They saw almost everything. Most universal saws are not only suitable for cutting wood, plastics and metals, but also for building boards, Insulating materials and even aerated concrete blocks. While the do-it-yourself versions have a vertical motor and are usually offered as electric foxtails, the manufacturers call the professional machines saber saws, Tiger saws or reciprocating saws. With them, the motor spindle is in the same direction as the saw blade, and the engine power is higher.
The same saw blades fit in both machine types. The selection is correspondingly extensive. In addition to standard saw blades for wood and metal, there are special saw blades for many materials and applications, for example for sawing flush to the wall. Brushes and knives are also available as application tools.
A special feature is Black's alligator & Decker, the universal saw DW 303 from DeWalt and the tandem foxtails from Bosch. They work with two counter-rotating saw blades like an electric bread knife. This technology reduces the high vibrations when sawing and ensures a significant sawing progress. The fixed saw blade makes it easier to make long, straight cuts. Equipped with carbide saw blades, the machines even cut porous bricks. This technique is not only suitable for metal.
SHOPPING TIP
■ Elektro-Fuchsschwänze und Säbelsägen eignen sich für grobe Schnitte in fast jedem Material. The cheaper electric foxtails are sufficient for occasional work. The professional machines are mainly for heavy renovations- and demolition work.
■ Bei Maschinen mit Pendelhub sorgt eine Pendelbewegung des Sägeblatts für einen schnelleren Sägefortschritt. In many cases, the user can also carry out this pendulum movement by hand, as with the Scorpion, and thus obtain almost the same results.
■ Sägen mit zwei gegenläufigen Sägeblättern (Black&Decker-Alli-gator, Bosch-Tandem-Fuchsschwanz) cut faster and are better suited for long straight cuts. True, they cannot saw metals, but also bricks with special saw blades.