Popular Post Dadio Posted April 18, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 Today I tried the sawzall and it works really good on 3/4" plywood . I found the saw has a variable speed trigger. Uses the same blades as the Milwaukee. The only problem I found was with the blade shoe. It has a pin that pulls out to shift the shoe from straight up and down to forward or back. the pin pushes in to lock and pulls out to release. Well the vibration of the blade causes it to push out ,thus letting the shoe to move to the back and forward positions. I might have to replace with a small bolt and wingnut to lock it in place. No biggy. I do like the quick change feature of the blade, I can easily remove the blade before I put the saw back into the bag. It has lots of power,cut right along in that plywood. Kind of like no cord to fight. Can't tell the difference from a corded one for cutting. I tried the circular saw on a piece of western maple Ruff 1 X 8 and it quit half way through the cut,weak battery. It was the same one I had on the sawzall , right out of the kit. So I put it on to charge and put the other battery that came with the tools and it walked right through the board and I cut the other end no problem. The blade that came with it was a Ridgid blade, gave a very nice smooth no tear out cut. it is a 7 1/2" X 5/8" arbor hole, which is standard, uses a 3/16" allen wrench to tighten arbor bolt, the allen wrench stores onboard saw. To operate the saw there is a Safety switch that has to be depress and then the trigger works. I can let go of the safety switch while the saw is running unlike some saws where you have to depress the safety switch and the trigger both all the time which is quite awkward. This is better but I still don't like this feature, and from my 45 years of using one for a living think that it is unnecessary. Herb lew, Artie, schnewj and 3 others 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 Safety switch is a CYA button. We may not need it but, Rigid's legal staff probably insisted. And, the staff at HD aren't qualified to administer IQ tests. Dadio, Artie and HARO50 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnewj Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 So, I'm not the only one aggravated by those little switches/buttons! I have to agree with Herb and Gene, they are only needed for kids, people with IQ's somewhere around room temperature, and people who burn themselves with HOT coffee at McD's. HARO50, Dadio, p_toad and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_toad Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Dadio said: tried the sawzall Last time i got a couple of steel barrels and wanted to cut the heads out I used my Ridgid sawzall (used to use my B&D jigsaw) and (believe it or not) a nice new HF metal blade. Zipped those babies right out and when i was done the only change was the paint on the saw blade was worn away from the friction. Blade seemed sharp as new. HARO50 and Dadio 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 To quote someone "HF rocks". HARO50, Dadio, Fred W. Hargis Jr and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadio Posted April 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 (edited) Go Harbor Freight, going to have to get some of those blades, The trigger safety button on the reciprocating saw is a straight push button, the circular saw is a press down type Herb Edited April 18, 2018 by Dadio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 2 hours ago, p_toad said: Last time i got a couple of steel barrels and wanted to cut the heads out I used my Ridgid sawzall (used to use my B&D jigsaw) and (believe it or not) a nice new HF metal blade. Zipped those babies right out and when i was done the only change was the paint on the saw blade was worn away from the friction. Blade seemed sharp as new. Use a right angle grinder on top of the rim until you see a line between the two pieces of metal that make up the lip. The top will pop out and leave a nice smooth edge. HARO50 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadio Posted April 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 4 minutes ago, HandyDan said: Use a right angle grinder on top of the rim until you see a line between the two pieces of metal that make up the lip. The top will pop out and leave a nice smooth edge. I was always told to fill the barrel with water before I cut the top off, is that a Myth? HARO50 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadio Posted April 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 Like all of you advised, to register the tools with Ridgid, I did register them yesterday and got a confirmation back last night. a whole wad of paperwork to file away and hopefully never have to look for again. It is easy to register, just takes time and a lot of numbers to type (8 items X 2 no.+ P.O.#), all 7-14 digits long. and then they make you check them twice, Whew, my one finger was numb when I got through. Herb Artie and HARO50 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p_toad Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 13 minutes ago, HandyDan said: Use a right angle grinder on top of the rim until you see a line between the two pieces of metal that make up the lip. The top will pop out and leave a nice smooth edge. I would have thought about it, but there was still a small amount of oily residue in them and the saw made it smooth enough for a fire barrel without sparklies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmealy Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 4 hours ago, Gene Howe said: And, the staff at HD aren't qualified to administer IQ tests. Good thing because many of them could not pass one, no less administer one. Insert OAG Dumb Look© here Gene Howe, Artie and HARO50 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 1 hour ago, p_toad said: I would have thought about it, but there was still a small amount of oily residue in them and the saw made it smooth enough for a fire barrel without sparklies. Aw come on. Where is your sense of adventure? You are making a "burn" barrel. HARO50, p_toad and Artie 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadio Posted April 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 59 minutes ago, HandyDan said: Aw come on. Where is your sense of adventure? You are making a "burn" barrel. Mine was for flushing the OB motor. But maybe the sawblade does not cause enough sparks, I used a hammer and cold chisel. but I still filled it with water, like my Dad had taught me. He used an acetylene torch. Herb Artie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallpatch Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 Dan I agree with the using the grinder, especially if a person will working in and out of the barrel like when wife kicks me out of the house and says go sleep in the barrel... or when I built a kids thingy to crawl from one little play room to another up in the tree..but then we lost one kid and the other one didn't want to play anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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