much made up my mind.
Thanks

[LinuxRandal]

My father bought a cordless one, NOT worth it. Now while he replaced it with a corded, I have a DeWalt, Milwaukee, and a Makita. After using one you will want a good one, unless it is a rare used tool (not likely with older homes).

[Ed62]

I wondered if the HF recip was any good. Thanks for the post.

Ed

[khf314]

Sawzall Pruning

I use my Sawzall for pruning trees often. Milwaukee has 5 tpi blades (colored green) that work great for this.

[Tom Slick]

"The Ugly" is also a great pruning blade.

[DUD]

I had the blade in it that came with it, it said woodcutting and China. I don't know

what will happen when I put a good blade in it. Bill

[dbhost]

I had the blade in it that came with it, it said woodcutting and China. I don't know

what will happen when I put a good blade in it. Bill

You will like it a LOT better...

A friend of mine and I went in together and bought a 20 pack of the "Ugly" 9" blades, he has the Chicago Electric recip saw... Item #4095


I have the Ryobi RJ161VK


I have used his saw, and with those blades, it cuts every bit as well as mine. And I am NOT complaining about mine at all. It's a good saw...

I wonder how long the HF one will last, but for the price, and as frequent as a recip saw gets used, who cares?

[Woodshark]

I hope you have more luck with the $20 HF version than me. I personally think they are built very poorly. I'm on my fourth one and no, they had not been abused. Heck they barely get any use at all before they croak. The first one died after about 10 minutes of use. Just sort of seized up. The next one broke at the blade holder when I was cutting some light weight pipe. The third one started smoking and throwing sparks the very first use I used it to cut out a sink. I'm now on my fourth. Fortunately I have a store about 3 miles from me and they have replaced it for free every time. Still, I think they are a dud and would not recommend them, even for only $20. When you need one, you need one to work.

[DUD]

The one I got was regularally $39.99 with a special coupon for $19.99, might not be the

same, I don't know. Bill

[rockjaw]

My experience has been mixed. I have tried two of their recip saws - 1 is junk and 1 is very good. The lightweight cheap one ($20 regular price) is junk - I burned up two of them with almost no effort on very simple work. The heavy duty one I have (professional series) is at least 50% heavier and has taken lots of use and abuse. It is still going strong 5 years after I bought it.