Toolbox: Cordless Recip Saws

In the late ’80s, when cordless drills became really popular, a lot of us figured it wouldn’t be long before most power tools had batteries. It took another 10 years, however, for the recip saw, the one tool used by every trade, to go cordless. Makita used to make one, but it was so small and weak that it was more a curiosity than a serious tool. During the past year, Milwaukee and DeWalt each introduced full-size cordless recip saws, and for the past couple of months I’ve been trying them out to see how well they worked. Better Batteries Tool companies have wanted to make cordless recip saws for a long time, but they were stymied