Milwaukee Sawzall Trouble

wallmaxx

I have owned 3 Milwaukee "Super" Sawzalls. (1 - Stolen; 1 - a helper ground the gears to bits when it pinched in a barge rafter -thnx Adam; and now 1 - quit due to an intermittent short in the contacts at the point where the twist-lok plugs into the saw.)

I have just bought a Makita AVT recip. as a replacement. I like it.
It was going to be the AVT or Porter Cable "multi-angle" Tiger Claw. 15 amps tilted me to the Makita.

I have two questions.

a. Is the shorting cord a common problem with Milwaukee sawzall?
b. What are some of y'all's recommended recip. saws? I want to hear from people/crews who run them on a regular basis, likes/dislikes, that sort of thing.

Thanks

firemike

I have generally run Milwaukee, they seem to get stolen before the wear out. Like many companies though, I fear that Milwaukee is following in the footsteps of Bosch and Ridgid (among others) making cheaper tools to stay in the competition for the Big Box bucks.

I have noticed that the last few power tools I have bought just don't have the quality "feel" that tools used to have. I have bought a few Ridgid power tools, because I have been so impressed with my Ridgid hand tools ovet the years, but they seem to be more "homeower" grade than for serious contractors. I have a shop vac in for warranty repair right now, lasted just about a year. What sucks is you have to pay to ship the item to them, a tech will inspect it to see if it is actually covered under warranty, and will let me know. Limited Lifetime Warranty. We'll see.

Anyway, I still like the Milwaukee, have a Skil and a Porter-Cable too, but like the Milwaukee the best, just a personal thing I guess as they all do a good job. Is it the actual cord that is bad, or the plug on the saw? A new cord might solve the problem. If you have a Milwaukee distributor in your area, you could probably take it there and have it checked quickly. I have couple Milwaukee drills that have the twist-loc cord, and have had to bend/reform the little contact pins or sockets slightly to make good contact again.

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KentWhitten

Mine does the same thing wallmax. I don't think it's particularly just the Milwaukee, just plain usage eventually wears certain parts down.

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Custom Cabinetry - Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Kennebunkport, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Cumberland, Ogunquit, Maine

Salmon Falls Cabinetry

osborn

My super sawzall is 3 months old. It does feel a little cheaper than older ones. But it still feels better than other brands. My only problem is the switch for the orbital slips to straight cut.I do a lot of demo and framing, so it gets used a lot. Anyone else have my problem with the orbital switch?

Forry

Had the same SSS for 3+ years now.. no problems, and I use it HARD.

mdshunk

You can buy the same Milwaukee tool at a big box store and at the dealer, and the model number will be a shade different. They make the one's you buy at the box stores out of cheaper stuff. The Milwaukee guy told me he can pretty well guess where the tool was purchased by a couple digits in the model number.

Yes, the cords do get funny in time, as most power tools do. That's why Milwaukee does the neat thing of making most of their tool cords twist-lock field replacable. No need to take it in for service to have the cord replaced. They even make them in longer lengths, if you want one more than the 6 foot or whatever comes on them when you buy them.

nywoodwizard

I had a loose wire on the switch,resecured it,have not had any problems in 2 years. Burned up a makita in a year,burned up two dewalts in one year,i'm sticking with the milwaulkee.Check your switch and wiring to it

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