Replies

1. 
   Shep | Jul 02, 2007 01:32am | #1

   If you look in the archives, you'll see this subject comes up frequently.

   But for my money, I'd go with the Milwaukee Super Sawzall.

   little vibration, plenty of power, and the keyless chuck works well

2. 
   renosteinke | Jul 02, 2007 02:45am | #2

   I used to think "Milwaukee only." That changed with the Makita AVT. Like the Milwaukee, the folks at Makita have put a lot of design into reducing your felt vibration.

   I also think Makita has a better tool-free blade change method.

3. 
   IMERC | Jul 02, 2007 02:48am | #3

   gotta be the Milwaukee..

   Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

   WOW!!! What a Ride!
   Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!

4. 
   frenchy | Jul 02, 2007 02:56am | #4

   moonmins,

      I've owned two Milwaukee's and have a bunch of Milwaukee stuff.  When it came time to replace one that died I had a Milwaukee in my hand on the way out of the store when the Hilti rep stopped me..

     He offered to let me compare the Milwaukee to the Hilti..So I took him up on it..

    No contest!

     The best new Milwaukee took over 3 times as long to saw thru a 4x4 as the Hilti did..

    Shocked me!  specially since I used both of them and pushed a little harder on the Milwaukee because I was biased in favor of Milwaukee.. we used the same blade for both tests and sawed the same timber..

     

5. 
   dieselpig | Jul 02, 2007 03:10am | #5

   I think the Makita 15amp AVT is the best out there right now.  If it matters any, I've got one of those (had two), and a Hilti right now.  Just ordered a reconditioned Dewalt cuz the price was right and in the past I've had a Milwaukee Super, two of the big Hitatchi's, a Bosch (DOA) and several PC Tiger saws.  So far that Makita has been best in class, IMO.

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1. 
   moonmlns | Jul 04, 2007 05:28pm | #8

   Well, I ended up getting the Makita. It was a toss-up between that and the Sawzall. It's hard to break with tradition. I went to Fastners in Spokane and had just finished a sale on it. So, I got it for $129. That's a lot less than I expected. Thanks for all of your suggestions.I used the saw yesterday to demo and old deck. I cut through 3"x10" rough cut in 15 seconds. I'm also using lennox blades. I can't remember the spelling of the name. I've seen them around but have never used them. They are about twice the price of the other blades. It seemed to work real well. I'll see how they hold-up.

6. 
   bubbajames | Jul 02, 2007 02:51pm | #6

   Read up on the 15 Amp Makita AVT 3070 in the tools of the trade article on reciprocating saws. it came out on top, followed by Milwaukee. You can find the article on their site. Also check reviews at Amazon and E-Pinions from real world users.

   when buying, I use toolseeker to compare prices.

1. 
   renosteinke | Jul 03, 2007 04:32am | #7

   I will make two 'cautionary' statements about the Makita AVT. It is NOT a Sawzall clone! It will feel heavy ... quite nose heavy, in fact. This makes it seem ungainly to position, but also seems to really help in controlling your cut. Second, the saw comes from the factory set in a very aggressive orbital setting. This setting is not very nice if you're cutting metal or plywood- make sure to set the dial for a less orbital action. This takes but a fraction of a second- but makes a BIG difference.

7. 
   dogboy | Jul 16, 2007 05:50am | #9

   I would stick with the heavy duty Mill... I had the De Walt corded and while cutting the axle of my trailer last fall the blade jammed and the gear broke some teeth and while it still works it makes a banging noise when I use it and I expect it will die any day now.

   Carpentry and remodeling

    Vic Vardamis

   Bangor Me