I’ve just destroyed 5 Starrett King Cut metal blades, cutting through two 12mm dia suspension bolts. The job, probably familiar to the likes of @Ubique and @Trevorleach , is replacement of the front lower wishbones in a Disco 4. The bolts tend to seize in the bushings and need cutting out.
The teeth stripped almost straight away, even when I tried going slower and using some cutting lubricant. Am I asking too much of them, or could they be fake ones? Bought from Amazon. That said, the Dewalt blades that came with the saw didn’t last long either.
Recip saws are poo on metal. They dont give enough support to the blade and the stroke is far too short. I havent done that job but suggest use a grinder, hacksaw or plasma cutter if you can get it at the bolt.
Sometimes the only thing you can get in there. I had to cut a load of M16/M20 10.9 bolts out in situ. Wanted to use a grinder but the site agent said nope because of a brand new plastic roof underneath. Seem to recall I used either DeWalt or Bosch blades.
I have an M18 sawzal that I use to hack up parts cars and cut off seized exhaust bolts etc.
I have found that Saxton blades are high quality and for my use far superior to the genuine Milwaukee blades that can go blunt in minutes. These blue blades just keep on going and at about £1.20 each or so.
You reminded me to buy more! I also have 300mm long blades for cutting through B pillars etc. Invaluable.
The bimetal Saxton blades have tended to do just as well as the better-known brands for me.
The Milwaukee Torch Carbide blades are a real eye-opener if you've got heavy steel cutting to do. I had a site job last month that needed 4 cuts through 100 x 25mm steel in-situ with an 18V recip saw. Expecting a nightmare, I rocked up with 4 of the Torch blades and 9 batteries. Used 2 batteries and one blade, which still looks almost new.
I’ve just destroyed 5 Starrett King Cut metal blades, cutting through two 12mm dia suspension bolts. The job, probably familiar to the likes of @Ubique and @Trevorleach , is replacement of the front lower wishbones in a Disco 4. The bolts tend to seize in the bushings and need cutting out.
The teeth stripped almost straight away, even when I tried going slower and using some cutting lubricant. Am I asking too much of them, or could they be fake ones? Bought from Amazon. That said, the Dewalt blades that came with the saw didn’t last long either.
I have cut truck spring pin bolts which are 24mm dia (36mm head) and I think were 10.9, took some time, quite a bit of pressure, and running saw at half speed, plus moving saw back and forth to use as much of the blades cutting area as possible, as soon as I saw smoke I stopped and applied more lube, did a couple of trucks this way, then went back to the gas axe!
The blades were Milwaukee ones, cannot remember which ones, but they were shorter than normal.
Did a volvo rear top shock bolt the other day, awkward to get at, m16 8.8 did not take to long, could not use gas axe due to close proximity of the plastic air pipes.
Invaluable tool that has got me out of trouble many times.
@Kram the job in question on a Discovery wishbone doesn't give many options, difficult to access with anything other than a recip saw. @Guineafowl others have already recommended the Milwaukee carbide blades which are ideal. Word of warning, the carbide blades are so good that your recip saw might not be up to it, I had a nasty incident whilst using an battery adapter on my saw which led to overdischarge of the battery. Never had that with normal blades as they'd fail quickly enough and the tool/battery gets a rest.
I've used Bosch S123XF blades - slowly, on L319 front arms for years, usually get four or five arms cut out per blade using Rocol cutting oil.
Most air powered saws are weak at low speed so you end up using them faster than ideal just to make progress.
When I worked mobile I had (still have!) a Hitachi cordless that had excellent speed control and probably 'saved' the blades.
You'll need the same method & blades for the rear upper arm rear bolt too....
Thanks for the recommendations. In the end, I got the 9” grinder in there, which was a bit precarious but the job is done.
I don’t use the recip saw much, but there are certain times where it’s the only sensible tool for the job. I’ll try some of the blades mentioned, and if no good then I’ll splash out on the Milwaukee carbide one (£24 for one!).
Thanks for the recommendations. In the end, I got the 9” grinder in there, which was a bit precarious but the job is done.
I don’t use the recip saw much, but there are certain times where it’s the only sensible tool for the job. I’ll try some of the blades mentioned, and if no good then I’ll splash out on the Milwaukee carbide one (£24 for one!).
they are worth the money