we've been waiting to unveil the ptr reciprocating saw test track and the day is finally here
helping us set the first benchmarks we have the top saws from dewalt makita in milwaukee
from dewalt we have the second generation flex volt reciprocating saw the dcs-389 boasts 3 000
strokes per minute with a 1-8 inch stroke length it runs 199 dollars as a bare tool 299 with one
nine amp hour battery or 399 with two makita's xrj06 is a 36 volt reciprocating saw that runs
on their x2 platform it has two speeds and maxes out at 3 000 strokes per minute on a one and one
quarter inch stroke length as a bare tool it's 220 or 349 with a pair of 5 amp hour batteries
milwaukee brings its m18 fuel super sawzall to the table with 3 000 strokes per minute
and a one and a quarter inch stroke length it's 249 as a bare tool and 449 dollars with a 12
amp hour high output battery the test track is made up of three components we'll start
with two inch cast iron pipe before moving over to a double stud with four nails embedded in it
and wrap it all up with a roofing sandwich we made from asphalt shingles galvanized flashing
tar peel and stick underlayment half inch osb and two by ten yellow pine with five framing
nails embedded in it between the first and second tests we'll switch blades for the first section
we're running the lennox laser ct carbide tipped blade for medium metal when we get to wood cutting
and our roofing sandwich we'll use the lennox demolition ct carbide tip blade in case you're
wondering why we went with the medium metal blade instead of thick we found this blade was faster
than the cast iron pipe we're cutting since the wall thickness is within the range of what the
medium metal blade was designed for that's the one we chose let me take a quick pause here and
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finished with this video check out how these three brands did on our impact driver speed challenge
back to the business at hand and i want to talk about battery selection for just a moment
milwaukee comes kitted with a 12 amp hour high output battery the flex volt comes with a 9
amp hour but we went ahead and tested with the 12 just to put them on the same playing field
now makita comes packed with two 5 amp hour batteries so that's the battery set we decided
to go with for this saw there's one more thing to note before we let these horses run only
milwaukee has selectable orbital action when we switch blades we'll also switch to orbital mode
and let it take advantage of the more aggressive cutting action up first dewalt is off on its cast
iron cutting adventure with a shiny new linux laser ct blade but it's having a bit of trouble
getting that cut started the saw's vibration is making it difficult for the carbide teeth to bite
in smoothly it's into a rhythm now and looking much better as it moves through the sidewalls
but here at the end there's some more hesitation as it tries to finish off that cutting cast iron
it's a quick blade change with that fantastic blade clamp lever on the outside of the tool
and through our double stud in short order over to the roofing sandwich where dewalt is making steady
progress rounding off the final couple of inches and there's a drop makita strides up next and it's
melting through the beginning of that cast iron much more smoothly wow that really does make a big
difference pushing through that last bit now and onto the blade change makita makes it easier by
locking the twist lock in the open position and snapping closed when the new blade is in place
it continues to look smooth cutting horizontally though maybe a hair slower than dewalt in the
studs pulling through the roofing sandwich makita is plugging along nicely is that a smile i see on
tom's face i bet that has a lot to do with makita's vibration control there's the final
drop of wood and it looks like makita put down a solid time it's in the hot seat now as milwaukee
steps up it looks like the super sawzall is having a rough go getting into that cast iron and that
might just open a window for makita or dewalt to take this race moving into the easier part of the
cut it's looking much more confident now it just has to get through the bottom and there it goes
over to the blade change and switching over to orbital action if you blinked you missed that
double stud that was fast into the roofing sandwich and milwaukee's making much faster
progress than either of its competitors that window makita and dewalt had might be closing now
there's the finish let's take a look at those final results dewalt finished with a total time
of 1 minute 39.90 seconds to start us off makita's fast start gave it a lead over to walt that it
didn't relinquish wrapping up with an impressive one minute 20.47 seconds milwaukee left the cast
iron nearly 10 seconds behind makita however it was able to make up that time and more finishing
in one minute 15.45 seconds that was a lot of fun and let's take a minute to draw some conclusions
first off dewalt's design could really benefit from some advanced vibration control development
it had a lot more chatter than the other two which is something we've noticed consistently with the
brand's reciprocating saws putting orbital action on the next version would help out quite a bit as
well for makita it's huge leading cast iron was a pleasant surprise its lower vibration certainly
helped while not slow in the two wood applications we'd really like to see what it could do with an
orbital action mode milwaukee's m18 fuel super sawzall is a beast of a tool and there's no
question it's bulkier than most with that 12 amp hour battery however there's no stopping
it when it comes to cutting wood especially once you engage orbital mode what do you think
let us know in the comments below and don't worry we'll have plenty more test results
with reciprocating saws from flex rigid cobalt hilti and more as always thanks for watching
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