This weekend, I had the pleasure of working with Citywide Mortgage remodeling a home. As Dylan Broadbent, Nick Shaw, and I were constructing this home, I had the idea to start blogging about tool reviews. I’m not just talking about drills brands and the main tools. I’m talking about sawzall blades, drill bits, hole saws, the nitty gritty of construction. For those that buy the 15 pack of sawzall blades, quality matters. It’s going to take a while to use test and review them so if you have any thing that you would like me to review, please put it up ask the question.
As a plumber we get to use a lot of tools, and we are in the worst conditions for tools. We are digging trenches our tools get put in the mud. As we are installing or repairing water lines, our tools get introduced to water. When we are constructing a Drain waste and vent system, our tools have been known to get covered in glue, primer, dirt, and the other stuff that’s dirty. Simply to say our tools are our lively hood, they get put to the test every day.
First things first, let’s start with sawsall blades. Each brand, type, tooth count, has a purpose. Use it for that purpose, don’t try to use a wood blade on plastic pipe, it chips too much and is a lot harder to control on the pipe. I like to use the fine tooth metal blades, as the teeth are less aggressive which will allow more control over the blade. Making starter cuts.
Now brands of blades there are a lot out there. We have DeWalt, Milwaukee, Lenox, I think hilt makes some now, and off brand blades. For what we do we need something that will make hundreds of cuts simply to cut down on cost of purchasing new ones. So thicker is better in most cases, so my opinion Milwaukee torch is the blade I prefer to use. Eighty percent of the time that’s what’s in my sawzall. When we are setting drains in a Grocery store, we need a little flex in the blade, thick blades don’t flex. I like to use Lenox blades for this, simply because they are thinner then dewalt, and Milwaukee. They are designed to flex great for cutting a pipe off in the ground to set drains, but not great to try to cut four inch PVC with, when your trying to get a nice strata cut.
In my world we don’t go through a lot of wood blades simply because of fire codes. Most studs are metal in commercial buildings. There are occasions we do use them, for the most part my opinion is still the thicker the better. Milwaukee once again takes this one, but DeWalt also makes a comparable blade that is just as thick as dewalt, but Milwaukee blades seam to last longer.
Now pricing, Milwaukee blades are more expensive then DeWalt, and DeWalt blades are more expensive than Lenox. So if your just looking to do some stuff around the yard/home, Buy Lenox save some money, by the time you need another blade for another project your Lenox blades will be bent and broken, but they served there purpose and you saved some money to put towards material for the project. If your framing in a basement get a couple Milwaukee blades, it will save you money in the long run. DeWalt blades are great when you’re swapping blades out for different types of material. They will last long enough for you to cut the nail out and switch to wood blades.
As you can see each one has there purpose, know what job you’re going to be doing and buy accordingly. You won’t be disappointed.
