Are Oscillating Saws Legit For Security Installs?

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Brian Rhodes
•Dec 09, 2016
IPVMU Certified

They appear to be magic, see video:

Oscillating saws, OMTs, or vibration knives, move blades rapidly enough to cut into wood, metal, or even brick fairly easily. Unlike rotary saws, they don't kick or bind and are fairly lightweight/easy to handle. They aren't too costly, either and they range from $50 - $200 online.

A local installer was telling me these saws make cutting in boxes for readers or notching out frames for electric strikes super easy.

What about you? Do you use these? Which one is the best?

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MI
Matt Ion
•Dec 09, 2016

Love mine! Especially great for those square cutouts, as mentioned above.

I have the Ridgid ones from Home Depot, and both 12V and 18V power units for them (would love to complete the collection with the 120V and air models). At one point they were blowing out the heads for $12, so I grabbed the last two they had - that got me a bunch of extra blades and sanding pads, where the blades themselves normally start around $15. The heads are interchangeable with the Ryobi ones as well (my coworker is heavily invested in their ONE+ system).

I've used scraper blades for them to remove stubborn silicone from a tub, too.

Edit: Oh, HD was also blowing out all the various attachment heads for the power units a couple years ago, so I got the entire line at about 1/4 regular cost: recip-saw (mini Sawzall, basically), jigsaw, nail driver, right-angle impact driver, right-angle drill, and ratchet driver.

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KL
Keefe Lovgren
•Dec 09, 2016
IPVMU Certified

i have the dewalt multi tool... typically it gets used for cutting wood paneling for station locations... i also use it to cut trim or wood door jambs for electric strikes... i have tried it on steel doors for strike cut outs but it makes so much noise i prefer dremel rotary to the multi-tool...

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UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•Dec 12, 2016

I love my multi tool, I use it for cutting out outlet holes on retrofit work. and for a whole lot of other stuff. i would say it's one of my favorite tools. I have the DeWalt 20v model.

I also recently saw the Qbit (Link) that I'd love to try. (looks like a really nice add-on.

MI
Matt Ion
•Dec 12, 2016
In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1

Q-bit looks neat! I'd have to be an electrician cutting out gang boxes all day to justify it though.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•Dec 12, 2016
In reply to Matt Ion

I actually justify it as paying for itself in less than one retrofit job, in labor costs.

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Ari Erenthal
•Dec 12, 2016

I had one that I used for cutting out drywall squares. My problem was the sheer amount of dust it kicked out. After a few days, I went back to my trusty drywall knife.

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U
Undisclosed #2
•Dec 12, 2016
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Ari Erenthal

Same objection to a Roto-Zip?

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Ari Erenthal
•Dec 12, 2016
In reply to Undisclosed #2

Basically. Choking dust everywhere, enough to cover my eyepro and overwhelm my paper mask. Maybe I used it wrong.

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KL
Keefe Lovgren
•Dec 12, 2016
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Ari Erenthal

i agree... rotozip seem to be best used during the construction phase when dust creation is expected... in a finished environment they create large amounts of dust that is difficult to contain... with jab saws you can minimize dust creation and it is easy to collect by making a dust shelf out of paper and tape, all the dust falls onto the shelf and it gets folded up and thrown away...

CS
Cal Smith
•Dec 12, 2016

There are several acceptable and good options from several manufacturers; none are such a shining star that they blow the others away. There are also dozens of sites that have done head-to-head comparison tests, so Google away to see the relative merit of each option.

A big factor for me was picking a saw that maintained compatibility with the batteries and charger I already had. Availability of compatible blades was important, as well.

Oscillating multi tools make some dust, but nothing like a rotozip. The narrow blade kerf means that if you do it right, you are converting much less material to dust.

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MI
Matt Ion
•Dec 12, 2016
In reply to Cal Smith

Great point about battery compatibility with existing tools. And yeah, the basic function is pretty universal, as are the blades, so there's not much there differentiating one brand from the next.

Great thing with my Ridgid tool is the interchangeable heads for the same power units. I love the selection of different power sources as well (12V, 18V, 120V, and air), although I wish I could buy those stand-alone; each is only available with ANOTHER oscillating head.

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Brian Rhodes
•Dec 12, 2016
IPVMU Certified

On the issue of dust abatement, I noticed a number of these tools have an optional attachment that connects to a shop-vac, eg:

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MI
Matt Ion
•Dec 12, 2016
In reply to Brian Rhodes

I just duct-tape the nozzle from my Ridgid cordless vacuum to the handle ;)

Now cordless canister vacs... THAT is an installer's best friend!

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Kyle Folger
•Dec 15, 2016
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Matt Ion

I have this for small shallow holes and it works really well at keeping down the dust for drilling. However, it doesn't work with large and long drill bits. Since it comes with 3 different sizes I have one of each attachment on all three drills since they are all different manufacturers.

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Avatar
Kyle Folger
•Dec 15, 2016
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Brian Rhodes

Interesting. I hadn't thought about looking for a vacuum attachment. I'll have to get one for my Makita. It's only around $15.00. That will encourage me to use it more since I bought it for a specific job.

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