Dewalt sawzall?

[edge-of-the-woods]

I know it's not a chainsaw, but hoping some folks might have experience/opinions they can share.

Amazon has this cordless Dewalt sawmill on sale for $119 for Cyber Week. It only comes with the tool, no blades, no batteries. I have the same batteries for my Dewalt cordless screwdriver, so I don't have to shell out another $99 for them.

Just curious, do you care for corded over cordless at all? The corded model is only $89. I'll just be using this at home, not in the woods or on a job site.

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-Bare-T...e=UTF8&qid=1449064307&sr=1-1&keywords=dcs380b

 

[AmbDrvr253]

While we carry both on the firetruck if u are only going to use it at home I would definitely stick to the corded version. Even as a rescue captain I tell my guys the cordless is only for immediate use and must be followed by the cord. The corded version has more torque and does not slow down as battery dies. Especially if u are using the Ni-Cad batteries. They do not last long with prolonged use and must be maintained. Unless u use em every day they build a memory and only last 3 or 4 years.

 

[johneh]

New bare 20 volt unit on eBay for 89.99
with free shipping in the US

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Dewalt-20-Vo...072310?hash=item4644afa476:g:gLIAAOSwm8VU1iyn

 

[jtstromsburg]

Yup. Corded if power is available. Two batteries, switching between the saw and charger won't keep up unless it's just for a rare quick 5minute use

 

[Jazzberry]

I have had 18 volt Dewalt sawzalls for 20 years (retired contractor) they are awesome tools. The battery version is close to the electric version in speed and power with a good battery. Don't know what they get for the new lithium batteries but the old 18 volt batterys were like 50 to 60 each. Next to a chainsaw they are a joke. Wrong application. Great for drywall but you can't cut firewood with one. Even the electric version will melt after a few pieces.

 

[fossil]

I had one for a while. My experience was that if I was putting any load on it, it went through batteries frustratingly quickly. I got rid of it. I have an old Sears screwdrive corded sawzall that's indestructible and powerful, but a bit heavy. I've had it 20 years, and it was used when I got it...still works like a horse.

 

[Bigsby]

Next to a chainsaw they are a joke. Wrong application. Great for drywall but you can't cut firewood with one. Even the electric version will melt after a few pieces.

+1. Used my sawzall with a Skill Ugly pruning blade to trim up some pieces that were too long for the firebox. Got the job done but didn't go as slick as I thought it would. Wasn't any faster or easier than using a hand saw.

 

[duramaxman05]

I have a 18v cordless. It works great. The 18v regular batteries die fairly quickly. I know my batteries were getting weak anyways. So i switched to 18v lithium xrp batteries. Made a huge difference in all my cordless stuff. More power and lasted longer too. Especially the sawzall

 

[MDFisherman]

I have one of each. Cordless is very handy if you only have a few cuts to make.

But If you're going to doing a lot of work I get out the corded one.

A sharp blade will keep the batteries from going dead as fast.

 

[sportbikerider78]

My rule is this....if I use it every week, battery. If I use it once in a while, corded.

If you keep your batteries fresh with use every week, then it makes lots of sense.

 

[Hasufel]

I've had one of the 18V cordless reciprocating saws for about 10 years and love it. As others have pointed out, there are limits to what you can do with one, but cordless gives you a lot of freedom. I even used it as a substitute chainsaw for small stuff when I didn't feel like firing up the real thing, but it couldn't handle anything serious. Now I have an 80V cordless chainsaw for the bigger stuff and save the sawzall for more appropriate jobs.

 

[firefighterjake]

Not sure if anyone has asked . . . but what are your plans for this? Are you thinking to have one on hand for the occasional project . . . are you planning on any major renovations or maybe just a one room renovation in the future?

My thinking . . . usually the corded models are cheaper and offer the advantage of not running out of power: good for major renovations if you have to replace sills, planning on cutting out entire walls, major demolition, etc.

Cordless models are handy in terms of not having to deal with a cord and being able to easily grab and go: good for one room renovations or for occasional use around the house.

 

[amellefson]

Not sure if anyone has asked . . . but what are your plans for this? Are you thinking to have one on hand for the occasional project . . . are you planning on any major renovations or maybe just a one room renovation in the future?

Ask yourself this. Cordless is nice to not drag a cord out for a few cuts. Frequent use in one spot near a power source, get the corded.

I have one of each. Corded and 20v cordless. Both are nice. The amp hour (AH) rating on the bateries is how long they last. Bigger the number the better.

Look at the stroke length of the saw balde. That goes along with the fresh balde comment. You get what you pay for with blades too.

Good luck!

 

[DodgyNomad]

If power is handy, go corded. I have both, and the batt version is much weaker. Great when you need it, but the plug in style has waayyy more nuts.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I know it's not a chainsaw, but hoping some folks might have experience/opinions they can share.

I got one on a really good sale at Lowes a couple of years back, and I love it. It's a great tool for its intended use. We've done a lot of work with it around here. I have three batteries to rotate so I don't mind the lack of a cord. On the other hand, so far the work we've done has been fairly light work.

I have a very large project coming up, and I plan to buy the corded version for that.

If you are thinking about it for firewood.... fuggedabouddit. Corded or battery, that's not a chainsaw.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

Thanks all! So I used to use a Makita sawzall way back in the day when I was installing home theaters and audio systems, we always used the corded ones...I think that's all they had back then!

This guy is going to be for projects in the workshop, and around the house. Stuff like tearing down and refurbishing a shed, building a chicken coop, removing this annoying half-walll (not a load-bearing wall) and stuff like that. No cutting firewood.

I'm 99% sure I am going to get the corded one, because anywhere I'll end up using this thing, I'll be able to reach an outlet with a good extension cord (100', 16-gauge).

The corded 12-amp is looking pretty good, not just deciding to go normal, or compact.

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

I've had one of the 18V cordless reciprocating saws for about 10 years and love it. As others have pointed out, there are limits to what you can do with one, but cordless gives you a lot of freedom. I even used it as a substitute chainsaw for small stuff when I didn't feel like firing up the real thing, but it couldn't handle anything serious. Now I have an 80V cordless chainsaw for the bigger stuff and save the sawzall for more appropriate jobs.

What make/model cordless chainsaw is that? You're happy with it? How loud is it compared to gas?

 

[MDFisherman]

Thanks all! So I used to use a Makita sawzall way back in the day when I was installing home theaters and audio systems, we always used the corded ones...I think that's all they had back then!

This guy is going to be for projects in the workshop, and around the house. Stuff like tearing down and refurbishing a shed, building a chicken coop, removing this annoying half-walll (not a load-bearing wall) and stuff like that. No cutting firewood.

I'm 99% sure I am going to get the corded one, because anywhere I'll end up using this thing, I'll be able to reach an outlet with a good extension cord (100', 16-gauge).

The corded 12-amp is looking pretty good, not just deciding to go normal, or compact.

Do yourself a favor and get a better extension cord...

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Do yourself a favor and get a better extension cord...

Yeah. 16 gauge at 100 feet? That's good for Christmas lights, not much else.

 

[Kwehme09]

Thanks all! So I used to use a Makita sawzall way back in the day when I was installing home theaters and audio systems, we always used the corded ones...I think that's all they had back then!

This guy is going to be for projects in the workshop, and around the house. Stuff like tearing down and refurbishing a shed, building a chicken coop, removing this annoying half-walll (not a load-bearing wall) and stuff like that. No cutting firewood.

I'm 99% sure I am going to get the corded one, because anywhere I'll end up using this thing, I'll be able to reach an outlet with a good extension cord (100', 16-gauge).

The corded 12-amp is looking pretty good, not just deciding to go normal, or compact.

Absolutely get the corded version for what you're doing. An consider the Milwaukee ones, their higher AMP model is a beast.

 

[Jazzberry]

I have both electric and cordless Dewalt reciprocating saws. I really can't remember the last time I plugged in a corded power tool other than a circular saw and I use the cordless Dewalt circular saw a for most of my sawing. Dewalt makes two versions of cordless tools. The XRP version is very close to the same power etc as the cord version. The cheap one (forgot what it is called) is crap. What kwemo says about Milwaukee is right. They are probably the best built tool out there but they are also the heaviest and bulkiest. In a corded sawzall they are probably the best. The rest of the line I wouldn't consider buying. I also have the corded Milwaukee but its been 15 years since I pulled it out of the case at least. Should also mention all my Dewalt tools are the older 18 volt version. I don't know jack about the new stuff.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

I have the 20V cordless version and put it to the test recently.

We have several large outdoor gardens, all enclosed by 7 foot deer fencing, with 4x4x8 posts every 6 feet. This fall I frame out a door for one of the new gardens and missed my frame calculation by one vertical inch. This mean that I had a choice: plane an inch off the door or cut an inch off the 4x4x8 frame. I chose the frame as I didn't want to weaken the door that much. I cut seven vertical feet at the width of one inch in one long strip with that saw. It handled the job splendidly. My hand and arm were pretty destroyed but the saw ate it up.