Ryobi reciprocating saw blade retention issues

I quit going to Pick&Pull salvage yards!

Paul

I went to one yesterday, looking for car batteries. My forklift battery died and I needed one for the Lincoln and Hobart gasoline powered welders.

So I drive the 40 miles..and they didnt have any. Someone had come in and bought 20 Sunday morning..blink blink....

So I noticed a pallet load of them in an odd location and asked the guy about them and was advised they were "bad".

So I get out my meter and go check..and about 3/4 of them were showing under 7 volts..but 5-8 of them were at 12.5 volts.

So I bought 2 of them (with a 30 day warranty) for $21 each..and he tossed in the 3rd for free and included a warranty. I picked the best looking and most capacity, which in a pickup truck town are generally pretty big.

Ill test them this morning and see if I did ok or not.

Gunner

Gunner

"Confiscating wealth from those who have earned it, inherited it, or got lucky is never going to help 'the poor.' Poverty isn't caused by some people having more money than others, just as obesity isn't caused by McDonald's serving super-sized orders of French fries Poverty, like obesity, is caused by the life choices that dictate results." - John Tucci,

Back to the topic - Anybody use one of these (POS) Ryobi reciprocating saws? I want to be able to cut METAL with it.

Specifically I am going to upgrade the front suspension spindles on my

No, but I've been avoiding Ryobi anything for a while, since they appear to be designed to a price point rather than to a function. I'll buy a good name brand used first for corded stuff (I have a used dealer near me that warranties his stuff) but that doesn't always work for battery tools.

If the thing is pretty much useless to you as it is, I'd be tempted to go ahead and try to disassemble whatever is there now and see if I could re-engineer it a little. You might find it simply has a burr or something inside it that keeps it from clamping fully or a piece that's worn that can be built back up with a dollop of weld, or you just may find an easy way to add a set screw.

My first thought is not "saw" but "grinder." What would a half-decent battery operated angle grinder and a handful of the thin cutoff wheels run you? It looks like the HF one runs about $60, which might be good enough to last you a few parts runs. Though I could see your yard also not allowing grinders if they don't allow torches.

--Glenn Lyford

Quick update - the collet retains the blade via a ball. As the collet is rotated the ball is allowed to move away from the blade. I tried to dismantle the collet but was unsuccessful so I am going to try a different tactic - open up the retention hole in the sawblades - I used a small center drill to drill a pocket concentric to the existing retention hole. I did not get a chance to try it out but expect to do so tonight or on the weekend.