We have been very impressed with the new SKILSAW professional brand and their departure from the cheaper Skil Tools we were seeing in the market. They have really been creative in utilizing the tried and true Wormdrive motor to expand to high quality metal saws, table saws, larger circular saws and a handful of other nice circular saws all paired with high quality Diablo Blades. This new reciprocating aka “BUZZKILL” saw SPT44A ($99) is their first branch away from a circular saw platform but we are guessing this is the first of many under their new leadership.
This new recip saw is aimed at the Pro brands of Dewalt, Milwaukee Sawzall, Makita and others with true corded demolition power as well as some sort of vibration control technology like the Makita AVT or Milwaukee counter-balance. The BUZZKILL technology is similar to Milwaukee using a counter-balance weight to move against the stroke minimizing the vibration. Skilsaw has launch a small teaser video we put into our video above which shows the effect of a jar of liquid mounted on the tools as they are suspended.
We can say from using this saw on several heavy duty wood and metal cutting applications you can feel the vibration control is very noticeable. While here in the USA there has not been an OSHA crackdown on m/s2 vibration exposure for workers like in Europe but it is likely coming. That being said it shouldn’t take a law to make you want to keep the feeling in your hands, lower m/s2 it’s a good thing and doesn’t take away from performance in the least.
The big objection to overcome here is not price, $99 is a great deal for a professional demolition recip saw with vibration control when compared to Milwaukee Super Sawzall 6538-21 or Makita AVT Saw JR3070CT. It does cut out the options to switch between orbital mode and there is not speed control other than the trigger but the tougher part to overcome here is convincing professional users this recip is a SKILSAW built for pros not a SKIL tool built for a cheap price. From our time with this saw it certainly feels like a quality tool but how will it hold up day in day out on the job? For $99 and a good warranty we’d say say it is worth a go if you are in the market for a corded recip saw.
For more info on all SKILSAW tools or the Freud Diablo Blades give the pros at Ohio Power Tool a call 800-242-4424 and they will be more than happy to help you find the right tool for your job.
