Recip / Sawzalls

PC7060

Panheadsforever said:

For cutting pipe You need one that is straight and not orbital (for wood) or just buy a cordless band saw….so much superior.

Or one of these Ridgid units if you cut a lot of CI. Bit heavy to lug but does fast / clean cuts.
I bought one 8 years ago for a big project and really don’t use much anymore. Maybe it’s time to list in EBay.  

But when it come to tools I’m in the buy and keep  category! 

delcrossv

Not a hole hawg, per se, but I do have a 1950's Milwaukee right angle drill for studs and yes, it's a #*%!& to use. Two speeds: On and Off.

ChrisJ

My dad has I think a 1/2 "Magnum hole shooter" from the early 90s I think.

There's also a 1940s or 50s Skil drill that I put a new cord on 20 years ago.  I worked for Skil / Bosch at the time and my manager knew the drill and didn't like it, the feeling I got was people got hurt.  You can screw npt pipes into it as handles and I think it has a 3/4" chuck on it.  It runs at something like 450 rpm.  

My dad said they were using them to power a screeding machine on a bridge in the late 60s.   It dwarfs a magnum hole shooter. 

EBEBRATT-Ed

I had a guy working for me years ago that swore by his Porter Cable. Tiger saw I think it was called. It had more strokes/min that the old my Milwaukee Sawzall and and drew like 3 more amps.

I admit his saw cut faster than mine but I would cut all day with one blade and he went through a ton of blades.

Heat is the blades enemy and is what destroys blade and blades are pretty pricy now.

ChrisJ

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

I had a guy working for me years ago that swore by his Porter Cable. Tiger saw I think it was called. It had more strokes/min that the old my Milwaukee Sawzall and and drew like 3 more amps. I admit his saw cut faster than mine but I would cut all day with one blade and he went through a ton of blades. Heat is the blades enemy and is what destroys blade and blades are pretty pricy now.

In theory carbide tipped blades should take the extra speed ease.

In theory.

Intplm.

Mad Dog_2 said:

Anyone still .own Milwaukee Hole Hog? Aka The Widow maker, Jaw Breaker, The Pig 🐖?  Up on an 8 foot ladder drilling floor joists with a 4.5" Wood bit....mad Dog 

Was that a nail that just went through the back of my hand??!! Ouch. Loved that hole hog.

ChrisJ

Ah. The hole hawg is the beefy right angle drill?

A good friend of mine had one of those we used a few times.

STEAM DOCTOR

ChrisJ said:

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

I had a guy working for me years ago that swore by his Porter Cable. Tiger saw I think it was called. It had more strokes/min that the old my Milwaukee Sawzall and and drew like 3 more amps. I admit his saw cut faster than mine but I would cut all day with one blade and he went through a ton of blades. Heat is the blades enemy and is what destroys blade and blades are pretty pricy now.

In theory carbide tipped blades should take the extra speed ease.

In theory.

I use my carbide blades to death. Almost never replace one on a job. Sometimes use same blade on multiple jobs. Depends on how fine the cuts need to be. For example, when cutting out steam pipes for boiler replacement, will use same blade multiple times 

KC_Jones

Mad Dog_2 said:

Anyone still .own Milwaukee Hole Hog? Aka The Widow maker, Jaw Breaker, The Pig 🐖?  Up on an 8 foot ladder drilling floor joists with a 4.5" Wood bit....mad Dog 

Talking about one of these? Yes I have one works great with those bits.

Larry Weingarten

Hi, This is what I remember Hole Hawgs looking like: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134456068270?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr=1&amdata=enc:119UevbelSXGPwcfrXYzjBQ45&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-213727-13078-0&mkcid=2&itemid=134456068270&targetid=4580771614098651&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=603247547&mkgroupid=1234752552191001&rlsatarget=pla-4580771614098651&abcId=9316119&merchantid=51291&msclkid=770ead7312901ff9fb45c89a43960c17 Use one of these with a large bit on a ladder. Such fun!

Yours, Larry

Mad Dog_2

My friend Moose had his index finger torn off using a Magna-Drill boring through an I Beam on a High rise in Manhattan. Amazingly, they reattached it. As rough as it can be working 💪 in Manhattan, you're 10-20  minutes away from the best Doctors on the planet.  Mad Dog 🐕 

Tom_133

Mad Dog_2 said:

Anyone still .own Milwaukee Hole Hog? Aka The Widow maker, Jaw Breaker, The Pig 🐖?  Up on an 8 foot ladder drilling floor joists with a 4.5" Wood bit....mad Dog 

It beat me like a rented mule when I was first starting out. Glad they put out the superhawg! My opinion of Milwaukee has changed a lot over the years. I see them as GM, they got lots of power, lots of toys, lots of options and it seems to be broken a lot. I view Makita like Toyota, seldom broken, but less power, and a consumer of fuel!!! Makita is my go to, they got the battery thing worked out, and they are too reliable, I sill have the first set I bought 20 years ago, and they work! I have upgraded out of pure jealousy
I like cordless unless I am roughing in a new house then a corded Superhawg is the only tool for me.

ChrisJ

Mad Dog_2 said:

My friend Moose had his index finger torn off using a Magna-Drill boring through an I Beam on a High rise in Manhattan. Amazingly, they reattached it. As rough as it can be working 💪 in Manhattan, you're 10-20  minutes away from the best Doctors on the planet.  Mad Dog 🐕 

The first thing that came to mind was this :

ChrisJ

@Mad Dog_2
We have several magdrills here we use. They're wonderful, so much better than a hand drill.
I'm curious how he had a finger torn off? Was he wearing gloves?

gunn308

I don't use a sawzall anymore for cast, M18 5" grinder, cut off discs cost less than blades and they're quicker.

Long Beach Ed

I happened on a Ridgid R3031 one hand compact saw, and it has been VERY handy for tight places. Easier to control and does a good job. We use them often. Turned out being a nice tool.

Our Milwaukee Sawzalls are all older USA-made ones that we repair and keep running. We sometimes buy them used when we find them. The Chinese made ones we had didn't last a year. Chinesium just doesn't cut it.

gunn308

Anyone still .own Milwaukee Hole Hog? Aka The Widow maker, Jaw Breaker, The Pig 🐖? Up on an 8 foot ladder drilling floor joists with a 4.5" Wood bit....mad Dog !!!!!! I still have a single speed Hole Hawg use to drill 2" holes all day long with Planetor butterfly bits for blown in insulation. 3 stories up on a ladder and hit a nail and make the ladder bounce and wind your arms around. I burned out 2 of the 2 speed Hawgs in a year both were warranted and replaced low speed had too much torque for ladder work and was too sloooooow getting paid piecework high speed burned up the gearcase.

PC7060

KC_Jones said:

Talking about one of these? Yes I have one works great with those bits.

I’ve got the same unit. It’s a real powerhouse, but definitely requires caution because it will catch and trap your hand if you are not paying attention.

not that that’s ever happened to me of course.  

ChrisJ

This is the 3/4 Skil I mentioned earlier.

These pictures are from one currently on Ebay.
I'm not sure if my dad ended up with this drill, or his brother.

Apparently it's 250 rpm.

KC_Jones

PC7060 said:

KC_Jones said:

Talking about one of these? Yes I have one works great with those bits.

I’ve got the same unit. It’s a real powerhouse, but definitely requires caution because it will catch and trap your hand if you are not paying attention.

not that that’s ever happened to me of course.  

It definitely comes in handy, but don't really need it too often. The bits are no joke either, they tear through wood like nothing I've ever used. Definitely rough work only, the holes isn't the prettiest.

I picked that one up on Facebook Marketplace for $150.00 and it was totally worth it.

jep

Lots of good information! Thanks! I hate that manufacturers keep designing new batteries and the old model batteries become difficult or impossible to find. That's progress. I have some old corded drills from the 50's that still keep on drilling! It seems that contractors build in the cost of new battery tools for each construction project. I'm forever seeing new battery tools on construction sites.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

Those corded Hole Hawgs were dangerous. For the large holes, you had to use the pipe brace up against a stud or something that wouldn't move otherwise it would break your wrist. For the small holes, high speed (low torque) and you could watch wood chips fly. It probably took 2 seconds to go through a stud.

With my cordless Hole Hawg, it's not strong enough for anything greater than 2", but when I'm running PEX through joists, I can drill a 1,200 [] house with one battery; fast, too.

ChrisJ

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes said:

Those corded Hole Hawgs were dangerous. For the large holes, you had to use the pipe brace up against a stud or something that wouldn't move otherwise it would break your wrist. For the small holes, high speed (low torque) and you could watch wood chips fly. It probably took 2 seconds to go through a stud.

With my cordless Hole Hawg, it's not strong enough for anything greater than 2", but when I'm running PEX through joists, I can drill a 1,200 [] house with one battery; fast, too.

Is it possible to just put the chuck not as tight so it tends to slip?


The problem I always have with modern cordless drills is the chuck slipping. I often have to use channel locks on them to get a job done. It's not pretty, but it works.

JUGHNE

That right angle drill that PC7060 talks of, I got one in 1975. It is actually a 2 speed, you have to flip the angle drive around for changes, not handy. The tools for doing that come with it.
I passed it to my son for his house remodeling. Still working.

I got a Hole Hawg years ago and wore it out. I was really disappointed that the new replacement was "Made In China"
For large holes I run it on high speed for hole saws, it will stall if jammed to something solid.

On low speed a stall will turn you around unless you use the 3/4" pipe against a solid stud.

The first Hawgs that came out in the 70's had a "lock on" button, that made it a pretty dangerous weapon.

Mustangman

I had hole hawgs ever since I got in this racket back in the early 80s. They give you that 18" handle for a reason. You are suppose to lock that against a joist so it doesn't rip you in 1/2. I got knocked off ladders a few times. My fault completely. One guy who worked for me didn't think he needed that long handle and took it off so the drill would fit in a tight spot. It was ugly. He got hung up and it twisted the hell out of his wrist.. then dumped him on the floor. However, nothing drills holes like the Hole Hawg with self feed bits. You just need to be really careful
Steve

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

One of my journeymen was working on a cold day in the winter with gloves on using a Hole Hawg and his glove caught on the chuck and pulled his baby finger off.

Charlie from wmass

@Mad Dog_2 own one? I still own one that is only 15 years old. I had to buy it after breaking the 10 year old one we had by stalling it out drilling joist in an 1800s house. Old hemlock full 2" even after shrinking for 150 years. Never understood people being scared of them. 

Mad Dog_2

A Journeyman that I worked 💪 with Early on was in The Nam.  He carried
 the S.A.W. (sqaud Automatic weapon)
Hunting V.C.  They lovingly called it The Pig 🐖.   It fired a RIDICULOUS Rounds per minute rate and would cut down the jungle and any living thing in front of it. He called the Old Hole Hawg, The Pig 🐖.   That's how I started calling it the pig 🐖 🤣.  An extremely dangerous tool, so you had to brace it against a joist and hang on for dear life, especially using the bit for 3" & 4" pipe.
If you are a decent arm wrestler, it's a big plus.  Mad Dog 🐕 

ChrisJ

Hmmmm

Charlie from wmass

@Mad Dog_2 that's what my father carried in the 25th Infantry. Only person to beat him arm wrestling he sired. 

Lance

HILTI the best sawzaw I ever used, over 20 years old and still running as well as the hammer drill that came with it. It was expensive and is still today, but it has outperformed all others. Even my helical gear skill saw I had in the 70's is still good and working today. Some are just built to last, but you gotta pay the price to get the best. always full battery power until it needs recharge.

hot_rod

CLamb said:

ChrisJ said:

Mad Dog_2 said:

I've had my Supersawzall 20 yrs.  Diablo blades. That's all I'll buy now.  Mad Dog 🐕 

For what it's worth the 15A SuperSawzall I bought yesterday says right on it "Professionally made in China by Milwaukee"

I guess that's supposed to sound better than "China" or "Made in China".

Maybe it's to allay fears it's made by slave labor.

Milwaukee is owned by the Chinese, so you’re buying a tool made in PRC
People’s Republic of China (another way around saying made in China) from a company owned by China.

For better or worse China is the toolbox of the world right now. Decades ago China set their sites on being the “manufacturer for the world”. I think they have accomplished that goal.