Saw, Shura, saw: TOP-5 chain reciprocating saws

The American brand Stanley has recently taken under the wing of its more solid compatriot — the DeWalt concern. This allowed Stanley products to reach a qualitatively new level, while maintaining their price attractiveness. The SPT900 reciprocating saw will cost only $ 90, but it will cope with the tasks assigned to it no worse than its senior colleagues from DeWalt.

The saw has a grip-friendly handle and a rubberized part of the housing in the gearbox area for more reliable retention and vibration reduction during operation. The model's weight of 3.5 kg and good weight distribution allow you to use the tool for a long time without noticeable discomfort.

The engine power of 900 watts, although it provides a maximum idle speed of the knife at 3200 rpm, performance drops under load. The speed of movement of the canvas is regulated by pressing the button. But it is impossible to fix the button at a certain frequency, which in some moments complicates the workflow.

The saw can handle wood up to 305 mm in diameter and metal pipe up to 75 mm. Also, with the right selection of canvases, the tool easily cuts brick, gypsum, foam concrete and plastic. The swivel sole easily bypasses any objects during sawing, and also allows you to limit the depth of the cut. Installation or replacement of the web does not require the use of a key, the saw is fixed easily, with the teeth down or up.

I did not like the implementation of protection against dust and dirt. The function is performed by conventional felt couplings, which quickly become unusable and require replacement.

In general, despite the shortcomings, the Stanley SPT900 leaves a pleasant impression. The model is assembled soundly and behaves quite confidently in operation. A good choice for infrequent work of small volume. The lack of a tool bag in the kit also indicates a east european orientation.

DeWalt tools are the calling card of a professional craftsman. The DWE305PK reciprocating saw is useful in construction and repair, as well as in the household for cutting plastic, metal, wood and other materials.

The device is not heavy (3.5 kg) and is quite ergonomic. It takes 435 mm in length, 178 mm in height. The case is well balanced, it does not tyre to hold it during long work.

The 1100 W motor allows you to achieve good performance of the device. The cutting depth in a metal pipe is easily reached – 100 mm, wood – 280 mm, plastic – 130 mm. The saw blade is fixed in 4 positions, providing the tool with versatility. For example, you can saw flush. But there is no way to change the depth of the cut. The frequency of the web stroke is regulated by the force of pressing the trigger button, but is not fixed.

It is not quite usual to replace the knife, although it is keyless, but it is performed using a lever on the sole, which is why there is a small backlash of the canvas and there is increased vibration when sawing. This feature is unlikely to please.

The saw comes complete with a branded case. The quality of the plastic is quite high. The box does not look flimsy and cheap and will last, like the tool itself, with proper handling and care for a good 5 years, or even more, depending on the degree and frequency of loads.

You will have to pay $ 200 for the entire set, which is too much for a poor device option (there is no backlight, pendulum stroke, anti-vibration protection), but it fully corresponds to its name. After all, this is not a low-cost Zenit, and not even Sparky. This is DeWalt. And that says it all.

The German brand Metabo is among the top three in terms of the quality of the manufactured power tools, along with Bosch and DeWalt. The SSE 1100 reciprocating saw is designed for sawing wood, metals, plastics or materials such as ebonite, fibreglass, etc.

The tool turned out to be not the most compact and light, weighing almost 4 kg and measuring 670x120x280 mm, but the justification for this is quite worthy. The gearbox is hidden in a durable aluminium cast housing, protected from dust, dirt and splashes.

A very convenient point is that the saw blade can rotate 180 °. This makes it much easier to work in conditions of limited space and overhead. It is also worth noting here that for work under the ceiling, the manufacturer has provided a fairly long 4 m power cord. There are no problems with adjusting the depth of the cut, a special limiter helps to set it.

At idle, the knife accelerates to 2600 rpm. Depending on the material being processed, the stroke frequency is regulated by the force of pressing the start button. And here the Metabo Vario (V) electronics come to the rescue, which greatly facilitates the selection of speed.

Of course, the SSE 1100 doesn't have many useful features like its older sister Metabo SSEP 1400 MVT 606178500 Price from 11 625 up to 15 603 ₴, but she handles with most of the work quite well, and costs twice as much, $200.

The tool is equipped with two canvases, a branded case for transportation and storage and will be an excellent assistant to a professional craftsman for every day.

The power tool from the Japanese manufacturer Makita is the key to long—term comfortable and efficient work. The JR3070CT saw is a professional model designed for heavy loads.

The tool is compact enough 485x99x181 mm, but heavy (4.6 kg). However, due to the AVT vibration damping system based on a dynamic counterweight, working with it is not as tedious as it seems at first glance.

The high engine power of 1510 W allows you to cope with cutting metal pipes with a diameter of 130 mm, and to cut an oak bar 150x150 mm in 10 seconds.

For certain types of materials (aluminium, plastic, steel, aerated concrete, wood), with the help of a special disk, you can select 6 presets of the number of revolutions — from 950 to 2800 rpm.

The presence of a pendulum stroke provides 4 cutting modes: straight and circular with varying degrees of amplitude of the blade movement, and the retractable support sole provides 5—position adjustment of the cutting depth. however, some note the excessive softness of the metal of the sole, it bends quite easily with effort.

Electronic speed control supports the set number of revolutions, which makes it possible to get the cleanest possible cut even under heavy load. The locking of the start button is also provided in case of prolonged operation.

Considering that such a powerful tool is likely to be used in extreme conditions, the manufacturer has taken care not only of reliable protection of mechanisms and electronics from dust, dirt and moisture, but also of easy replacement of brushes, the fastest-wearing parts of the tool, access to them is as convenient as possible.

The saw is equipped with a branded case and three saw blades — one for wood and two for metal.

The cost of a product of $ 300 with its characteristics is quite predictable and is not yet the highest among competitors. More famous Dewalt, Bosch and Metabo can be found more expensive, but is it better?

The Bosch brand occupies a leading position in the production of high—quality equipment, and the manual power tool in its list is no exception. The 1300 PCE reciprocating saw is a professional equipment for daily hours—long operation in harsh conditions.

The device is quite compact and does not weigh so much — 4.1 kg. Due to the rubberized inserts on the body and the movable handle, it sits comfortably in the hands and does not tyre during long work. In addition to the passive vibration damping system, the active mass balancer also works.

Thanks to the hinge attachment, the sole can change position depending on the angle of inclination of the surface and be fixed in three positions to adjust the depth of the cut.

For convenient hanging of the tool, a metal folding hook is provided in the upper part of the case, and for comfortable work in poor lighting, a spot diode illumination is provided. The manufacturer also took care of the length of the cord. Here it is as much as 4 metres, and the wire itself is flexible, soft and durable.

If everything is on top with ergonomics, there are questions about the technical part. I didn't like the lack of fixing the start button during operation. And this is despite the fact that there is a lock on this very button from accidental pressing. In order for the saw to work, the button must be kept pressed constantly. The cutting speed has to be adjusted by pressing force, as on cheaper models.

A powerful 1300 W motor with a Constant Electronic electronic stabilization system maintains the number of revolutions even under heavy load, that is, there is no practical difference between idling and under load. Having such a useful option, it is not clear why it was not possible to add a choice of preset speed modes in it.

However, this is probably the end of the "flaws".

Thanks to the pendulum stroke paired with a powerful motor, the saw shows high performance, easily sawing wood with a thickness of 220 mm and metal pipes with a diameter of 175 mm. With high—carbon steel, the case is more complicated — the depth of the cut is less than 20 mm. When cutting metal pipes, it is necessary to ensure that the working length of the web is greater than the depth of the cut, and the knife is not sunk, otherwise there is a risk of jamming.

The saw is equipped with a convenient branded case with metal locks and two canvases for wood and metal.

The Bosch GSA 1300 PCE Professional is estimated at almost 300 USD, which, in general, is not expensive for the brand, but this price-to-parameters ratio is not optimal either.