Reciprocating saw - significant blade flex

[OldKettle]

Hi,
I've just bought a Titan reciprocating saw and some blades for cutting metal.

I've just tried it out and there is very significant flex in the metal cutting blades. Below is a picture of the saw running with the blue blade that came with the saw and the white metal blade.

The saw is not variable speed, and the flex begins almost immediately after the saw starts running.

Is this normal? If not, is it a fault with the blade, or the saw? Is it safe to use?

Any thought would be much appreciated.

 

[blup]

Expect some flex because the blade is only supported at one end.

It might be worth trying the white blade on wood.

I assume it's correctly fitted into the holder

Blup

 

[Roger928]

Some of the holders don't clamp the blade tight.
Makita is one that does.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Firstly, cheaper blades are thinner than reasonable quality ones and will oscillate more. Bosch, Milwaukee and deWalt are all good brands but cost more. Secondly, you need to use the shortest possible/available blade for the job in hand - using a 300mm demolition blade, even a good one, to cut down 12mm plywood will result in oscillation whereas using a 120mm short blade will be much better and oscillate less. Thirdly, recip. saws should be started with the blade on or just above the material and the foot adjusted so that it is resting against the "end" of the material - in use they do oscillate much less thsn if you hold them up in the air and switch them on. One thing - these saws absolutely must be use with a two-handed grip in order to exert the maximum control and the workpiece should be adequately secured/fixed-down. Goggles are advisable. too

 

[SammyInnit]

Perfectly normal. There are ways to keep the cut straight regardless depending on material.

 

[foxhole]

Normal , don’t run without contact with material .

 

[OldKettle]

Thanks for all the input. Used it to cut up an old aluminium frame today. Seemed to work OK, although the blade took a far bit of damage.

 

[Roger928]

This is not normal for my Makita TR3060T. Which is a beast.
This is it running full tilt with a 12" blade..

 

[big-all]

you can tell the movement is normal by the massive space each side off the blade to the shoe
even then grooves scratches and scores are quite common on the shoe
the only way to get any degree off accuracy is 2 batons a blade width apart to cut between

 

[SammyInnit]

you can tell the movement is normal by the massive space each side off the blade to the shoe
even then grooves scratches and scores are quite common on the shoe
the only way to get any degree off accuracy is 2 batons a blade width apart to cut between

Get yourself a bit more practice in then mate.

 

[big-all]

Get yourself a bit more practice in then mate.

plenty off practice have been using recips for over 10 years

 

[SammyInnit]

plenty off practice have been using recips for over 10 years

And you still need a guide to be anything like accurate?

 

[big-all]

And you still need a guide to be anything like accurate?

cutting fascias or barge boards in situ to replace a rotten bit for example

 

[SammyInnit]

cutting fascias or barge boards in situ to replace a rotten bit for example

As the saying goes, if all you have is a hammer, every problem becomes a nail.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I tend to use my recip saw for the intended purpose - cutting-out and demolition, neither of which require any finesse. Are they accurate? Don't make me laugh! Against a half decent jigsaw or a half decent circular saw even the best recip saw is pitifully inaccurate and you can't do much about that other than to use a more appropriate tool. But they are very, very fast and have massive capacity - which is why I use one for demolition, cutting out and on repairs. The question of blade rigidity is more one of cost - buy a cheap blade and it will be thin, vibrate and kink easily. But buy too long a blade for the task at hand and it will also kink and the end will tend to flap about all the time. It's that simple.

I've been using recip saws for a few years, long enough to have been through a Porter-Cable (underpowered), Hilti (too big - the stupid handle added about 4 inches to the length of the saw), Milwaukee (nice, but somebody nicked it and the replacements are now made in China so apparently quality has gone through the floor) and Bosch (1300 watts, orbital, super quick and bags of power but had the gearbox rebuilt under warranty because we caned it so much - something like 200 heavy demolition blades in 9 months). I've also used earlier 18 volt cordless models and many a works corded Makita (OK, but not in the same league as my last 3 heavy weights).