Looking to buy a oscillating saw

[JLawrence08648]

I want to buy an oscillating saw to cut baseboard moulding to fit a chest against the wall. I probably will have use for it to cut the bottom of door moulding to put down a vinyl planking floor. After that? Who knows. I have to watch some videos.

Looking at the reviews at Home Depot, Lowes, and Harbor Freight, the Bauer for $100 got the best reviews. I just hate to buy electric tools at Harbor Freight but no matter what other brands you look at, there are a ton of bad reviews.

I don't want to buy a saw that uses brand only blades. I'm not sure about blade replacement without tools, it may be quicker but seems using a screw is more secure, then how often will you be changing blades?

 

[spasm3]

Depends on the use. I needed an oscillating saw to cut door molding off for flooring, one time use. So i did get the HF. If it was something i would use more than one, i might have bought the Makita or Dewalt.

If its a rare use tool, its also not worth buying battery powered vs a cord, unless you have other things that take the same battery.

 

[Astro14]

I bought a Makita 18v. Wonderful tool. Quite expensive if you don't already have the batteries.

 

[FT92]

I have two of the Harbor Freight oscillating tools (Chicago electric.)..both have been working great...I am now semi retired home remodeler so I don't use tools as much as I used to but for like a 20 dollar bill for the tool( use the 20% coupon and it's less) and I think I paid 3.95 on sale for the blades you cant beat it...just let the tool do the work , don't force it and you should be good to go...just a thought...harbor freight has really improved their tool lines across the board

 

[NormanBuntz]

At this time last year I bought the Lowes Kobalt house brand oscillating saw. The case fell apart after 30 minutes of use because the manufacturer used the wrong length screws to hold the halves together. Returned it and replaced it with a Rockwell model I bought from Amazon. No problems with the new one, and the price was right.

 

[JLawrence08648]

Originally Posted by Astro14
I bought a Makita 18v. Wonderful tool. Quite expensive if you don't already have the batteries.


I have the batteries and charger for a Makita, charger somewhere in the garage!

 

[UncleDave]

Love my oscillating saw, I went with a corded Fein - Its great.

That said Ive never had a problem with my Makita tools and the lates model lithium stuff is amazing.

 

[JLawrence08648]

Harbor Freight without coupons
Chicago Electric single speed 21k $20
Chicago Electric variable speed $35
Bauer variable speed $95

Home Depot
Dremel $80
$100 Dremel, Milwaukee cordless F18 with battery and charger
$120 DeWalt

Lowes
I'm scared of Craftsman so I eliminated that, not sure about Worx, B&D, Dremel
Worx 2.5amp $40
B&D 2.5amp $55
B&D 3amp $70
Porter Cable 20v $70
Rockwell kit 3amp $75, 3.5amp $80
Dremel $80
Hitachi kit $100
DeWalt kit $120

Do I go cordless?

Cheap Chicago Electric, Bauer, Rockwell, Hitachi

Bauer has a 90 day warranty without the extended, others 1-5 years. I'm semi-retired, do Handy work on the side. I really don't know how much use I'll get out of it but hate to buy cheap or junk and have it not perform well or fail well before it's time.

 

[Blueskies123]

If I only plan to use a tool once every few years I get it at Harbor Freight. If I use it regularly I get something that plugs in, more power, and is a brand name with lots of good reviews on Amazon or Home Depot.
My oscillating tool from HF has been used once in 3 years and worked fine.

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted by JLawrence08648
Harbor Freight without coupons
Chicago Electric single speed 21k $20
Chicago Electric variable speed $35
Bauer variable speed $95

Home Depot
Dremel $80
$100 Dremel, Milwaukee cordless F18 with battery and charger
$120 DeWalt

Lowes
I'm scared of Craftsman so I eliminated that, not sure about Worx, B&D, Dremel
Worx 2.5amp $40
B&D 2.5amp $55
B&D 3amp $70
Porter Cable 20v $70
Rockwell kit 3amp $75, 3.5amp $80
Dremel $80
Hitachi kit $100
DeWalt kit $120

Do I go cordless?

Cheap Chicago Electric, Bauer, Rockwell, Hitachi

Bauer has a 90 day warranty without the extended, others 1-5 years. I'm semi-retired, do Handy work on the side. I really don't know how much use I'll get out of it but hate to buy cheap or junk and have it not perform well or fail well before it's time.


I prefer cordless just for the portability of it. I have a collection of Dewalt 20v batteries, so I was able to pickup a new Dewalt off a guy on Kijiji for $80 a few years back. If you don't need this often a cheap one from HF would be just fine for you. You can get a lot of the cheaper blades at HF.

 

[Job]

I have the Ridgid Jobmax both voltages 12 and 18, lifetime warranty and one head did break internally as I abused it pretty badly with a wide aftermarket blade. The Jobmax takes a bunch of other accessories on the same handle base, recip saw, jigsaw, impact driver, drill, on and on.
I also bought the Porter Cable 20v, on sale, I really like that series. The PC has a very easy tool free blade change mechanism, as does the Ridgid but the Ridgid is sort of stiff.
The main difference is ergonomics I like the PC because the speed is set independently of the trigger and don't get the constant up and down blipping of speed like the Ridgid trigger speed method. I like to set the speed what I like and work at that speed concentrating on the cut not the trigger. The Jobmax accessories though make it pretty economical.

 

[maxdustington]

Corded: Fein.
Cordless: Dewalt. Makita cordless have never impressed me every and the batteries are more expensive than Dewalt or Milwaukee. PC and Craftsman should be the same as Dewalt.

The blades are $30/each if you buy brand name ones individually here at a box store.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
Corded: Fein.
Cordless: Dewalt. Makita cordless have never impressed me every and the batteries are more expensive than Dewalt or Milwaukee. PC and Craftsman should be the same as Dewalt.

The blades are $30/each if you buy brand name ones individually here at a box store.


Check out Imperial Blades. P/n IBOA220-3. $22 shipped on eBay for 3. Not sure how that'd work for shipping to Canada though.

 

[wings&wheels]

I have the HF ~$24 one. I needed one to cut through the lifting eye rod on an old boat project. I had left my good one at my parents, so I drove to HF and got this one, figured if it worked for this job, I'd be happy. The gearcase sounds like it is filled w/ gravel, but it did the job, then I used it to remove TREX on our deck, lent it to a friend, on and on....it just keeps going.. Another friend has one, same story.

I'm not the biggest HF fan, but I'd easily recommend this one for a casual user.