Customer Reviews

Porter-Cable 9837 Tiger Saw 19.2-Volt Ni-Cad Cordless Reciprocating Saw

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I recently had the opportunity to demo a new 19.2v cordless reciprocating saw by Porter Cable. This is an item that will be on every wood-workers wish list this year! Its' short body allows it to get into areas that other saws can't. The only negative statement I can make about this tool is that the manufacturers should sell a model that doesn't contain the battery and charger (for those of us that already have the other Network tools).

This is the first cordless recip saw I ever owned, and it turned out to be a great pick. I got it with the hammer/drill/driver in a combo kit. After considering what the competition offers, I bought the PorterCable 19.2V line partly because of brand loyalty, but also because of the saw's compact design and 2,900 spm speed. This saw is heavier than the Milwaukee, Dewalt, and Makita models, but it is shorter in length and easier to manage with one hand despite its weight, and has more power. It gets into tighter spaces than the others, and its speed is faster, too. Now, I cannot do without this tool. Using the right blade, it literally cuts anything, from plywood and studs, to drywall, to sheet metal and pipe, or old tires, or bricks. I have used it doing renovation work in the attic and under the house where cordless convienience and power is needed. I like to reverse the blade and turn it upside down to use like a sabre saw, pivoting on its foot to do plunge cuts. Believe me, life got easier real fast after buying this. One thing though, the saw can sap a battery quickly when doing long extended cuts in tough material, like for door and window openings. But its performance and conveinience makes up for that. I can't wait to try this saw with an aggressive wood blade for trimming trees and cutting limbs on my property. Look for more of my reviews on the PorterCable 19.2V line and recip saw blades.

As a professional plumber, the sawzall is my primary tool. Almost every time I do a job, its one of the first tools to come off the truck. The only trouble was when I do renovation work. It was always such a pain to drag out the old PC Tigersaw to make a couple of cuts. Draging it in, finding a plug, pulling an extension cord, all made me think of using a hacksaw. Not really liking any of the red or yellow corded saws, I was thrilled when PC came out with the cordless saw last year. I ordered myself one for christmas and took it to work. Needless to say, I was very happy with it. It works almost as well as its corded brother with the exception of the short charge. But if you are cutting more than two batteries worth(I have the drill and saw set too), then you should have pulled out the corded version.

I own the PC circ saw and have found it an excellent tool and when they came out with the recip saw I bought it up after considering some of the others including De Walt, Milwaulkee et al. I looked at the others first as I felt that having to buy it complete with another charger etc. meant I had no loyalty to buy PC.

I found the PC tool lighter to use than the competition I tried and having used it I found it worked well. Battery charge is satisfactorry and the quick charge battery system is cool.

I own just about every 19.2v PC tool. This is a stout product line and the Tiger Saw (I always just called them "sawzalls") from PC can cut through anything with the right blade.

You will need more than one battery, as has already been stated, but if you want lots of power, you are going to sacrifice battery life. That's just physics. This tool has lots of power, so I make sure I've got backup batteries. I have a multitude of them since I own so many 19.2 devices, so keeping a fleet of batteries charged is a non-issue for me. PC's newer chargers and batteries are better than they were three years ago, so anyone who had bad experiences with the older chargers really should contact PC for a replacement.

One recommendation: when you get the saw, it will come with a very basic blade. Keep it, but go and order yourself a couple of other blades, because the one it ships with will not impress you. I would suggest a long, combination blade for general use, a carbide blade for cutting metals, and a fine-tooth blade for more precision work.

Nothing beats a good sawzall, and this is a great one.