I have a project (demolition of a deck/dock structure) and it's apparent this tool would be perfect for demolition tasks. Never owned one before.

The saw will largely be used for cutting wood, however there are a bunch of nails throughout it and I'd like to be able to cut through both metal and wood, emphasis however is wood. Nails can likely be avoided if necessary but cutting both would be ideal. Additionally, since I plan on buying once, I don't care about price. I'd like the most versatile, capable, flexible Sawzall for this and various future needs.  

Here are a few questions before I buy:

Corded v. Cordless. I have mixed experience with cordless tools. My cordless weed trimmer is fantastic. I've owned some cordless drills that often leave a lot to be desired in respect to power and operating time. Weakening charge, short operation on a charge, but they're obviously more portable which is helpful. Corded has great consistent power, but tethered to an outlet. As this relates to Sawzall's, what do you suggest? The vast majority of its use will be at my home/yard. Corded? Cordless? Considerations?

Power. As mentioned before cost is less of a concern than simply getting a great Sawzall. I don't want to just get by with it. I'd like it to have ample power to cut everything easily. Wood, metal, PVC....whatever. I'm also not a contractor so my needs would be less frequent and possibly less demanding than someone using it on the job daily. What's the baseline for power you'd recommend?

Flexibility. Obviously a variable speed trigger is a good thing. The other is the flexibility of blade mounting options and blade types. Some of these allow for 2 position blade attachment (up/down). Others have 4 position blade attachment (up, down, side to side). The latter seems like a no brainer to me to help accommodate odd angles and such. Some also will allow for certain hack saw blades to be attached, which seems far less important since Sawzalls already come with a lot of blade options. So as far as blade attachment options and over all flexibility, thoughts?

Brands. Who should I avoid and which are the best?

These tools are so commonly used and owned, I'm pretty sure these questions should be a piece of cake for many here. Thanks in advance.

Milwaukee FUEL.

I have an M18 FUEL Sawzall and an M12 FUEL Hackzall. When I need power I grab one, when I need flexibility/compactness I grab the other.

Get a carbide blade. Either Milwaukee Ax Carbide or a Demo Demon from Diablo.

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This.  I have a corded mil. Sawzall I never use anymore    5AH mill. Battery and their sawzall does it all.   Blades he picked are GTG, typically called demo blades.   Get extra blades, dull ones will just kill the battery quicker.

Ok, the Milwaukee FUEL seems like it's answered a few questions generally.

Cordless v. Corded: Cordless (at least as far as the FUEL goes)

Brand: Milwaukee

Blade: Carbide does it all.

As for run time, I suppose I should just get two batteries and that issue is a nonissue.

How long will a charge be good for?

I believe the m18 fuel saw is a 15 amp saw - so using it hard a 5 ah battery will give you 20 minutes of actual run time.  I'd guess in actual use 2 or 3 hours out of a single 5ah battery on a normal day of regular use. The 9 or 12 ah battery would last longer, but they are pricey beasts and heavy.

I don't have the sawzall, I have other m18 tools.

What's the consensus on orbital Shamwow super sawzalls?

What's the consensus on orbital Shamwow super sawzalls?

Unless you know you going to need the cordless features go with the corded tool.  Much more powerful if you can deal with the extension cord.  I have an Milwaukee 15 Amp Orbital Super SAWZALL and it's a beast.  The Orbital feature eats through wood at an impressive rate with a good demolition blade installed.

It kind of odd that a cordless tool doesn't include a battery.

You'd think it would be delivered with everything it needs to actually work....but, not the case.

Batteries are pretty damn expensive.....but I'd probably get a small one for quick jobs and an extended, larger battery as well. One can charge while the other is used.

I just don't want to have to stop what I'm doing because the power craps out. Taking this deck/dock down will require a lot of use and  run time.

I have a Dewalt corded saw that I haven't been able to kill.  They are cheaper than a battery saw.  If you don't plan to use it often, a battery saw is not what you really need.

I probably use mine once every two years.  I am glad I don't have to deal with batteries.

M4, in your case I would get the corded version if you don’t have to stretch out a bunch of extension cords.   They do draw a lot of amps and need decent sized cords.

You could probably find a used 120v sawzall cheap.

I have a Milwaukee m18 sawzall and a nice selection of blades for it.  I assure you it will NOT take a long time to remove anything you want to attack with one.  Get a few good demolition blades and a couple of 5AH batteries and you can roll on.  Corded is even better while your working close to the house and an outlet but unless this is your only project then cordless it the way to go.

Lots of times such tools are sold bare (no batteries) because it’s expected that the buyer already has a selection of tools using the same batteries.  There are stand-alone packages that include battery and charger.  

As long as your not cutting hardened masonry nails the demolition blades hold up very well to nails. Oh yeah, deck screws eat them up pretty good to. Have a few metal cutting blades if you anticipate encountering those.

You don’t want to buy their cordless stuff by the piece, $$$.

Arfcom GD notified me home D was having a sale on Milwaukee combo sets a couple months back.  About 330.00 for a 18v fuel kit.
Sawzall/circ saw/hammer drill/2 batteries + charger+ flashlight.

Wait for one of those sales, if you need all that..

i'm taking a deck down right now. I have battery and corded sawzalls. I also have a stihl chainsaw. Chainsaw wins every time, unless you can't avoid nails and screws. The sawsalls are way slower.

Milwaukee gives you the option of buying just the tool, or the tool and battery. Lots of people have the batteries already and chargers.

Milwaukee hands down. Have the m18 lineup (mostly non-Fuel but a few fuel pieces including the sawzall) and have zero disappointment in them. Demod a deck recently, the sawzall with good blades (i prefer diablos) made short work of it all.

Yes, I agree with this, cutting up pallets is fast with a chainsaw, but will wear out your wrist with a sawzall.

For wood demolition nothing is faster then a skilsaw. If you see nails and other hazards a sawzall  is the way to go. Blade selection is everything!

With the intermittent use that goes on mine a corded is still the "go to" model.

No planning, no remembering to top off a battery that has been sitting around for a few months.
Grab the saw, grab some cords, all ready to work.

Kinda my thinking here as well. Portability just isn't that crucial to me. I don't use these things for work. Pretty much just in a big shed where projects happen and around my house.

I have a 12 gauge 100' extension cord that should be perfect for the one I got today. A 15 amp Super Sawzall with a cord.


Anyone have this particular model or have used one? I get that they're heavy but I like the idea of extra power and don't plan on buying another any time soon.

You could cut a 22’ boat in half with that saw.  I have a older version that goes like an angry beaver.   Good choice.

You really didn't describe what I'd be using mine for in either of your scenarios. Kinda one extreme to another.

I bought the one I posted above.

Pretty confident that a 15 amp Super Sawzall with a cord will get every job done that I'll need it to and with every bit the gusto of the FUEL line. I get the cordless thing....not a tough concept. I own some other cordless tools. In this case....regarding this type of tool, it'll be used more than once a year....but not remotely likely that a cord is going to fuck up the program in any way.

If this was for a professional tradesman who requires as much flexibility as possible and totes around multiple batteries? Different story. It's not. It's for my home/yard alone. If, by chance, I find myself in a small space at some point and need it....I'm also pretty confident I can pull it off while simultaneously "fighting" the cord.

Currently I only have a 12v Milwaukee one and it works fine. It doesn't like to be pushed hard for long but that's more about battery thermal management then the saws. I have 4 Batts so I just swap them out. And this is cutting 4x6 treated pine which is hard on any saw.

I work we pretty much only use Dewalt Sawzalls but I think its more of a cost thing because those guys demolish pretty much any tool you give them. Ive literally seen spline drive impact get returned in bolt bags because they used/abused it till it fell apart. Then they have to go to hammer wrenches which is what they shouldve done in the first place

I would get the Milwaukee if you're going to use it a lot.  Keep in mind they have M12, M12Fuel, M18, and M18Fuel cordless lines- and I'm forever confused when shopping as some dealers are vague about which one you're looking at.

I have a corded saw since I use it maybe four times a year.  That's pretty much how my power tool buying goes; if it's going to be used a lot, I get the expensive cordless tools (like drill, impact drivers) but if it's something I don't expect to use often, I get the corded tool for substantially less (like cut-tool, hedge trimmer, sawzall).

Keep an eye on the Garage Journal Forum here: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=36 as they constantly track tool deals.

Check your local pawn shop for a corded one.

It’s a simple tool that lasts forever.

The weak spot is the cord.

That's a damn fine deal.

All my 18V tools are DeWalt, but if I didn't have those I'd jump all over the Milwaukee 18V stuff - especially a deal like that.

I have my doubts on the 18V out performing the corded version, but maybe.  Both the corded and M18 Super Sawzall have the same stroke length and the battery version is rated at 3000 spm vs the corded at 2800 spm both those are both unloaded.  In theory the corded one is pulling 1800 watts at full power (120VAC x 15 Amps).  To match 1800 watts with an 18VDC battery you talking about pull ~100 amps.  That is over 10C discharge rate for an 8.0-Ahr battery.  Some Li-Po batteries can handle that and some can't but at max power you kill that battery in less than 5 minutes and my corded one is just starting to warm up.  Not to mention the MSRP on one M18 8.0 Ahr rated battery is the same as my whole tool.  If you need cordless you need cordless its not a slouch of a tool for sure but the corded tool definitely has advantages if you can tolerate the extension cord.

I have six 50 foot #10 extension cords.

Make sure that the blade fastening screw in the shaft is not stripped.
I saw one at a Pawnbroker that was way overpriced, and the shaft was stripped.
They are expensive to replace, and using a Heli-Coil causes other problems.

Are 12 gauge extension cords insufficient for a 15 amp Sawzall?

Good point.

Also, never go to a chain pawn shop. Find a mom and pop. Preferably one that’s 20 years or more in business.

Corded if you have lots of cutting to do.  Cordless for a cut here and there or in a place without power.   I have a Corded dewalt that I use.  I used to cut lots of steel with it and that takes time and power.  Now I mostly use it for trimming trees with a pruning blade.  Cordless would be much better for that (I used to have one) and I will likely pick up another when the right sale comes along.

I have the m18 fuel hackzall, it's awesome and lasts a long time on a 5.0 battery.

You're neglecting power factor in your calculations. AC and DC wattage are not calculated the same as you're not calculating wattage above, you're calculating apparent power aka volt-amps, which is NOT equivalent to real wattage when you're talking about AC (which is a sine wave) vs. direct current (which is 100% voltage 100% of the time).

On the edge if you have to interconnect more than a couple.
Bigger is better for extension cords.

The current draw will have some peaks, like at startup.
Since the saw is most often started with zero load that
helps lower the size of the startup surge.

But if you then use it hard and load the motor down
the voltage droop can slow the saw down.

Thanks for the info. So I have one 100' 12 gauge extension cord. It's likely all I'll ever need if it's acceptable. Would you think it's sufficient for a 15 amp Sawzall, or do I really need to spend an extra $100 on a 10 gauge? It won't be interconnected.

12 AWG cord is fine.

I only have experience with my Dewalt corded cheap sawzall and the thing has been indestructible. I've been pretty hard on it in some bad conditions and it keeps on running. Last week I had the whole thing gunked up with mud, waited a day and chipped the mud off and it still showed no signs of slowing down. This is really the only tool I own that I truly abuse and it doesn't seem to care. I've had it for around 8 years.

Having said that. Running an extension cord 100' to the back of the yard is a pain.

I have three 'sawzall's

One handed version. Is nice for cutting drain pipe. Any extra cutting is a bonus.

A cordless full size saw that comes out when needed. Works great.

A corded saw that sits in its box. It's a beast. There could be spiders in there for all i know.

Unless you have cordless tools already or plan on getting a tool kit, get a corded saw. Ahem, cordless reciprocating saws work amazing for pruning plants.

All of my daily cordless tools are dewalt. Works great.

Acmetools is having a deal where you receive two big 5ah batteries and charger when you buy two bare tools. Dewalt only.

If you are building a deck, buy a nice toolkit with drill, impact driver, circular saw, reciprocating saw, oscillating saw, and light. Or buy a drill kit and add on bare tools.

I

As an experienced former tradesmen my first recommendation would be avoid these saws if you can . For demolition they are fine but for construction they tend to be one of the most difficult saws to guide and get a straight cut. If you get one be sure to practice before you cut anything you have to look at everyday. Also, get a corded saw. Wireless tools usually are more convenient at the cost of having less power. Get used to using a cord and it won't bother you anymore. I don't really poses a brand loyalty but American tools are typically head and shoulders above the rest, except for Black and Decker which tend to be Wal-Mart grade tools for housewives in my experience. If you are a housewife who is only going to use the saw on rare occasions that is probably fine. I tend to be bias against tools that do the bear minimum because I worked in construction long enough to see hundreds of inferior grade and imported tools brake under reasonable work stresses. But if you won't use it a lot you should buy a lower grade tool since you get what you pay for and it is insane to pay top dollar for something you'll only use <50-100 times.

Glad you got the corded version.

Corless tools are following the Gillette razor and ink jet printer model. Tools aren't that expensive but they rape you on the batteries.

100' 12awg cord is fine in your application. Of course 10awg is better but the cost/benefit isn't there.

Orbital makes a big difference in efficiency, glad you got that.

These really are demolishion tools. I use my cordess one for pruning too, works great.

Blades are important. They'll get bent and destroyed but get good ones. The thicker ones last longer so it offsets the higher cost. Carbide tipped or bimetal demolishion blades are what you want for this job.

Congratulations on the new tool.

I think you made the right choice. As far as sawzalls go, any of the corded 15A saws will be about the same. If you aren't already invested in a battery system, then getting a cordless one and buying batteries is stupid, especially with how expensive batteries are. When I am doing serious demo with my Milwaukee m18 sawzall, I hammer through batteries. Thankfully I have 2 9.0Ah batteries, and 3 4.0Ah batteries, but it is annoying. I have the multi rapid charger shown above, and a dead 9.0 battery takes 45-60 minutes to charge, and I can kill it in a sawzall or angle grinder in 20-30 min. For major work, try as you might, it is hard to argue against a cord. For the record, I don't keep a corded sawzall or angle grinder on the truck, since most of the time I don't need to run one all day, but if I am doing demo then I grab the corded super sawzall, corded portaband, and corded angle grinder from the shop.

If you understood the demands placed on the battery pack of a cordless tool, you'd rethink that statement.

Lets just consider the number of cells in the pack. You don't want to use garbage cells, so you use good ones. I think we all agree on getting quality stuff.

So, a 5Ah Milwaukee battery pack is comprised of 10 2500mAh 18650s in a 5s2p configuration.  Lets assume the R&D, Advertising, Administrative overhead, and all total manufacturing charges are ignored, as well as the other raw materials (battery housing, circuitry, etc). You're getting 10 quality 18650s for $60 (It's not hard to find 5ah packs 2/$120, and if you look hard enough you can find them 2/$100).  You're paying $6/18650, and that's cheaper than I can find the quality ones online for. I buy Orbtronic High Demand 18650s for my flashlights, and the cheapest one I buy is $7/ea.  So, said another way, I couldn't even buy the cells for cheaper than they sell batteries for, let alone assembling them into a functional battery pack with RedLithium (aka their intelligent charging/leveling technology) with the same level of ruggedness and quality control they put into them.

Why ever run out of portable power if portability isn't necessary?

The M18 fuel is an animal,  I have a few corded ones and dont touch them anymore,  the m18 sawzal also works great for pruning limbs, cutting roots out of the ground and as a replacement for asmall chainsaw, it's my most used power tool, I carry in my daily driver I love it so much.

I have NEVER ran out of portable power. I have, however, had the power go out when working on a project.

I have a full compliment of M18 and M12 tools, approaching 25 tools by now I guess.  I have 11 M18 and 7 M12 batteries.  I buy them whenever they go on a promotional sale.  I have 7 chargers as well, that can charge an M18 and M12 battery at the same time, each.  And unlike a corded tool, I can run the chargers off a small battery backup unit, or even off my cars' built in power outlet.

Personally, I find corded tools to be more limiting to me completing work than cordless, but again I think we're in different spots with tool arsenals.  Nothing wrong with that.