[Shop-talk] Sawzall blades

[Karl Vacek]

I've cut lots of roots up to maybe 6", with my Sawzall, often just plunging
it down in the dirt.  I've had great luck with DeWalt blades.  Certain
Milwaukee blades (the Torch and Axe are among them) have worked well for me,
but many other Milwaukee blades have been short-lived, dulling or even
spitting teeth within a few minutes' use, and all Milwaukee blades are
expensive.

I've abused the heck out of DeWalt blades, binding them up and bending them
into pretzels while hot.  Let the blade cool a bit, roughly bend it back to
shape, and the blade seems to have a memory - with a few pushes this way and
that they're usually perfectly straight.  Cutting into dirt (especially our
very sandy soil) is gritty and tough on blades, but again the DeWalt blades
hold up longer than any others I've tried.

I do love my Milwaukee Sawzall, even if I'm not a fan of their blades.
Sometimes when we were cutting those roots the saw got too hot to hold even
with the rubber skin on the nose.  I'd give it half an hour to cool off and
go back at it.  That's a load of abuse for it, but it was the only way to do
the job (well, I also used an axe...).  Anyway, after 15 years of
mistreatment it still works good as new, though it looks pretty used.
Karl


-----Original Message-----
From: nick brearley
Subject: [Shop-talk] Sawzall blades

Got to remove a tree growing beside the shop and I've been wondering about
using a Sawzall type saw for cutting the roots. Getting tired of swinging an
axe in close quarters.

Looking on ebay I came across these   http://tinyurl.com/8fcvykz and 
wondered if anyone had experience in using these, or similar, for this type
of job.