the.com/reciprocating saw
The demolition tool that turns 'this wall is load-bearing' into a personal opinion.
means A handheld power tool with a push-pull blade that cuts through wood, metal, and pipe with a fast back-and-forth motion, favored for demolition and rough cutting.
from From 'reciprocate,' from Latin 'reciprocus' meaning 'moving back and forth, alternating' — the same root behind 'reciprocity,' the give-and-take of favors. Here the give-and-take is purely mechanical: the blade lunges forward and yanks back, over and over. 'Saw' is plain old Germanic, a cousin of words meaning 'to cut.' The tool is widely known by the trademark 'Sawzall,' coined by Milwaukee Tool in the early 1950s — literally a boast that it 'saws all.'
- nickname
- Known on jobsites as the Sawzall, a Milwaukee brand name
- motion
- Blade thrusts forward and back, like a tiny chainsaw piston
- rescue work
- Firefighters and EMTs cut through cars and walls with it
- blade swap
- One tool slices wood, metal, drywall, even bone
- origin
- Milwaukee Tool introduced the first Sawzall in 1951
dewalt dcd777c2 — most popular cordless reciprocating saw, sold over 2 million units since 2010
milwaukee m18 sawzall — professional-grade reciprocating saw, industry standard for contractors since 2005
makita jr3070ct — corded reciprocating saw with 3,000 strokes per minute, bestseller in construction